Sabbath and sanctuary (#31 days to Sanctuary day 16)

I tend to think of Sabbath and sanctuary interchangeably.  God's command to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy is a reminder that God rested on the seventh day, and we, too, need rest.  So much of our world and culture denies this fact as we work longer hours and can't truly stop even after the work day ends.  There are errands and tasks, and enough electronic stimuli to keep us wired for hours.  It is so very hard to stop, and yet I've learned that if I don't, my body does it for me.

I found a Sabbath Manifesto online that offers suggestions for how to observe a true and healthy break:

• Avoid technology
• connect with loved ones
• nurture your health
• get outside
• avoid commerce
• light candles
• drink wine
• eat bread
• find silence
•  give back

Other suggestions from The Blue Room Blog are:

• Get outside : smell, feel, look at the earth
• Feel alive/passionate about something: Laugh, Cry, Think
• Share with someone: happy or other feelings
• Rest in Quiet: pray & prepare by expanding awareness of others around me
• Find sanctuary in community: sabbath is about more than ourselves
• “Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary”
• Do something creative to elicit/use the brain
• Repetitive family/personal Patterns & pathways change our life
• Use car time to talk/connect with those on the journey with you-put yourself in another’s shoes/
• BE MINDFUL OF YOUR BODY

My Sabbath/Sanctuary list looks a lot like this:

• read a lot
• take naps
• play with the kids
• go for a walk
• write
• exercise
• pedicure
• talk with my husband
• quiet time alone

What would you add to the list?