A lot of my childhood memories were made at the little Southern Baptist church that my family attended every Sunday - except my dad. My aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great aunts, etc. all attended this church with us. My mom would take my two sisters and me 45 minutes from our home in Chattanooga to Dalton so that we could have this time with my mom's side of the family.
The kids had a separate church service that was more "kid-friendly" and that was my favorite part of church every week. My aunt usually led out in the childrens' church. We would sing songs, have a snack and watch VeggieTales. Our church would also hold huge yard sales, easter egg hunts, fall picnics, and many other fun events throughout the year. Our whole congregation was a really close-knit family.
One of the things I remember besides easter egg hunts and VeggieTales is a plaque that hung beside the sink in the restroom. Every Sunday I would see it and wonder what it was supposed to mean. Was this a historical piece of art or something? I knew what the words meant because we saw them in a VeggieTales about Moses. They all pretty much made sense, except the 4th one.
This plaque had the Ten Commandments on it, and the 4th commandment was talking about the Sabbath. Exodus 20 said to "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 6 days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the 7th day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God..." What in the world was this talking about? Obviously my church believed in it because it was hung on the wall! But I had never heard of this "Sabbath" thing. Sounded a little strange, but I let it go. My family and church leaders must know something I don't.
I mentioned that my dad didn't go to church with us. All I knew was that he didn't really agree with everything our church believed, and going to church without him was normal. Little did I know that my questions about Sabbath would be resolved in just a few short years. My mom found a book called Defending God which basically laid out all of the generic Christian beliefs that are not supported by the Bible, and proved them wrong with the Bible. She thought that this was very weird and sort of amusing so she took it home to my dad. This book answered a lot of my dad's questions and supported the arguments that he had against our church, and we began looking for the group/church/organization that put out this book, and started going to a new church that was based on the Bible. Even though it was really hard for us to leave the church that we grew up in, and in doing so hurt our relationships with our family, my question about Sabbath was answered.
So what does that have to do with now? Now I have to privilege of spending Sabbath with God every week, and that day of rest means so much more because I know what it was like without it. Yesterday was the most enjoyable Sabbath I have had in a while. We had a powerful sermon about "The Power of Choice" by a very jet-lagged Mr. Lemon. That man is absolutely profound I tell ya! "We are free to make choices, but we are not free to choose the outcome of our choice." BAM! Got right to the point right? Love it...
The Cleveland family had me over to their house for lunch. We ate a delicious vegan meal of lasagna, caesar salad, spanakopita, garlic bread and soy ice cream for dessert! YUM! Then I hung out with Ethan and James all afternoon (the Cleveland's sons), went on a walk with their family, came back and had a great Sabbath-closing worship talk on Daniel, and then attempted to play Dutch Blitz, getting creamed by the Cleveland's 6 year old daughter Lynnelle every time. We had a blast and I ended up eating supper with them before heading to Fountainview's game night.
All in all, I am really thankful for Sabbath. Now a new week is starting and I only have 167 days until grad! :)
"16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." - 1 John 3:16-18
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