Lurching towards preperation.

I long wanted to have lazy Sunday afternoons. I believe taking a day off is Biblical. It isn't something to be followed slavishly. God makes it apparent that He desires an obedient, willing heart as opposed to pharisaical laws that drive folks away from the kingdom of God. So I have tried for a little while to implement some tools that would make it attainable to have a Sabbath day as a family.

I was kind of getting a good routine down with Saturday being a day designated for preperation for Sunday. Then I had surgery. That kind of put a, "Woa! in my Giddyup," as TODR would say. It is a good thing. It got me to kind of take a look at my heart. I tend towards being a list kind of person. When I cross it all off, I can sit down and relax. If I am testy and cranky getting ready to celebrate the Lord's day maybe I am not going about it the proper way. Maybe my heart needs looking at.

I do not have the luxury of sitting around navel gazing too much. I have husband and children. It is kind of like living on a farm. The animals need to get fed, the cows milked and manure shoveled. Otherwise it all piles up. I also know that the devil loves to watch us try to be religious with a complaining heart. So our flesh and the devil are on the prowl, I think, whenever we try to cultivate a happy heart.

Yesterday was my first day back trying to do a preperation day. I still am operating at about 75% I am learning to sit down and relax when I need to. I had plans for the more muscular in our house while I started up my new and improved preperation day routine. It kind of got shot. If it had been before I might have been irritated had how much didn't get done. As it is I am so thankful for what was accomplished. I also have had a wonderful day of rest. Tomorrow is a new day and we can do laundry tomorrow too.

What happened yesterday:

We got up and made breakfast. We were getting children on chores. We were taking stock of what needed to be done. During that time a dear friend called and said he needed help. He is incapacitated right now. The friend on chore duty that morning had noticed the hay steaming. That is bad! Hay can and does spontaneously burst into flame under the right circumstances. A whole work crew including TODR and our boys got the hay all taken care of. The bad stuff out and the other stuff moved. All before dark. I was so impressed.

I am not able to help by lifting things. I ran out to the farm because TODR had my purse in his van (cause we did chores together and he took me out to dinner the night before:). I got my purse and then brought back some snacks and some water. At least I could help out that way. Then I took the girls to buy fish. We got naps in. I managed to make some muffins, boil eggs, and make some soup for the crock pot. When the work crew got back, we had a good meal of quesadillas and coleslaw. I even had a good attitude. There were some instances that could have blown up, but we chose to praise the Lord and He made it great. We had a good night and we had a good morning. The dishes still aren't done and we have extra clutter, but our attitude is good. I think it works. Now I just need to remember this lesson next Saturday.