The Week in Review: February 3

Wait, why review the week on Friday?

Because in the current rhythm of the Hibbard household, the week starts on Saturday. Which, perhaps, bears some explanation. As a family in ministry, our week looks different much of the time. The way churches work, there are always some folks working on items in the background. Frequently, that involves at least one or two of us. And even when it’s just a “normal” Sunday, we’re in gear the same time as work days and going until later than most normal work days. That’s a separate problem for another day—but too often being a “good church member” gets in the way of people being good neighbors, to say nothing of good friends or family members. (Honestly, is the only time you have to spend with your friends that 4 minutes between Sunday School and church? But we sure do ask for that…) Throw in that most church activities hit on Saturdays—as do most family activities, since we’re busy on Sundays—and “weekends” aren’t great as the opening of our week. Or the end of her last one.

Since Ann is able to flex her schedule a bit for work, and I get the opportunity to take a day somewhere in the week, we’ve set Friday aside as our down day. This is, essentially, our “Sabbath-rest” day. Our focus is to rest, recharge, and reconnect on Fridays. Does this mean we do nothing? Nonsense. But it does mean we shifted the chore schedules, we rearranged the school schedules and push back hard against making commitments on Fridays. Then, we launch into Saturday as primarily a working day—sometimes house working, sometimes relationship working, sometimes church working—which includes my final sermon review work on Saturday night.

The big shift in mindset is how we approach Sunday. It used to be that we tried to have family rest and reconnection on Sundays as well as make church services and everything else. Then, every little additional item was an “Interruption.” A frustrating one at that. Now we look at a differently.

One thing this requires is that we pay attention to how we react to other people’s Sundays—for some folks, that is the one day they have for rest and family. They cannot treat it as a work day. They need those hours. I have to strive to not be agitated about that.

So, then the rest of the week runs through Thursday, with Friday again as “reset” day.

So, this week? Not a bad week. Just a chaotic one. The ABSC Evangelism/Church Health conference was Monday and Tuesday. I got wrapped up in some relationship building and didn’t get back Monday night. But it was good. Good reminders in the messages about the faithfulness of God and our response to Him.

The rest of the week went as expected—chaos gives way to crazy which gives way to trying to do the best I can even though I fall way short most of the time—and now, it’s Friday.

Friday means date night—which means homecooked dinner for two, calmness for the night, and then back at it in the morning. Including balancing the checkbook, paying bills, changing the oil in the car and finishing off the French homework.

YAY! That’s a week. It holds together because the grace of God is both the substance and the glue that holds me together.