A Special Day

[First and foremost, thanks, everyone, for your cookie suggestions! I think it might have something to do with the butter/margarine issue, and the fact that I softened it in the microwave (I had forgotten that was a no-no). I might try to bake some more next weekend for my parents when they get home from vacation. Hopefully they'll turn out better!]

I love Sundays. I really think that they should be a special day. God has set it aside as our designated day of rest. He also tells us to "remember the sabbath and keep it holy." I've gotta tell ya, I have had a HARD time really knowing what that means, especially in today's nonstop world. I've thought about it a lot, and I really think it means to just stop everything, worship God, spend time with the loved ones He's blessed us with, and SLOW DOWN to enjoy his creation for one day. We all need a day to rest, regroup, and stay in touch with our Father (we should do this everyday, but there's just something more sacred about Sundays, I guess).

Today was a perfect Sunday for me. I feel totally renewed, refreshed, and connected to the Lord. First thing this morning I went to church. The sermon and worship were amazing. It just really touched me today, and made me realize that even though the stress of life has gotten to me lately, God is in control and everything's going to be all right.

After church I did my little devotional and Bible reading before spending the afternoon with my sister. We went to see "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" at the local theater ($2.25 for a matinee there!) It was an okay movie...I love a good chick flick! After the movie, my sister and I went to Grinders for a late lunch/early dinner. I got the loaded vegetable pizza, and it was AMAZING.
Peppers, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, cheese, pesto sauce....Heaven. I am excited that I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, too!

At dinner, Julie and I got into a pretty deep discussion about both of our futures. It was just fun to laugh and dream with her. And she is really the first person I've spoken seriously to about the fact that I might be turning away from the education profession. She understands me more than anyone else. Luke's a close second, but we've only been together for (almost) 5 years, married for (almost) 1 of those. That can't quite make up for a childhood/adolescence/early adulthood shared with a sister whose sentences I can complete and whose mind I can sometimes read. She totally understands, and told me that she would support me no matter what. It was a special time, and I'm glad I got to share it with her.

After that, I came home to REST. Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, right? I laid down on the couch while Luke was out playing softball with some friends. I meant to take a nap, but somehow got distracted by the internet :-P I spent a long time looking at homemaking websites and blogs. My passion for this area is growing daily, and I'm wondering where God is leading me with this! It's kind of exciting :-)

I really wanted to get up and just start doing things around the house: cleaning, organizing, decorating, etc. But I decided that Sunday is a gift God gives us to PREPARE for the week ahead. Not to work, so much. So I set up my home organizer for this week. Then a bunch of random things that need to be done just popped into my head AFTER I had already planned my weekly housework. So I decided I needed to a sort of to-do list notebook. Somewhere that I could write down random things on top of what I already have planned, and then schedule them into my weekly chore list later.
I know, I'm a crazy list-maker! But I can't help it. I have finally learned that this seems to be the only way I can get things done. So now I have 3 places to write things down: in my home organizing binder where I keep my final copies, my grocery list goes in another mini tablet, and my running to-do list goes on this cute, pink tablet above. 3 isn't too complicated, right?? I'll have to stop while I'm ahead :-P

Now I'm going to see if my husband will spend the rest of the evening with me. Maybe we can go for a walk, watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition together, or even just take a nap! I just haven't seen him much today, and want to spend some time with him.

Praise God that he gave us an extra day to spend with Him, our loved ones, and resting up and preparing for the week ahead.

May this be a blessed week for you :-)