A Day of Rest...Shabbat Shalom

Six days you shall labor and on the seventh you shall rest. From Exodus 20:8

At Shevet we take our Sabbath rest on Saturday. I don't know all the reasoning behind that, but I know the Lord has commanded a day of rest. He cares for our well-being, and so it is a gift to give rest to the body and nourishment to the soul.

What Sabbath rest looked like today.
1. Sleeping in. This is my 2nd night of sleeping soundly through most of it. The first few nights, my mind was too busy thinking about the day to rest completely. This has happened to me before, and as a result I experienced the provision of God for energy to make it through several days without the typical amount of sleep.
2. Worship. I attended a Messianic Jewish service this morning with coworkers which meets just half a block away from here. The entire service was in Hebrew, and fortunately there was translation available. So glad I packed a set of earbuds. The pastor spoke about Moses drawing water from the rock. The first time God told him to strike the rock, but the second time he was just to speak. He connected Christ as the Rock, who only had to be sacrificed once for our sins, not "struck" again. I am so grateful the work of my salvation is complete throughout Christ. This service was a taste of heaven. (I had to smile, Pastor Mike, as the pastor finished his sermon, I noticed he had used an iPad to speak from).
3. Lunch. Natalie, Tara (another short term volunteer) and I were invited to have lunch at Lina and her family's home today. Lina works here at Shevet, speaks several languages and I think has lived in the old city her whole life. She met us at Jaffa Gate and walked with us into her family home deep in the old city. We had previously shopped along a few of the streets that we took on the way to getting there. Her mother had prepared a tasty lunch of Palestinian food...Chicken and Okra Stew, salad (cucumbers, tomato & onion), rice, pita and ice cream. We treasured the invitation to visit a friend's home.
4. Reading. I am enjoying a couple books I have found on shelves here.
5. Nap. Didn't take long to drift off to sleep for a couple hours. The heat here does make one tired.
6. Only one shower. This is the first day, since arriving, that I haven't desperately felt the need for a second or even third shower.

Thank you Lord for the command of Sabbath rest. I look forward to another week to serve You!