Sundays

What does your typical Sunday look like? 

As I was thinking about my 'new normal' Sunday 'routine', it got me thinking about how I have spent many Sundays in my life. 

Church has always been a part of my Sunday morning for as long as I have been alive! :) After church, though, has varied throughout my life. 

During the 'early years' of growing up, I remember coming home after church and eating lunch together as a family.  After lunch, I know Dad often took a nap.  I have memories of going to Oxford Valley Mall with my Mom on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  I also remember playing outside in the neighborhood, finishing up homework projects, riding bikes around town, and reading favorite books.  We always headed back to church on Sunday nights and usually this included some sort of music rehearsal - like the PB&J choir (kids choir) with Mrs. Dow - and some sort of kids programming - like Fun Foundations with Jeff and Ginny (if I'm remembering correctly!).  There were some killer games of 'free ball' that happened in the gym and lots of giggling and running around the church - I'm sure there was also educational stuff going on but I mostly remember the 'fun' of being back at church with my friends and their families.  

Fast forward to about 9th grade on and after church, I was a part of the Bucks County Youth Orchestra and our rehearsals were on Sunday afternoons.  I played french horn in the wind symphony and the orchestra.  It was (mostly) fun, it helped keep my 'lip' in shape, and I had friends in the BCYO program and in the horn section so I'm sure at times I had more fun than our directors appreciated.  :) When not rehearsing for the BCYO, I know I enjoyed Sunday afternoon siestas and I'm sure I was also cramming to get homework done before leaving for girls choir and Throneroom rehearsals (youth group worship team) which happened before our leadership team meetings (before y.g. we met with our youth pastor and the adult leaders to get ready to 'lead' our peers), then there was typically a run to 7-11 or Starbucks or somewhere to grab something caffeinated/something to eat (like we needed the energy - ha!) before attending the leadership team stuff and then ultimately ending the night with youth group.  (I LOVED having youth group on Sunday nights - I'm not kidding - it was awesome.) 

Once I hit the college years, I'm pretty sure Sunday afternoons went something like this:  eat brunch in the DC after church,  enjoy a nice nap, get ready for the week ahead of class, practice the piano (I loved the quiet of Carolyn's studio on a Sunday afternoon) and call home to chat with my family in PA.  During my first two years, I also regularly attended Bethel's Vespers student led worship service at 10 p.m.  and by my senior year, I was the leader of a Vespers team, so from about 6 p.m.-midnight I was heavily involved in leading my team and community in worship - such great memories!  

Early married life found me usually enjoying lunch with Ross and looking forward to a nap after an early morning start, getting up and out to lead worship at Salem Baptist (this was the only day I really had to get up and out for awhile because my jobs were really flexible).  Back in the day, those naps could be anywhere from 2 to 3 to 4 hours if I wanted!  Crazy to think about!  Sometimes, our small group would meet on Sunday afternoons or evenings - a cherished time with our married couple friends.  Ross and I would usually end our Sundays in front of the TV (or with me in front of the TV and Ross finishing up homework for his graduate program).  Ross rarely waitered at DP's on Sundays so that was a sacred day for us.  

As jobs have changed and children have been added to our family, our weekends remain precious time for us to be together as a family.  Music ministry continues to play a huge part of our Sunday morning routine since I am currently leading worship at a church in a neighboring city every week and Ross is leading worship one Sunday a month at another church.  After church, we usually make something for lunch as a family and then it's often sports watching time for Big Brother and Dad - Little B. usually hangs out with them, too.  While that is going on, part of my 'new normal' routine is that I have been escaping to our local Aldi to stock up on groceries for the week.  If I am feeling up to it, I will invite Big Brother to come with as it's good one on one time for the two of us.  Shopping with a list and in a smaller grocery store makes the grocery buying process so much faster and I can usually get out of there under 40 dollars in 30 minutes.  Amazing!  We usually try to incorporate a Sunday afternoon nap into our 'routine' and a walk to the park, a skype chat with family if possible, followed by dinner, he bed time routine for the boys and TV watching for the parents.  Ross and I have also been trying to intentionally talk through our upcoming week to make sure we're on the same page as much as possible before we dive into another week.  

In writing this post, it was interesting for me to realize how much the role of music and worship in the church has a played a part of my Sundays from the time I was a little girl through the present day. It's also neat to see how important being with family in one form or another has been to my Sunday routine.  Even with lots 'new normals' developing in my life, it's good to recognize the constants!