Day 13: Soup, Heat Lamps and Life Lessons

I had no idea how addicted I am to restaurant food. Whenever I get sick, like today, I crave McAlister's chicken tortilla soup. It's loaded with chunks of chicken and crispy tortilla strips in a thick, spicy cheesy sauce. Yum! It's especially good for clearing the sinuses. But I'm committed to this challenge and I refuse to spend $4.00 for a cup of soup just because I WANT IT, and I WANT IT NOW! (Okay, I feel better...)

The other day our family decided that, as an extra challenge, we should each choose a favorite restaurant food and try to re-create it at home. We've already been able to do that with a few salads and soups. After all, Chinese stir fry is easy, the kids can even make their favorite fast food fare - chicken nuggets and fries, and homemade pizza is the bomb. So, what's the draw? Why do we flock to over-crowded, over-priced, microwave-then-heat-lamp-the-food restaurants? Pretty pathetic when I let myself think about it. I'm hoping this month will be the key to convincing myself, and my kids, that there is nothing "out there" that I can't find in here. Come to think of it, there might just be a larger life lesson buried in there too.

Day 12: Kids Eat Almost Free

Tonight is "kids eat free" night at one of our favorite restaurants. The food is healthful, the service is good and the atmosphere is quiet. As a bonus, they let you combine coupons. Once, we all ate there for less than a dollar. I haven't eaten all day, thanks to the lingering stomach bug, so letting someone else cook sounds like a brilliant idea. But, alas, I'm making chili instead.

Our family had a discussion last week about how much we like Wendy's chili and how cheap it is - only $1.29 per cup. But, when we dissected that argument, we figured out that we can make chili with all-natural beef, seasoning and sauce, veggies, and organic beans for MUCH less than $1.29 per person. This isn't rocket science, so why all the excuses for not eating at home, I wonder? So, tonight my kids ate almost free, at home sweet home.

Day 11: Tea Time

I discovered a new way to avoid the temptation to eat out: the stomach flu. I spent the day on the couch, alternately sleeping and sipping peppermint tea. Steve and Mackenzie had a meeting, with lunch provided, right after church, and Maddie heated chicken soup in the microwave for herself and her little brother. For dinner, Mackenzie baked 100% all natural chicken nuggets for everyone, except me of course. What a great compromise; the kids get chicken nuggets, I feel (slightly) better about the quality of what they're eating, and our family saves money (and future heart attacks). :)

Two Sundays down, two to go. Time for more tea...and sleep.

Day 10: Ugh! The Grocery Store

I really need to plan meals and buy groceries. We're getting dangerously low. Not dangerously close to going hungry, just dangerously close to falling in to the eating out trap. We still have some organic sirloin steak and a huge roast my mom gave us when we were there for Thanksgiving. I don't usually roast or grill meat, so I've been avoiding it. I think today's the day. I need to pull out my recipe books or get on line and figure out a mouthwatering method for cooking the beef. If I don't we're sunk tomorrow after church. Ten days down, 21 to go.

Day 9: Spending vs. Investing

My friend, Tarah, invited me to speak at a MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting today on the topic of "Ten Easy Ways to Go Green". Since I was diagnosed with liver disease and we've gone from two incomes to one, I've become much more interested in detoxing my body and house and in saving money. As I finalized my presentation last night, I realized once again how good stewardship (of personal resources like time, energy, money and possessions, and of God's creation) and frugality are the building blocks of a simple, generous life. I can't explain exactly how it happens; I just know that it does.

After all, what good is money if it's only used for things that break, blow away or burn down? We all have two choices. We can either spend our money on wants and whims or invest it in something that will live forever - people's souls. I feel so blessed when I can take part in helping an abused child go to summer camp, sending missionaries halfway around the world, donating diapers to young moms at the crisis pregnancy center or providing meals for the homeless in my city.

Money is amoral, and it isn't powerful in and of itself. But, in the right hands, it can be an instrument of blessing and comfort for stricken souls all across the globe. Maybe that's what this whole frugality experience is really about, that sinking sense that I'm foolishly spending, instead of wisely investing, the money God has entrusted to me for a few short years on earth. The economy might be rocky right now, but I know one thing for sure: using money to bring life and love to God's children is always a safe investment.