Sunday - A Day of Rest

Exodus 34:21 “Six days you shall labor, 

but on the seventh day you shall rest; 

even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest..

New International Version

Continuing my week of posting...

Today I got up early (as in, before 7.00am) to get to Church early, as I wasn't sure if our minister, Pastor John, would be firing on all guns. I left Harry sleeping. John has been suffering from bronchitis and lost his voice. I arrived just on 7.45am and entered to what I thought was an empty church all set up ready for our 8.00am service with some music playing.

Thinking I was on my own, I found the matches and lit the candles on the alter and then discovered John quietly sitting in the main church.

Checking the Service booklets I found I had forgotten to insert the service sheets for Lent. Being away last week on a course, I just didn't remember to ask Frances, who beautifully fills in for me, to check the booklets either. So with the help of a couple of others, who had now arrived, we were able to change enough booklets to cover this mornings congregation.

John managed to get through the service, so I only had to help with the serving of communion which I normally do.

Once the service was finished I changed the rest of the booklets and set up our Kid's Friendly Church Greeting table for our 10.00am Service

A lovely friend invited me for coffee at The Honey Shop so, as I hadn't had a morning cuppa I happily accepted. By the time we got back church was filling with people and I tended to welcome the children.

Each child has a name tag (to help adults learn their names) and their name on a chart that they add a sticker to, each time they come to church. When they have ten stickers they then have a certificate presented to them during the service and they get to choose a gift/prize from a box of goodies. We have been doing this welcoming table for  18 months now and some children have received the certificate for coming 70 times. Each time a new child comes and is likely to come again I will add them to the charts and make up a name tag. It doesn't matter how infrequently they may come we just want to make them feel very welcome to our church and service. The children go out to JAM (Jesus And Me), our Sunday School, after the first part of our service.



Arriving home I found Harry had hung the load of washing I didn't hang out yesterday so that was nice and we had a cuppa together.

Because I feel that I want to be obedient to God's word I always try to have a rest on Sundays. I also use it as my day of just preparing for the coming week.


So armed with my planner, coloured pencils and pens and letters I wanted to reply to, I headed for the comfort of our bed to quietly draw up the next week in my planner and write to a penfriend in England and a couple of family members.

I have always just loved receiving hand written mail and know that if I want to receive, I should give in return.

I even dozed a little - a day of rest - something that usually happens on a Sunday afternoon.
Its just something I allow myself to do in preparation for the week ahead and to recoup if I've had a busy week in the past.

However as sometimes happens, when I got up and joined Harry back in the lounge to watch the end of the news and weather, (got to keep up-to-date with the coming cyclone!) I had an episode of shaky hands. I decided to wander outside to get everything moving, smelt some roses
(loved this one)
and folded the washing as I took it off the line and brought it all in.
Still not feeling any better we decided I wouldn't cook tea and so Harry did - well we got some fish and Chips - something we haven't done for awhile. We are a bit stick in the mud people and so when we do get take-aways its always

2 fish

2 potato friiters

and a scoop of chips

And they still don't seem to know how to count and we get 4 potato fritters.

Its funny when we order fish and chips I have this anticipation of the taste and smell but nearly every time after about 6 chips and half a fish I am over it!

Anyone else have that feeling?

And then the sunset was brighter tonight; in oranges and almost a red. 

Everything around us seemed to glow in the warmth of it
touches of colour on houses and trees

as if grabbing the last of the warmth of the day...

but quickly it faded 

and night came in - and the earth rested.....