Music for the Sabbath

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Exodus 20:8-11 KJV

I've been asked a few times about how I spend my time on Sunday since I've talked a little about how I see the Sabbath as set apart for God's purposes.  I get that idea from the language in the scripture above.  The Lord has asked us to hold it apart and different than the rest of the week... to keep it holy.  The Sabbath is His day to give us rest from the worldly cares we must face during the rest of the week.  And if your week is anything like mine, it has plenty of cares and that day to rest from it and focus on the things of God is a welcome and refreshing break in the routine.

(Found on Pinterest without attribution - links
to a Deseret News article)

Now, I'm not advocating that you must remain in your Sunday best church clothes and sit all prim, proper and stiff on a hard chair looking stern while a pipe organ pumps out old-time hymns.  I don't believe that's what God has asked of us.  I still cook a simple but nice evening meal, and load the dishwasher, and give the dogs food and water.  I still change a light bulb if one goes out on Sunday.  I still wipe up any spills that happen along the way.  But I don't do heavy or routine cleaning... I don't go shopping or eat in a restaurant... I don't mow the lawn.

Sunday is the day we are most likely to have a long conversation.  We visit with extended family and friends.  We take the dogs for a long walk or to the park.  You know the simpler things; the ones that make you feel like you're living a good life.

While we're in the house I also play different music than I do throughout the rest of the week.  I have what I call a Sounds of Sunday playlist for my iPod.  It makes a nice soundtrack for the day and helps me keep my focus on my Heavenly Father and what He asks of me during my Sunday.  Here's some of what I have on my playlist:

El Shaddai by Amy Grant
Down to the River to Pray by Alison Krauss and Union Station
Battle Hymn of the Republic by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
I Will Rest in You by Mindy Gledhill
The Book of Good Life by The Maccabeats
This Little Light of Mine by The Lower Lights
Love in Any Language by Sandi Patty
Broken by Kenneth Cope
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee by Michael W. Smith
His Hands by Jenny Jordan Frogley
If You Could Hie to Kolob (Instrumental) arranged by Lex de Azevedo
Rooftops by Jesus Culture
Be Still, My Soul by Vocal Point
Sempiterna by Libera
Onward Christian Soldiers by BYU Men's Chorus
I Love You Son by Joshua Creek
I Heard Him Come by Jeff Goodrich
Come Thou Font of Every Blessing by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Lord's Prayer by Andrea Bocelli and The MoTab
Be Thou My Vision by 4Him
Live Like You Believe by Jenny Phillips
Because I Have Been Given Much by Afterglow

Obviously this isn't a complete list since iTunes tells me it will take just over 4 hours to play the entire playlist but you get the idea of the kind of music that I've included.  And it's a living breathing thing.  I'm open to suggestions for songs to add.

I hope you'll take some time to explore my playlist.  I believe all the songs by these same artists can be found on Youtube currently.  Try playing a group of them today and see if it helps you keep the Sabbath day holy and set apart as a little different (in a very good way) from the rest of the week.