May 7
There he is: the big, head-of-household guy, waiting for dinner. What’s on the menu?
What he likes, of course. Well, what’s that? Meat, potatoes, any vegetable as long as it’s corn. Green beans? Nope. Carrots? Are you kidding? Broccoli? NEVER LET IT SET FOOT IN THIS HOUSE. Salad?
I said corn. I meant corn. Only corn. Read more
Guiding at least some people in food preparation is the Food Pyramid, that colorful triangle designed as an amount guide (the pyramid’s peak represents what we need very little of each day, rather than what is most important).
The pyramid is filled with blocks explaining how many servings of each food group are recommended by food scientists to provide good nutrition for a healthy body. Of course, what our bodies need are things called protein, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates, but we don’t open packages from the grocery labeled “2 lbs. (32 oz.) protein.” No, we buy some fruit, salad items, a bag of rice, a package of chicken, and a carton of milk.
If you know the food pyramid, you know those purchases are “good” choices, covering needed vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates, and protein, as well as the milk lobby! Read more
What will you be doing ten years from now? If you are fourteen, say, the next ten years will likely bring a multitude of significant changes. If you are forty-four, changes yes, but perhaps not quite at the same level. Seventy-four?
Wisely, the young are often challenged to make decisions now based on whether the choice will help or hinder their spiritual walk in ten years, or twenty years, or eternity.Looking far down the road helps to put now into perspective.
So look far down that road, and during an Executive Oversight time or two brainstorm (or three) about all the things you might want to learn about the Lord and His Word if you had the time to learn them. Get your notebook and begin listing your ideas. Have you wanted to deepen your prayer life? Learn Bible geography? Study the original Bible languages? Find out what the Bible really says about child rearing, or tithing or modesty? Did someone give you Morning and Evening for a graduation present and it has been on the top shelf in your room, unopened since then?
Maybe your parents divorced when you were young, and now that marriage is your reality, you wonder if there is any hope of not following their track record? Or maybe your parents have been happily married for thirty or forty years, but your marriage is sick and you have no idea where to start to get it healthy. . . the truth is, getting it healthy hasn’t really crossed your mind, getting out of it, though, that sounds a whole lot more appealing.
So think about it: what ideas to you have for spiritual growth? If you could take as much time as you wanted, if you could study any direction you desired, what directions would you go? If you could truly address your personal spiritual needs what would they be? What texts have you always wanted to meditate on or ask about?
Write them down; write them all down.
Weren’t we talking about Bible study…how did we suddenly end up talking about food and portion sizes? Because anyone who has read 1 Peter 2 or Matthew 4 or Ezekiel 3 or Psalm 19 knows that the Lord has connected physical food-eating with spiritual Word-imbibing. Now you may not have a menu plan designed for the next forty, fifty or sixty years of your life (yes, I will try that new spaghetti recipe on January 27, 2076), but I’m confident you are planning to eat every day until eating is no longer an option. Read more
What scoop to use for adult servings, you wonder? How about a scoop for your eight-year-old? Here is another area for research and experimentation in the home sphere, another topic for Executive Oversight time study, another life responsibility requiring attention and training from this generation for the next generation. Food in the home is a big deal. But it needs to be a big deal away from the dinner table, so every table time is full of conversation. Read more
Priority Stewardship 