Shabbat Shalom means Sabbath peace in Hebrew. It is the greeting you will hear as early as Thursday most often in Israel. Sundown on Friday evening begins the 24 hours of rest given by our Creator. Woman bake special bread, do a deep clean of their homes and make extra food so they may enjoy their rest for the following day.
We are thankful for Friday nights around our lovely table as we bring in the Shabbat.
My favorite night of the week! I love to create a beautiful table and place to gather with my precious family. We enjoy opening our home and table to share in the goodness of our God. I’m thankful that our home is well ordered and for a faithful and loving husband that has allowed me to flourish in this high calling of motherhood in the heart of our home. Our children are truly as olive plants around the table producing good fruit to the glory of God.
I remember the days of paper plates and crying babies. I hardly had time to sit down and exhale but those were the sweetest days with all my babies tucked under my wing. After years of training, it is my girls who spend most of the day in the kitchen preparing two days of meals so we can all enjoy the Sabbath. Every season is so different and while it seems I’m busier than ever with all the juggling of a full range of ages, I’m choosing to not grow weary in doing good as I cling to His promises and faithfulness. I’m resting in all that He is and has done for me.
Typically on Friday nights we go around our candlelit table and each share what we are thankful for from the previous week. It’s a precious blessing for me to hear the hearts of my children through Thanksgivings. My husband blesses our children and then me as he reads Proverbs 31 and our children rise up and one by one come to hug and love on me. Tonight I’m deeply thankful for these beautiful people I get to do life with. Singing songs, saying prayers, and eating delicious food around our lovely dressed table is the highlight of the week.
One of my favorite scenes in a movie is the part in Fiddler On The Roof when an entire community is lighting candles in their homes to begin Shabbat. The camera scans through and shows window by window the illumination of fire. Light in darkness.
Each time I light our candles I am overwhelmed with thankfulness that our family, in unity, acknowledges this covenant sign with our Creator.
There really isn’t much detail to the commandment of honoring the Sabbath other than to keep and to guard. We stop and pause amidst the busyness of life to honor our King and in return it has been our glue and the very key to our peace and joy, literally keeping us as we keep this time set apart from the rest of the week.
Friday night to Saturday night is holy to our God. It’s often very difficult since most activities are scheduled during this time in our Sunday service culture. We continually impress on our children that the Sabbath is a delight and that it’s not legalistic to obey and in doing so we reap beautiful blessings that will carry through generations.
Always praying that our light will illuminate the darkness in our community far and wide to draw others to the truths of this ancient and timeless tradition that brings rest for weary souls.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Exodus 20:8-11 | ESV
Every Friday night our children look forward to their blessing from Daddy. Oldest to youngest line up to hear prophetic words of life spoken and prayed over their lives and future. Even the little girls look forward to this sweet and special time and have learned the importance of the Biblical blessing. While our eldest was away in Israel her Abba never missed calling or writing a blessing for her. Of course we pray everyday for these precious arrows and as our eyes were opened to the truth of the Sabbath as a sanctified time, we’ve followed the pattern from our brother Judah to adapt this time into a most important family tradition for years now and one that I pray will be passed down through the generations. May this generation seek your face O God of Jacob.
The ceremony is usually celebrated at home with family or friends and includes three blessings — over wine, spices, and light — as well as the hamavdil, a blessing thanking God for separating the days and making the Shabbat sacred.
We sing through psalms 23 and 128 and have fun with the little girls singing “ This little light of mine!” 💕
So thankful we are children of the most high God and walk in His statutes and Kingdom ways. This tradition has become very special to us and represents an end cap of a set apart time in the week.
“Blessed are you Adonai our God, King of the universe, who separates between Holy and secular, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six days of labor. Blessed are you, Adonai, who separates between Holy and secular. Amen!”
The key is that you are setting this special time apart and creating a space of time that you are honoring our Creator in HIS appointed time. We have six other days to do what we want but one day is given as a gift to us to relax and rest in His provision. What a beautiful and loving Abba we serve!
Have a great week friends!
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