The Power of a Power Breakfast

by Heather Hammond

The old adage rings in our ears each morning, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” After involuntarily (for most) fasting all night, a person breaks that cycle by eating their first meal of the day – break-fast.

Any literature written about long-term fasts advises a person to reintroduce food gently back into the diet. Most fasts have a prep-time where the faster eats simple foods, usually fruits and vegetables. Then, after the fast, he or she returns to the simple diet before completely reintroducing full-blown meals.

Although our nightly fasts are by no means long-term, there’s nothing gentle about the ways that most of us break our fasts every morning. Sugary cereals, pastries and coffee shock our system by jolting us awake, only to plunge us to a low point a few hours later (for most people this occurs at about 10 a.m.). Not only is this type of eating harsh on our systems first thing in the morning, but it sets us on a trajectory for the rest of the day – one that most of us would not otherwise choose.

THE SUGAR RIDE
If we start our mornings with a jolt of sugar and caffeine, when we crash a few hours later, we are likely to again reach for the same stuff to bolster us back to our “high.” Now we’ve started a trend for our day, sending our bodies on a blood-sugar roller coaster ride that we continue to feed – a donut from the breakroom at 10 a.m., sugary soda at lunch, candy bar at 3 p.m.

It’s no surprise that after a day like this, our bodies crave something more grounding. For dinner, we often fire up the grill for burgers and heat up oven-toasted potatoes. The salt and heartiness of the meat and potatoes contracts and grounds us after a day filled with expansive, sugary foods.

If you’ve been nodding your head in empathy throughout this scenario, then you’re not alone. Most Americans spend their days trying to find balance in their diets and energy levels, only to continually feed the unhealthy cycle with sugar, caffeine, meat and salt.

Where are the vegetables in this scenario (besides the white potatoes)? Where are the vegetables in your daily meals? Seeking balance in our lives – both in food and energy levels – starts by choosing foods that don’t spiral us into more cravings.

STABILIZE
Choosing fresh, whole foods like vegetables (a variety, not just the all-American classic, the white potato), fruits, whole grains, beans and nuts will feed our bodies the balance it craves. Let the majority of your diet sit within these food groups and you will rarely find yourself reaching for that candy bar at 3 p.m.

The first chance we have to set our days on a steady track is choosing a healthy option for breakfast. Reach for something that will steady your blood sugar, fill you up and give you energy for the entire morning.

Cooking up whole grains such as oats (rolled or steel cut), millet, buckwheat and brown rice is a great place to start balancing your fast-breaking meal. Spice up your hot cereal by adding milk (rice, almond, soy), spices (like cinnamon), nuts, seeds, fruit natural sweeteners (agave nectar, maple syrup, honey) and anything else that appeals to you.

Start tomorrow off right by making your first meal choice a healthy choice. And notice how that one choice sets you on a path toward health for the rest of the day. Learn to get off the sugary, caffeinated roller coaster that so many people find themselves on and glide through life on a steady stream of satisfaction.

Strawberry Millet Cereal

This recipe is a delicious way to introduce whole grains into your morning routine. And this batch makes 4 servings, so it can be reheated throughout the week, or served to the whole gang in one she-bang.

3 cups pure water
1 cup millet
1 large ripe banana, well mashed
1/2 cup diced strawberries (I used raspberries)
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons pure vanilla

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. With a wooden spoon, stir in the millet, banana, strawberries, honey and cinnamon. Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 13-15 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla until well combined. Spoon into bowls and serve hot, topped with a little non-dairy milk or apple juice, and sliced bananas and strawberries.

*Note: Do not overcook the millet; if you do, it will absorb all the moisture as it cooks and continue to expand, giving you a drier cereal.
*Frozen berries can be used.
*This cereal can be cooked for 5 minutes less then pureed for a creamy cereal.

From Healthy Cooking for Kids by Shelly Null.

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LAB meeting Monday, October 22 7-9pm: “Natural Hormone Balance”

YOU ARE INVITED!

Join us October 22 in the nursery of Ada Bible Church at 8899 Cascade Rd SE, Ada, MI 49301 from 7-9ish. Come when you can and leave when you must, and be sure to bring your little ones along!

This week we will have guest speaker Anne Marie Ervin share her research about hormones and how they affect our bodies. There is no fee, no need to register, just come.

This is an ongoing and open invitation to you and others you know who might benefit from the caring community LAB group provides. After each meeting, we hope that you go away knowing that YES, there IS life after baby!

Warmly,
Diane Groeneweg & Jenna Scott

From our speaker, Anne Marie Ervin

Hi Everyone:

I am very excited about the upcoming presentation through LAB on “Natural Hormone Balance” to be held on Monday, October 22^nd at 7:00pm at Ada Bible Church. This is a topic that I am very passionate about and through education it can “make a difference in a woman’s life.”

A little about myself: my name is Ann Mare Ervin: I have 4 children: 13, 10, 7, and 5 yrs old; my degree is in Family and Child Development. In raising my children, I chose to run a child care program from my home. This has been a great fit for our family and I love working with children and families. But like many mothers I have always had a desire for intellectual stimuli and socialization from outside the home. For many years, I taught parenting classes through the community, consultation for a child development high school program, accredited child care providers through the state of Michigan, child development research, etc.

When I had my fourth child, I was very excited but also very much in “need.” We had just moved to the Grand Rapids area so I had lost all of my previous professional contacts. I really needed something “of my own” more now than ever, but with 4 children, I felt very limited. I prayed about this daily and I felt God answered my prayers by introducing me to Arbonne International, a European Health and Wellness Company. At the time I was dealing with “hormones issues,” from my pregnancy. I am the type of person that needs to research a subject thoroughly before trying something new. I knew that Arbonne carried Progesterone Cream for balancing hormones; many doctors were involved with the company for this reason. So I began to research, one thing lead to another and before I knew it, I had people coming to me who wanted to learn more about Natural Hormone Balance. I have been able to make a “difference” by empowering women through education on how to balance their bodies naturally.

A woman goes through many hormonal changes through her life, particularly after the birth of a baby. Learn how hormones play a significant role in your body’s chemistry. My research is based on a number of different resources that you will have available to you at the presentation. According to the research, there are over 120 symptoms associated with Hormone Imbalance. Here is a list of some of the most common: PMS; Sleep Disturbances; Low Concentration; Migraine Headaches; Insomnia; Thyroid Imbalance; Breast Tenderness; Inability to Handle Stress; Unexplained Weight Gain; Mood Swings; Irritability; Fatigue; Acne; Depression; Facial Hair; Irregular Periods; Uterine Fibroids; Water Retention; Endometriosis…to name a few.

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The continuing saga of LAB–episide III, Warp speed to present

 

Han Solo: YAHOOOOO! You’re all clear, kid. Now let’s blow this thing and go home.
(from George Lucas’s Star Wars)

 

SO…we started meeting. At first it was just me and Diane and Ashlyn, Nancy the nurse from Spectrum, and a few of our volunteers. But at least we started meeting. Since we’d worked so long and hard to have permission to use the nursery, I was bound and determined to get in there and start using it.

 

Diane and I had so many ideas. We wanted to have fliers, notebooks, signs, business cards, T-shirts, a library of resources, a masseuse, a caterer, childcare…but we knew it was one baby step at a time. We got a brief informational notebook compiled and collated and are trusting God that the rest will come in due time.

 

We prayed that God would spread the word of our group to anyone and everyone who needed a little shot in the arm during this time in their lives as we don’t have the resources for spreading the word by conventional means (bulletin announcement, mailers, hospital screening, etc).

 

It was about this time that my husband suggested I start blogging about LAB–for anyone who missed a meeting or wasn’t local but still wanted to be “in” on what was going on. A way to keep connected even from a distance (that means YOU Bobbie!)

I trusted in, relied on, and was confident in You, O Lord;
I said, You are my God. (Psalm 31:14)

 

My husband and I were gifted some money from a family member and decided to put some of those funds toward building up the resource library at LAB, providing bottled water at group and bringing snacks, printing costs for fliers or handouts, and anything else that might necessitate funds. We’ve been amazed at how far those few dollars have gone already–stretched for us by people bringing snacks to group–one volunteer had a cold and didn’t want to share with the moms and babies but still brought turtle brownies for us to enjoy, books we’ve found online or in bookstores for 50-80% off to build up the library, and people who “know people” that are willing to come in and speak to our group for gratis, and potentially even a massage therapist group willing to come help our moms relax and rejuvenate with a no-cost massage.

 

The Women’s Ministry at Ada Bible Church invited Diane and I to stand at a booth and advertise LAB at a recent women’s event that hosted almost 400 women. We were a little taken aback–after hearing “no” so many times from so many different directions, we were a bit wary of an unsolicited invitation of this magnitude. But there were no strings or hidden agendas–just women wanting to help women. So we went! We had a wee listing in the event program (although the contact e-mail address was incorrect in the listing) and a few people approach the booth, but at least we’re putting the bug in people’s ears and hopefully if there is ever a need, someone will know which direction to point to find help.

 

Word is spreading slowly but surely. Word of mouth is definitely our best advertisement. It is wonderful to sit in our little circle of rocking chairs (not the brown ones that lean you forward, though) just being together, knowing we aren’t alone, and feeling the comfort of God’s love in that soothing lilac nursery.

 

I look forward to each meeting. I love seeing each of your faces. Just the fact that you show up gives me so much courage to face my own daily challenges, and I just hope that each of you goes home with a little more wind in your sails having been loved on by the others of us in that room.

 

We still have a bit more work to do. We need more mentor parents. People who have a little extra time and heart to share by being willing and able to call girls during the week to check up on them or even being willing to drop off a meal and run a load of laundry so tired mommies can take a little breather. I always worry that there are more people “out there” who would benefit so much from being at LAB, but I don’t know how to find them. If you know of someone, please send them our way.

 

Also, I’d love to fill up our resource library so moms and dads can be checking out books that give hope, inspiration, encouragement, and education on how to cope and get through the “Diaperville” stage of life as unscathed as possible. We have speakers lined up through 2007, but 2008 is just around the corner… and I could sure use a little help keeping this blog chock full of relevant (and sometimes irreverent irrelevant but interesting) information.

 

As Dan and I shared some of our life journey and the story leading up the LAB’s inception with friends last night, I was reminded of the turning point that came when I realized “everyone is saying ‘no’ to LAB not because they’re all mean and unhelpful people, but because Satan knows this is going to be a powerful ministry, therefore he’s fighting hard not to let it happen”.

 

But, as we all know, the dark side gets defeated…

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Last week’s LAB meeting, here’s the recap

by Diane

I must confess that upon learning that we were going to have a pharmacist come to LAB, I was not overly excited. In addition, I was quite tired that night and having difficulty “getting into it.” However, once Patti began speaking, I was captivated.

Patti began by giving us a handout detailing symptoms of postpartum depression and the grades of medication. Some listed PPD symptoms are as follows: persistent sad, anxious, or empty mood; feelings of hopelessness, pessimism, guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness; loss of interest in activities; fatigue; difficulty concentrating, making decisions or sleeping; and irritability. We did not spend time discussing these symptoms but spend our time focused on the safety of medications used during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

As soon as Patti started talking about the grades of medication, my internal alarm sounded.

Food and drug administration (FDA) categories

A B C D X Controlled studies show no risk No evidence of risk in humans Risk cannot be ruled out, animal studies showed adverse effects on fetus Positive evidence of risk in humans, risk/benefit ratio should be considered Contraindicated (that means–do NOT take)

I feared that my medications fell into the D or X categories, which nursing moms should never take. Patti and her co-worker Joe graciously reassured me that most medications, including mine, fall into the C category, medications which benefits outweigh the risks. The best medications fall into the A and B categories of which there are few. Information concerning which category a medication falls into can be obtained from your pharmacist by specific request. You HAVE to ask your pharmacist if you want to know this information. Your Dr. more than likely will not know.

Many moms worry about the effects of medication on their babies while pregnant or nursing, so Joe pointed out that in most cases, a baby is more likely to have issues if a depressed mom is not taking good care of herself than if she is taking medication. Jenna was most struck by hearing Patti and Joe say that the reason there aren’t many or any conclusive studies on what drugs are or aren’t safe during pregnancy or nursing because no one wants to volunteer to have this study done on them and their baby. That makes sense.

Mothers who are nursing and taking medication and are concerned about their babies can watch for these side effects in their babies: excessive sleepiness, decreased feeding, weight loss, increased fussiness, and excessive crying. Joe and Patti encouraged us to trust our maternal instincts in regards to these symptoms and our babies. There are certainly other reasons these symptoms could appear; for example, a baby that sleeps a lot may just be a great sleeper (I’m jealous 🙂 ) and not necessarily affected by the medication.

We were also given these websites as credible references: www.ibreastfeeding.com and www.breastfeedingbasics.com.

I really enjoyed the presentation and have a new respect for the pharmaceutical profession. Patti and Joe were very gracious in letting the moms “take over” the presentation with our questions. Our inquiries were answered thoroughly, and Joe and Patti were glad that we fired so many questions at them.

Thanks Patti and Joe for contributing to a great evening at LAB!

Patti and Joe emphasized that different medications work for different people, and if what you are taking works, then you should stick with it.

Oh yes, and Lisa’s name was pulled for the drawing for the $75 worth of supplies–including a hot steam vaporizer, band-aids, vitamins, ice pack, chap stick, antacids, pain reliever, lotions and more–from East Paris Pharmacy!

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Book Review: Sex Begins in the Kitchen

Rather than opening with a scenario like this one (come on, you know we were all hoping for somethin’ steamy in the kitchen), the book starts out with one more like this.

[scene: the wife is returning from the parent-teacher conference she rushed off to (alone–b/c hubby didn’t think he needed to meet their kids’ teachers) after preparing a hamburger dinner after her full day at work]

Wife walks in the door to find her husband asleep in front of the TV not having lifted a finger to do anything but click on a channel.

[aaaaaand ACTION!]

Wife bangs and rattles dishes and cabinets cleaning up kitchen then wordlessly heads off to bed. Later that evening husband climbs into bed and grabs wife’s breast and wonders why wife rolls over and acts “cold”.

[enter voice of wizened narrator]

The premise of this book is that your mate ought to be the number-one priority in your life; that a good marital relationship is based upon pleasing each other, being sensitive and tuned-in to each other’s emotional–as well as sexual– needs. This book concerns itself with our need to be intimate with each other as husband and wife; to share our most intimate thoughts and feelings; to understand the different love languages in which we express our love; to come together as one in marriage, both emotionally and physically.

So, rather than focusing on the end result (sex), this book gives advice on how to complete all of the steps leading up to it (communication). Thinks like how to:

• Speak each other’s love languages
• Fight fairly
• Understand your mate
• Make deposits into each other’s “love banks”–invest in each other
• Recognize dangerous games couples can “play”…but shouldn’t
• Begin to share your feelings
• Listen to each other, really listen

This was a good review of The Birth Order, the 5 Love Languages, and just some basic communication strategies I *think* we studied in pre-marital counseling, but it has been a while. It never hurts to review good information.

On a side note, while I was reading this book, my husband hand-washed the dishes three nights in row while I sat on the counter and talked to him! I guess just even having the book around is a good inspiration and reminder to the guys that we need to be taken care of and listened to too. And for us girls that our guys have needs as well…

Sex Begins in the Kitchen: Because Love is an All-Day Affair by Dr. Kevin Leman

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The continuing saga of LAB: Episode II, A New Hope

 

Han Solo: This is not going to work.
Luke: Why didn’t you say so before?
Han Solo: I did say so before.
(from George Lucas’s Star Wars)

***Author’s Note/Disclaimer/Advance Apology: Now, as I sit down to write, I have to remind myself not to portray myself as I wish I had thought or acted, but as how I really did think or act. Right or wrong, good or bad.

After a few days of drastic roller-coaster-emotioning, I leveled off a bit and my mind began to whirl. I started forwarding the distress-provoking e-mail I had gotten to everyone I could think of. Then I asked for an “official statement” from the church to give to people when they asked why LAB was being moved from the church location to…somewhere else. Here is the statement I got:

 

Hey jenna, here is a statement..

After further discussion, Ada Bible can not host or sponsor “LAB” at this time. Ada is still developing criteria for care ministries and is unable to give proper oversight of support-type groups. We affirm the need in this arena and have confidence in Jenna Scott’s passion to develop care for those within this context.

Ada Bible’s Family MInistry is willing to work with those involved with LAB to create short-term teaching opportunities to provide general care for our first-time parents and moms/dads of new borns. We will continue to be open to further dialogue and will remain excited to see what our God has planned.

If someone has further questions they may contact Sr. Pastor of Family Ministries, or Nursery Coordinator at church phone #.

I decided to let these words speak for themselves and began strategically forwarding this statement along with personal messages to anyone and everyone who had even the slightest interest in or connection to LAB. I wanted to get people’s reactions–and assumed that having prepped (aka marketed, spun, or manipulated) them correctly, they would react on “my side”. And they did.

I had people offering to write letters, call meetings, praying etc. I just asked them to (in martyred tone) please address their questions to the proper church authorities and continue to pray for my plan to succeed God’s will to happen.

When I felt like I had enough support behind me and had created enough buzz and discussion among people, I called and scheduled another meeting with my liaison at the church. Diane also came to this meeting to voice her opinion and ask questions as well. We were prepped, we were ready, my hackles were up, my nerve was up, my dander was up. I was ready for a fight and determined to have things go my way.

That wasn’t what I got. I asked what we needed to do in order to absolve the liability issue so that even if LAB were not an official church-supported ministry, we could still meet in the space. So many things hinged on meeting in the beautiful, comfortable, welcoming, pragmatic nursery space.

Amy phrased it so well when she said, “where else would I want to invite people to find comfort than in my Father’s house?” Amen, to that! I think I even quoted you in that meeting…before…well…let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

Basically, the church leadership felt that we needed to fall under the auspices of an organization outside of, unconnected to, and larger than our church. Something similar to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Done. I paid $75 to become a member of Postpartum Support International (PSI). Once we did that, the church was more comfortable with us using the space to meet in.

This meeting did not go how I had expected. The entire time I felt like I was communicating my thoughts, ideas, and convictions perfectly, but it was obvious that the church leader I was meeting with was not “hearing” what I was trying to say. At one point, he even launched into a long speech–meant to be encouraging–on how he thought this really boiled down to me feeling lonely, abandoned by Church and certain people in it, and how hard PPD on top of loneliness must be.

 

I broke down in (totally embarrassing) sobs to the point where I couldn’t even eke a word out. Not because he was right (mind you because I have a LOT of friends, I don’t have to create blog communities, and start my own “support group” just to “have friends”, right?), but because I could not believe how unable I was to communicate with him, how he wasn’t hearing me, how he wasn’t understanding me, how he was only focused on his own agenda, how futile this meeting was, and how unable I was to stop crying, darn it!

Anyway, the meeting was a monumental catastrophe (except for Diane–she asked her questions, spoke eloquently and professionally, and came out encouraged) EXCEPT that we were now allowed to meet in the beautiful nursery space where I had been determined LAB was meant to meet.

 

Tune in next time for the rest of the story! We now return you to the rest of our regularly scheduled programming…

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I Love My Daughter, But…

by Diane

I love my daughter. She is my pride and joy. She is great fun, and I cherish the connection we have. I love my daughter, but I haven’t always felt connected to her.

For the first three months of her life, to me my daughter represented a list of tasks to be done. I spent hours feeding her. I spent a month attached to a breast pump for her. She needed help with EVERYTHING, even pooping, which seemed to be all she did. She was too young to play with her toys, so there wasn’t a lot we could do together. She was born beautiful (and still is), but I did not feel the magic of being a mommy.

I didn’t realize this until she was three months old. She became more fun as she began to discover her world, and I began to feel better. When I look back at the beginning of my daughter’s life and my lack of “proper feelings,” it is easy to feel guilty. In fact, I don’t spend my time thinking about how I used to feel because it doesn’t do me any good. What I remind myself is that my daughter has always had what she needs. She is fed, clothed, and very well loved. She knows she is loved, and I am confident she has always known that. On the days that I haven’t felt the “magical mommy” feelings, I have still been able to care for her, and when I have been unable to do that, others have been there to make sure my little girl is cared for and loved.

Today, I am happy to say that I view caring for my daughter as a great privilege. That may be because it is easier now, but I believe that it is because I am farther along in recovering from my postpartum depression. I feel very connected to my daughter, and we both enjoy the tight bond we share. She brings me such delight, and I love her unconditionally.

I do believe, though, that those negative feelings I experienced are more normal than we let on. If you are experiencing those feelings, take heart and know that you will feel better. In the meantime, you are probably doing better as a mommy than you think you are.

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The continuing saga of LAB

Oh friends. The story of LAB is long and intricate. Allow me to share it with you in bits and pieces. Like “Star Wars”, I’ll start where I am and work my way backwards.

“Do or do not…there is no try.”
-Yoda (fictional character from George Lucas’s Star Wars)

Most recently I’ve taken a hit from an international non-profit group to which I paid $75 to register our LAB support group. They took my money via credit card, and within 24 hours the money was taken out of my bank account.

A few months later I got a packet in the mail to fill out some information for this group. A few weeks after I got the packet, I got this e-mail below:

Thank you for sending us the information about your group. It looks like such a supportive and nurturing place, and I’m glad you’ve been communicating with Nancy about it. I need to first clarify one thing: on your beautiful website, you list yourself as a chapter of P–. P– doesn’t have any chapters so that will have to be expressed differently. For example, you could say that you’re a member of P–, and keep the link on your site, without saying you’re a chapter. I love your writing and all your links and stories. Just wonderful.

I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to respond to your request. Besides it being a very busy summer so that I am badly behind in my volunteer work, the board has been grappling with the question of how to list groups that are clearly based in one religion, since we have not listed them before now. I hope you understand the process in trying to figure this out. Our ideas so far are either to have a special section for support with a religious component, or another option is that we list the groups in the general support section but actually more clearly identify any specific religious foundation to the support. For example, you would call your group Christian-based support. I’d love to hear your input about either of those ideas, or if you have other ideas for better language than what I’ve suggested.

We’re having our next board meeting in the next few weeks, and we will come up with some good solutions then. I’ll let you know as soon as I have something more clear, but I wanted to get back to you so you know that we are really thinking about how to best do this. I hope you understand the need for our thoughtful process, and again I thank you and congratulate you on developing such a supportive service there. Write or call anytime.

My response (initially) was not kind or lovely. I felt like a deflated balloon…again. Why does nobody want us? How are we so unlovable, prone to cause liability, why can’t we find someone who will own us? Am I so wrong–can I not see who we are and where we fit into a care structure? Can Church and community really NOT co-exist? Can’t I even pay $75 for someone to “own” me? Why does everyone get all freaked out when religion comes into play?

After a few days of ruminating, I replied to this organization with the following e-mail:

Thank you for your kind e-mail. You write thoughtfully and from the heart–that is touching.

I have to admit, though, that most of the e-mail really discouraged me. I had thoroughly searched the P– website before paying the $75 fee to register our support group and found nothing that said anything about what you call “groups based in one religion”. I guess that term needs more definition–hence the forthcoming board meeting.

My friend Diane and I, who have worked hard to start this group, are Christians. Besides that and the fact that we meet in a church nursery for the comfort of moms and their babies, I would conjecture that the majority of our group is made up of people from other religions or claiming no religious affiliations at all. We don’t even ask because that’s not why we’re here.

I would not define Life After Baby as a religious group–rather it is a group based on a life-stage–the days, weeks and months postpartum–hence our name. That life stage is no respecter of persons–people of all races, social and economic status, religion, political affiliation, age, gender, and anything else you can think of to classify people are affected during this life stage. LAB welcomes everyone–no matter what social identifiers “classify” them.

I would encourage P– to do the same. Those of us struggling in the postpartum stage–especially afflicted by postpartum mood disorders–are already feeling abandoned. No one wants to “own” us–doctors, psychologists, the Church, friends, family–everyone seems to want to direct us to someone else and make our struggle someone else’s problem.

A few other questions the board might want to consider–will P–I delineate groups that are privately funded? Publicly funded? Based in one race? Gender specific? Non-religious? Alternative or non-medical? Will you disallow groups from joining P–? Quantify or qualify who may/may not join? I don’t think you can accept one person’s “dues” the same as another’s and list their groups separately or differently. Is that not the very definition of discrimination? I don’t see that complimenting the purpose of P– in both public and professional communities.

I hope my thoughts and questions might be helpful as your organization navigates these new territories in service. Whatever the outcome, this is your organization’s decision and I await your decision trusting that it will be fair and beneficial for everyone.

I am so thankful for P– and all the resources you provide. Especially the encouragement afforded in the fact that an organization like P– even exists. Thank you.

And now…we wait.

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More than just a meal

One of the best things about having a baby is all the meals that show up at your door every other night for the first few weeks (or in my case months!) after you bring baby home.

I can’t even begin to explain how a tostada bar ministered to my soul. Or homemade soup, salad, applesauce muffins, and calzones helped me sleep easier. Seeing my family dive into grilled chicken breasts and cheesy potatoes while being able to rock and nurse and not worry about food prep are some of the best medicines available. Oh, and can I just give a shout-out to homemade sausage bread, Mexican lasagna, Bacon wrapped pork loin, Poppy seed chicken, whole wheat pasta twirls with ground turkey, Steak and chicken fajitas, Beef stew and banana bread, Chicken casserole, Spaghetti and meatballs w/ garlic bread, Cheesy potato soup, Chicken surprise, and good ol’ Mac-n-cheese?

I’ve had the privilege of receiving tons of fantastic meals, as well as cook and share some with others. I hope that each family that receives one of my meals knows it was prepared with love, prayed over (sometimes my kids help and I have to ask God to help it be edible), and delivered with lots of love and understanding.

I asked my friend Jean, who coordinates the meals ministry at our church, to tell you a little more about how sharing food turns into showing love.

A year and a half ago, I took over one of the ministries at our church entitled “Meals Ministry.” I met with the current organizer of the ministry, feverishly took notes, and was passed the torch. The definition given to me of the meals ministry was “setting up meals for those not involved in a small group during a time of sickness, after the arrival of a new baby, or after surgery.” Little did I know that this ministry is about so much more than food. It is seeing people who don’t even know each other take care of each other. It is witnessing others serve out of their hearts to help ease the life struggles of others.

Heading this ministry up has been a very humbling experience. I have talked to many hurting people, those who have lost sons, husbands, or children; those who have been sick; and those who have had strokes, brain surgery, miscarriages, and cancer. I have talked to overwhelmed families, families with a new baby or multiple babies. Many times I have prayed before calling a family, “Jesus, please grant me the words this family needs as I have no clue as to what to say.” What’s so amazing is that He also provides not only the words but also the exact people the receiving family needs. I have been blessed seeing people come along side families they don’t know and pray with them, stay a bit just to see how they are doing, or come back a few days later to help clean their houses.

One such family comes to mind. The wife/mom had several medical issues, ended up having her gall bladder removed, and then found out all the problems stemmed from pressure on her spinal cord at the base of her brain. I had set up meals for this family when she was sick before her gall bladder surgery and called back before her brain surgery to see how she was doing. Her response was, “There are ladies coming over that I have never met. They brought us food and came back, stocked the refrigerator, and cleaned our house. They are now some of my closest friends.” How amazing God is!

Many times I’ve had women call to say it was such a blessing receiving meals that now, they too, want to be on the giving end and to be able to bless other families by taking them meals. Who knew that food could touch so many people’s hearts? What a privilege and joy it is being a part of this amazing ministry and seeing God’s hand touch so many people’s lives.

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