I remember when my Dad taught me how to cook. My mother passed away when I was young,
so he also taught me how to iron clothes, do laundry, make a home look nice, as well as the
typical masculine things like shaving, cutting grass, working on the car, and drinking beer. Since
I was a young pre-teen when I started cooking, my Dad limited my use in the kitchen to simple
cuisine so that I would not start a fire or starve because I do not prefer to eat blackened pizza.
Until I started dating Ana, I rarely ever made meals for anyone else besides myself. I was an only child, my elder family members preferred to cook, and my roommates and I when I was a young adult would just eat Taco Bell all the time. I had no idea that if I were to marry this girl that I would occasional cook for, that this would somehow become a regular part of our lives. We have quickly realized we would not only cook for each other in the future, but often invite others to do so, and this would be a foundational part of our lifestyle. In the short few years I have begun to make food for others, these are five practical tips I have learned. I believe these are especially good tips for people who want to see meals become something significant in their spiritual and relational journey and may be single, dating, or newly married, others who may have a heavy workload, and those folks who absolutely think they could never cook for 10-30 people on a regular basis.
I will not share any of my secret recipes or kitchen secrets. Those are going to pay the bills in the future. Here are five points that start with a 'p' that start to sum up the simple things we do to see breakthrough.
Planning
Ana and I usually on Thursday plan our meals out for the next week. We then are able to go grocery shopping within the next few days for the week, and we prep a lot of our meals on Saturday with other people! The freedom to know that we have lunch and dinner for busy weekdays planned out allows for us to rest easy when we need to, and get a jump on the day every day! We also keep enough food available in case someone is over and we get hungry while playing board games or something of the sort. We save ordering takeout and dining out for special occasions or spontaneous trips.
Practice
I do not expect everyone to be at the culinary expertise of an executive chef in a French restaurant, but I think that the more knowledgeable one is of a trade, the less stressful it becomes to do that task. There are plenty of resources from the internet to Youtube to help practice quick prep without going to culinary school. We prefer to cook most of our meals to save on money, and time becomes very short, so we have made sure to hone in our skill on a few meals that we can make repeatedly and easily. The most success we have seen in our family dinners and gatherings is because we can have a very impressive meal with little effort! We can then focus on investing in our guests and building relationships rather than standing over a stove for an hour trying to feed kids and adults.
Predictability
Ana and I try to have dinner on certain days at certain times. The people that we want to invest in, and also the people that want to spend time with us are able to begin to know when they can find us! They will start to make a mealtime a regular part of their schedule when they see you having it as a staple during the week. Some people may only come to our dinner once every two months, but they always know when we eat during a season and they are not afraid to connect with us, or bring other people with them!
Until I started dating Ana, I rarely ever made meals for anyone else besides myself. I was an only child, my elder family members preferred to cook, and my roommates and I when I was a young adult would just eat Taco Bell all the time. I had no idea that if I were to marry this girl that I would occasional cook for, that this would somehow become a regular part of our lives. We have quickly realized we would not only cook for each other in the future, but often invite others to do so, and this would be a foundational part of our lifestyle. In the short few years I have begun to make food for others, these are five practical tips I have learned. I believe these are especially good tips for people who want to see meals become something significant in their spiritual and relational journey and may be single, dating, or newly married, others who may have a heavy workload, and those folks who absolutely think they could never cook for 10-30 people on a regular basis.
I will not share any of my secret recipes or kitchen secrets. Those are going to pay the bills in the future. Here are five points that start with a 'p' that start to sum up the simple things we do to see breakthrough.
Planning
Ana and I usually on Thursday plan our meals out for the next week. We then are able to go grocery shopping within the next few days for the week, and we prep a lot of our meals on Saturday with other people! The freedom to know that we have lunch and dinner for busy weekdays planned out allows for us to rest easy when we need to, and get a jump on the day every day! We also keep enough food available in case someone is over and we get hungry while playing board games or something of the sort. We save ordering takeout and dining out for special occasions or spontaneous trips.
Practice
I do not expect everyone to be at the culinary expertise of an executive chef in a French restaurant, but I think that the more knowledgeable one is of a trade, the less stressful it becomes to do that task. There are plenty of resources from the internet to Youtube to help practice quick prep without going to culinary school. We prefer to cook most of our meals to save on money, and time becomes very short, so we have made sure to hone in our skill on a few meals that we can make repeatedly and easily. The most success we have seen in our family dinners and gatherings is because we can have a very impressive meal with little effort! We can then focus on investing in our guests and building relationships rather than standing over a stove for an hour trying to feed kids and adults.
Predictability
Ana and I try to have dinner on certain days at certain times. The people that we want to invest in, and also the people that want to spend time with us are able to begin to know when they can find us! They will start to make a mealtime a regular part of their schedule when they see you having it as a staple during the week. Some people may only come to our dinner once every two months, but they always know when we eat during a season and they are not afraid to connect with us, or bring other people with them!
Potlucks!
This is a great way to have all people in families participate in sharing their possessions with each other. We have taken a few spins on Potluck which we have found fun and successful. We have recently started experimenting with inviting others over and having them bring the side items for all the food we prep for the week. Everyone feels involved and like they are contributing, even if they only do minimal work in the actual prep of the food. We also do Potluck Pizza party when we provide Tortillas, Pizza Dough, and Sauce and everyone brings their favorite classic or crazy toppings. People are able to make their own mini pizzas and there is no debate as to what goes onto which pizza when you order out. We also want to have everyone who comes to a family dinner or missional community to feel that they can participate. When we have our friends and family who may be without a permanent home, they often want to make sure they can help out even though they may have a few dollars in their pocket. They have the monopoly on bringing chips to our dinner, and they love to be able to claim some ownership of a part of the meal on a regular basis.
Prayer
The people we share meals with have diverse spiritual backgrounds. Some have never prayed more than a handful of times, some have never prayed, and some pray in the "tongues of angels". We think that it's important to pray before every meal, thanking Jesus for his provision and continued mercy on us and our family. We're currently trying to make a song that is easy enough for children and guests to catch onto. Just as we want people to participate in our meals, games, and storytelling, we want to make it accessible for them to enter into a place where they can seek out Jesus through our family time. People start to see that Jesus is the center of our lives, and we are sharing the good news with them by just thanking Jesus for the food!
I would love to hear what family meals look like for others! Maybe we can share in a meal sometime in the near future.
This is a great way to have all people in families participate in sharing their possessions with each other. We have taken a few spins on Potluck which we have found fun and successful. We have recently started experimenting with inviting others over and having them bring the side items for all the food we prep for the week. Everyone feels involved and like they are contributing, even if they only do minimal work in the actual prep of the food. We also do Potluck Pizza party when we provide Tortillas, Pizza Dough, and Sauce and everyone brings their favorite classic or crazy toppings. People are able to make their own mini pizzas and there is no debate as to what goes onto which pizza when you order out. We also want to have everyone who comes to a family dinner or missional community to feel that they can participate. When we have our friends and family who may be without a permanent home, they often want to make sure they can help out even though they may have a few dollars in their pocket. They have the monopoly on bringing chips to our dinner, and they love to be able to claim some ownership of a part of the meal on a regular basis.
Prayer
The people we share meals with have diverse spiritual backgrounds. Some have never prayed more than a handful of times, some have never prayed, and some pray in the "tongues of angels". We think that it's important to pray before every meal, thanking Jesus for his provision and continued mercy on us and our family. We're currently trying to make a song that is easy enough for children and guests to catch onto. Just as we want people to participate in our meals, games, and storytelling, we want to make it accessible for them to enter into a place where they can seek out Jesus through our family time. People start to see that Jesus is the center of our lives, and we are sharing the good news with them by just thanking Jesus for the food!
I would love to hear what family meals look like for others! Maybe we can share in a meal sometime in the near future.
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