Menu Monday

Well, it's Monday again! I haven't posted since last Monday, when my mind was too full of our adoption news to post anything else... including our menu. And I haven't posted anything in a week because we've been happily busy with all the stuff of the season. I say "happily"... but let me share with you the verse that hit me square between the eyes this morning:

"Be hospitable to one another without complaint."

1 Peter 4:9

We hosted our annual Awana Leader Christmas Dinner last night, and had the Christmas party for the leaders' kids who are school-aged. I spent last week gathering goody-bag goodies, craft materials, etc. for the kids party and door prizes and decorations for the "grown-up" party. We ended up with close to 150 adults and about 80 kids. That's a lot of folks! And, I have to admit... I was a bit stressed. And yesterday when we had to leave the house and miss yet another Cowboy game, on a cold and semi-rainy afternoon when it would've been so much more comfy to stay in and stay warm, I have to admit... I complained. Maybe not with words but in my stressed-out attitude. I don't know if anyone (besides my family) could tell, but that doesn't matter. God knew. He would know no matter how I behaved outwardly, for He hears the unspoken complaints of the heart.

Why did I share this today, on "Menu Plan Monday?" Because menus involve serving those who share your table, whether or not they live in your home, and whether or not that table is in your home. And serving food, whether at home, taking something to a potluck, delivering Christmas goodies to a school party, or having a large catered dinner, involves hospitality. And showing hospitality, I'm finding, is a privilege. It's a chance to receive others in Jesus' name, and to show Christ's love to others, thereby showing love to Christ Himself. I've been convicted today of how I sometimes treat hospitality as a chore, and I don't want to do that. That was a good reminder for me this morning as we are smack in the middle of the Christmas season. By His grace, there are still plenty more opportunities for me to cheerfully be hospitable in the coming weeks!

For our menu for this week, we're having a Geography dinner catch-up (which is SO not a problem for me since we're in the south... it's how we eat anyway!)

Monday: Chicken and dumplings (Mississippi)

Tuesday: Roast with all the fixin's, peach cobbler (Georgia)

Wednesday: Hoppin' John (Tennessee)

Thursday: Taco Soup

Friday: Leftovers

Visit Laura for more menus, and have a great week!