Honoring a Day of Rest – Practical Tips from a Stay at Home Mom

In our busy world, and endless to do lists, we have forsaken a day of rest. We know that when God created the heavens and universe, He also created a day of rest.

² And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Gen 2:2-3

But what does that even look like in our modern culture? And how can we rest in our own lives without becoming legalistic about it and making it about us and our works?

These are questions I wrestle with often. As one who has overcommitted in the past on more that a few occasions, I have learned more and more in my life to give permission to myself to rest. I have learned and grown a lot with balancing work and rest in my life.

Although I am far from “arriving” at a perfect balance, and never will in this lifetime, I wanted to share some of the practical ways I have learned to rest in my routine and ways to take break from work. As a homeschool and stay-at-home mom, my work is homemaking and the daily routine that goes with it.

Examples of Rest in the Bible

God knew we needed rest and was an example of this to us when He rested on the 7th day. Jesus also gave numerous examples of resting. One such, was after Jesus fed the 5,000 fish and loaves, he and his disciples retreated into quiet and rest.

And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³² And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 

Mark 6:31-32

Jesus also made it clear, not to become legalistic about the Sabbath day. God created the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath. He knows we need rest weekly so we can be refreshed and filled up with more of Him, being able to live out our faith and pour out His love to others.

And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27

Jesus didn’t live a legalistic view that pharisees had of sabbath. They made it a burden. Another thing they could try to accomplish and do in their works.

Jesus knew that abiding in His Father and His Father abiding in Him was essential and priority over all things. He didn’t feel guilty when he left the needy crowds to go off and rest and pray with his Father.

Why We Need Rest

Resting also helps us stay dependant on God. When we try to do it all on our own, we realize we can’t and get burnt out. Resting reminds us that we are mortal, and need the Lord to strengthen us every day, every week.

Self care and rest is also such a great example to our children. Do we want our children to find fulfillment and their identity in what they get done, their work and their accomplishments? Or do we want children to find their identity in the Lord alone. That they are His children and He loves them.

Rest is necessary to trusting that our identity in Christ is enough. That regardless of what we do, God loves us because He created us and we are His children.

Rest reminds us of this and focuses our attention on our holy God, instead of dependence on ourselves.

Below are some practical ideas to help you rest from work. These are not meant to be legalistic but just to get you started on some ideas. Every family is different and what you do in your home will look different.

Give yourself a day of rest, so you can worship and glorify God. Fix your thoughts on Him, rest in His goodness, and be replenished and filled up with His love, so His love can overflow in your life.

Practical Tip to Take a Day of Rest – Worship the Lord

This is the most obvious, but cannot be overlooked. Our day of rest was created to worship God, and so it is right we spend time worshipping Him through reading the Bible, praying and going to church.

Spending Time in the Word

We need to be in God’s Word everyday and our day of rest can be a great way to take some extra time with our great God.

We run the children’s ministry at our church, so we are up early and getting everyone ready for church. Even if you are in a similar situation where you are up early and getting everyone ready for church, find creative ways to spend time in God’s Word alone.

I often pray and read my Bible on the way to church. We do have a long drive to church which helps.

You could also spend time in the afternoon reading the Word while your children have a quiet time reading their Bible and a stack of books. I have done this often with my younger children.

Also, since we are serving at church for half of the day on Sunday, sometimes I take my day of rest on Friday or Saturday.

Spend Time Praying

Also spend time with God in prayer. We may pray at church or hear the pastor pray which is wonderful, but also spend some time alone worshipping God through prayer. I love to get down on my knees and pray at my bedside on a day of rest. You could also take some time and write in a prayer journal. I like to use the ACTS acronym when praying as it follows a similar pattern to the Lord’s prayer.

Adoration – Praise and worship God
Confession – Confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, repent
Thankfulness – Thank God for what He has done
Supplication – Take your requests to God

Go To Church

Not only is it essential to worship the Lord individually, but also to gather together and worship God corporately.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Acts 2:42

We see in Acts 2, that the early christians devoted themselves to gathering together and worshipping God. They committed to learning God’s Word, having fellowship and praying. Getting plugged in to a Bible teaching church is key to us growing as christians.

God did not intend for us to do life alone. We need our brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage each other and walk through life with.

Practical Tip to Take a Day of Rest – Rest from Dishes and Cooking

We use paper plates for the day. This of course amounts to little or no dishes (although there seems to always be some) but it is very minimal. I only spend about 5-10 minutes doing dishes for the whole day.

I also try not to cook on Sundays. For breakfast we bring bagels and eat them in the car on way to church. Our church also often has food for the volunteers which is a huge blessing.

For lunch, we often grab a cheap fast food lunch after church on our way home. We tend to give our children the options of the dollar or deal items at fast food restaurants and stay around our budget of $20-$30 for this, and typically only do it once/week.

For dinner, I call Sunday our salad day and just make a big salad for dinner. It often works out because after eating the fast food lunch we are all in the mood for something healthy and light. It’s also a great way to get the children to eat a salad at least once/week.

If my husband or children don’t want salad they just have leftovers. There are less dishes, less clean up, and it gives me a rest from cooking.

Practical Tip to Have a Day of Rest – Don’t Do Laundry

We do the laundry every day, except for Sundays. Since we do laundry all the other days, it’s not a huge deal to skip one day. We tend to have a little more on Monday, but it’s still very manageable. It’s so nice to have this break from washing, drying, folding, hanging and putting away laundry.

Since we usually put the laundry away during the evenings, we have extra time on Sunday to hang out as a family. We tend to use this time as a family game night, and we play board games and the Wii together.

Practical Tip to Have a Day of Rest – Don’t Make the Beds

The kids and I completely skip making our beds on Sunday. Sometimes it’s hard for me to see the mess of bedspread sprawled across our bed, but I remind myself that it’s ok.

This is why it’s good to take a rest from things. Sometimes we become so used to doing things that it feels uncomfortable when we don’t do them. It’s good for us to be stretched out of our comfort zone. If there is something we cannot skip for one day, that means it has become an obsession and is not healthy.

It’s a great reminder that I don’t need to do all things and can just rest in God and His promises. It keeps a healthy balance to cleaning, realizing its ok to let it go for a day. It helps me not get obsessed about it.

Practical Tip to Have a Day of Rest – Skip Exercising

I run, walk and work out at home pretty much every day, except sundays. This is a great rest physically and a great reminder too, that it’s ok and good to take a rest. Again, it helps me from becoming obsessed about it.

Practical Tip to Have a Day of Rest – Self Care

Do something enjoyable for yourself, even if it’s for 15 minutes. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Read a book or magazine just for the fun of it
• Write in a journal
• Take a salt bath
• Give yourself a manicure/pedicure
• Take a nap
• Sing Hymns and worship music
• Sit in silence, practice deep breathing and meditate on God’s Word

Practical Tip to Have a Day of Rest – Do Something Fun as a Family

One of my favorite things about my day of rest is spending some extra quality time as a family. Go outside and go for a walk, ride scooters, ride bikes. These are all great, relaxing ways to spend fun, quality time together.

You could also have fun traditions like a game night or movie night together. We tend to have a game night and play board games and Wii together. Our children look forward to it every week and my 4 -year old boy is constantly asking me when Sunday is because he can’t wait for family game night.

Application

Rejoice in the fact that God cares so much about us, that He gave us the gift of rest. He knows what’s best for us and we are created to give Him glory and to enjoy Him.

During our rest we can worship Him and focus our thoughts on Him. As God created us body, mind and soul, He gives us rest for our whole being. This gives us strength and joy to work during the week and to do all things unto the Lord.

As a stay at home mom, taking a break from regular household routines can give you that refreshing break you need.

My question for you is, do you have a day of rest during the week? If so, what does it look like for you?

What is one area where you can take a break from work in your life?

Take one baby step this week, and to do it for three weeks. Email me or comment below and let me know how it goes.