Favorite Erev Shabbat Meals

My erev meal preferences change with the seasons of the year and the seasons in our life. The season we are in now is food that is simple and delicious. Preparation Day is full chores and communications and tieing things up from the week's work (ideally any way!). So I find that I most often prepare meals that are simple, delicious, fail safe, familiar and take little thought for me. I use my seasoning mixes to deliver the flavor. (See my Seasoning links for recipes.) I like to have dessert for the meal whenever possible, which adds an extra step in preparations, yet another reason why a simple meal is ideal. Challah and special table setting with bread and wine, also set this night apart and are extra steps. I also like to have the dishes and counters as empty and clean before the sun goes down for my peace of mind as well. (When on week days, dishes are often scraped and stacked until morning.) Simple grilled or baked meats go very nicely with fresh salad, bread, dessert. (I usually keep homemade dressing on hand -so that is usually taken care of.) I may bake some fish and sprinkle it with my Fantastic Fish Seasoning (which is also tasty on chicken BTW). If I did have time ahead I will bread or marinate some chicken and have that "waiting in the wings" to be popped in the oven about an hour before the sun sets.

In the summer time, I often grill veggies with the meal and we eat outside most rev's that the weather permits. In the summer, we will do burger, beef hot dogs or chicken sausage on the grill alot more too. I rarely bake challah in the hot months (We don't have AC and live in the south!) However, I will make buns ahead in the summer kitchen for those grass fed burgers and organic beef franks. :-)

In the winter time we eat a lot more cooked greens and those are handy to saute with olive oil, garlic and ginger for a delicious side dish to baked or grilled meat. Or we will roast potatoes or veggies in the oven. Or I will do a one pot meal in the crock (or now - in a pot on the wood stove) and let it slow cook all day and bread and wine goes nicely with that. Or let a pot of pasta sauce simmer all day - my family loves pasta and that is easy. I usually skip the challah when I make italian and make a crusty bread or garlic bread instead.

Prayerful Preparations

Last week Carmen made a brief mention about "praying" during preparations for Shabbat in her list of tips and it inspired me to share about that.

Being prayerful through my preparations makes a HUGE difference in what I do and how I do it. Many people think prayer must be done with eyes closed, while bowing one's head or kneeling by the bedside. Of course there is nothing wrong with that - those are wonderful practices! However, the kind of prayer I am talking about here is the daily operational prayer. Do you know what I mean? It is learning to walk and talk with YHVH so that we also see Him in our midst, in all the little things. He IS isn't He? This is a posture of prayer that I am so thankful that I have learned to "walk in". It is as constant state of listening...listening to the Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh). So often we view pray as what we say, ask or think, but there is a different kind of prayerfulness of which I speak. It is training ourselves to "be still and KNOW he is YHVH". I am talking about "knowing" in the Biblical Hebrew sense, in the most intimate way, even more so than a Husband "knows" a wife! The Holy Spirit "comes into us" us the Scripture says. We become Echad, ONE.

If I am in right standing with Him...(my conscience is clear, I hold no bitterness toward anyone, my focus is righteous and my "self" is set aside) than I can do this. I can hear. As I go through my day...YHVH steers me. Yes, I make plans and lists and menus and am deliberate with my own thoughts...however, I am always "LISTENING"ahead of those things. There have been so many times when YHVH corrects my course or shifts me a little to the left or right in the planning process of my week. There is a still small voice that speaks to me along the way. If I am listening (those how have ears let them hear) and want nothing more than to follow HIM, than I easily follow any course corrections He may whisper. Than I am not "rocked or rattled" when "surprises" arise (like I used to be) , rather, I just shift course knowing that He is in control and I and my family are covered. When I am "in tune" with YHVH in this way, I am incredibly productive, the children are in harmony and we walk in joy. Oh "things" may happen...but we just "roll with it" instead getting frustrated or fighting it or complaining or getting angry (which would be my "before" way). Really, it is learning to walk in a posture of thankfulness. YHVH continues to develop in me a servant's heart...this is something that my flesh fights and even despises at times...but YHVH is faithful to see it through. As I grow, those times become further and further apart, new habits are formed and my character in Him is developed further. (Halleluyah!)

YHVH is Sovereign and provides all we need everyday every week. The more I develop this habit of being "prayerful without ceasing" the more He transforms me and reveals Himself to me. It becomes a perpetually beautiful exercise. A dance between me and the Creator, a beautifully romantic waltz. The chores which I used to see as mundane, tedious or insignificant are becoming a delight that I look forward too, a privilege, an honor and a blessing.

I praise YHVH for teaching me how to be prayerful in preparations for Shabbat, and in my daily walk. I thank Him for teaching me, week after week how to walk closer with Him. I thank Him for turning my heart toward Him, my children, my husband, my home and giving me a compassion for others.

May you too, walk in His presence every day...as you practice listening and being steered by Him week after week. May He train us all to hear that still small voice that He has sent to guide us. May you be blessed by aligning yourself to the rhythm of His Creation in Shabbat and walk all His ways as He teaches you to fill your lamp and prepare for His final coming.

Preparing in the Light,

P.S. Thank you sweet Lusi for sharing your Preperation Day Picture (above) with me. I am going to use it for all of the "reflections" YHVH puts on my heart for this Preperation Day Linky.

What DO you DO on Shabbat?

One of the things that was hardest for me to learn was NOT to plan Shabbat! Some may say I have "Administrative Tendancies". I love to dig into a messy pile of something (ANYTHING) and bring order and function to it. I love to label things, organize and make things efficiant and pretty. For me...I had to learn to not plan my day. At first it was so hard! A whole empty day??? The idea of it was torture - not a blessing. The more I saught Him, the quicker He transformed me. He taught me how to totally "let go" and relax IN HIM, 100%. It is such a blessing!

I have learned, that it is similar to when we take a vacation...it takes a lot of work to prepare for a vacation! But how much sweeter is it when we do?? SO much sweeter! For me, I rest better when my house is clean (or AT LEAST tidy), and I have a sense of having accomplished my tasks for the week. There is a wonderful expectation in preparation for the Shabbat, as we (the bride) prepare for that Holy Appointment that our Groom has set aside for us.

My dear friend described it best when she said, "We live from Shabbat to Shabbat. Our whole week revolves around the next Shabbat."

Sundays are often spent doing household chores, and extra projects with Daddy since he is off work. Or I do projects that require my undevided attention (new projects or ones that I am not confident about), things that are not easily done amidst the daily business of school and other responsibilities. Daddy will spend time with the kids so that I may be freed up for these things. (I am blessed.)

Mondays and Tuesdays, I try to get most of my "running" done.

Wednesday is the best day for visits, friends, or fieldtrips. It is also a good day to do extra special projects that may take two days (like sewing, putting food by, larger prodjects and planning, etc.) that I CAN do amidst daily business.

Thursdays, I like to get the cleaning done and laundry done.

Friday, I like to cook and prepare for Shabbat, by tieing up any loose ends from the week.

Our Erev Shabbat Dinner is always the best meal of the week. We always have wine, candles, tablecloths, centerpiece, cloth napkins, our best dishes, dessert and Challah. (We do not have this during the week!) We sing our Family Shabbat Songs, We pray for each other and pray together, we share Scripture, and have relaxed fellowship. We usually adjourn to the living room for further fellowship. This often results in snuggling and foot rubs or back rubs all around and just visiting and laughing. Sometimes it turns into Bible study or listening to a teaching tape or something of the like. Sometimes we will watch a missionary/Bible video or something like that, but when we do pick a film, we like to keep Yah at the center...other wise, it seems "selfish". If we are reading a good book that really glorifies Yah, we may read that aloud. Many a nights we have dozed on the couch; It's like a family slumber party. No bed times are enforced like they are during the week.

The next morning: We all sleep in. We are a house of early risers, so this definatly sets this day apart for us. For breakfast we usually have granola, hot cereal that was premade in the crock pot, or muffins that were made ahead. Muffins are the family favorite. Daddy and I are eager to study, so we often do that first thing...in jammies without a care; its the best. We truly enjoy one another, it is like "date night" with bed-head and a cup of coffee. The kids are eager to play "Bible Characters" or something of the like. We encourage them to keep Yah at the center of what they do too. Sometime we (Davidic) dance our worship together or go outside and soak up His Creation. As the day goes on, we study together, worship together, pray together, nap together, have quiet times alone, (in the winter I love to soak in a hot bath!). My mom has recently "taken over" Shabbat lunch, which has been a real blessing for me. She premakes a meal and brings it over after she has had her quiet time with Yah. Before that, I would have something premade or we would have "a snacky day". I would have fruit and vegies cut, dips, cheese, muffins etc. This is always our back-up if mom was unable to make anything ahead. We have an agreement, that she must make it ahead and not fuss on Shabbat. :-)

As of late, we find that friends come by for home fellowship around 3:30 or 4. This used to be more like 6, but we find it easier for our families to meet earlier...we simply need more time together. We continue to pray, study, and worship with friends and I have something premade and everyone brings something that they have premade and we eat together at sunset, and continue fellowship. Our meeting is multi generational and everyone partisipates. We encourage one another and share what Abba is showing us through is constant object lessons in life and Scripture as we seek Him and His ways.

We also like to go for a walk or go for a hike when it is nice, but that is happening less often since Abba is slowly connecting us with other Sabbath/Torah keepers.

This is such a wonderful contrast to what our "Sundays" used to be like. Get up, get pretty, rush out, shake hands, do very loud modern "worship", be talked at (a serman), shake more hands, smile - small talk and race for the door because we were famished and felt like half the day was "gone".

Now, when Sunday comes around I bounce out of bed like Tigger, refreshed and full of energy and ready to take on the next week. It is a beautiful thing, I am so thankful for His precious Shabbat!!