Only on Sundays – Julia Bettencourt Blog

This is the way we get dressed up!

Years ago I had some surveys on my website that had a lot of questions about this and that on spiritual matters. Some of the questions I had on some of them through the multiple choice ones included the answer “only on Sundays”.

You know, we tend to be nicer on Sundays, or at least we do as Christians. We go to church, meet people, greet them kindly, say nice things. We even read our Bibles more, whether it is through following along with a sermon or just preparing our heart for the worship service. Maybe we even pray more because we see people whom we want to pray for on Sundays. We hear about people’s needs through the church announcements, and so on.

I don’t think it is that whole hypocrite thing either that makes us do it. I’m sure that is true in some cases, but just attending worship with other people makes us focus on them more. Hearing the Word of God preached to us on Sunday makes us think of Christ and His sacrifice more. Hearing the prayers of others and the needs of others makes us pray more. In turn, it makes us just a little more nicer to other people. We tend to concentrate on that love thing Jesus taught us on Sundays. It would be great if we were mindful all through the week, but really, that kinder and gentler people vibe becomes prominent more only on Sundays.

During this self quarantine and staying home so much, it is easy for the days just to run into each other. Many of us are not keeping track of what day of the week it is or what the date is. It’s just part of this stay at home life we are all encountering right now during the Coronovirus outbreak.

I just hope we remember that even when we stay home and listen to the preaching through technological means that we don’t forget that it is Sunday. Even though we can’t meet together in person as churches, we still need that Sunday spirit. Our world needs Sundays. I know I need to remind myself of that.

I stay home a lot even without self quarantine because I work writing from home. I don’t have a job outside the home. A lot of times I go to a Starbucks or Panera to do my writing for my books and for my blog. But even when I stay home to write, I get up, put on makeup, and get dressed like I was going out. Okay, I’m really boring and I wear button down shirts most days so that’s what you will find me wearing, but it will be a nicely starched and ironed one, even for at home. I just like the feel of being totally together. It makes me work better. It makes me accomplish more. It makes me ready for all my tasks I need to do. And if I need to run errands, I am together and I can run out. I don’t have to stop and get dressed suitably.

Do you remember that old “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush” kid’s nursery rhyme song? Do you remember the Sunday verse?

This is the way we get dressed up,
Get dressed up,
Get dressed up
This is the way we get dressed up,
So early Sunday morning.

You might not be going anywhere literally this Sunday, and probably for several Sundays in the future, but I encourage you to prepare yourself for worship on Sunday. Get up, throw on something nice. It doesn’t of course have to be your nicest dress or outfit in your closet, but something clean and neat—something you would be comfortable in to be ready to go out into the world. Brush and style your hair. Put your makeup on if that’s your norm. Put on your earrings if you wear them. Get yourself together for worship, even if you may be listening through headphones. And don’t forget about that heart preparation for worship as well.

I know we all miss our in real life church services, but Sunday is still coming every week, whether we are home or not. Let’s embrace Sundays!

And since I’m talking about Sundays, I thought I’d share some of the Sunday specific images I’ve shared on Facebook in the past with you. Many people keep asking me lately if they can use images I’ve shared on my Facebook Page, so I thought I’d put up some today that you can easily grab. You’ll be able to use these ones for your social media posts on Sundays. These are some of the ones I’ve used in the last year or so. A few of them I might not have even used yet.

How to Download:
Click on the graphic to open it full size first. Then click right and save to your computer from there. These were all made at various times, so they ae in various sizes. You can also download all 12 of these, plus 11 more in a zip file here.