Preparing for the Sabbath

It can take months for a good idea to become an ingrained habit. It has been about one month since I started observing the Sabbath. What does 'observing' the sabbath mean for me? In the Gospel there is freedom. Thus, I can generate my own traditions. There is nothing meritorious about any tradition, per se. Tradition, however, can serve has a powerful antidote to amnesia. Observing the Sabbath has been a great experience in historical recall. It is the culmination of a week of work and struggle with the world. Heschel has said, "Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul. The world has our hands, but our soul belongs to Someone Else. Six days a week we seek to dominate the world, on the seventh day we try to dominate the self (The Sabbath, Pg. 1)." It is a time to place worldly concerns on the back burner and focus on the eternal.
One tradition that I have developed has been the Friday night house cleansing. Amber particularly likes this tradition. I make sure the floor are clean, the kitchen is spotless, and all my monetary activities are complete. It is a relief to wake up on Saturday morning and have no worry about all the things which clutter my life. My external setting is no longer a hindrance to my internal meditations on this day of rest.