ok, living so proverbially doesn’t leave me much time to blog proverbially.
i need to remember this verse for these last two weeks to the finish line at the end of may...
Proverbs 15:17
Better a meal of vegetables where there is love
than a fattened calf with hatred.
i hate it when my fattened calf has hatred...
or the message version...
Proverbs 15:17 (The Message)
Better a bread crust shared in love
than a slab of prime rib served in hate.
and i have served me some slabs of prime rib in hate before... in busyness... in “just eat this and don’t talk to me because cooking this meal took all of my energy”, in “we have five minutes until we have to leave, EAT EAT EAT!!!!!!!”...
and even though i LOVE me some medium rare prime rib with a little cup of au jus and horseradish on the side... it never tastes good served in hate. even if you soak it in the juice... still not good with hate. good with mashed potatoes... especially these mashed potatoes. but not good with hate.
so here is my proverbially wisdom to take and use. it could not have come at a better time of the year... i need to simplify my meals for the rest of this month. have them planned in advance, have them be easy and quick. and not to stress so much over the nutritional aspect of the meal as to make sure that it is served with the right attitude in this busy couple of weeks.
most of all serve meals with a side dish of love (even if that is the only side dish on the table). serve them in a spirit of peace in the midst of the chaos. serve them with more concern for my family’s emotional needs being met by this meal than their physical needs. a crust of bread every now and then and they will not starve (have you seen all of us, no one is nearing starvation). but our souls can be starved for a kind word of love, for a moment of peace, for someone to look past the “need to go” and see the “need to know” or the “need to grow”.
and i need to remember this for my 8th grade sunday school class too. sometimes i spend so much time and energy on the MEAT OF THE LESSON that i don’t take time to pray for each student, that i don’t take time to love them and to look in their eyes and know them and what is going on with them because I HAVE TO TEACH THIS VERY MEATY LESSON. they will learn more from my love than from my incredible lessons...
okay off to make bread crusts for dinner. who wants to come over and eat with us? it will be served with love (and you can then do the dishes with love too)...
a picnic dinner after a soccer game. all bought at publix before the game. easy. and loving...