Sunday, August 16, 2009

My Sunday Drives


matte art

I love Sundays. They are a time of renewal, peace, relaxation. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we choose to keep the Sabbath Day holy in a rather strict way as we interpret the commandment quite literally. No parties. No vigorous cleaning, sports, maintenance... No spending money. No working (if one can help it). No making others work (so no going out to eat). No going to the lake/mall/movies or any other form of entertainment. We fill up our tanks of gas and do our grocery shopping on Saturday if we must as a day of preparation. We limit our play and our online/tv entertainment and other worldly distractions so as to not interfere with maintaining the spirit and peace we feel on this day. Visit here to find out why we believe this helps.


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Some may view this lifestyle as restricting, but I see it as freeing. It is a day where I am not pulled to and fro by the world. A day where I don't have to run errands, or commit to attending events, a day where it is all about enjoying my family and faith. Sunday evenings are the times when we invite our families and friends to dinner to fellowship and get to know each other. There is a true peace I feel on this day. I believe everyone would do well to have a true day of rest. No matter your religious beliefs, you must try a day of meditation, rest and positive energy once to see how refreshing it can truly be!


dfr design

One such way we enjoy spending our Sundays, are on Sunday drives. I believe these started out at a time when churches required a much farther distance to travel. But now, though our church is but blocks away, we enjoy taking a detour to get home. Though the scenery isn't particularly astounding in a Texas suburb, we switch the routes up and look for pretty yards with lots of trees and flowers.


Bonnie's Knitting classic driving cap

Sunday drives are a time to talk, reflect on our Sunday lessons, bare our testimonies to each other and interact and enjoy the scenery we have before we unpile the kids out of the car and heft them up three flights of stairs to cook them dinner after a long 3 hour church service.


Tell Tale Signs

I believe it is good to do that. Quietly ponder and then vocally reflect on your feelings on your drive, before the hustle and bustle of life swifts you away once you are no longer trapped in the confines of your automobile.

What do you enjoy doing on Sundays?

6 comments:

aurora said...

Lisa, I just love your blog! It is such a pretty place to visit.
And thanks for the lovely Sabbath post. I love Sundays also. It is so nice to spend time with family, take naps, , make visits, and bake treats after an uplifting block of meetings. Kind of gets me through the next week.
xo

Anne said...

I adore Sunday drives. We too went to a church that was on the other side of the island when we lived in Hawaii. Driving into the Ko'olau mountains every Sunday, looking for waterfalls in the distance and being able to bet on seeing a rainbow at some point was the perfect way to settle my soul into worship. And not just singing words from a screen at the front of the stage, really worshiping the Creator among His creation.

Thanks for the drive down memory lane...no pun intended, than again, maybe it was :)

Little Lovables said...

I agree, Aurora, naps and making treats are another great Sunday activity! And we lived in Hawaii for a short period of time when I was little, Anne, and hoping to see a rainbow and finding one is truly a way to see God's love in our world.

bodoba said...

Sounds like a really nice time to connect with your family and your faith.

My sundays don't amount to much right now spiritually but I do try to take time out of each day to refresh and renew myself.

Betsy Brock said...

You have a nice tradition going there! I remember our family doing the occassional "Sunday drive" with no particular destination. We just drove and enjoyed the ride. Lovely. Peaceful. Sigh. :)

Shannan Martin said...

Beautiful post! I did not know that about your church. I know the Amish church observes the sabbath similarly. (We are surrounded by Amish up here!) Anyway, thanks for sharing. I really enjoy your blog.

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