Around December, we began a Sabbath ritual of feasting on Saturday night; in preparation for the Sabbath. We used to have Sabbath Feasts on Sunday's after church, but present situation has made it to difficult to do so (a later service, an earlier evening service if we attend...yada yada yada) and it was sad not having it.
Rather than completely abandon the notion, I switched it to Saturday night. It has worked well this way for us, though admittedly, there have been occasions where it didn't end up happening.
Candles lit, music playing, cloth napkins, and usually something elegant for dinner. ALWAYS dessert on this day.
It has really helped to bring our focus back to God, prepare our hearts for worship, and to draw us together as a family.
This past Saturday snuck up on me and I was caught unaware. I hurriedly came up with a less-than-elegant meal (Stir-fry and rice) and pulled a pecan pie from the freezer while Corynn set the table.
I told her she could pick whatever napkins she liked best and she could fold them however she pleased. I did so, expecting the usual choices: fold them in squares and put them on the plates, fold them in rectangles and put them under the forks, or unfold them entirely and put them under the plates. But she wanted to make them into 'tubes', as she called them. I have some papers I printed off (when we were first married) of napkin folds so I brought the appropriate paper down and let her look at them.
After demonstrating once, slowly, and then unfolding it and handing it to her, Corynn folded all of our napkins with a Candle Fold. She did so well, they even stood up well!
All by herself. No help from me at all.
I was very proud of her and just had to commemorate the occasion with a snapshot, which I post here, no matter the quality-because the MEMORY more than makes up for it all.
Despite my humble offerings of rice and glazed veggies, we dined like Kings that night. Happily and Heartily, as unto the Lord.
7 comments:
What a wonderful idea! She's just growing up so fast, isn't she?
I love this post! Corynn is learning skills that she'll use for a lifetime. And I love the idea of a Sabbath Feast. Even if it is on Saturday!
She can do my napkins when she comes. Mine never stand up. I lazily put them under the fork. I can't wait to see you all.
She's going to be just like you, Rebecca; very creative! I love the napkin folding :-). May I ask what you do for your sabbath meal? I read about this through the Above Rubies magazine and always thought it would be a neat thing to do.
Terri
I remember a book by Karen Mains called Making Sunday Special. If I remember, she also decided upon Saturday evening for a special meal.
I need to begin something like this.
Terri~ Basically, we set our Sabbath meal apart from other meals because we use the best of the best.
We use nice linens, cloth napkins, candles, goblets for drink. We play music in the background and enjoy one anothers' company. We often have weekend houseguests that feast with us. A Sabbath feast is a great time to show hospitality.
For food: honestly, it varies. The standard rule is-set it apart somehow. I opt to try new fancier dishes, dishes that might take a bit longer to prepare that you wouldn't normally have time to prepare during the week, or just something a bit more elegant than a casserole (with the exception of the stir-fry and rice night!)
I ALWAYS serve dessert, and often have homemade bread. I often make a few extra side dishes for a good variety.
We pray before and after, and read scripture together as a family around the table.
A Sabbath feast can be as little or as much as you want it to be, so long as you set it apart in some way. Food doesn't have to be complicated to make, you don't HAVE to fold cloth napkins. The object is feast and fellowship, and preparing your hearts to be ready to worship.
Thanks for your question; I hope this clarifies things a bit.
Yes, thank you. Dh & I have regular, daily devotions with the dc but that happens during the morning. It would be nice to have one meal a week that is something special. Thank you for clarifying.
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