Latest / The Rooted Family / Ep 8 | What Our Family of 9 Actually Does on the Sabbath

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Ep 8 | What Our Family of 9 Actually Does on the Sabbath · The Rooted Family

• Christian Cornish: This week, we felt like we were literally crawling across the finish line to Sabbath. both of us were sick. Christian a fever. Still do. ⁓ Still do. For like the five or days. And then six out of seven of our kids were sick with fevers, some with vomiting. ⁓ in respiratory symptoms like the whole gamut as I'm sure a lot of your kids have been sick. This is definitely the season. And it was also the week that my Slow and Savor subscription, which is my snail mail subscription, those envelopes were going to be sent out in the mail. ⁓ as you can imagine, there were a lot of late nights trying to complete that deadline of getting all those envelopes into the mail and You, Christian, had a lot of work on your end besides being sick. As usual. was such a heavy week. And so by the time Saturday morning came, I woke up and remembered it was the Sabbath and soul ⁓ literally Like I felt like my soul was singing. ⁓ I so happy and it honestly just felt It was, it felt like I was falling, like this is how I would describe it. It felt like I was falling into a giant pile of cozy blankets and fluffy pillows and I could just take the biggest deep breath ever. I felt like the Lord reminded me it was like I was resting in his arms. Yeah, I would, ⁓ would completely agree with how that felt this week for sure. Yeah. And you know, not every week is so abundant and so crazy ⁓ this week just was so full. And I think the sickness on top of it, it just added a whole nother layer. ⁓ so normally Sabbath feels amazing when it comes around, but this week it just felt extra special. And today we just want to paint a picture of what Sabbath looks like in our home ⁓ so you can begin to imagine what it might look like in your home. And we're not sharing this because we do Sabbath perfectly by any means. No. But it is. ⁓ The biggest gift in our life now after 10 years of practicing it, and we're not trying to give you some kind of framework or instruction. Today we just want to open the door to our home and help paint a picture to encourage you and to show you what Sabbath can look like for your family. I think a lot of people can talk about Sabbath from the pulpit. You know, I think it's like a common topic, like follow the Sabbath. But lately, yeah, lately, I do feel like it is becoming more of a hot topic. But there's a difference between hearing it in a sermon versus hearing and seeing like, what does this actually like in a real life family who's doing it on a regular basis? Yeah, I'd love to hear Kayla. What do you love most about the Sabbath now after? ⁓ all these years of consistently practicing it. Yeah, I feel like that's such a hard question because I could probably spend the whole episode talking about all the things I love about the Sabbath. We've been practicing the Sabbath almost every week for almost 10 years. Can you believe that? Like a decade of giving 24 hours every week to the Sabbath. Yeah, it's been really special. Really, really special. it's the most special part of our week. Yes. And I think, you know, there are times where I know in the beginning where I question like, is this a waste of time? Because, know, you and I, we're building businesses, we're doing a lot of work, lot of really good work. And there are times that we could probably keep working. Christ. And so when I think about The thing I love most about the Sabbath has probably been how it has completely slowed me down the other six days of the week. it's not necessarily like I'm not doing a lot of work because we're still working really hard. I think I feel this peace that is truly like what the Bible talks about beyond understanding. ⁓ And I feel it throughout the rest of the week. And I love how Sabbath almost like it leaks out to the rest of the week. Yeah. I would describe what you're saying as having a, have a stronger trust in the Lord the six days of the week, because you've already learned to sacrifice this one day and say, I'm not in control. And it's taught you that the other six days of the week, you don't have to fight battle and like try to be in control. Cause I think that is a lot of the reason why people refused the Sabbath is that feeling that they're not in control because they've given up. You know, control of things, control of their finances because they're not working or control of. you know, outcomes that they feel like they influence. to-do list. The to-do list. And it is true. And like we talk about legacy in the sense of the moments that things go wrong. You realize how, how little control we actually have over our lives. Yeah. you don't want to wait until those moments to feel that or live it. But the Sabbath is a way to experience that every week. So true. and life will move on and things will get figured out and things will be okay. It is like a total surrender because yeah, I think in our human nature, we want to control every aspect of our life. We want to control our financial future. We want to control how much work is getting done or even where we're going, what we're doing. And to say, you know what, for 24 hours, we're going to let go of the grip. We're gonna loosen our grip allow the Lord to just love for not doing anything and ⁓ trying add value. that's just like, something that almost can't experience you ⁓ Sabbath. Like I almost think that if you wanna get to a place of knowing deep in your soul that God loves you no matter what, it's letting go of control and completely surrendering your work. And for one day, letting God show you that he loves you no matter if you're doing something or you're not doing something. Yeah, that's so true. it's definitely one way that we grow our roots deeper in the Lord is giving him that control and allowing him to to be in the driver's seat. Yeah, I like that. You know, here in the West in America, I think that's one of the the false things we believe that we can control. We think we can control so much. Yeah, that's true. And I think you're absolutely right. Like we control so little. but we can put our lives in the hands of the one who loves us the most. it's time to just ⁓ loved. And awesome. Isn't it so cool to see over the last decade how we've seen God show up do even more than we could have imagined by ⁓ giving up of our time? You would think, OK, I work seven days a week, we're going to produce so much. ⁓ But since we have started sabbathing we, ⁓ think ⁓ at this my own experience. I've been shocked at how much God has done on our behalf when we've worked less. Yeah, that's so good. I think you're absolutely right. Yeah. What are some the times that come to mind when you think of that? I mean, I simply think how, how many plates were spinning, so to speak, like, We just came out of a season where we let, lived in the hospital full time with our sick baby for many months and we have the most kids we've ever had. We have seven kids now. That's true. We are running multiple facets of our business. You're still working full time. I'm full time homeschooling one child and partially homeschooling other children. And we are probably doing the most. ⁓ quote-unquote work than we've ever done and we're still resting one full day a week besides all the other moments that we're resting. It's like we're resting the most time we've ever rested before and we're actually spinning the most plates we've ever done. Yeah, in a sustainable way too. Yeah. It doesn't feel... Like it feels peaceful. Yes, it doesn't feel so full that we're gonna burn out and we know that feeling big time. We really do. Yeah. Go back and listen to our story episode one if you haven't yet. I would love to hear from you. What has been one of your favorite parts about honoring the Sabbath? I think about the time that we get to spend together, you and I, and then the time that we get to spend together as a family. think as, you know, the man working outside of the home, easy to feel like ⁓ come home, we do sit down and have dinner, but then everybody goes to bed and like there was like, okay, well, I didn't really have like quality ⁓ with anyone in our family. And so I love the Sabbath because it's like the time that I, you know, do things with the kids I make sure to spend time with them. And then I get to spend time with you specifically and have connecting time. And it's really special to me that there's always a point in time. Like if the week was very abundant or like this last week where I was feeling awful. So it was like, no, I'm not spending time with anybody. I'm just trying to recover. ⁓ it's still this time to have together. And I've really come to appreciate that, that there's never a week that goes by where I don't spend time the people that matter to me most. would you say the Sabbath for you is different than like if someone says, ⁓ yeah, we have a family day. Like what would you say ⁓ defines Sabbath versus like another person that says, ⁓ yeah, we have family days? Well, I think we really make the Sabbath ⁓ special. ⁓ So we mark the moment spiritually. there's a moment of spiritual connection as a family that really, I think, sets the tone for the rest of our time together. also, we keep this time ⁓ separate and set apart and consistent. you know, it's easy when it's not a regular rhythm, I guess I don't know anybody who says they have a family day every week. I've heard this before. Like people say, ⁓ yeah, we're having a family day or we have a family day on Saturdays. But it's not necessarily what we would say the Sabbath is because ⁓ for us, we have elements to the that are not necessarily just considered a family day. Yeah, I think so. ⁓ And it's not like a family work day. It's not a family day. It's not a family project day. or even just like a family movie night. know, more than that. so much more, I would say. Yeah, but I do ⁓ appreciate your thoughts on how ⁓ is a time, though, for you to go deeper as a family, ⁓ have really ⁓ connection time, and you really appreciate that. ⁓ we just wanted to remind you and humbly ask that you review this podcast. With us being a newer podcast, ⁓ we really, really value the growth that ⁓ ratings and reviews can give to us. can reach as many people as as many families as possible to go deeper. So if you can just take a moment ⁓ and hit that five star button, the review or even leave comments on Spotify, that would mean ⁓ much to us. Tell us if you practice the Sabbath or if you have hesitations about practicing the Sabbath, tell us that too. And why you do. We also created a free guide called the 101 Ideas to Do on the Sabbath because one of the first questions people often ask is, well, what do you actually do on your rest day? So we gave you 101 ideas. Check that out in the show notes. We created this many years ago and shared it with hundreds of families and they absolutely love it. And they've said it's been really supportive to get their brains churning ⁓ and keep focused and having fun and enjoying the day. So please check that out as So I have a question for you because I'm sure there are people who ⁓ have never done the Sabbath before. They've heard it, you know, we've all heard it in the 10 Commandments, or they have gone to church recently and their pastor preached about honoring the Sabbath, so they're a little bit curious, but they feel like Sabbath is almost too religious, or it's like following law and we're not necessarily supposed to follow the law anymore. ⁓ Like, what would speak to that person who doesn't who's almost afraid of practicing the Sabbath out of fear them falling into ⁓ religious thing. Yeah, wow, I could talk about this all day. So let's to be really brief. So let's first talk about the law. Yes, Jesus fulfilled the law. our salvation based now on faith in Jesus. So this is not a salvation issue, first of all. we've gone too far ⁓ in this in the Protestant Church of throwing the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, and saying, well, we don't need that because we have Jesus. And that is really unwise when Paul says that scripture is God-breathed. And people are like, ⁓ yeah, that's about the Bible. Yeah, it's about the whole Bible. It's not just about the New Testament. Well, and at that point, the Old Testament was they had. Yeah. So when he says that, he's actually only talking about the Old Testament. And so it's good to stop and think wisely about the law and about the way that God created us. And first of all, it has a ton of wisdom, right? ⁓ just because God fulfilled the law doesn't mean now we murder it doesn't mean now we can steal. ⁓ don't have that kind of freedom, And if you look at the 10 commandments, doesn't make sense to just throw out the fourth commandment. It will even Jesus practice the Sabbath. Yes, There's really ⁓ no historical precedence that the Sabbath was not practiced by Christians. until like the third century. so instead, maybe we should ask ourselves, what is the Sabbath? And really a gift. It's a gift because God created us as rhythmic creatures. Like you have to sleep every day and you do that within a rhythm. You eat at the same times like every day. everything our life happens within a rhythm. And God created us that way. And the Sabbath is a gift because it was given us to look forward, ⁓ to look forward to the new creation. And that is why we celebrate. It's really a celebration. And the Sabbath was given to us to look forward, to look forward to the new creation. It's really a celebration. It's joy to get to be in the Sabbath. It really is. And it's fine if you don't want to live your life that way. Like, I'm not going to be mad at you. I don't care. We're not judging you. No. But if you want to reject that gift, that's how I do see it. I see it as a gift and I want to open that gift every week and I want to accept God's love that I'm enough for who I am, that we're enough for who we are. Not for what we do. It's joy to get to be in the Sabbath. It really is. And it's fine if you don't want to live your life that way. Like, I'm not going to be mad at you. I don't care. We're not judging you. No. But if you want to reject that gift, that's how I do see it. I see it as a gift and I want to open that gift every week and I want to accept God's love that I'm enough for who I am, that we're enough for who we are. Not for what we do. And not for what we do. if people reject the gift of Sabbath, they really are missing out in their life. They're missing out on something that is so, so special. Yes, ⁓ it is so special ⁓ and your body needs to rest. just there's no way around it. And you don't rest, your will crash and force you into And not for what we do. That's such a good way to put it. if people reject the gift of Sabbath, they really are missing out in their life. They're missing out on something that is so, so special. Yes, ⁓ it is so special ⁓ and your body needs to just there's no way it. And if you don't rest, body will crash and force you into rest. And we all know that's when bad stuff happens. Yeah. you know, I love waking up every Saturday morning and just ⁓ knowing that going to be a slow day where I get to delight my family. Yeah, I get to eat some ⁓ yummy food that I've been looking forward to. There's nothing on the calendar. There's obligation. Yes. Nowhere we have to go. Nowhere we have to be. It's truly like what I would describe as true freedom. And I think that's the beauty of Sabbath. If you feel like the Sabbath, there are rules the Sabbath, it feels like this caged box that you're in, ⁓ or you'd ⁓ so religious follow the Sabbath, I think you're it wrong. I think Sabbath in ⁓ its fullness is There is on the Sabbath. And ⁓ I think that's the beautiful part about it is that Jesus came to give us life and to give us life abundantly. You actually get that taste of what heaven will be like, on the Sabbath. So we don't practice ⁓ specific rules, but we do have some, I say, principles. wise principles that we follow, like boundaries. Yeah, I love that word. Yeah. Those are those are good things because we always need boundaries in life keep us on track. And so some of those boundaries for us would be no phones. I that's been really, really helpful. You were really championed ⁓ the being put away. Yeah. What are some things that you really like about having your phone away? Yeah, I feel like as modern day believers, this this to me felt like very counter-cultural because most people would freak out to not have their phone with them for 15 minutes. Like I think there's And so for us, I like it was like, this countercultural move of like, you know what, we're gonna just have a day where we're free of the phone. how many people live by like the beckoning call of the text message? Like the text message comes across the screen or the email comes across the screen ⁓ they drop everything they do to get back to that person or get back to that email, ⁓ on a Saturday, like it may not even be a work day. And I think for us, we are like, okay, How can we separate ourselves from the urgency of having to get back to people or to even like be scrolling on the screen and be like sucked into the world of social media? How can we just go back to the simple days where focus was totally on the person in front of us? Yeah, or the book that we're reading or show that we're watching. Or just the sunset that's rising. Yeah, that's so good. You know, we also put our work aside and I think truly, I mean, just being practical for a minute because, you know, like many people, you're obviously a mom at home, doing stuff all the time and constantly working. And for me, I'm, you know, I have a job and I am accessible outside of regular work hours. You run a business outside of work? Yeah. And so it's really just like mental health, like to... stop thinking about your work and obsessing about it and taking a little break and coming back fresh. Like something so rejuvenating about coming back with a clear mind. And the 24 hours I think is very important to have a clear mind. I don't know if I only did half a day or like a quarter of a day, if I would, my mind would be. at all clear. yeah, I totally agree that like the 24 hours is excellent wisdom to build up to. And we even follow like we don't do housework on that day. We don't get our groceries. We don't fold laundry. I mean, we'll wash the dishes because well, we run out of dishes. We have nine people. We nine people in this house. Although we do use paper plates like a boss. So if you listen. to us from Seattle, we're sorry. Yes. yeah, we do take measures like that to keep us from doing too much work. But like we change babies' diapers. Still, we have many multiple at home still. that's good. I'm glad we don't neglect our children. And yeah, a whole nother topic of like, you know, what's the difference between taking care of people versus work But yeah, I think it's important to like ⁓ whatever feels like work, whether it's work or physical work, we just say, you know what? We're not doing it today. Yeah. And then we try not to do shopping. So yes, we'll buy donuts because we're obsessed with donuts. ⁓ you know, ⁓ we have planned a special meal and yeah, something got forgotten or actually used up in the week. So we might run super fast to grab something. But I mean, that's like a big exception to the rule. It's like we're not going on Amazon or online shopping or practicing contentment. Yes, that's like the key behind that. Absolutely. And these boundaries protect our rest. They keep us from getting sucked into something. It's kind of like when you say you're really tired and you're like, I'm going to sit down and just watch TV. Everybody in the world knows when you're done, you don't actually feel any better. Like you just feel like you vegged out for a little bit. Yeah, which is helpful sometimes. we needed most was veg out time we were so physically drained. ⁓ It's not like I would say more often than not, we actually want to go something physical on the Sabbath. Like we want to go ⁓ for a walk or like, you know, go to the gym or whatever. But ⁓ Sabbath, we totally wanted to veg out and watch TV. And that is there's time and place, but it's not like that is. ⁓ the only thing you do every Sabbath. No, and it's something we only do on the Sabbath if we even do it. Yeah, we're not really big TV watchers in general. No, we do try to make time on the Sabbath for a few things. One thing is first is our marriage time. So we always try to spend quality time together, connecting ⁓ really having those moments that we have good conversation. We'll play games together. We sit and talk by the fire often with our coffee in the morning before the kids are up. We really create these moments throughout the day that are intentional, that we see each other. You might be listening and thinking, okay, they have seven small children in their house. How the heck do you guys get marriage time on the Sabbath? I mean, that would be like my question I would think if I wasn't living within our family time. But I think that you and I have, and we'll share in a little bit on very specific ways that we do this, but we definitely have made some really unique choices on the Sabbath so that we can have time together as a couple. Yeah, and we also make time as a family, which I think we've talked about quite a bit, but. We really do make sure we spend quality time with all of our children in the day. And we have a different ways that we do that, but we always ask them, you know, what would you like to do? We games with them. We invite them to cook with us, to just sit with us, to cook. I'm not cooking on the Sabbath. You might be cooking on the Sabbath. Yeah. But whatever we're doing, I don't like cooking on the Sabbath because it feels like work, but that's all another, you know. conversation. Well, I cook less throughout the week, so sometimes I like to have them come hang out. we make our kids cook on the Sabbath. That's true. Although it's not making them because they actually want to do it. So it's like a win-win. That's fair. And lastly, we do make some time for being alone. I think you probably spearhead this more than I do because you're more of the introvert, but I think you've been really good at observing that some of our kids do have more introverted tendencies also. And so you champion that we create these moments throughout the day that are encouraging each person to do their own thing that brings them joy and rejuvenation and to do that alone so that they are able to be the best selves and really feel like they're getting that throughout the day. Actually, this is so funny because ⁓ before Sabbath yesterday, we were talking about, we usually ask each other the question, know, what are you hoping, you know, to get out of the Sabbath? And you had responded with, well, I'm just going to be spending as much time with you as possible because we haven't seen each other all week because we've been so busy. That's right. And you, you flip the question and you're like, and what are you hoping to get out of the Sabbath? And I'm like, Well, I'm really hoping for a lot of alone to show you the difference in our personality. here I thought you would be so excited that I wanted to spend time with you and you were like. ⁓ did want to spend time with you and I'm glad we did get some time, but there is that part of me that's like, just needs to be alone sometimes. But you wouldn't get it because you're not an introvert. Fine, you hate me. No. So, yeah, so just to review, do, break up our time on the Sabbath between three different things. We spend time together as a couple. We spend time together as an entire family. And then we all spend time, at least Christian and I do, spend time together doing our own thing. And that really does, the amount of time we spend on each of those things really changes, you know, week by week. And so why don't we talk about ⁓ how we take delight on Sabbath. In just a few minutes, we're actually gonna break down what our Sabbath looks like more in detail, but I think it's really fun to just touch on the delight part of Sabbath and how we enjoy our Sabbath, because Sabbath is not a burden. If Sabbath feels like a heavy weight to you, like something you're trying to fit in and you're feeling guilty because you can't get it in, and when you get to Sabbath, you're bored because you don't really know what to do. again is just, this is not how Sabbath is supposed to be. You're doing something wrong. And ⁓ we been there because when we first started Sabbath-ing, do you remember when we first started Sabbath-ing, it felt more of like a love-hate relationship with it? Yeah, I recall that. I think this is the key to that whole situation. It feels like you're trying to force something. Like you're trying to force your children or you're trying to force yourselves into doing something and that's never comfortable. It's always frustrating. And I think it's getting over this hump of untraining yourself. Like we've trained ourselves to go, go, go. We've trained ourselves that we have to be productive at all times or that we need to be doing something any point. And I think it's when you start the Sabbath, it's hard to delight in the day because just like training, like physical training, right? Like when you go running and you haven't ran in years, it feels terrible and you hate it and you hate that you can't do more than you think you should do. ⁓ But the truth is you have to build into it. You have to train yourself to delight. And I know that sounds really funny, but it's really, really true. so I think one way that we've, ⁓ had to stop and say like, how are we going to find delight on this day? And we love food. ⁓ Kayla, you're like the cook ever. like, I would rather eat at home go out most nights. I love it that much. I think that that has been something that's made it really, special Yeah. ⁓ And actually back to your point, I love you shared that because ⁓ we have to let go of like the expectations we place around the Sabbath or like doing it, trying to do it someone's way really ask ourselves like, what do ⁓ take delight in? And how can I just give myself the freedom to do ⁓ that on the Sabbath? and not feel guilty that I'm not producing. there are some people listening who probably love doing puzzles, for example, but they probably don't do puzzles very often because puzzles, let's face it, like puzzles don't produce anything except a ⁓ beautiful picture the end. And unless you're gonna glue it together and like hang it on your wall like my sweet sister does, and she does these amazing giant puzzles and she puts them up as art pieces. ⁓ You know, most of us take the puzzle apart, put it back in the box and it collects dust for like another year. Yeah. So it's like you have to give yourself permission to take delight and say, you know what? I'm going to release myself from the guilt that comes from not producing. Like we have dessert every single Sabbath. We even have an extra treat. Like ⁓ during the week we sometimes go no days without treats or we just do treat, you know, one dessert or one treat for the family. ⁓ But on Sabbath we're like, let's have cinnamon rolls or donuts in the morning. have coffee and a biscotti in the afternoon. Let's have a glass of wine and dessert ⁓ in the evening. ⁓ But I think because we are so mindful the rest of the week about eating wholesome, whole foods, it makes the Sabbath even sweeter. Yeah. it's actually cool because there's certain things that we just do, like you said, like a glass of wine. We don't usually have wine throughout the week. So it's something to look forward to. Like a sweet treat, like we, it's always something we get to look forward to. And having these things that we look forward to brings that anticipation and it brings delight during that day. Cause it is something that I don't think about or have the rest of the week. Yeah. So maybe as you're listening to this, maybe you start to think to yourself, what is something that you take delight in? Maybe it's some sort of like ⁓ art medium that really Maybe it's. just being outside in the sunshine, maybe it's going on walks or going to go play like pickleball or playing a board game. ⁓ I don't really know what that is for you, but I'm sure there's something that you take delight in that doesn't really produce anything necessarily, but it's just something you enjoy. ⁓ that's the thing that we want you to enjoy more of on the Sabbath. So why don't we... ⁓ some time to to give you the picture Like what does our family do on a typical Sabbath ⁓ and keep it in mind that as we're sharing this we want you to copy us because we are not the same family as you ⁓ and vice versa ⁓ We also are not sharing this because trying to be ⁓ look at us like look at how we Sabbath Seriously, we are learning and figuring this out just like you are. there are many Sabbaths that we feel like don't go quote unquote perfect. But we do it regardless ⁓ those things because we know that deep down it's reviving us. And lastly, ⁓ we're gonna with you right now is not something we do every single Sabbath. Like it's not like we have this ⁓ very ⁓ routine, ⁓ same schedule of things, but I would say the things that we're gonna share are things we have done a lot recently. And over the last few years, we will tweak just like any other rhythm that we have and make our Sabbath what we need for that given week. what does it look like for us to begin our Sabbath? Yeah, we always start for our family works well as Friday night to Saturday. we don't on Sunday because going to church is a lot of work with all these little people in our lives. getting seven kids ready for church in the morning is not an easy thing. It's the exact opposite of rest. ⁓ It is stress. So let me give you a picture of what our Friday night looks like when kick off our Sabbath. We always call it kickoff because that's like when we officially begin our Sabbath. ⁓ And a huge football fan, so she wants us to use. Uh-huh. I kick off. Yeah, just go back to listen to like the last episodes and you'll see just how much of a sports fan I am. on Friday night, our kitchen table is glowing with candlelight. And it's such a beautiful moment because lighting those candles for us really symbolizes God's presence with us just this like official moment that Sabbath has arrived. And ⁓ One of the sweetest moments for me during the kickoff we sing doxology together. ⁓ And then Christian, leads our in communion before we begin dinner. ⁓ And this is such a beautiful where the chaos of the week finally slows down and we remember that rest ⁓ is a gift. And so if have guests with which very often we have guests with us on a Friday night, they will enjoy this kickoff with us, singing the doxology, taking communion with us, and then we pray together before we begin dinner. And then we feast. Oh, do we feast? But we do it with paper plates mostly because we don't want to do the big cleanup at the end. But usually, yeah, Kayla, you usually have made us a wonderful, delicious meal that our family loves. Like we kind of have our go-to family favorites that we just dig into. ⁓ just such a nice slow time. It really marks moment too. I think weeks that can't kick off that way, or we don't for some reason, like maybe like this week we were all really, really sick and it was just kind of like get through dinner because we just felt really bad. It definitely, I noticed a difference in the atmosphere of our home at first, because the kids are even kind of like, are we in the Sabbath? Are we not in the Sabbath yet? a slow lingering where we just have great conversation and ⁓ just enjoy the time together as a family ⁓ we're not rushed, we're not looking to run to the next thing, there's nothing planned after, ⁓ have nowhere to go and so I think everybody just knowing that sits is willing to sit which is really fun for us now. I've really enjoyed some of the table ⁓ activities we've created over the years too, because I do feel like it helps everyone feel like they're a part of the conversation. Like if we're hosting on Sabbath night, it can be easy for adults to kind of, you know, group together and talk and then the kids kind of feel like they're kind of on their own. But I do feel like we do try to take a moment and include the whole table together, like our big long table everyone is getting to share and a few resources. We'll put them in the show notes, but We found these really cool gratitude game cards on basically trigger conversation ⁓ on what we're grateful for. And we've also done like highs and lows for the week ⁓ or we'll go around and share as a group. But I love that because I do feel like including the kids. helps us to linger more over the table versus like the kids, you know, chowing down their food in there and they're like, can we leave? Can we be excused? Yeah. And they know it, it does get later by the time we're done. So it tends to either come close to bedtime or maybe we'll do a family board game or something that night. Yeah. I feel like that's often actually recently we've been doing games at night after dinner and we've been making that kind of our family game night. And that's been a fun way to like, we lay the littles down. You know, cause it's about eight o'clock at night. And then we keep the bigs, the big kids up and we will play a game together. And that's always been a fun way to end, end of the first night. we go to bed and Saturday morning is, is quiet in our house and you know, we always get the fire going. or if it's in the summertime, we go sit on our deck and we just watched the sun coming up over the mountains and the house is. ⁓ usually still asleep. Hopefully some little one comes down the stairs, we just sit with our coffee and read our scripture together. We just sit and get to talk about life. And it's definitely one of our favorite parts of the whole week. it's just slow and you know, there's no alarms going off. So people just wander down to the living room as they are up and ready to go and yeah, you know, they know what to expect and it's a really sweet, enjoyable time. But yeah, generally we wake up later, you know, a weekday, we might get up at four 35 o'clock, but you know, on Sabbath, we might get up at like six, six 30. I don't know. It kind of just depends on how we're feeling, how we're feeling, how much we need. What do we need? That's such a good thing. Sometimes some weeks are not as crazy and I need to get up and just be quiet. for the sake of like a can, ⁓ wise. And some weeks are like, I'm exhausted. I need an extra hour or two of sleep that I don't normally get. And do make the kids stay in their room. Yeah, that is one thing that, it's a boundary I would say that we have on the Sabbath is ⁓ we trained them a very young age since our oldest was really little that on the weekends we don't get out of our beds till 730. because we do want to sleep in and we still want to have a little bit of quiet time. That's really important to us before the kids get up. So that is something that over time our kids have gotten used to, although they do complain sometimes. I, know what I love about those mornings too, that's the Saturday mornings is that I feel like that's when we do a lot of our dreaming together because you and I are so, we feel so light on the Sabbath. I don't think the the heavy responsibilities of life are weighing us down in that moment. And so I feel like you and I let ourselves dream together, whether it's about dreaming about our home or dreaming about our future and the grandkids someday or whatever. Yeah, or our next vacation, our future vacation we want to take together, adventure. Yeah, I love those conversations. I feel like we really try to keep those conversations not about work. ⁓ you and I have pretty good boundary that if one of us starts to talk about work, we gently encourage each other. Like, Hey, can we table this conversation for tomorrow? ⁓ That's true. do. And you be thinking, wow, you keep your kids in their room. So like seven 30 or something. you know, we really do make it special for them. We have a little tradition where we do a special cereal. Yeah, we call it special cereal, but it's like. Lucky charms. we don't do that stuff throughout the rest of the week. Yeah. So they get to have something like a sugary. Yeah. Like a real delight. So when, you know, when the kids do finally come out of the rooms, the first thing they ask ⁓ a special cereal day and we pour the bowl of sugary cereal. We normally don't buy and everyone piles into the living room by the fire. And it's, it's just simple and the kids really love it. It's kind like we talked about like having something to look forward to. It's just a consistency that they look forward to. Yeah, we normally have like, I mean, we really do enjoy treats on the Sabbath because I'm like around 10 or 1030. We normally have like a coffee cake or we'll have some sort of sweet treat that maybe I've already made before the Sabbath or our oldest Azalea, she is, she just turned 12. She loves to bake and she doesn't normally get a lot of baking time during the week because of school. So she takes Saturday mornings as her fun baking time, whereas for me, that would be work, but for her, that's super fun. Yeah. so we really just make it slow. Yeah. And I think it really sets the pace for the rest of the day. And our phones are away. Like, you and I are so focused on each other, on the kids. It just is really... ⁓ you can tell everyone is just very present. Ooh, That's so true. Everyone's present. not... reading the news, we're not into some update, we're not responding to all the messages in our phone, we're getting lost on social media. Yeah. We are just together. We're present. And this is actually one, we should, we should share this. This is one way that you and I get our time together as a couple is that ⁓ we'll turn a movie on for the kids, usually a movie that they've been really excited to watch. Cause we don't really do movies throughout the week. And so ⁓ they will put on a movie and you and I will use that time because almost all the kids are watching the movie. You and I will use that time to sit out on the deck a little bit longer or to sit by the fire a little bit longer. And that's when we have that catch up conversation. Yeah. So I mean, some, people listening might be like totally no screens and we really respect that. That's kudos to you seriously. Um, if you're a no screen family, but This is one way where you can be intentional or strategic with your screen time on Sabbath, because we are definitely not like we're doing screens all day. Like we have definite limits on how much screen time we want the kids to have on the Sabbath, ⁓ because want them to be playing outside. We want them to be enjoying books and games and things. ⁓ So use the screen time as intentional time for ⁓ you I to have time Yeah. After that time is when we usually turn the screens off and we do something late morning together. So we'll play games or, you know, if it's nice how we go to the park or we do the river walk, we go jump in the hot spring because we get to do that here in Colorado. and the kids absolutely love playing in the river and going to the hot springs. Go hiking. Yeah. We love to be outside You and I both feel so refreshed and rejuvenated when we can be out in nature on the Sabbath. Yeah. Whether it's like skiing ⁓ or we're going hiking, going to see a waterfall, ⁓ Yeah, and ⁓ that's a great time for us to do before lunch and you know, then we can come home and have something very simple, but usually ⁓ some kind of leftover, whether it's soup or you know, made earlier in the week, maybe a fresh bread or something, something very comforting with something very easy. Yeah. And when you say fresh bread, let's just be clear. I'm not like actually prepping the bread on Sabbath. I have usually prepped a giant batch of dough in the week. ⁓ have really enjoyed this for them recently, where I make the dough earlier in the week, we have dough ready to go in the oven, and I simply let it proof on the counter, toss it in the oven, ⁓ and then leftover soup. That has been such a lunch on the Sabbath. Yeah, it's been perfect. ⁓ And it really lets us clean up quickly and move into the afternoon. We have established some quiet time in our home. We've had lot of little kids, so it's really their nap time too, so we need to keep it quiet for them. But we get those little kids down and let them nap and ⁓ kind of just goes quiet in the home. And ⁓ older kids, ⁓ encourage them to read or ⁓ them build Legos and You know, we each kind of do our own thing during that time. And it's kind of going back to that moment of like a lone time. this is a moment I would say where we consistently have like that alone kind of rejuvenating moment. ⁓ are some things you like to do during our afternoon quiet time? Yeah, I mean, I'm a watercolor artist. And so ⁓ lot of times I'm painting for work. And so I will take time on a ⁓ afternoon to just paint for myself. to paint just for fun, not to produce anything, but just to mess around. But I also have really enjoyed just either taking a nap or pulling out a good book and reading, sitting outside in the sun. Like yesterday, we just pulled chairs out in the sun and just sat up and soaked up some vitamin D and that was really nice. I know you really like to go to the gym as your time, but are there other things that you have recently enjoyed? Yeah, I usually enjoy reading. It's hard to find time to read throughout the week. So it's definitely a good time to catch up on that. so I would say, yeah, or getting outside, going for run or going for like some kind of brisk walk or something to just kind of have a moment of like contemplation and quiet and physically move is something that I really appreciate. Probably because I sit so much throughout the week. Yeah. feel like that's a good point because there are some people that work with their hands and they're working with their bodies all week long, like whether they're in construction or some sort of physical job. So they might need like a more of like a physical rest and they want to do something more mentally engaging on the Sabbath. ⁓ like you, ⁓ so mentally engaged during the week, but you're not really physically engaged. You actually really like to be active on Sabbath. Yeah, it's, ⁓ it me rejuvenation and. freshness to my mind, I guess, by the end of the day for sure. And then in the evening, we will come together again as a family after we've all had some good alone time. And this is when we might go take a family walk as the sun is going down. ⁓ pull out a board game. Sometimes we'll play some cards or ⁓ a board game. And then we usually will have pizza that second night because it's so easy. ⁓ don't have to prep anything and maybe watch like a family movie or a family show. And actually recently, not every Saturday, but a lot of Saturdays, we've been doing our date night on Saturday nights. And our Sabbath goes from like, you know, dinnertime Friday to dinnertime Saturday. So that's a great time for us to feed the kids something easy. And then you and I will just throw a steak on the black stone or we'll throw wings in the oven. ⁓ and we'll put the kids to bed early, like 730 early, and just enjoy a date night in, which has been really nice. We'll even light some candles sometimes and sit at the table and just talk, or we'll watch a show and eat wings, which I know we are both fans of. But it's just a fun way to kind of end the Sabbath and get our date night in and just kind of. slowly ease back into the work the next day. Yeah. Yeah, And that might sound all really nice, but you might be thinking, how in the world? There's no way I could possibly do that. Like, how do you take a whole day off? Yeah. And I think it's important to remember that, like, when you to practice the Sabbath, you actually work the rest of the week around the Sabbath. Very strategically. And you think, ⁓ all week long, like you're doing things to free up that upcoming day of rest. so like, what is our prep? Well, Friday, you know, we do prep ⁓ of time. We said we start at dinner time, but throughout the day we're, know, Kayla is food prepping. Yeah. Her the kids have a rhythm around like certain cleaning that gets done around the house so that we don't feel like the house is a disaster. Going into Sabbath, that is too stressful for me. Like when we enter into Sabbath with a house of disaster, I'm like, how can I even rest? Like I feel like I need to clean this house. Yeah. And so we'll definitely take a future episode to talk about preparing for the Sabbath. But it really is truly like something very intentional that we do. you know, we also ask ourselves important like what do you want this Sabbath to look like? Cause like Kayla said, it feels like every Saturday we need something a little different. Depending on how that week went. know, some weeks I think we need more like chill time on the couch and not doing anything. And some weeks were like, we just sat around, you know, we were stuck inside all week. We want to get outside and go hiking and big adventure. Or like you and I are craving time together. So we'll focus more on like our marriage time or like. We are craving more time with the family, so we'll make more family time. That's such a good thought. Yes. And so we really do take time to ponder what is the day going to look like ahead of time? this is our first episode that we're talking really like full detail about the Sabbath. And my hope and prayer is that this is not overwhelming to you. I my biggest hope for this episode is really just to encourage you. to start dreaming about the Sabbath. If you are not currently Sabbath-ing, hope that this just wets your palate, like gets you excited about what the possibility is, ⁓ Sabbath does take a lot of intentionality. Sabbath is hard until it's not it takes planning, it takes sacrifice, ⁓ takes a decision, it takes unity to come together and to make Sabbath happen, it takes There's a lot that Sabbath requires, but once you get to the point, like six months, 12 months, year and a half into practicing the Sabbath, you're gonna look back and be like, how did we ever not Sabbath? Like how was there ever a season in our life when we chose not to Sabbath? episode, the of it wasn't to give you a million ideas and for you to be like, ⁓ go do that next week. Like our purpose in this to just hopefully excite you ⁓ about what your future with Sabbath. could look like and to hopefully you the encouragement that it's possible no matter what your circumstances are, whether you have no kids, two ⁓ 15 ⁓ whether retired, whether you work businesses, whether you work a job that has a very irregular schedule, ⁓ you know, no matter what your looks like, we hope and pray that The Lord reveals to you, and we know he will, but that you would seek, how can you make the Sabbath work for you? Yeah, and it's really important because Sabbath isn't something you add to your life. It's the rhythm that makes the rest of your life sustainable. ⁓ would say that's so true. I'm constantly asked, like, how do you do it all? Or how do you guys survive? your crazy life and it's like, I don't think we could ever fully explain, but the answer is simply that the Sabbath is what has made our life sustainable. Totally. And enjoyable and full of joy. Yes, I love how you said that. Yeah, I just think most families aren't too busy for the Sabbath. They're just too tired because they never stop working. And I think that's the thing we have to realize as the modern day Christian is that we have all these things fighting against our Sabbath. So many ways the enemy wants to keep us from resting. He wants to keep us busy because if we're busy, won't slow down enough to see the goodness that God has waiting for us in the Sabbath. And so I think that... Like you said, it's not about something adding to your life. I love how you said that it really is becomes that rhythm that will sustain your life. Yeah, I really like what John Mark Comer says, because there's a true irony to what you just said about slowing down that people won't do it. ⁓ Because he says if you don't learn how to rest well, you'll never learn how to work well. Wow. ⁓ I've definitely come to find that to be true. Yeah. that resting well makes my work more meaningful. and know, we can only do so much. So when we really come to grips with that, we really start to focus on what's most important. So we spend the other six days doing the things that truly are the most important. Yeah. So thank you all for being here this week. We just really want to encourage you that Sabbath is a gift. And once you experience the Sabbath, like this, you realize you never want to go back to living without it. Yeah, so just give it a try. Even if it's this next week, you and your family say, you know what, we're going to set aside three hours to Sabbath and we're going to do that on Friday evening or we're going to do that on Sunday afternoon or whenever it works for your family. Don't get caught up in the whole what day should we do it or, you know, how long should we do it? this is your action item today. ⁓ a time block, two hours, six hours, or 24 hours, and give Sabbath a try. It's not gonna be perfect, it's not gonna go exactly the way you're hoping, but give it a try. And then, I want you to reach out to us, ⁓ us on social media, or a comment in Spotify. Tell us how it went because we would love to hear from you. And if you are like, what am I gonna do on Sabbath? Don't we do have that 101 ideas for you to do on your rest day. You can download that for free at the link in the episode description. So get your hands on that guide. It gives you over a hundred ideas ⁓ on ⁓ things you can do to enjoy God on Sabbath, to enjoy your family. and to really just experience the fullness of what Sabbath has for you. Yes, thank you for being here. Kayla, can you close us out with that awesome quote you shared with me earlier this week the Sabbath? Yes, this quote is from ⁓ Rich Veadas, and love this quote so much. He says, Sabbath is one of the clearest signs of the gospel of grace. You intentionally accomplish nothing, and God still loves you. Such good news. ⁓ That is such good news. Thank you for being here this week and joining us on the Rooted family podcast. We'll see you next time. Bye now.