Sunday-The Lord's Day

I didn't become a Christian until I was in my mid-20's, and even then I was far from a dedicated one. It hasn't been until the last few years that I have really started working hard at dedicating my life to the Lord, not only in my day to day life, but also setting aside a special day of worship just for Him. It took me a long time to get to that point, but now that I have, I can't see my Sunday being any different. Although, we do have some stressful Sundays, which are usually a result of lack of preperation on my part, I do try my best to be ready to spend my day focusing on Him, and putting away all the daily household things to be done that can sometimes get in the way of that focus.

For me, that starts in the days before Sunday, which I'm not going to talk about today. But I had to mention it, because without taking the time to prepare especially for the Lord's Day, it would not be the day of rest and worship that it usually is. I'll share how I try to do that in the days ahead. But here's what our routines look like specifically for Sunday (my extra notes are in parentheses):

Morning

-Read Bible and pray
-Make bed and straighten bedroom
-Get dressed, fix hair/face, and straighten master bathroom
-Start the kettle
-Take the dog out and feed her
-Make breakfast and tea/coffee
-Wake kids
-Eat breakfast, drink tea/coffee, take supplements
-Table time-Proverbs reading, character study, and memory work
-Table chores (These are the chores we all do to get things cleaned up after meals)
-Prep food for lunch and dinner
-Kids do bedroom and bathroom chores (which includes personal devotions and getting ready for church)

(No daily chores for Sunday)

Sunday School and Morning Worship Service @ 9:45am

Noon Hour

-Lunch prep and eat
-Table chores
-Dinner prep, if needed

Sunday Afternoon Rest (the one day I usually can count on getting a nap)

Afternoon Chores

-Quick pick up in assigned rooms (Each of my older three children have a specific assigned room that they help keep clean every day)
-Tea time (This is a new habit we are working at including. It's a nice break, & we really enjoy it)
-Start dinner, if needed (We usually eat after the evening service, and it's usually something simple like leftovers or sandwiches, but if I need to prep anything, I do it now)

Dinner Hour (after evening service)

-Fix dinner-clean as you cook
-Dinner
-Table chores
-Plan and prep meals for the next day (I don't like to menu plan, so I usually just plan no more than one day ahead. I try to make sure I know what we're having after dinner each night, and do any prep work that is needed)

Evening

-Family time-Calvary kids and evening service-4:45pm
-Quick pick up in assigned rooms and bedrooms, if needed
-Kids wash up, brush teeth, and get ready for bed
-Poetry and Psalm reading
-Kids in bed at 9pm, reading if they want to, lights out by 10pm
-Wash up, brush teeth, and get ready for bed
-Free time-reading, tv/computer, time with my honey, or working on a project
-Take dog out
-In bed by 10pm, reading, lights out by 11pm

A few extra notes:

As structured as all that looks...our Sundays are usually very layed back. I keep meals really simple, and try to do one dish meals, or something I can just throw a salad with. We don't really make a mess, as we spend most of our time at home resting, reading, and watching movies, so there is usually very little actual picking up to do. This is one day, that when I've made the preperations for it, usually always goes very smoothly. One goal that I have for Sundays is to be more open to hospitality on this day...to be able to invite people over for meals after church, but still keep it simle enough that I won't have to get caught up in busyness, and can keep my focus where it should be. It's a great day for family, friends, and especially time spent with the Lord!

Blessings,
sara