(Chapter 22) Personal Reflections of Sabbath at Home   The object of the Sabbath is to have as much unabridged time to spend with our loving Creator as possible. The Sabbath is to be a blessing, something that we can look forward to all week long. To help our family be mentally prepared for the Sabbath, we have some family traditions.   For example, on Thursday we clean the house. Friday we prepare the food and put away things which may disrupt our communion with God. We also have a special evening meal. Then, just before the Sabbath begins, we light a candle, shut off the lights and gather as a family to share the past week's blessings. We also often have a special reading or story.   On Sabbath morning we again have a special, but light, meal. During the week we have family devotions, but on Sabbath mornings they are a little different. We share the verses that we have been memorizing through the week and follow with a prayer. Usually we spend a good share of the day with fellow Christians, often sharing a dinner together. We also often go to a nursing home and sing favorite hymns with the residents.   At home we take walks in the woods and spend extra time in Bible study and prayer. When I was younger we would play "Sabbath school" with our dolls, or tell Bible or mission stories with felts that were kept special for Sabbath. There were also special puzzles, books, toys and games that we played with only on Sabbath.   One game that we played a lot on Sabbath was to collect things in nature and create a Bible story, parable or scene. When everyone was ready we would go around and visit each others' scene and try to guess what Bible story was being displayed. For example, one might choose a small plant resembling a bush, put some colored leaves on it, and then have a stone with a stick in front of it and some very small stones off to the side. Did you guess the story? Easy, wasn't it? Of course, it was Moses at the burning bush! It can be a lot of fun, and the more times you play or the more people you have, the more creative and inspiring it can be.   While these family traditions are not necessary to keep the Sabbath holy, they can help to prepare us mentally to be ready for the special blessing God wants to give us. They also make the Sabbath fun for the younger members of the family, who might otherwise get bored and come to dread the Sabbath.

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