Extra time

I thought I would give you a little update on what God has been doing with this Place at the Table journey I've been on for a week weeks.  Read HERE if you don't know what I'm talking about.

It started off as one thing, but really morphed into me not cooking as much, and giving up spending lots of time looking up recipes.  I realized that food had become an idol in my life and I was spending WAY too much time making it, doing dishing because of it, and sometimes hours finding a new recipe to try.

I even found that my kids were expecting a different breakfast every morning, and I had fed that expectation.  I was getting frustrated, but it was me who had even made it an option in the first place.  I mean, it sounds like such a great thing to make pancakes, eggs and toast with apple butter, and muffins for your kids, instead of...dun, dun dun...cereal (gasp).  But you know what?  They like cereal.  And they are still alive and kicking when they eat it every morning.

When I started realizing that most people around the world, especially the poorer countries, will sit down to breakfast, lunch, AND dinner with the same foods every day, it really has changed the way I see it all.  And then it has freed me up to clean more (something I have never felt that I had enough time to do), be with my family more, and spend more time with God.  It is amazing when we are willing to give up one thing, God opens the floodgates to give us something else.  And it is ALWAYS better than what we gave up.

Now don't get me wrong, I still LOVE to cook, and really want to bless my family and friends that way, BUT I want to find a balance and also remember what a blessing it is that I can choose something different to eat anytime I want to.

Sure makes those Cadbury eggs I've been devouring seem even more precious :)  Dang you, Cadbury eggs...but that's another story.