69: Sam and Amber Cullum | Sabbath As A Family

Sam and Amber Cullum
Sam and Amber have been married for 12 years . They met after graduating from the University of Kentucky. They moved to Florida in 2009, where they grew their family to include Bennett, Zoe, and Levi. They now reside in Raleigh, NC where Sam works as an engineer and Amber hosts the Grace Enough Podcast and stays home to care for the kiddos.
Sam and I chat about what led us to implement a weekly Shabbat meal and Sabbath rest into our family routine. We discuss challenges and benefits from our experience.
0:34 What led us to begin a weekly practice of Sabbath rest?
Sam: “We had started looking at some of the family teams stuff with Jeremy Pryor and Jeff Bethke and some of the research they were sharing about people leaving the faith in western Christendom versus religions like Mormonism and the Hebrew faith….Part of it was that there weren’t rhythms that were part of the standard daily family cycle. And so for me, we were researching that and it really hit me that it was something I wanted to give to my kids to help them see the realness of our faith, but also to give them a practice that gave us an identity as a family.”3:20 As a family of 5 (3 kids 10 and under) we understand the challenge with actually getting to rest, so what does our weekly Sabbath look like?
Our family currently Sabbath’s from 5 p.m. on Friday-12 p.m. Saturday. Shabbat meal Friday evening followed by 5-10 minutes of quiet time, then family game time. Tips:- Choose a day that works for your family and can be repeated
- Form a habit of removing digital distraction
- Make the Shabbat meal special. Ex.) plates only used for that meal, special drink for the kids, table cloth, etc.
- Stand behind our chairs
- Pray
- Sing Doxology
- Read Deut. 5:15: Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day
- Light the candles
- Oldest generation present blesses any sons and daughters present
- Kids speak Aaronic Blessing (Num. 26: 22-27) over us in Hebrew
- As a family we bless one another with the Aaronic blessing
- EAT!
- Ask yourself, “What fills my soul?”
- Ask yourself, “What brings me rest?”
- Pursue those things
- When do you feel the most rested?
- When do you feel the closest to Jesus?
- what is something that helps you feel at peace?