So apparently I'm about as good at blogging as I am with keeping an orderly, uncluttered house. (In case you are wondering, there are about two weeks worth of mail on the dining table and the cardigan I wore Sunday morning is on the back of a chair. But I mopped the floors today. Please tell me that counts for something.) Anyway, I'm back in my blogging mode after surviving the beginning of school and a crazy August. And I'm super excited about my reason for being back!
My friend, April, asked me a couple months ago if I would want to co-lead a 7 Bible study for women at our church on Wednesday nights and we kicked it off a couple weeks ago. We weren't really sure what to expect as far as who would want to be involved in it. I mean, 7 can be pretty intense and extreme. But there was lots of chatter about it the weeks leading up to it and our first night, we ran out of books! So more were ordered - and we ran out again this week! This is totally not a pat-us-on-the-back-look-who-came-to-our-class thing. It's the opposite, actually. I've already found myself slipping into old habits. Buying crappy convenience foods. Walking through the mall and finding things I "need". Looking at my phone more than the people around me. It's so sad to me how quickly it all comes back and the things that I learned begin to fade. So, basically, it's time for me to refocus and have another go at it. And this time I have a great group of other women to walk with me! Yay for accountability and sisterhood!
The 7 study is broken down into weeks instead of months, but deals with the same seven areas. This week is food week and I'm going to approach it a bit differently this time. The first time I did the food thing, my family only ate certain foods for the month. My biggest take-aways from that month were 1) I get a lot of praying done when I am doing a food fast; 2) A person can grow weary of chicken in roughly 1.62 days. What I have really come to realize, though, after watching the Bible study video this week, is how much food I waste. It hit me Wednesday night that even sometimes when I am EATING my food, I am wasting it. How? If I have already eaten my meal and have more - because I WANT it, not because I am still hungry - I'm wasting that food. My body doesn't need it. I could have saved it for tomorrow's lunch. And in my eating 2-3 meals worth of food at a time, I'm wasting time and money spent on more food. Not to mention the food that is in my refrigerator that I decide I don't want so I buy more while what I have goes bad so I throw it out. I've never thought of waste in these ways before, but I haven't been able to shake it the last few days.
So this is how my food "week" will look this time: I am going to "fast" from soda, candy, desserts, and fast food, while simultaneously paying more attention to the foods I AM eating - specifically how processed they are and how much of it I am eating. I will be on the "fast" portion of if at least through the end of September - possibly October. The "watching what I'm wasting" part? Well, I'm hoping it becomes my new mindset. It's not ok for me to waste food every time I sit down for a meal when others are wondering if there will be a next meal. There are ways to get involved in hunger issues, as well. I don't want this to just be about me and my family. What can I do, from where I am, to be an agent of change for the vulnerable? Here are some ideas:
- Donate the money I am saving by not buying extra food to a local food pantry or backpack ministry
- Invest in micro loans to grow small businesses in impoverished areas (Jen Hatmaker mentioned kiva.org in the video.)
- Get involved with an organization like World Vision or Compassion International
- Shop with companies that provide economic/job opportunities for vulnerable communities (i.e. Land of 1000 Hills Coffee and, yes, Noonday Collection!)
I'm ready to get started again - but in a new way, with a new outlook. Here's to a fresh start!
***Caveat - College football season just started. The fast will be put aside for game days. Mainly because you pretty much need coke and chocolate to properly cheer for your team... :)
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