To my surprise, last week’s post (with more than 700 hits) is very close to becoming my all time most viewed post. I appreciate those who have linked to it.
In the meantime, my wife (who wasn’t a part of writing the first post) has been itching to add clarification to my rather loosely formatted list of tips.
So I told her to go ahead and this is what she just sent me:
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Here are some specific things we do to get ready for church:
Clothing:
Our kids have church-only clothes that we keep in a separate place in their closet or dresser (or even our closet.) Then on Saturday, the clothes are not difficult for us (or the older kids) to locate. Each child has a certain spot where they set out all of their church clothes so they are ready for Sunday morning.
We also have what we call a “Sunday basket,” which is just a laundry basket that holds church-only socks, tights, shoes, etc. Everyone’s items are all together, but easy to find since they are different sizes. While putting away clean laundry for the week, these church items go directly into the Sunday basket.
Also, (and this might be too Spartan for some,) the kids basically have a church “uniform” which is black tights for the girls and navy pants and black socks for the boys with black shoes—all of them. Their dresses/shirts have to go with black/navy. There have been many Sunday mornings when we have discovered that someone’s pants or shoes are too small, so we go to the “extra Sunday shoes box” or “extra Sunday pants box” and get the next size up!
Church bags:
We have a stash of labeled bags for the kids to bring to church, and every Saturday they need to put into their bag a Bible, paper and pen. Those bags then sit in a pile in our living room until we walk out the door on Sunday.
Sunday breakfast:
We get as much of the breakfast ready as possible the night before; even cracking the eggs into a bowl and setting the table. In the morning, Scott and I take turns preparing breakfast while the other gets ready for church. (The kids are still sleeping.)
Regarding spills: We never have the kids put on their church clothes until after breakfast. Breakfast is at 7:30 am, and that gives us 40 minutes to clean up and get the kids ready; Scott and I are mostly ready to go by breakfast, except I eat in my pajamas, as well!
Schedule:
I have been known to make a two-hour, minute-by-minute schedule for Sunday morning prep time, especially when we have a baby. If I find that breakfast is not ready by 7:30, then the next Sunday I get up earlier, and if 40 minutes is not enough time to get ready after breakfast, then the next week Sunday we try eating at 7:20 (and get up earlier!) I sometimes jot down notes for the next Sunday and put them in my “Saturday folder” which I look at every Saturday.
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I must admit, her attention to detail has enable us to have more peaceful, and thus more God-glorifying Sabbath mornings.
By the way, we’d sure appreciate any comments you have on this subject.
12 comments
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February 9, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Tricia
I like the “Sunday basket” idea… I’m going to have to use that one!
February 9, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Chris
These are great ideas!
You are married to the Proverbs 31 Woman:)
February 10, 2009 at 9:53 am
jamsco
Debbie smiled when she read that. Thanks.
February 11, 2009 at 11:17 am
Coralie
The Sunday basket is a great idea! We don’t have a problem being on time, but we are challenged to be as Sabbatarian as we can be, and that doesn’t usually happen because of my disorganization.
February 11, 2009 at 12:40 pm
jamsco
Coralie, I’m glad to hear that others are trying to consider the Sabbath.
And Sabbatarian is my new vocabulary word of the day.
February 17, 2009 at 7:37 pm
kari
I really appreciate this post. I’m not a detailed person and I strive every week to get to church on time. We have 6 children and it’s a distraction for us to arrive late. My husband and I and our kids do better if we arrive on time and I’m sure everyone else appreciates it also. Thank you for your detailed, practical ideas!
February 18, 2009 at 11:10 pm
jamsco
Thanks, Kari – and thanks for linking to it.
February 21, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Cheryl (Copper's Wife0
Great post! This is something I’ve mentioned, often, in Saturday posts on my own blog. Today I’m linking to this post, as well as to the previous post with the video. Your tips for preparing for the Sabbath with lots of little ones are terrific!
February 23, 2009 at 9:20 am
jamsco
Thanks, Cheryl
March 8, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Megan
absolutely great! we are all guilty of playing the victim occaisionally in various areas of our lives, feeling the situation just never goes right, or that there are too many variables against us- so it is in the topic of the sunday morning “war” to get to church victoriously (or anywhere with small children victoriously!)- it is absolutely possible, if we are intentional to step away from the situation ahead of time, see the places that fall apart, plan ahead for them in ways that work for OUR family, and do what we have to do to take the morning on! simple, straight planning ahead of time for ANYTHING keeps the day and it’s opportunities from slipping away, and makes ROOM for the best things of life!
we’ve discovered that through the years, through adding to our family of 6, and amidst friends so frequently telling me they don’t know how our family does all it does, when we have so many more children than they do…and we seem to do it (most of the time) so smoothly and have fun together- i always try to encourage them if i can, and often say having four children is so much easier than when i had one! and i’m not timid at all at the idea of having more! because i’ve learned to LET GO of the things that don’t need to happen and to EMBRACE with joy the things that do- and that includes embracing strong organization :).
you two are clearly doing a fantastic job! the Lord is blessing your children through you, no doubt!
May 11, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Anna
I am soon to have six kids under age 7. My husband is the senior pastor of our church, so Sunday mornings are all on me. I appreciate your wife’s attention to detail as I have a similar orderly routine. My only “tip” would be to dress a little one the night before. Seriously! After Sat. Night baths, just before bed I dress the youngest(or two) in their Sunday clothes. It has worked beautifully for us! And that is one or two less kiddos to have to dress in the morning when time is precious! Take it or leave it! 🙂
May 13, 2009 at 10:27 pm
jamsco
I like the dressing them the morning before idea.