Reflecting on a Beautiful Shabbat....

Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu,
melekh ha'olam

asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu

l'had'lik neir shel Shabbat.
Amein

Shabbat is Hebrew for Sabbath...the Lord's day. While I'm not Jewish, I was raised to observe the 7th day Sabbath, as we are instructed to "Remember" His Shabbat in the 4th of the 10 commandments given to Moses by God on Mt Sinai. For the past several years I have loved Shabbat...looked forward to the refuge and refreshing at the end of every hard week. But I had never really harnessed the blessing that comes with the day...never fully appreciated what a blessed day it actually is! Always loved it as a day of rest, but never honored it as truly the Lord's day!

So this last Friday I decided to change that..........God has really been taking me on a journey recently, and He's brought about a lot of healing in my heart...and as a result I've felt so much closer to Him...as if I am truly living in His embrace............And I wanted to spend Shabbat with Him...to honor Him...to thank Him...to uplift and glorify Him. Because of what He has done!!!

I did a wee bit of research into Jewish Shabbat traditions, and found amazing prayers, blessings and rituals that turn Sabbath into a holy celebration day! A day celebrating the Maker. After doing some reading, I feel Christians lost a lot of richness and depth in the relationship with God.......when they completely seperated themselves from the orthodox church after the Jews refused to awknowledge Jesus as Christ. In our following of Christ -- the Man (which by NO means am I belittling...it is by Christ alone I can come before the Father) -- we lost our deep awe, reverence and respect for El Shaddai -- God Almighty...Divine Diety. We should embrace both, I think, and that doesn't happen often enough....

Aaanywho, I really loved what I found, and started to get excited about rekindling the adoration for my heavenly Abba. All throughout Friday...the busy-ness of my work schedule...I had this building anticipation...it felt like I was going to have a "date" with the Creator at sundown Friday. ;)

In Jewish families, two Shabbat candles are lit no later than 18 minutes before sunset (traditionally candles may not be lit during Shabbat hours). The two candles signify the dual commandments to "remember" and "observe" the Sabbath. Traditionally, it is the woman's role to light the candles. After she lights them, she waves her hands over them, covers her eyes and recites the blessing.... After the blessing, they have their evening meal.


So Friday night, I set the table pretty for my evening tea, turned on some calming classical music to soothe away the week's cares...and set out two candles. 20 minutes before sunset, I started praying....praying to conclude my week, to welcome in Shabbat, to welcome the Holy Spirit to spend the Sabbath hours in my home and in my heart. As I prayed I truly felt my burdens rolling off my shoulders....

Then I lit the Shabbat candles and prayed the blessing...

Blessed are You, Lord our God,

Sovereign of the universe

Who has sanctified us with His
commandments and commanded us

to light the lights of Shabbat.
Amen

During the first moments of a beautiful Sabbath, God is blessed and praised!

I truly enjoyed the peacefulness of communing with my Abba at the start of the Sabbath hours, and the happiness of welcoming Him stayed with me throughout the next day......

If you have special 'Lord's Day' traditions in your family, I would LOVE to hear about them! :)

~Jodi