more-with-less

“O God,

We’ve wasted

We’ve complained

We’ve grumbled,

We’ve misused our resources

We’ve confused our needs

With our wants.

For these sins

Father, forgive us.

Help us

Reset our priorities

According to your will.

Amen.”

-Norma Johnson

Lobatse, Botswana

Everything Lindy and I cook here is extracted from this cookbook. It’s recipes can be used almost anywhere in the world (it offers great ‘substitutions’), and the goal is to use the least most inexpensive of ingredients to get a healthy, nutritional meal. It doesn’t take 7 hours to make these things or the best cooks in the world---just a mentality of using less resources, spending less money, and being healthy. its not all ‘health food,’ for those of you already scared its some hippie cookbook---it’s just about making more, with less.

Let me preface this post with, “I’m guilty.” I do hope you experience conviction—not leading to guilt, rather leading to action, just like I was, and continue to be when in comes to this topic. (hello, this is coming from someone loves, loves, loves food. most of you have eaten with me beforeJ and I would venture to say if you’re thinking about trying a new milkshake combination at cookout, I’ve already tried it.) With that said…

No one likes to hear the word “diet” or “cutting back” or “changing your food habits”---

But the fact of the matter is, Americans consume way too much, well really of everything, namely FOOD. I need not include stats on obesity or diseases linked to obesity—you know this. But not only to do we consume too much of it, we eat so much of the wrong things—again, you know this. Just check your pantry. We hoard, we waste, and our pocketbooks suffer from our mentality of convenience and greed and overstock. I know what you’re thinking, “joy its easy for you to makes changes because you’re in a third world country and life is just different. Its part of the American culture to be busy and on the go…who has time to cook, much less make things from scratch.”

Pastor talked about the “systems we use to govern our lives,” systems that are often times developed as a result of our culture or our tradition. But at some point, if you want your measure to be increased, and thus increase your internal development, you have to challenge these systems in your life; are they the world’s systems, or the Kingdom’s systems?

You’re right, you eating less at a meal, or eating more fruits and veggies, or even buying less this trip to the grocery are not going to feed the hungry bellies in Africa. It has to be a change that begins with your mentality; us examining the systems that govern our lives. This is not about losing weight, or dieting or organic eating or never enjoying food…Jesus also enjoyed times of joy and feasting and many of His miracles involved the provision of food. It’s about making the decision to “not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Remember, with knowledge comes responsibility.