Thankful Thursday

I've been way too hit and miss with Thankful Thursday lately, so I was determined to post today, and I even had my post somewhat planned. Then I ended up running across a couple of things this morning that changed my course.

I get so bogged down sometimes in the "big stuff", that I forget the "basics". Today I've been reminded how thankful I am for the "essentials". We always bless our meals and thank God for our food...but how often do we *really* stop and realize how blessed we are that we...and our children...have plenty of food, clean water, a roof over our heads (leaky or not ;-)), clothes to wear, and even medicine when we need it?

Yesterday and today I have been cleaning out the fridge/freezer and pantry (Okay, so I don't actually *have* a "pantry", but that sounds better than "the non-perishable food cabinets" :)). I have been appalled...again...at how much food we *waste*. We've been trying to rein in our food budget again, and I'm realizing...again...how much we could save if we just didn't end up *tossing* so much. So...I had been pondering all morning how to be more frugal by cutting our food waste.

Then a friend in an online group posted this video. Wow. (Warning: This video is extremely powerful and will tug at your heart and haunt your mind. It is beautiful...and sad...and disturbing. However, be aware that it is also not for the extremely weak-stomached. Nothing gory, just kinda yucky.)

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

I also ran across the trailer to this book




this morning. I *really* want to read this book. I rarely buy new books, but I may have to make an exception for this one. The author is Tom Davis, founder of Children's HopeChest, an organization that works with orphans in Russia and in several African countries.

I am always telling my children that one way to express gratitude is to take care of and wisely use that which we have been given. As I thought this morning about how grateful I am for food, clean water, shelter, and other basic necessities for us and for our children, I realized that I have not been showing that gratitude through wise use of the food we've been given. How convicting to realize what an unwise steward I have been.

I posted a while back that we had begun sponsoring a child through Compassion International. His name is Frank, and he lives in Ghana. We have been so blessed through being able to participate in this ministry, and especially through Frank's letters. We knew when we decided to sponsor him that we would have to practice frugality to make that payment every month. In some ways, we've done well with that...in others, not so well.

In today's economy, frugality is becoming more and more important for many of us. I realized again this morning that frugality is not only important in "making ends meet" in our budget...it is important for us to be able to share with those whose needs are much greater than we can often imagine. As I said in the previous post on World Hunger Day, "No, eating all the vegetables on our plates won't help the starving children in Africa, but changing our habits so that we can sponsor a child can."

I am so very, very thankful for our abundance in the essentials. Even on the leanest weeks in the grocery budget, we eat *so* much better than much of the world. I am thankful that I never have to worry about my children going hungry. I am so thankful for clean water, shelter, medical care, and clothing for them.

Now I need to express how thankful I am for God's provision by "taking care of and wisely using what we have been given." I have the feeling that it will not only help our budget, but our grateful hearts as well.

For more Thankful Thursdays, please visit Lynn here.