A Bundle of Myrrh

Read The Sundays Part I and Part II

Yea though it be a Herculean feat to walk through the valley of getting ready for and getting through church every Sunday morning, God is with me. It can be hard, very hard some weeks, but it is worth the work, no, vital to continue in the work.

Yes, I blow it 5 or 6 times every Sunday and find it difficult to not just throw in the towel. Sometimes I have said to myself, “Well there’s no point in going now, you don’t deserve to even darken the door!” and “Well! If they want to make it this hard to go we’ll just stay home!”

But, I know there is only one source of lies such as these. They come from the very one who would love for all of us Mamas of Littles to do anything but put our head down and plow through and direct our paths to God’s house.

He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44

God is good and keeps me from listening to whispers of our ancient foe.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. John 10

God’s house is a hospital. It’s where we heavy laden sinners limp for healing. Some of us can barely drag our sorry selves through the narthex before we want to collapse into an exhausted heap of sinful weariness, but it is here that we come to hear. Hear the Life giving Words of God.

“I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down,
Thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting-place,
And He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream.
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.” Hymn

So I press on. And as I press on I begin to learn just how faithful God is to me and to my children. Just how He has chosen to care for us and preserve us in this Faith. As difficult as it can be, it is a great privilege to bring my babies to Jesus every week.

And because Sunday is the day we set aside for gathering together with the other sinners, the other people of God, I do like to mark these days in our home as different.

I don’t do a ton but here are a few easy ways I “mark” Sundays in our home:

1. On Sunday mornings when I get to the kitchen I just like to turn on my YouTube Hymns Playlist. Or THIS USER’S LISTS which I listen to a lot. Since my oldest were babies, this has served as one way I queue them into the fact that this is Sunday Morning and we will be getting ready for church and going to God’s house today. Now that they’re older I can just tell them that but I still like this tradition. Though if I play hymns on Tuesday some of the babies will ask if we’re going to church.

2. I’ve not been as consistent lately with this one as I once was, but I like to add candles to the table on Sunday for lunch. I change them according to the church calendar, whichever are the liturgical colors for the season or day.

3. I have the habit of using food as a way to mark liturgical days as well as color. For example, for dessert on Trinity Sunday I like to serve a Three Berry Pie and “white” food like Chicken Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta or German food for Reformation Sunday. One of the best resources I have found for eating your way through the Church calendar is Catholic Cuisine. No, we’re not Roman Catholic so I won’t be using their recipes for Assumption Cookies or their Miracle of the Sun Liturgical Tea ideas, but with my Lutheran filter I do love what I find there much of the time. Like these Hammer Snacks . I know I don’t have to tell you Lutherans what I might use those for!

4. Sundays are kept mostly as days of rest. Not that we can’t go anywhere if we want to and well, obviously Sunday is not the most restful day for me, but we try not to let too many activities fill this day. Also, it’s a day I give myself more permission to let dishes and laundry sit if possible.

5. I’ve written several times on observing the church year with our family. You can read those posts; HERE, HERE and HERE.

You can also read from my blog category Church Year HERE.

Some of our observances are kept and celebrated on Sundays. It’s something I enjoy doing, it’s not something everyone has to do. But it is especially helpful for children and I’ve found as they grow and begin to remember more from the past they anticipate and are eager for the traditions we have begun to set within our home.

Sundays are the days I can use to decorate our table or teach particular doctrines and observances. For example Ascension Day always comes on a Thursday. Sometimes that particular Thursday is full or I’m tired so I use the following Sunday (as does our congregation usually) to celebrate that church festival. See #3 above for some of the ways I keep holy days on Sunday. In addition to using food I keep a hefty list of ideas for coloring pages and activities on my Pintrest board Church Year and Bible Lessons.

6. Since children (and I) are visual learners I add decorations to our home that emphasize particular holy days and seasons. Maybe a runner or tablecloth matching the color of the day. I display church art and try to dress the babies in the appropriate liturgical colors.

What are some of the ways you Mark Sundays in your home?

 

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 9th, 2017 at 1:55 pm and is filed under Church, Church Year, Hearth and Home, Preserving a Christian Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.