Food is for nourishment...at least some of the time

I don't know how it is at your house, but at my house, meals aren't always a culinary experience! And when I say "culinary experience," I'm speaking of it in a very positive light! In fact, sometimes, it's just about getting leftovers out of the fridge, cooking the fastest meal possible to ease hungry little tummies, or scrounging together whatever we have in our near-empty fridge to make a meal.

Now, I would like to make every meal not only a delight to the taste buds, but also one to the eyes. But, I've accepted the fact that it's not always to be. Sure, many days I manage to get it all right, and everyone around the table seems to savor every morsel, but there are moments when we just have to realize that food doesn't have to be all about our enjoyment and entertainment



I think our society actually makes it very hard for eaters to be thankful for something that is merely nourishment and isn't perhaps the most delicious thing ever eaten. (Note: I don't believe nourishment excludes delicious, rather it can be quite the opposite!) With "have it your way" fast food, to the myriads of grocery store choices, to the many times a month an average family eats out, we have grown a society that finds it difficult to give thanks if we have to eat the same meal two weeks in a row (or maybe twice in one week!!), or if we have leftovers frequently, or if the new food or recipe just isn't something that would make our mouths water if it were made again.



Just in case you wondered...this case of culinary disappointment never surfaces at our house! :) (note sarcasm) But I'm hoping to figure out ways to help my children give thanks...for those fantastic meals and those not so fantastic meals. I want us to learn balance...that we can totally be thrilled in God's amazing creativity to have made so many foods for us to enjoy, experiment with, combine, etc., but I also want us to realize that we live not for food merely to selfishly enjoy, but rather food enables us to live...and to live a life pleasing to our Father.

Yeah...maybe a weird post, but this topic has been on my mind. You know, I'm actually feeling kind of hungry. Some popcorn sounds good!