Comfort Food

"Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly."~M. F. K. Fisher

One of the many things I love about being in the South is the hospitality. One of the main ingredients of hospitality? Food!! In the South, we eat for every occasion.

Death in the family? We take a meal.
Someone sick? We take a meal.
Neighbor moved in next door? We take a meal.
Someone had a baby? We take a meal!

No matter the reason, the act of sharing a meal with others is often times the best form of comfort or support we can think of, and many times is the most appreciated! Last fall, a couple in our small group at church lost their son, Owen, at birth, very unexpectedly. One of the first things we thought of to do as a small group was organize meals to take to feed their family. From that experience, Owen's parents, Nathan and Wendy, created an organization called HALO (Honoring Angels Like Owen) that helps support families that go through the loss of a child as they did. This past Sunday, Mother's Day, a family in their neighborhood delivered a baby that later in the day took an unexpected turn and passed away suddenly. Nathan and Wendy went in support in their capacity as HALO. Wendy emailed our small group a few days later to ask if we could help provide meals for this family. Together, our group came together and is providing 6 days worth of meals (3 meals a day) for this family that most of us don't know.

Recently, our church handed out bags to fill with food to deliver to local residents in need. They had a list included with the items to buy and they included things like spaghetti sauce, pasta, tuna fish, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, crackers, cereal...and at the end of the list it suggested a special treat such as Oreos or some other sweet item. My husband and 2 children were able to participate on the morning of deliveries, together with our friend Nathan (Owen's dad) and his two other sons, Jackson and Jeffrey. They delivered bags of food to four different homes and visited with each of the recipients, mostly elderly people that were unable to get out on their own. A couple of Sunday's after the deliveries were made, one of the many recipients from that morning called the church to express her gratitude. She stated that she only has $16 a month to purchase groceries with, in addition to her food stamps, and that buying things like the package of Oreos that was in her bag just didn't happen. The joy she had over recieving such a special, unexpected treat was abundant.  

Just today, I had someone offer to bring a meal to us because my husband has been out of town. It's just part of who we are as Southerners, and I really believe, as Christians. Servants of God helping those in need. This small act of love, kindness, charity, honor...can have such a huge impact.

If you have the means, find someone close to you or in your community for whom you can provide a meal, or a couple bags of groceries. You never know what kind of blessing it might be to them or their family. Just a simple act that reminds them that they are not alone, and that someone cares.

P.S. What's your favorite meal to deliver to someone?

50 Shades of Grey

I find this woman's perspective on the book "50 Shades of Grey" to be refreshing. I also have several friends who have read it, but I have held off because it just didn't seem like something I would be interested in..this lady's thoughts kind of explain why I feel that way.
http://www.purefreedom.org/blog/?p=320

A Tale of Two Bridges---the Science Project...

My 5th grade son had a science project, as I blogged about recently. He came up with the idea of testing two different materials and building the same design of bridge and seeing which one would be stronger.

One held up 25 pounds....

The other didn't!!!

 Here's some pictures of his project board...

Here's hoping he gets a good grade on it!!

This song really spoke to me tonight...maybe you can get a message from it, too.