The Recipe of Rest

Over the past few months, Tim and I have really tried to incorporate rest into our lives. Not necessarily the kind of rest that means eye lids must be closed, but a rest that means "stop doing lots" and start "breathing more" and "being present" and "soaking in the moment." I think Jesus did a lot of this while He walked on this earth too.
Rest is like a recipe.
A recipe that when made properly and consumed in moderation can actually help a person and nourish the soul.
Let me give you an illustration to think on: When you're making dinner, do you ever try to think of all you can do "before the timer goes off"? And then, you try to do it? How successful are you? I have done this so many times and some are successful and others...not so much! But today, I was making Kanelbullar (a Swedish Cinnamon Bun) and while I was waiting for the bread to rise, it struck me that I needed to rest just like the bread needed to rest. The bread rests because it becomes softer, lighter, and better. We can take a few points from this. When we rest, we become more at peace, happier, and healthier emotionally, spiritually, and physically. I chose to not do a bunch of activities while the bread rose, I chose to enjoy my cup of coffee and re-read the recipe from the blog I was looking at. It was delightful and rejuvenating.
The next time you want to accomplish a lot of things "before the timer goes off," think again and choose the recipe of rest.

Here's the finished Kanelbullar. I got the recipe from this website, it's so easy and seriously yummy.