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For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

If cooking was a love language, I would claim that as mine! I enjoy the show, MasterChef, which is a great way to learn about professional cooking techniques by the best chefs! I’ve taken note of new ways to chop vegetables, make sauces, and pan fry a filet mignon to mid-rare perfection. But one of my favorite new learnings is the culinary technique of mise en place.

Mise en place is a French term meaning ‘everything in its place’. This ancient technique is used by professional chefs to prepare all the ingredients in a recipe in advance so everything is prepped before service starts including all utensils needed to cook the dish.  Consistency is the key to success. Practicing mise en place ensures serving a dish that shows pride, caring, and even love to those you serve. Some benefits of mise en place are saving time in the kitchen, eliminating duplicate work, creating a calm and orderly kitchen, noticing what is missing, and producing a quality dish that brings joy to others.

Mise en place applied to our faith is a great way to practice faith in daily life. Practicing our faith is similar to food preparation for cooking a dish. You start with a recipe (scripture), review the ingredients needed (God’s love & worship & prayer), understand the cooking techniques (Bible study & spiritual practices) and then you cook (live out faith in everyday life) and serve (love God & love others).  We need all those elements to practice our faith and share God’s love.

It’s really all about setting the table for success in building our relationship with God through intentionality. We can be intentional and consistent about worshiping God, learning about God’s word, connecting with God through prayer and a spiritual practice, and then finding ways to use our gifts to serve others in our daily lives. Part of this requires being present in the moment to notice what we need to make this possible. Lent is a time set aside for just that. We will deepen our faith with scripture stories, poetry, art, and reflection that will invite us into intentionally growing closer to God in this season. I hope this brings joy to your heart!

Mise en place, everyone!

Pastor Andrea