It’s been a routine around here for a very long time. So long that it actually didn’t even start here in Massachusetts, but is more original to our life in Oklahoma when we had a toddler, an infant, and a ministry to college students. It’s the Sunday routine, and we’ve hardly ever veered from it. And not just because it’s our job, our calling, but also because we love it.
It probably won’t seem all that exciting to you, but I felt the need to chronicle it here today. Actually, I’ve had to sort of mash-up the last two Sundays, because Kayla is such a vital part of this routine lately, and she deviated from it last week due to a late Saturday night with friends at a winter dance.
Saturday 7:00pm: A Sunday in the life of the Krum fam really starts on Saturday night. I can hear the sermon from the kitchen where I’m working on a dessert or salad for lunch the next day. It comes up through the floorboards from his basement office always louder and with more fire than on a Sunday morning. Robert always spends Saturday evenings “talking through” his sermon, as he calls it, and I always use the time for a bit of food prep and cleaning.
When my kids were little, they were always in bed at this point, and it was the perfect time to get some things prepared for Sunday. When they were older, they could help me with the preparations – cleaning, setting the table, come cooking – or just do their own thing – play a game, hang out together.
Saturday 10:00pm: If I was really good at creative documenting, I might have some cool photo to represent the last thing that happens on Saturday nights, which is prayer. I don’t know when I began to feel prompted to do this, and I wish I had chosen to do it much earlier in our marriage, but I (almost) always pray for Robert when we climb into bed on Saturday nights – for his rest, for strength for Sunday, for God to speak through him, for our church’s growth and protection from the enemy, and any other pressing matter.
You should know that my Saturday prayers for Robert don’t even come close to the number of prayers he prays for me at various times throughout the week and month.
Sunday 6:00am: Sunday morning has us up pretty early. Usually 5 or 6am for me and 6 or 7am for Robert and Kayla. This is due to only having one full bathroom in our house and the need to take showers in shifts. Also, an early start gives time for more prayer and food prep.
I think a lot of pastors and wives would agree that Saturday night and Sunday morning are prime targets for the flaming arrows of the enemy. Admittedly, my Martha-like tendencies sometimes take over on Sunday mornings and I neglect this, but I try and sit here at the kitchen table for a little while to pray again for the morning services, for Robert, and for our church family.
Sunday 7:00am: Robert usually arrives in the kitchen when I’m finishing up and heads back down to the basement both to pray for the day…and to iron his shirt. I gave up feeling guilty about this a while back. I am cooking his breakfast, and he does actually enjoy ironing (“a task I can control and complete!”), but I used to struggle with the fact that I’ve never really, in the history of our marriage, ironed any of his shirts.
Isn’t that a pastor’s wife’s duty? I think I may have read that in a book or seen it in a movie somewhere. If it is, I’m definitely failing.
But I’m usually winning at breakfast. Breakfast gets cooked upstairs while he prays and irons in the basement downstairs. Meanwhile, Kayla is waking up and getting her shower. She usually arrives downstairs just in time for breakfast, though that wasn’t the case this Sunday, as you can see. I told her she was sabotaging all my efforts to capture our usual routine.
Sunday 8:00am: Then they leave for church together, and I stay behind to finish getting lunch and myself ready.
I asked them to act natural…
Do you see those egg cartons and money on the table? Here’s a closer look…
A very recent addition to the Sunday routine is that I buy eggs from Gabe, an almost twelve year old boy at my church. He’s the oldest of six kids and raises chickens at home. He faithfully brings me two dozen eggs every week, and I try and faithfully remember to return my cartons and have my payment ready. Gabe is always ready with the exact change, and it’s just an all-around awesome situation, because sweet, diligent preteen boys bearing free range chicken eggs is truly a manifold blessing.
One of Kayla’s main contributions on Sunday morning is filling communion cups. She’s been doing this as long as I can remember, and oftentimes heading immediately down to the nursery to help with childcare during the first worship service.
What you’re not seeing in these photos is all of the other Sunday morning volunteers. It’s a major production and requires lots of hands on deck. I love that Kayla has been a part of it all.
Sunday 9:15am: The first worship service begins. I roll in about 9:14am and find my way to a row near the front. A call to worship is given. The band does a couple of songs. The Scripture is read. Prayers are prayed. And the sermon is given.
And I never get tired of it. Not any of it, but especially not the sermon.
I just did a quick calculation and estimated that I have probably listened to my husband deliver at least 1,000 sermons. Nearly 20 years as lead pastor X at least 50 sermons a year if you count weddings and conferences and camps = 1,000. Not to mention the 5-6 years of church ministry as a youth pastor and collegiate pastor before that. That’s a lot of sermons, and I’ve truly loved and learned from every one of them. 
Sunday 11:15am: Second service begins. I typically attend the first worship service, and then head home to finish up lunch preparations. I don’t know how often, but I think I can say that more often than not, we have friends from church over for lunch. Actually, sometimes they become friends that very day, since we may not have known them very well before.
Sunday 1:00pm: I read somewhere that introverts may not enjoy going out and socializing at parties, but that many of them do love to host parties. That is definitely the case for me! And not necessarily parties, but just meals and conversation around the table. I love this Sunday afternoon tradition. I may have mentioned this about 1,000 times.
Just look at this lovely time of fellowship…
From music, to cultural differences, to education, to dating and wedding stories, to missions and calling, to bunny rabbits given as Christmas gifts to newlyweds (!), our conversation over lunch is always so enjoyable.
Sunday 3:00pm: So enjoyable, that the stack of dishes left waiting only provides an opportunity to remember it all and look forward to the next time. Not to mention, that when the last guest leaves and the final dish is dried and put away, the house is re-set and in perfect order to start the week.
Sunday 4:00pm: I’m calling this The Debrief. Kayla is a deep thinker, and she often asks some great questions or makes a profound observation on Sunday afternoons. I think I actually captured this moment in its natural state: Kayla propped up on the countertop, and us finishing up dishes or having a second cup of coffee, she’s dives deep into a theological conversation with her questions and clarifications. Robert usually provides the feedback or explanation, and sometimes I throw in my two cents, too.
Sunday 5pm: The trash and recycle bins go out on Sundays. It’s the final task of the day, and typically done by Robert since both boys are now out of the house, and it used to be their job. Our labor force is definitely decreasing around here, but I suppose some of the labor is as well.
Sunday evenings are usually filled with reading, phone calls with Kory, Cooper, or other family members far away, and possibly a movie.
I love Sundays.
Recently, I came across this article by Tim Challies about delighting in the Lord’s Day, and especially agree with this sentiment which is actually from the book Simplify Your Spiritual Life by Donald Whitney:
“Far from being a day of dread because of its restrictions, God designed the Sabbath to be a delightful day, the best day of the week.”
Definitely the best day of the week around here!
Want another peak into our Sunday mornings? Check out this beautiful video, made by our friend and fellow church member, Tommy Moore. Thanks, Tommy!