Simplify Sundays

Sundays can be complicated.  This day of rest, pumped in to overdrive.  I used to dread Sundays.  And I'm a Pastor's wife.

Sundays looked and felt like a marathon at one time in our lives.  Getting boys up.  Getting them dressed and redressed.  Final touches on Sunday School and Children's church projects.  Loading the kids, projects and God help me if it was potluck Sunday.  

I was exhausted, splattered or puked on, before ever getting to the door of the church building.  Admonishments and threats.  

Expectations cranked into overdrive.  Sunday School, Children's church and take someone out to lunch with tired and grumpy boys, attempt a nap and back to church for Sunday night worship.  Then back home to plan for a week of work, school and full schedules.
  
One Sunday morning, after losing it entirely three times in a row, I began to question all of the expectations we put on ourselves and our church family.  

The expectations I had put on myself and my family alone were sinful.  Now what was I doing to those in my flock as I held tightly to the outcomes and expectations I worshiped.

My kids hated it.  Our marriage was always fragile on Sunday nights as if we had just survived a trauma.  Then we had to go work on Monday morning.  Things had to change.  When we were going to college, we did not plan on being bivocational pastors and fell in to doing things the way they had always been done.  Work seven days a week.  "It's better to burn out!"  Giving it all to God.  

All that not even He had asked for.  Even worse, our boys were growing up hearing about the Sabbath and a day of rest...and never having one.  Did God really mean what He said?

So slowly but surely, we began to make some changes and began a slow process to restoring some rest to Sunday.  We began to deliberately plan our weekends.  

We let go of the outcome and stopped being so controlling.  Here are a few steps we took:

Letting go of expectations and outcomes.  Cutting strings.  Letting people off the hook...including our own family.

The TV, news and technology were off on Sunday mornings.  Created quiet niches of time.

 We didn't do late nights on Saturday.  In fact, whenever possible, we save Saturday for each other.  We read and write and have times of quiet reflection whenever possible. Some reading and study and rest.


Friday night was family night and we worked hard to make it fun.  Even if it was a walk at the nature park or a movie.


Our finances and our minds couldn't take Sunday after church meals.  Taking people out for ice cream later worked much better.


Sunday afternoon nap and rest.  I napped.  David and the boys fell asleep watching football.

Cancelling Sunday night services and instituting more fellowship times with our church family.  We simplified Sunday School and Children's Church.

My husband changed services to one hour and promised to end on time.

I let go of any fantasies of being a good cook and bought items for potluck and actually enjoy these times again.

Had fun!  Made Sundays more fun with spontaneous trips to the lake for a bon fire.