The Sabbath

This Friday at Bible study we're going to be studying the Sabbath. Not what day of the week we should worship on, but how do we keep the Sabbath like God wants us to. So, I started searching the Bible. Do you know that not a whole lot is said on the subject? Most of the texts dealing with Sabbath keeping only say what not to do (don't gather food, don't light a fire, don't work, etc.) and the penalty for breaking the Sabbath (death). So how do we really keep the Sabbath and find it enjoyable? Ellen White has some stuff to say on the subject, too. I read some about it from the book Child Guidance. I'm struggling with it a bit b/c it's so far from what I have been doing. Some of it I liked. She says that parents should take their children out in nature to look at God's creation and to teach them object lessons. This is really great. But she also says that children aren't to play on Sabbath (whether indoors or out) and the only thing she suggests doing with them is talking with them on spiritual things or singing songs or praying. Now, my attention span isn't long enough to sit still and talk about God all day, or even to walk in nature dwelling on Christ and his creation. Of course, that definitely says something about my walk with God. But how can we expect children to be still all day long? Even with a nature walk, do we expect them not to run, to get rowdy, to want to laugh and play? Is that even what God wants? God wants our hearts and our worship. How do we give that to him, especially on Sabbath? How do we keep ourselves from breaking his holy day? One thing I really want to start doing more is taking full advantage of Friday (and if necessary Thursday as well) as preparation day so that my house and heart are ready to worship God from sundown to sundown. This includes cleaning, grocery shopping, and prayer. This topic is definitely an important one, and I don't want to limit Sabbath to a list of don'ts. It needs to be a mindset and a sacred time to set my heart apart for God.