Scripture to Memorize
She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
Proverbs 31:14–15
Passage to Read
She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
Proverbs 31:14–15
Guided Prayer
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for blessing us with the gift of food. Thanks for taste buds that can savor all the wonderful things you’ve created, and even for the gift of sight and smell that enhance the dining experience. Lord, I confess that sometimes I’ve allowed my senses to overrule common sense. I’ve served my family food that was convenient but wasn’t really food at all. I want to become like the Proverbs 31 woman who brought her family food from afar. She was willing to go the extra mile to provide the very best for her family.
Holy Spirit, empower me to resist the ever-present temptation to feed my family convenience foods rather than real, healthy food. Give me wisdom to make necessary changes with grace and humor, so my family will be able to adjust and even share my enthusiasm for healthier living.
God, thank you for providing for us so abundantly that we have choices about which foods to eat. I pray, right now, for people around the world who don’t have enough to eat and lack clean drinking water. Help me to be grateful without forgetting those in need and without becoming self-indulgent. Amen.
Personal
The Proverbs 31 woman went the extra mile to bring her family quality food, whether that meant spending the extra money for imported goods or getting up early to make sure everything was prepared properly. Even though she had household help, she was still in charge of providing the food. Her family may not have even been aware she was going to so much extra trouble, but she knew and God knew.
There are some things we do for our family just because we know it’s the right thing to do. They may not appreciate it; they may even resent us for it. Sometimes they fight us tooth and nail, and the battle hardly seems worth waging. One of those right things is trying to ensure that our family eats a healthy diet. What a challenge that is in today’s culture!
I made a hilarious mistake the other day while working on this manuscript. I typed, “She brings him food, not harm, all the days of her life.” When I reread it, I laughed so hard I almost fell on the floor. Then I called my husband, and he thought it was a great idea to bring him food, not harm. He declared (joking, of course), “You’ve brought me enough harm. Can I have some food now?” Unfortunately, a lot of what we bring our families is harm, not food.
Today we’re going to take a quantum leap forward toward our goal of bringing our family food—real food—and not harm. We’re going to purge the pantry. It’s not difficult. In fact, last month my eleven-year-old daughter did it and filled two trash bags while watching television. Use this three-step process:
After you’ve done these three things, if you still have time and energy, you can organize what remains. I would give you an elaborate organizational system, but it’s beyond the scope of this book. This program is designed to jumpstart you in a broad range of areas. Now is not the time to get bogged down in minutia. We’re dealing with the big picture. For now, do what can be done in the pantry in one day. Tomorrow we’ll move on to another area. If you want to devote extra time to the pantry—or any other area—on Saturday, that’s terrific. Saturday is your catch-up day.
One final suggestion: although I like warehouse stores for some items, I don’t buy pantry items there. They tend to come in huge containers. Unless you are feeding six mouths or more, you’re probably better off stocking your pantry with the reasonable-sized containers found at your local grocery store.
Affirmation: I bring my family food, not harm!
Practical
Purge your pantry using the three-step process.