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Celebrate Jesus

“Abby, what do you think it means to ‘remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.’?”  I asked as we were walking and talking.   I saw that someone had written The Ten Commandments in sidewalk chalk.   When I asked the question, I was not prepared for the simple answer that she gave.   Without a moment of hesitation, she said, “To celebrate Jesus and make his day special.”   Whoa!!  Her answer was so simple, yet so profound that it made my heart leap.  In those words, she beautifully captured God’s desire.  God wants us to celebrate the day of rest, Sunday.   Often, Sunday becomes like any other day.   I fear that, for most of us, there is nothing that distinguishes Sunday from any other day of the week.  We do nothing different than we do Monday through Saturday.  Do we celebrate Sunday?  Or is it just a day to catch up on chores, and other things.  Do we make it a day for celebrating God?  Or celebrating ourselves and doing what we want.  I confess that often I am guilty of getting into a rut.  I sometimes make going to church a thing I can check off for the week.  God wants a celebration and love.    Her words made me reflect and reevaluate how I spend Sundays.  I want to be excited for Sunday.  I want to make it a time of reflection on Jesus in whatever I’m doing.    Whether I’m compelled to work, or at church, or napping or something else, I want to be celebrating Jesus.  It's extremely hard in our culture to celebrate Jesus; there is a myriad of things to do and places to go.  We live in a culture that thrives on busyness. The results are that there are many things vying for our attentions. It seems that just getting to church is a struggle for most of us, and even when we are there we get distracted by other things.  God’s desire is that we celebrate Jesus and make Sunday incredible. 
So on Sunday, I will:
    Wear my best clothes (because God is important to me, I will dress for HIM)
    Make sure I’m rested (I don’t want to be tired when I meet with God)
    Focus on God (Whatever other things threaten to crowd in, will have to leave.  I’m spending time with God)
    Spend extra time with God
    Make a special “Sunday” tradition.  Growing up, it was a special dinner.  When my daughter was home, it was playing guitar.  I still miss it.

I know that many of these can be done any day of the week, but they can also be done intentionally on Sunday.  Whatever you decide to do, make it a point to celebrate Jesus.  



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