“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

I am so excited to start this series on things I find rest in. And I am talking about TRUE rest. The things in which I find and experience Jesus in. I want to share with you the things I personally find rest in to: ONE show you how you can find rest in this same thing and TWO to inspire you to find rest in your own hobbies or daily life activities.

Growing up my parents were both AMAZING cooks. If you’ve ever had a meal with my family, you know what I am talking about. They love to cook individually and both together. More so, my dad LOVES to cook new and exciting things. Any time my mom goes away for a weekend to be with me or whatever it may be, he always cooks up the most delicious meal and loves to send us pictures on what we are missing out on. But the thing is, it brings him so much joy to cook yummy meals and get creative with them! And just recently in this year I have discovered that I have totally taken on that trait from him!

I have found that cooking & baking brings me so much rest and joy. I think the art of following a recipe is relaxing and the beauty of creating something that I get to enjoy and share with my husband or with friends brings me SO much joy and excitement.

When I have a hard shift at work, or just a day that was heavy, it is so important that I do something that I know will bring me rest and peace to rejuvenate my mind and soul. I love to set up my kitchen as a space in which I feel at peace. I put my favorite spotify playlist on, open the windows, light a candle, and let myself get lost in the recipe and creativity of making something from so many individual ingredients. I think it is just the coolest thing how when cooking you can use so many things that taste HORRIBLE by themselves, but when paired with the perfect ingredient it tastes SO much better.

It makes me think how life with Jesus compared to life without Jesus is like tasting flour by itself compared to a tasting a yummy cake. We were created to do life alongside Jesus, not on our own. On our own we are bitter, sinners, and just not tasteful. But as we allow God to come into our hearts, learn more about His character, we can begin to realize how much sweeter life is with Him and not on our own. Cheesy analysis, I know, but honestly cheesy is just sometimes the easiest to understand! I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be a slice of cake than just some flour on its own!

He created you for greatness. He created you to rest. What are some things that bring you rest? Maybe you don’t like to cook, that is okay! We all find rest in different types of activities and practices. I encourage you to find one thing you can count on to bring you the rest you need. I am also going to link below some of my favorite recipes I have tried recently – you should try them!

Let yourself rest this week.

xo,

Allyson Golden