Purge Your Pantry of Harm

Lord, I confess that sometimes I’ve allowed my senses to overrule common food at all.  I want to become like the Proverbs 31 woman who brought her family food from afar.  She was willing to go the extra mile to provide the very best for her family.

Holy Spirit, empower me to resist the ever-present temptation to feed my family convenience foods rather than real, healthy food.  Give me wisdom to make necessary changes with grace, so my family will be able to adjust and even share my enthusiasm for healthier living. Amen.

The Proverbs 31 woman went the extra mile to bring her family quality food, whether that meant spending the extra money for imported goods or getting up early to make sure everything was prepared properly.  Even though she had household help, she was still in charge of providing the food.  Her family may not have been aware she was going to so much extra trouble, but she knew and God knew.

There are some things we do for our family just because we know it’s the right thing to do.  They may not appreciate it; they may even resent us for it.  Sometimes they fight us tool and nail, and the battle hardly seems worth waging.  One of those right things is trying to ensure that our family eats a healthy diet.  What a challenge that is in today’s culture!

Today we’re going to take a quantum leap forward toward our goal of bringing our family food- real food- and not harm.  We’re going to purge the pantry.  It’s not difficult. Once we make a decision. That’s half of the battle. Use this three-step process: 

If it’s been sitting there for more than a year and it’s unlikely you’ll use it in the next year, throw it out.  I don’t care if it has a shelf life of eternity.  Throw it out.

Now check labels for expiration dates.  If it’s expired, throw it up, unless you have a compelling reason to keep it.

While checking labels, if it has a list of ingredients you can’t pronounce, then it’s not really food at all.  It’s a bundle of man-made chemicals with tremendous potential to bring harm to your family. It’s not good.  Throw it out.  This is where you need to be battle-hardened, because your children may be very unhappy indeed when you throw out their favorite non-food food.  But your arms are strong for the task, so never fear.

After you’ve done these three things, if you still have time and energy, you can organize what remains. 

Affirmation: I bring my family food, not harm!

Purge your pantry using the three-step process.