Day of Atonement (aka More Leviticus)

In Leviticus 23:26-32, God requires that his people set aside one day each year as the Day of Atonement. On this day, they are expected to hold an assembly, deny themselves and offer a sacrifice. God ordains that once every year, his people should stop everything. This serves a few purposes.
First, they are doing absolutely nothing for themselves. Atonement is being made for them. The only thing to do is rely on God's mercy to cover their sins. God emphasizes this in verse 28. He says "Do not work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you" We are not doing anything. Atonement is being made for us. We are being reuinted with our God. Our sin separates us, and God makes provision to repair the damage done by us. Quite honestly, the sacrifice itself has no value. The people were told to bring a sacrifice, but bringing it does not cover sin. The only thing that gives the shedding of blood the power to cover sin is that God accepts it. There are plenty of instances where God refuses to accept a sacrifice. We can bring the right things for the wrong reasons, but God will not be bought.
The second thing the Day of Atonement does is provide a time of reflection. It gave the people a period of time when nothing pressed against them. A nation would grind to a halt. There was no work and no appointments. There were only two things accomplished on that day. The people presented a sacrifice and gathered together in a solemn assembly. Because there were no other things to do, everyone was free to attend to the matter before them - God was making atonement, God was reuiniting his people with Himself.
When was the last time we stopped everything - working, eating, sleeping, tv - and presented ourselves as a sacrifice before God, asking God to close the distance that we have put between us? When was the last time we did nothing except consider what God has done for us? I know that we all do that to some degree, but do we approach the depth of this one day that God set aside? Do we intentionally set aside a time to remember the cost and necessity of our salvation and the grace and mercy of our Father or do we do those things in the time we have left? Is this something we only do in a church setting or is it a part of our lives?
I know I'm too often guilty of sacrificing my leftovers instead of my firstfruits. I'm afraid I'm not alone in this. Let's remind each other that our God deserves our very best.