Sunday Morning Stress

I'm not sure about your family, but Sunday morning can be pretty busy and hectic or they can be a sweet time together with your family. I think the Devil wants to discourage us from getting to the Lord's House and being a blessing as well as receiving one, too!

When JEB were little I started to notice that stress could be plentiful on Sunday mornings...stress that didn't seem to be there on Saturdays! It was important for us to be ready on time, somewhat clean, fed, and with a happy heart so we could be ready to get on the bus to pick up children for church. I started gathering advice from other Godly women about this important morning of the week. I love to learn from others that have been where I am now, and have succeeded!

Well, as JEB have gotten older, they do more for themselves and things were going smoother. But, now that I have my active fun-loving Silas and another baby soon to come, it's time I started implementing those ideas again! As I wrote down my list for Sunday mornings (you know how I love lists!) I decided I would share it! Here we go, ideas for a less stressful, more blessingful Sunday morning:

The best time for preparing for Sunday mornings is actually on Saturday night!
*Have everyone's clothes ready for the next day. This includes shoes, socks, hairbows, slips, undergarments...anything you wear. Make sure everything you need is clean and ironed and ready to go. After ironing, hang each persons clothes in a visible place if possible, we've hanged them from the doorway, lightfixtures, you name it! Everything is visible and ready. Then, I would put all the other things like socks, underwear in a Walmart sack and put it around the hanger.
*Have all Bibles and things needed for Sunday set out and ready to go. This includes Sunday school lessons or songs to play or sing.
*Take steps to make breakfast preparations even easier. If cereal is on the menu have the bowls, spoons and napkins along with the cereal lined up on the table ready to go. Have the coffee pot ready with fresh coffee grounds, so all you have to do is push the brew button when you wake up.
*Do a 10 minute house rescue. For some reason, the house can get pretty messy in the process of getting ready for church. Take 10 minutes before bed and pick up as fast as you can for 10 minutes. You'll feel so much better about your home!
*Get to bed early. I know this is a hard one... it is Saturday night! The weekend! But, for the norm we try not to schedule a late night outing on Saturday night. Sundays are too important for us to be sleepy and fighting to stay awake during preaching. It's just not worth it. Now, there may be times when we will have something planned, or end up staying up late on Saturdays, but it should be rare. We all need to have plenty of rest, so we're at our best. Hey! That rhymed! :o)

Sunday Morning:
*Get up early.
*Make a rule to have no TV (or even computer time!) on Sunday mornings. I know it can be hard for my kiddos to get engrossed in a movie or "quick program" that they end up disappointed that they have to stop and get ready. That's an unneccesary problem that doesn't need to happen. Plus, we get our attention so focused on things of this world, that during preaching time we end up being distracted by what we were watching that morning.
*Wake your family up to music. Growing up, my Mom always had music playing Sunday morning. She would always be singing right along. I loved it! We woke up happy, singing, and excited about our day. Which is so important.

I want to teach my children to love the oppurtunity to "get" to go to church. Think of all the places that don't have a church to attend, or that have to meet in secret, or haven't even heard the gospel yet!
Sunday mornings are way too important to let anything distract us or take away the joy we have in serving God!