For our last class, we combined Chapters 11 and 12 (Balancing Work & Worship and Having a Mary Heart) along with a lovely meal (thank you everyone for making it a “great” potluck).
Joanna Weaver uses the teeter-totter as her image for balancing work and work. We talked a little about our own teeter-totters and how one side sometimes gets heavier and out of balance. From scripture, we looked at the Samaritan story (Luke 10:25-37) and reviewed Weaver’s 3 keys to the story that the Samaritan “took notice,” “took action,” and “took responsibility.” Each one of these are important as we live and work in the world (in the kitchen).
From the Jesus’ teaching on prayer in Luke 11:1-13, we are reminded of our developing relationship with the Lord (the living room part) and how we must remember that for each one of “our parts” (asking, seeking, knocking), God will play is part (receiving, revealing, and opening the door).
This really goes back full circle to our first class when we talked about being both Mary and Martha. Both of these women are within us and we must nourish them both! We must serve and we must pray. As James 2:14-17 says, that faith without works is dead.
One specific side to the “living room” worship is the Sabbath. We also talked about the importance of a Sabbath rest (see Isaiah 58:13-14) for it is in the Sabbath that we can be renewed. Sometimes, that may mean “not” doing as we please or “going our own way.” Although we all appreciate the importance of this rest, we all confessed how we have allowed our culture and habits rob us of this blessing.
And one specific way of being on the “kitchen” side of worship is hospitality. How often do we block this blessing by worrying about our homes not being neat enough or nice enough to have company. As we talked about it, we realized that we have all admitted in previous classes that none of us are “neat-freaks” … so why worry? 
Joanna Weaver says,
“The secret of balancing worship and work, devotion & service, love of God and love of people is maintaining our connection to Jesus Christ. Our relationship with his is the fulcrum, the anchor, the steadying point that makes balance possible in the first place. The deepter the relationship goes, the more stable the balance will be.”
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