Over the years, Sabbath has
consistently become the most refreshing twenty-four hour period of my entire
week. It was so loving for God to set aside Friday night sundown until Saturday night sundown for us to stop and rest in His goodness and grace. There is nothing sweeter than stopping the chaos to celebrate Sabbath!
My parent's contagious joy for the Sabbath has
encouraged me to have the perspective of
Sabbath being an absolute delight. Since my dad is a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, our family has been blessed to have a
large church family that spreads from Ohio, Colorado, Michigan, Hawaii, and Nebraska. My prayer is that Sabbath will spark joy in you and that you are encouraged to expand the way you experience the depth of God’s vast
love for you, on the most blessed day of the entire week!
1. Hammocking—There are so many hammocks to choose from! I think I might go with…eeny, meeny, min, ENO. This has become such a relaxing leisure activity. Whether you bring your Bible to read or friends to hammock with, it is really rejuvenating.
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| Swinging on by to say Happy Sabbath |
2. Digging deep into the Word—The Bible contains heavenly wisdom, direction,
and encouragement that is unlike any other book sold on the shelf. Divine
advice is freely given to all who ask the Holy Spirit to show them. Memorizing
Scripture has saved my sanity on multiple occasions because when I am at my
weakest, reciting the verses shatters any darkness that attempts to overtake
me.
3. Visiting other churches—Having a home church where you can consistently
be involved in is beautiful. It is also exciting to take opportunities to visit
other churches. While I was learning Spanish, I enjoyed worshiping with the
Spanish church family. It was great because the Holy Spirit interpreted for me.
4. Charades—Acting out Bible stories and taking on the role of Bible characters
is so much fun, especially with groups of people. This is fun for the whole
family and helps engrain the stories into our minds. Some healthy Christian
competition between teams can be a light-hearted way to enjoy time together.
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| I wonder what it was like to hold baby Jesus? |
5. Sabbath School—Babies to the baby boomers all have their own
fellow believers that they can look forward to seeing each week during Sabbath
School. The Northside Seventh-day Adventist Young Adults meets every Sabbath
morning at 9:45. Engaging lesson discussions, time and money ministry
decisions, and a delicious breakfast treat, makes celebrating the Sabbath
sweeter together. We would love to have you join us soon!
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| Sabbath School at Camp Au Sable's Campfire Point |
6. Exploring the outdoors—Our Creator has lavished His love for us
through designing nature into a masterpiece. Exploring the waterfalls in Hawaii
to the mountains in Colorado, God’s handiwork is everywhere! Go outside and
discover the creatures that are alive, soak up the Sabbath sunshine, and ask
God to show you something that He designed that you have yet to realize.
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| Manoa Valley Rainbow |
7. Camping—Saying Happy Sabbath to shooting stars is one of the ultimate ways I like to welcome the Sabbath. Don't delay this family getaway, bring the bug spray, and enjoy it in every way!
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| Spent this night under the sparkling sky and woke up to bonding around the bonfire |
8. Hiking—Makapuu Lighthouse Trail on the Island of Oahu is gorgeous. Walking
through parks, around lakes, and along rivers is healing. There is nothing like
getting some much needed exercise all the while enjoying all of creation.
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| Makapuu Lighthouse Lookout |
9. Glow bombing—Passing out encouraging literature to strangers is often what God
uses to restore hurting souls. Visit glowonline.org to find out more about
Giving Light to Our World. At Camp Au Sable it was so much fun to take a
busload of campers and staff to downtown Grayling to pass out GLOW tracts to
the community.
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| We let it glow in Grayling! Glow spread the good news! |
10. Baptisms—Witnessing hearts surrender completely to God is what it is all about. There is nothing more fulfilling than living a life with Jesus. Baptisms are my favorite birthday parties to go to!
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| Three Camp Au Sable campers were born again |
11. Blogging—If you think that writing is therapeutic to you, blogging could be
a way for you to spend some time. As a graduate student, I do not have the
leisure of blogging throughout the week. Thankfully, today is Sabbath so I am
able to blog about God’s goodness! There are some stories that if you had
written down, they could be an encouragement to you when you need to remember
what God has done for you. The beauty of blogging is that you can save these
stories and share them with others who would be blessed to read them.
12. Potluck—Churches hold different potluck traditions, so it is key to find
out exactly which Sabbaths of the month they are held! In Hawaii at the
Honolulu Japanese Seventh-day Adventist church in Manoa, there was a potluck
held every single week. There are always two food lines plus a dessert table,
one is American and one is Traditional Japanese food. My favorite position was
to strategically place myself in between both lines so that I could weave in
and out to get a variety of cultural and American foods. Ending on the dessert
table (or going there first some weeks) was always a must. At the Northside
Seventh-day Adventist church in Lincoln, Nebraska, we have a delicious potluck the second Sabbath (Saturday) of the month. On weeks that the church does not hold
potluck, take a picnic to the park with some friends, invite some old and new
friends to your home for a meal, or go serve the homeless at the local shelter.
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| Japanese line |
13.
Vespers—Union College and Andrews University hold diverse vespers that I
looked forward to going to when I was a student. At Andrews we usually end
vespers with giving someone a Sabbath hug. It is a delight to
welcome the Sabbath with peers. Even though I am a graduate student at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I plan on going to Union College’s vespers
again. Even if you are not near a school that holds vespers, you can start
holding vespers at your place and get a solid group going or you can
live-stream Andrews University Vespers at https://www.andrews.edu/livestream/.
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| Vespers |
14.
Blessing a family member—Going around the circle and saying a blessing
that you claim for a family member or friend, could be by far the most tender
words of affirmation they will ever receive. Asking God to bless them in a
specific way is empowering. Ellen White tells us that Jesus records kind words
as if they were spoken to Himself.
15.
Treasure Experiences—There are moments that have been set up by holy
angels waiting for you to take advantage of. Pray for divine appointments to
happen to you and for the courage to share your faith with someone else whether
that is ministering to their physical, spiritual, or emotional needs. Share the
miracles God has done for you because that may be exactly what another person
needs to hear to be encouraged on their own walk with God.
16.
Sabbath traditions—In middle school my teacher held Sabbath
celebration every Friday before we were dismissed. Students took turns bringing
a special treat for the class. Miss Beardsley would light the Sabbath candles and we would sing, “I’m Happy It’s Sabbath.” Think about what Sabbath tradition
you can start in your own home. My family gets a kick out of saying a Sabbath
blessing for each other and saying what we are thankful for.
17.
Instrumental—The gift of music is something we will continue to explore on the
New Earth. The sweet tunes of praising Jesus brings a melody to my soul. Bring
your ukulele, guitar, or violin to Sabbath School to help lead song service or
serenade the sick and elderly at the local nursing home. Write a song and carry the tune
with you throughout your whole week.
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| Getting in tune with God |
18.
Character development—The only part of us that we get to take to
heaven is our character. God is going to give us new bodies free of aches and
pain. Why not give God the tools now to chisel our character? Victoriously
conquering bad habits and destructive mindsets starts with surrendering
ourselves fully to God. Ask Him to show you what needs to change and He
promises to give you the strength for transformation.
19.
Family time—Nothing beats good times with the family. Take your zoo pass with
you and enjoy meeting the animals Adam got to name.
20.
Rest—Letting
your body recoup from a whole week of go-go-go is a must.
21.
Break from school and work—Taking a 24 hour break from all school work has
never hurt my grades or performance at work. It has only ever served to boost
my stamina for the rigors of academics and increased my trust in God’s
faithfulness.
22.
Prayer—Call up
your far away friends and ask if there is anything you can pray with them
about. Message someone with a written out prayer that you are claiming for
them. Pray for your husband, wife, children, siblings, parents, co-workers, and colleagues.
Praying that God blesses those who have hurt me has healed multiple
relationships and all the glory goes to God’s restorative power!
23.
Giving Bible Studies—The adventure of giving Bible studies to
children with my dad began today! When my dad asked one of the kids who they
want to meet someday they said, “Justin Bieber.” I said, “Never say never.”
Haha. Encouraging these children to deepen their friendship with Jesus is a
Sabbath adventure we are going to continue together!
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| Today's Sabbath adventure was studying the Bible together |
24.
Sermons—
If your pastor is like my dad
and has a study guide for you to follow along, make sure to bring your pen and
Bible along with you to church. Prayerfully consider asking God if He wants you
to preach someday. It could be as simple as sharing your personal testimony
with your church family. It is an experience that is worthwhile!
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| If a 10 year old can give a bee-autiful sermon about how honey was the sweetest ingredient in Bible times and that we need to crave Jesus, then all of us can too! |
25.
Mission trip—You can locally serve through missions on college campuses and reaching the hearts of the homeless, or by crossing into uncharted territory to bring
the gospel with you! The past year a group of my closest friends and I enjoyed
going to Chicago to share the love of Jesus with homeless people and quickly realized that the people we met on the streets ended up blessing us more than we ever could bless them. Check out our Facebook page called Least Of These Ministries https://www.facebook.com/chicagoutreach/?fref=ts
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| During our first trip to Chicago we met Rabbit and he had us read out loud Matthew 25, which inspired Least Of These Ministries to continue |
Exodus 20:8-11 says, “Remember the Sabbath day
by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but
the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any
work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant,
nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the
Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He
rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made
it holy.”
Sabbath adventures are waiting for you to discover every single week. If Sabbaths are this invigorating on earth think about how extraordinary they are going to be throughout eternity! Sabbaths were made for you, have you truly enjoyed them yet?
In His Joys,
Hannah Elise Abbott
