Everyone has a collective least favorite day of the week- say it with me: Monday. It's so hard to enter back into the real world and our responsibilities head-on. So it's difficult for me to explain why I love the day that's dedicated to preparing for Monday so much. Sundays are my favorite and while it is hard to articulate exactly why I know for certain it has to do with what Sundays are all about for me.

Growing up, every Sunday my family (me, my mom, my dad, and my brother) would go to church at 8:30 and then breakfast after. My mom, brother, and I would meet my dad at church because he is an Usher and has to get there early, while we always roll in right at 8:30- if we're doing well on time that particular morning.

That's one aspect of Sunday morning that has never changed; even if I was out late or stayed at a friend's the night before, I always went to church with my family the next morning. Our four lives can get pretty hectic individually and admittedly, it's hard to always find time for us to just be together during the week. Sundays take care of that for us and you can call it lazy, but we'll take any chance we have to squeeze in some real quality time.

Looking back on it, I'm grateful for all those mornings in middle school when my mom made me get up at the "crack of dawn", which is what 8:00 AM felt like to me at the time, for the early service. I didn't realize it, but we were building memories even by just going to church and getting breakfast. I think that's one reason why I do love Sundays so much: I associate them as being a collective day of gathering for my family. Nobody has soccer, tutoring, dance team, work, or meetings, just a whole lot of time to be with each other.

Since I'm in college now and usually three hours away from home more than I am not, that quality of Sundays has become even more important to me. My parents tried to implement "device-free breakfast" every Sunday in high school, and I think my response was usually just to roll my eyes and keep texting, but now I'll happily keep my phone in my purse when I do get the chance to be with them on a Sunday.

This day is sacred because we intentionally make time for each other.

Like I mentioned earlier, Sunday is the day you prepare for Monday. On this day, I like to wrap up the week that I've just finished and look forward to the week I'm about to enter and I try to be intentional with those two things. What am I grateful for this previous week? What do I want to be better about this week? What are my goals for this week?

Sundays have gotten a bad wrap as the term "Sunday Scaries" has become popular, and I'm not going to lie and say I've never felt them because I have. Try to look at it like you get the chance to do it all over again this next week, at work and school and personally, and you're going to crush it.

I think Sundays are soul-days. Get up early and go to church, be with your family, try a new coffee shop, or sleep in and get brunch at 3:00 PM, and watch movies all day. Whatever is good for your soul and sets you up for a good week, do that. Let Sunday become your favorite day, too.