Written by Emily Worrall

Do you remember making your first meal? One of my earliest memories of cooking was proudly presenting my bowl of rice, beans and maybe-a-pepper to my college roommates. They didn’t return my excitement - it was just rice and beans. But, it was more than that, wasn’t it?

There’s something about making that increases our enjoyment. You carefully chop an onion. You smell as the spices dissolve into butter. You stir and wait for the sauce to come together. You taste along the way and anticipate the meal.

This is what makes rice and beans more than just rice and beans. Your labor, attention and expectancy makes your meal more than a product to be consumed, but a creation to be enjoyed. Let me encourage you to make in this season of consuming: write a poem, start a garden, build a table, or make dinner. Every time you make, you gain a greater capacity to enjoy.

Here is week 6 of Quarantine Corner:

Listen - Sing by Ellie Holcomb

If you’re looking for quality children’s songs that you will actually enjoy, look no further. Sing is filled with simple, singable truths that are fun for your kids and good for your soul. I got the CD to play in the car for my daughter (because I cannot tolerate Baby Shark), but really, I play it for me.

Read - Unseen by Sara Hagerty

Our desire to be seen and praised by others is not inherently bad, but it is misplaced. In Unseen, Sara Hagerty draws readers in to the joy of a hidden life in Christ. She helps us learn that in the moments we feel unseen, we have an opportunity to rest in and enjoy God’s gaze upon us. Hagerty follows C.S. Lewis when he wonders, “...what may happen when the redeemed soul, beyond all hope and nearly beyond belief, learns at last that she has pleased Him who she was created to please.”

Watch - Cooked (Netflix)

I like to think of this four-part docuseries as the food version of Planet Earth. Each time I watch, I am re-enchanted by the magic of everyday cooking. Fire fills raw meat with flavor. Sourdough starter is born out of thin air. Earthy beans become complex coffees and chocolates. If you bake bread, don’t start Episode 3 without a loaf in the oven.

Bonus Watch - A Hidden Life (Available for rent on Amazon)

I hesitate to recommend this movie because it gutted me and I couldn’t talk about it until the next day. Following the theme above, A Hidden Life is the story of a rural Austrian family during the Nazi regime who commit to a life of integrity and honesty, despite the great cost. It forces you to think how you would act under the circumstances and consider the goodness of a hidden life before God.