Don't Knock It Till You've Tried It: Our Christian Family's Sabbath Story

THE SABBATH GIFT

The Sabbath has been, without a doubt, one of the best gifts I have ever been given — probably second only to the free gift of salvation through Jesus.

I know that is a bold claim, but don't knock it until you've tried it! :)

Truly, though, if you have never tried resting on the Sabbath, I beg you to at least give it a shot. I'm not even making a theological case to you yet — I'm making a purely "stay sane as a mother" case. Our world is so busy. Has it always been like this? I think so, but in different ways. I've read historical accounts of those who kept Sabbath and considered that perhaps their physical bodies needed rest in ways different from ours. But mentally, in the fast-paced world in which we live, we can all benefit from a day of intentional rest.

I'll make a theological case to you in a bit. But I want to talk to you as a friend first.

Trying it won't hurt. Don't approach it as a "Do I have to?" — you get to. You get to take one day of total rest. It takes a bit of planning, and if you're a mom you'll still have to change a few diapers. But with a little intentionality, you can have a day to slow down. To rest. To sit. To ponder, like Mary did.

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I've been honoring the Sabbath in some capacity since before we had kids, and I have seen the blessing of it again and again. I didn't grow up in a family that took a day of rest. We went to church on Sunday, but I don't recall my parents intentionally resting. So I didn't know, practically speaking, how to do it. I know that sounds dramatic, but honestly — I really didn't. Busyness was my MO. Learning how to prepare for Sabbath was also huge. A couple of weeks of an overflowing trash can will teach you that some prep work is required.

When do I honor a Christian Sabbath?

We have followed both a more American-style day and a Hebrew day for honoring the Sabbath, and I love the Hebrew way. If you honor Sabbath from sundown to sundown, you never have to wake up to the mess in the morning. We do "After Sabbath Clean Up" most weeks, and it makes the start of the new week feel fantastic! I can't fully articulate all the reasons why this rhythm works — but it does, at least for us.

• We honor Sabbath on the Biblical seventh day of the week. We call it Saturday.

• We observe it from evening to evening (sundown to sundown is the Biblical day), so we rest from Friday evening to Saturday evening.

How do I honor Sabbath Day?

If, like me, you didn't grow up seeing Sabbath practiced, here are some tips:

• Take the trash out. Seriously. Ha!

• Prepare food ahead of time (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).

• Consider using paper plates.

Some weeks I knock Sabbath Prep out of the park, and other weeks I make sure we have frozen burritos on hand! :)

Naturally, everyone prefers when mom is well organized!

What if I have a job where I can't honor Sabbath?

We get it — truly. I've been in that situation, and my husband still is. Many jobs in our world are, by necessity, manned around the clock. If my child gets sick on the Sabbath, I want doctors and nurses at that hospital. I hope God gives them all grace for working to help people — Jesus did that too, so I think they're in good company.

If you fall into this category and can get Sabbath off, by all means do. If you can't have every single Sabbath off, rest on every one that you do get.

The reality is, this extends well beyond medical care. I don't have an answer for every situation — every job, every boss who insists that working seven days a week is essential. Honestly, many jobs probably aren't essential to have running seven days a week; it's likely a profit-driven decision. Use discernment, pray, and seek the Lord about your specific situation.

My own job, when I started honoring Sabbath, was absolutely not essential. I was a hairdresser. Saturdays were a busy, lucrative day to work — because most people didn't. It felt huge to tell my longtime Saturday clients that I was going to start honoring Sabbath and wouldn't be able to do their hair on that day anymore. But I have never once regretted obeying God on this.

My husband's job falls into the category that requires prayer and discernment. If they stop managing the flow of oil from the ground, it can be catastrophic and dangerous. I'm not making a case for him one way or the other — I trust the Lord, and I know that to our Master we stand or fall. What I will tell you is this: I have prayed about this a great deal over the years. And thus far, God has not provided a job for Chad where he gets every single Sabbath off. He has continued to provide at Chad's current job and to open doors there. So I place it in the Lord's hands and thank Him for all that He provides.

Don't swallow a camel trying to strain out a gnat.

Jesus put the Pharisees in their place again and again. Please don't become a religiously rigid person — toward yourself or others — over the Sabbath, the Feast Days, or anything else. Sin is sin; there is definitely a line of right and wrong. But while you're picking at a splinter, your eye might be blocked by a log. Don't swallow a camel trying to strain out a gnat.

I find that we — and by "we" I genuinely mean me too — can become so dogmatic about something we're convinced is right. Righteousness is worth striving for. But when we're chasing a righteousness of our own making, we can very quickly become Jesus' textbook definition of the unrighteous.

We aren't perfect.

I want to tell you, before you "catch" me boiling water on the Sabbath (chuckles), that we are not perfect.

I. Am. Not. Perfect.

Jesus is — so look to Him. Only ever follow me where I follow Him.

I could give you a long list of the ways I fall short of God's glory on a regular basis. The ones the Holy Spirit convicts me of far more than a Sabbath slip-up are things like how I treat the people around me — being unkind or impatient with my kids or my husband, missing an opportunity to show Jesus to the world, letting divisions in the body of Christ fester when they must pain Him so deeply.

What are the greatest commandments?

Remember: loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and strength is first; loving our neighbor as ourselves is second. Everything else hangs on these two commands.

Maybe I needed to say all of that before getting to the theological points. I don't want to cause anyone to stumble — yes, I take Jesus seriously about the millstone, and it puts the fear of God in my heart. I don't want anyone following me into religious pride. I don't want to be that person, and I don't want to answer to God for being one.

My hope is that both you and I strive to be obedient, humble, and holy before the Lord. That's a worthy bullseye to aim for.

We're finally to the theological part of Sabbath…

kind of.

Early in my marriage, when I was in my early twenties, I had a conversation with my mom. She asked me — genuinely, because as I said, I didn't grow up honoring Sabbath — why we as Christians didn't honor Sabbath? It went something like: "We believe all the other Ten Commandments are right and that we should follow them — why not the Sabbath?"

I quickly answered that we didn't have to. Of course.

Thankfully, I cared enough about what the Bible actually said that after confidently answering, I questioned myself. Was I sure? I would prove to my mom that I was right — because I was pretty sure I was.

So I opened my Bible, having no idea that the words on those pages would once again change my life for the better.

I looked up every verse that mentioned the Sabbath. I was feeling pretty confident in my view — at the time — that the Church didn't need to keep Sabbath the way Israel did. I felt good about it until I reached Hebrews 4:

"There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God."

Well, I wanted to be part of the people of God! Did that mean Sabbath wasn't just an Old Testament thing after all? And that was the beginning of the opening of my eyes. Suddenly I could see: God established the Sabbath at Creation. Jesus honored it. The disciples honored it — including after Jesus died, rose, and ascended into heaven. Nowhere could I find a Scripture that said it changed to Sunday. Did believers sometimes gather on the first day of the week? Yes. But was the Sabbath continually observed and set apart, even in Gentile areas? Also yes.

When I'm wrong and I know it, I admit it. I called my mom and told her that after reading the Bible I was now sure — sure that I had been wrong, and that the Sabbath was very much still available to the people of God. I was convicted to honor it.

Somehow, at that point, I completely missed that it was pretty clearly the seventh day. I did. It's almost funny to me now — maybe the Lord took me the long way around precisely so I could never be prideful or holier-than-thou about any of it. For the next several years, I honored Sabbath on whatever day worked for me that week — Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, whenever. Do you know how I know that God is merciful, patient, and faithful to lead us on His paths of righteousness? Because I've lived it. Time and time again.

God met me in honoring the Sabbath even when I didn't fully understand it. I was genuinely trying to obey the Lord the best I could. I was convicted by the Word of God to follow His commandments, but I didn't get it exactly right for several years. And yet, in those years, I read the Bible so much. I tested things I thought I knew — drawn from my "mutt" Christian background, as I like to call it, a mix of many denominational and non-denominational influences — against Scripture. I had the time and space to study because of the Sabbath, especially before we had kids. I treasure that season. I wouldn't trade it.

No one taught me or convinced me. I didn't watch a compelling sermon or see Sabbath practiced anywhere. I just read the Word and thought, well — oops. I'd better match my life up to Scripture.

One specific and beautiful memory from this journey is the birth of our first child. I had spent the day working and helping my dear friend move her hair salon. I was hugely pregnant, worn out, and it was my first day of maternity leave. I honored the Sabbath.

The next morning I stepped out of bed — and my water broke.

Oh, how I needed that day of rest before the next twenty-one hours of labor! I seriously doubt I would have made it through natural childbirth without it. The day after Sabbath is always my most energetic, productive day of the week. That week, by the grace of God, it helped bring a baby boy into the world.

Experience isn't everything, but it is valuable — especially when it bears fruit along paths of righteousness. If the next chapter of my story had veered away from God's Word, I'd hope you would proceed with caution. But praise God, it didn't.

Shortly after, I came to see clearly in Scripture that the weekly Sabbath was the seventh day. And for over ten years now, this is how we've honored it.

What don't we do on Sabbath?

The Sabbath is supposed to be set apart — and by nature, something that is holy (set apart) should look different from every other day.

We don't work. It's easy enough to say that employment or self-employment is off the table. But what about all the other kinds of work? For a stay-at-home mom and wife, how does the Sabbath look different from every other day of the week? Great question.

Biblical Sabbath

Manna and Preparation

• The Double Portion (Exodus 16:22–26): This was the first "test" of the Sabbath — before the Ten Commandments were even given. On the sixth day, the Israelites found twice as much manna on the ground as usual. This taught dependence: trusting that God would provide on the day they couldn't work.

• Preparing Ahead (Exodus 16:23–24): Moses instructed them to "bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil." This established the principle that the Sabbath was for enjoying the fruit of the previous days' preparation. Miraculously, the manna gathered on the sixth day didn't spoil or breed worms — whereas it would rot on any other night.

Prohibitions and Enforcement

• No Lighting Fires (Exodus 35:3): In the ancient world, lighting a fire was a labor-intensive process involving striking flint or friction, followed by hauling wood. Forbidding it ensured that even the most basic "housework" stopped.

• The Wood Gatherer (Numbers 15:32–36): This story functions as a "case law" example. Because it happened shortly after the Sabbath laws were given, it emphasized that the Sabbath was a serious covenant. Gathering wood was the pre-work for a fire — a premeditated intent to break the rest.

• Closing the Gates (Nehemiah 13:19): Nehemiah's action was a response to the creeping secularization of the Sabbath. After the exile, the people had grown casual about the day. By physically barring the city gates, he turned Jerusalem into a sanctuary, forcing the commerce of the world to wait outside.

Commerce and Burdens

• Buying and Selling (Nehemiah 13:15–21): Nehemiah was furious because he saw people treading winepresses and hauling grain. He argued that profaning the Sabbath was one of the very reasons their ancestors had been sent into exile. He even threatened to lay hands on the merchants if they lingered near the walls at night.

• No Carrying of Burdens (Jeremiah 17:21–22): Jeremiah's warning linked the physical "burden" — merchandise for sale — to a spiritual one. He promised that if they kept the Sabbath holy, Jerusalem would endure forever; but if they didn't, the city gates would be consumed by fire.

The New Testament Sabbath Context

• The Women's Rest (Luke 23:55–56): This is a profound moment of devotion. Despite their grief and the urgency to care for Jesus' body, the women "rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment." Even in crisis, the holiness of the day was observed.

• A Sabbath Day's Journey (Acts 1:12): This distance — roughly 2,000 cubits (about 0.6 miles or 1 km) — was based on the distance between the Ark of the Covenant and the people's tents in the wilderness. The idea was that you should be able to walk to the Tabernacle (or place of worship) without it counting as "travel."

The Land's Rest

• The Sabbatical Year / Shmita (Leviticus 25:1–7): This was a massive economic reset. Not only did the land rest, but all debts were canceled in that year (Deuteronomy 15). It prevented a permanent underclass of debtors from forming and ensured that the "poor of your people may eat." It was a radical declaration that the land belonged to God — not the farmers.

What are we supposed to do on Sabbath?

• The Call to "Delight" in the Day: Isaiah offers a beautiful internal perspective — keeping the Sabbath means not "doing as you please" or "speaking idle words," but rather calling the day a delight and honoring it. (Isaiah 58:13–14)

• A Day for Healing and "Doing Good": Jesus added a vital dimension. While he kept the Sabbath, he often performed miracles on that day to show that "it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" — and that the day was made for humanity's benefit, not as a burden. (Matthew 12:9–14; Mark 2:27)

In a world that never sleeps and never seems to rest, take time to "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). Honor the Sabbath. Set it aside. It isn't as hard as it sounds — and it is absolutely delightful.

📖 If you're interested in learning more about the Biblical Feasts and seeing Jesus in them check out our FREE to download guide to get started celebrating! Rhythms and Seasons is a great way to step fully into the Biblical Feast Days and God's design for the year.