The Sabbath for the Houstons

This one is from Sandra!
It's been awhile. Just life! I have come to learn and love what we are doing! There was resistance for a bit (a teensy tiny bit), but I have obeyed my husband and I am in awe of all that God is doing in our lives. I now look forward to Fridays! Not just because it is the end of my husband's work week but because I get up and begin my preparations for the Sabbath. The kids are excited and helpful!
SO for our usual at home Friday evening Shabbat. My husband has expressed desire for more tradition to make it as memorable for the children as possible. We keep our focus on the meaning of the Sabbath but it has become more fun and DELIGHTFUL to prepare for it rather than a challenge or burden. We are to DELIGHT in the Shabbat
Isaiah 58:13-14
"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken."
I begin on Thursday by getting as much tidying up done as possible and then come Friday, I begin making the challah (2 loaves if possible) and preparing the dinner. I also (with the kids -6,4,and 14mos) get the rooms "Shabbat ready" meaning they are clean and the toys that will be allowed to be played with are out in a basket but once Shabbat begins they don't get anymore out. I also usually lay out the clothes for the next day and get out pjs and prepare anything that will be needed on Saturday. Once, dinner is ready and we are ready (we change clothes too- if we have something new, we wear it for that night- tradition). I set the table with a white tablecloth and my "finest" dishes. The table is set with the food on the table and some fresh cut flowers hopefully! We don't tend to stick with EXACT times of sundown- we just usually look out the window. We start with a reading from the siddur for the wife to read before the lighting of the candles- it brings so much to perspective on why we are doing this (someday I will type it up for on here because it really is beautful) and why we follow Torah. I light the candles and say the blessing in Hebrew and English (still reading). MY husband then takes over. We are all wearing coverings kippahs and tallit, and white shawls for the ladies. He reads some more from the siddur and then we do the Kiddush. When we sit down to eat he does the blessings over the wife (Proverbs 31) and the children. He reads more at the table-Bible and siddur. My children love this time now. They look forward to it the minute it's ended- they start talking about next Shabbat. IN FACT, when I told my son we were going to be at his best friends house for Shabbat (friday eve) he actually protested because he said he likes "ours better at home." I try to make something special and have a special dessert. We really try to emphasize the specialness of this time- even in tradition. We spend the rest of the evening just spending time either reading from the scriptures or playing a Bible game. We just emphasize that this is God's moed(appointed time) and he desires our fellowship. To step away from the things of life that would normally get in our way with time with God and to forbid ourselves from things in order to spend time with Him. As we would want from someone that we love and we have desired to spend some time with and we ask them for just one day to be with each other. We wouldn't want them spending our time together on the phone or the computer or busy cleaning. He has ALWAYS desired fellowship- that is why we were created. SO yes we do more than is biblical but we keep the focus by doing the traditions not JUST focusing on the traditions. If we are at home on Saturday, when there are 3 stars that we can see in the sky we do the Havdalah- closing saying goodbye to the Sabbath.
Saturday morning, we meet with other Torah followers taking turns at each others houses. So far it's 3 main families with 2 that attend off and on and a single lady that joins us. we are 10-20 kids and 7-10 adults. The normal Saturday goes like this. We meet and usually us ladies can't stop talking and laughing because we haven't seen each other since last Shabbat BUT we get in,we settle down, pray, we read the portion (we are reading Genesis, Judges, and John) everyone that can read reads-that means the littlest little reader is even involved and the toddlers and babies are right there with us too. Worship is either done before if not sometimes in between as led...there is usually an abundance of instruments for the kids to join in. After we are done reading, we break for the Kiddush and to eat. We do the traditional (well Ashkenazim) challah and grape juice and then we end with a rousing Shabbat Shalom. We eat, everyone brings a dish. and then we gather back together to discuss the portion. We start with some question and answering time with the kids REALLY getting them in to it, then they are dismissed (to play or do some preplanned worksheets or projects) and the adults have some time to discuss things. We have a really gifted teacher with a love of God and His word and His Torah, but everyone has something to contribute. We go long sometimes (plenty of interruptions from little ones- time out for dessert etc.) but we always come away refreshed and enlightened. We have several moments of heartfelt prayers. I just love that we sit there and are challenged to really read the Word through Hebraic eyes- it makes a world of difference. My head is actually still spinning from all that we learned today. Anyways- we have a real strong bond- we love each others children, we share with each other respect each other, just wonderful fellowship. The men even get some time together to meet in the middle of the week every other week. The Sabbath has become what we hunger for the whole week as we discuss what God has taught us the last week or during the week or what God has laid on our hearts. We read the portions to the kids throughout the week from the Bible, children's Bibles so they are geared up for the teaching too.