So by now y’all know I’m into food.
Like really into it.
I love to eat it, read about it, look at photos of it, talk about it, experiment with it, bless people with it, cook it, bake it and over think it.
I’ve been known to read recipe books for pleasure.
Crazytown, I know.
SO!
The more I aim to live every moment out of my faith in God, and truly rely on Him throughout my whole day, the more I become aware of His voice.
This could sound totally voodoo if you’re not a person of strong faith, but hear me out :)
The more I’m listening for God’s voice, the more I’m hearing it. And the more familiar it is becoming.
So, recently when I was feeling a nudge about my grocery habits, I decided to listen.
I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do differently, but the bottom line is…
I spend too much money to indulge the false notion that eating perfectly is going to spare me from the harsh reality that we live in a fallen world where bad things happen.
Sickness and death and disease all happen.
Eating organic or paleo or clean isn’t going to prevent or stop any of that.
Ugh.
I didn’t realize just how much stock I put into what we eat.
But it’s pretty deeply ingrained.
When I’m at the grocery store carefully choosing the “right” foods and I see a mom loading her cart with sugary cereals, and spaghetti o’s and coca-cola, I wince.
I don’t like to think I’m critical or judgmental about it, but I think I am.
Ugh.
But my attitude aside (God has been already working on that!) this is about the money.
And how I’m spending TOO MUCH of it each week on our food.
I don’t buy all organic and I don’t home-make everything like I would love to, but even if I bought less organic and made more from scratch, I think I’m still out of whack.
You want to know why I think so?
This pin.
It caught my eye first of all because it is about food.
And secondly because I’ve been feeling bad for a while now about how much I’m spending on groceries each week.
So I clicked on it.
Reading about how families bigger than mine are spending $30 per week on groceries was a huge wake up call.
And then there’s this woman who fed her whole family for a year from her pantry! No shopping….just the pantry. Now she feeds her family for $.40 per person per day. Yes, you read that right…forty cents! I literally cannot visit her website without getting totally sucked in. She’s amazing. And so are her photographs.
I’ve blogged before about seeking God’s kingdom rather than being concerned about what to eat or drink. And I’ve blogged about being obsessed with what the “right” foods to eat are and how that changes depending on what I read.
But I haven’t blogged about how I spend too much money on groceries.
For a while I kind of wore it like a badge of honor…OF COURSE I spend a lot on food! “What is more important than the health and well being of my family?” “I’d rather spend it now on food than later on medical bills!”
While I still think there is value in not eating the cheapest possible processed crap, I’ve been hearing God whisper to me…
You could feed your family well for much less and give the extra away. You could give to people who are struggling to even put food on the table each day. You could put a little energy into shopping wisely and be able to freely give money away.
Y’all.
Generosity has never been an innate characteristic of mine.
We have given faithfully to our church and other causes that move us, but we have not given sacrificially.
The fact that I even WANT to have less and give more is a direct work of the Lord in me! I’m so thankful for it because on her own, Rebecca can be pretty stingy.
I still don’t know exactly how to practically work this out, but I can proudly say that I’ve only spent about $60 in the last 2 weeks on groceries.
This is a freaking miracle.
I was spending upwards of $150 each week which is just embarrassing.
I feel like I just shared my body weight.
But really, between Kroger and Randazzo’s (for produce and juicing) and Trader Joe’s and Heflings Amish Meat Market it all added up.
WAY UP.
So I’m making a change.
I heard the voice of my Lord calling me to something higher than perfect eating.
He called me to give generously.
And let me tell you, that tastes better than any fancy recipe chock full of clean ingredients.