I know there is some theological discord on which day is actually the Sabbath, but one thing we know for sure is that on the 7th Day God rested. (http://bible.us/gen2.2-3.kjv) I admit I didn’t often think much of the day of rest or what it could mean for myself and my family. When you are involved in business whether it be working from home or working outside of the home a day of rest is important – for yourself AND your family. I always “said” that Sunday is family day – more clearly a day I devote my time to God and family. Only attending church in the morning isn’t what I had in mind, but I often found myself still posting business related work on Facebook, or responding to business related e-mails, getting on conference calls, etc. I wasn’t giving that day to our family as soon as late afternoon hit!
Naturally, it started causing some tension in our home. Especially with homeschooling I may have weeks where I feel like I don’t get enough done – business, home, ANYTHING! It’s very tempting to tie up those “loose ends” on the day I’ve committed to “rest.” So I did! It was like saying “I commit this day to God and family until around 3pm.” It wasn’t fair to my family OR myself! I didn’t realize I need a break, too! I get so busy I never had downtime! That meant no extra time to just PLAY with the kids – not working on schoolwork or projects related to school, not just dinner, etc. I mean REALLY play with them! I missed that!
It also took away time from my husband! I’m so busy and so burnt out by the time he gets home from work that we rarely get QUALITY time. I love that my husband loves me enough to be honest with me, and that he loves me so much he wants that time with me! It got to a point where he had to gently remind me that our “family day” was turning into our “family morning” or “family movie in the evening” – whatever I could fit in. Even then sometimes I wasn’t completely “there.” I’d be doing business related things from my phone! I know some of you are laughing because you totally get it! haha
Seriously, though, I had to be firm with myself and say enough is enough. That is NOT a commitment if it’s only halfway addressed. So, you will notice I won’t post business related updates on Sunday (maybe some personal, though, just to express how much I’m enjoying time with my family!), blog posts or other website updates. I won’t be on any business calls, sending business e-mails, etc. Does the thought still stress me out a little? Yeah, I’m a worrier like that! I feel like if I get a message or e-mail I have to respond NOW! Again, my more laid back husband reminds me it’s a messaging system, and it will still be there tomorrow. Obviously if there is a call or text message that is TRULY of the urgent nature I will respond, but if it’s something that can wait – it will wait. God and family are, and should be, my number one priority because without them I won’t be successful, so why would I put that on the back-burner? Well, I’m not sure why, but I know I will not be continuing on that path. Instead, I will truly be keeping my commitment.

So doesn’t that make Monday harder? Sure, maybe a little. Obviously a lot of people are more “available” on the weekends, so I do get a lot of business related messages on Sundays. I guess it’s another advantage of homeschooling because we can take Monday off! My kids need a lot of one-on-one work during school, so I can’t just sit them down with an involved project or lesson and just expect that I can respond to all the e-mails, Facebook messages, etc. and not get interrupted. I guess you have to know my personality well to know that when I’m working on something specific – like responding to messages – I HAVE to get it done all at once and get really out of sorts over interruptions. Obviously taking a day off homeschool doesn’t completely free me from interruptions because, seriously, I have 3 young kids, but it does change our day around a lot and sets it up with less expectations. I can set the kids up with some fun project they can do together or give them a challenge to work on or just let them play. Their imaginative play with each other can go on for hours! It’s wonderful! They are such a blast!
Admittedly, I don’t even like Mondays as it is, so it gives me another good excuse to have a more “go with the flow” kind of day. So overall, I would say that I’m beginning to like this new schedule! I’m enjoying the REAL QUALITY time with my family, the REAL QUALITY time in quiet prayer with my Savior, and the extra rest and load off my shoulders for one full day! So, go ahead! I encourage you to take a full day of rest – no matter which day you choose! You will be surprised how refreshed you feel and how much more you can get done when you don’t feel so “burnt out!”
Have a blessed week!