1. Plan Ahead
The first time I heard the tip to plan your Sabbath day ahead of time, it changed the way I did Sabbath. I had never thought to plan the day out ahead of time; I always just went with the flow of the day to see what I did next. A lot of times, people see Sabbath as a Queen or a Bride. The Queen is very formal where the Bride is very festive. People can go to the extreme on either side, when in reality, it should be a harmony of both. We should look forward to our day of rest, but we must plan it out and respect the Sabbath by keeping it holy. This does not mean we get legalistic about it and do nothing all day. We are to refrain from work so we can do things that focus our attention on God and His glory. Plan what your day will look like ahead of time, but you do not need to follow your schedule meticulously. If you are tired, but have a hike planned, sleep in instead. Make plans with friends ahead of time. Pack your lunch ahead of time. Do your laundry and chores ahead of time. Respect the Sabbath for what it is.
2. Lose the Phone
Disconnect for a little bit. Leave your phone at home as you go about your day or turn off the notifications except for emergencies. When we have our phones, we get so fixated on filling our leisure with watching the best version of people's lives on social media. We can then play the comparison game and focus on what we do not have or do not get to do instead of being grateful for what we have and what God has done for us. Moreover, we can also get sucked in to doing work on our Sabbath. We may get a business related text or email that we feel is urgent, even when it can wait a day, and we indulge it. Next thing we know, we are putting together an excel file for work that somebody could have done on the clock and some of our Sabbath has been stolen.
3. Rest and Recharge
The Hebrew word Menuha means to rest. On the Sabbath, we are to rest just as God did on the 7th day of creation. Resting is doing things that recharge you. For extroverts, doing something social, like going to lunch with friends, lets them rest and recharge. For introverts, enjoy some alone time and activities that you can do by yourself, like go hiking. Do things based on your interests that will recharge you and get you ready for the coming week.