{"id":8647,"date":"2014-07-30T09:17:20","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T14:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/?p=8647"},"modified":"2020-09-25T16:42:51","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T21:42:51","slug":"finding-rest-in-everyday-chores-and-a-watermelon-salad-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/boydsnest.org\/news\/2014\/finding-rest-in-everyday-chores-and-a-watermelon-salad-recipe\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding rest in everyday chores (and a watermelon salad recipe)"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past Sunday, I gave a short reflection at our church about the ways I find spiritual rest in everyday chores…and I made a watermelon salad at the same time. It was fun and I succeeded in not slicing my finger while talking to my church family. Since I pretty much write my talks verbatim, I thought it might be useful to put my notes up here. There’s no video of me making the watermelon salad — you’ll just have to imagine that part. But I’ll add the recipe at the end so you can make it yourself!<\/p>\n

\"Making<\/a><\/p>\n

Finding Rest in Everyday Chores<\/h3>\n

Originally presented at Grace Evangelical Covenant Church<\/a>, July 27, 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hi. My name is Ann Boyd, and today we\u2019re going to talk about finding Sabbath in everyday chores. And…I thought it might be fun to make a watermelon salad along the way. This is my favorite watermelon salad \u2014 very simple, just with lime juice and a little mint. But before we get too much into the salad, let me first give you a little personal background.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m married to Jon and we have two wonderful daughters, Lucy and Rosie (ages 8 & 6). We\u2019re a homeschooling family, which is fun for us right now. Professionally, I am on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, serving graduate students and faculty, specifically as the managing editor for The Well<\/a>, a website for women in graduate school and beyond. And let me take this opportunity as a missionary sent out by Grace to say: thank you so much for your support! It is a joy to be part of a church that cares about ministry to the university.<\/p>\n

But back to my life. Practically, there are two dynamics that happen at home:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Because we homeschool and I work from home, I have the wonderful gift of being able to structure how to use my time to best accomplish my goals, and<\/li>\n
  2. I can get easily overwhelmed with all the tasks on my list and the permeable boundaries of work, school, and life at our house.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, I think often about the passage in Luke 10:38-42 about Mary & Martha passage. [This text was read Lectio-Divina<\/a> -style during our worship service. You can read it here<\/a>.] I think about Martha when I need to decide between publishing an article for work, helping the girls with their piano practice, or getting started on dinner. I think about Jesus saying, \u201cYou are worried about many things, but there is only one thing that is needed.\u201d I think about her when I make my to-do lists in the mornings and when I plan our weekly goals. I think about how full and fun life is, but how I need to restrain myself from scheduling every moment so that we can enjoy spontaneity \u2014 so we can sit at Jesus\u2019s feet when he stops by for dinner. (Which, really, is every night.)<\/p>\n

    We\u2019ve been experimenting with new ways to keep the Sabbath on Sundays, and I\u2019ve been learning a lot about the benefits of having a slow pace. I love Dallas Willard\u2019s advice to \u201cruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life,\u201d but it is not easy to do. The work needs to be done: there is dinner to cook, math to study, colleagues to talk with, and once you\u2019re in the middle of those things, you notice the dust bunny hiding in a corner. This brings me back to Martha and Mary. Is it possible to do work and sit at Jesus\u2019s feet at the same time? Can I focus on one thing, and through that, experience the peace of Christ? (And while we\u2019re asking questions…Can I make a watermelon salad and talk to my church family simultaneously?)<\/p>\n

    I\u2019ve been practicing this, but I\u2019ll be honest — I\u2019m not very good at this. I feel like I can find this peace-with-God-and-laundry about a third of the time. But I keep trying, and I have found a few tricks (there are seven of them) to help me find Sabbath particularly while preparing food — although I\u2019ll try to help us think about them a bit more broadly as well.<\/p>\n

    And let me say — I don\u2019t do all of this all the time. I\u2019m the first one to break all of these rules. I should probably post them in our kitchen. But when I do them, I almost always enjoy the experience more.<\/p>\n

    Tricks for Finding Rest in Everyday Chores, Especially Cooking<\/h3>\n