Welcome to the brand new year of 2012, when good things will happen to you and your church. And it isn’t too late for resolutions. If you did make resolutions and have broken them already, you can start again. May I suggest these:
1) Read your Bible through again. True, the first part of 1 Chronicles gets a bit tedious unless you’re really enthusiastic about genealogy, and Habakkuk was something of a whiner; nevertheless, you should read it. Again.
2) Write one note or letter each week to someone: Sympathy, congratulations, understanding, thinking-of-you, etc., and send it via the United States Postal Service, not the computer.
3) As much as you can, plan your menus for a week, plus the shopping list that goes with them. Then, carrying your list, cut your trips to the supermarket to twice a week. The list will prevent impulse buying. This isn’t always easy, but a half hour of planning your meals will save you a couple of hours at the store, plus eliminating that “What am I going to cook for dinner” anxiety.
4) Plan these meals around healthy foods. The meat and potatoes are good, but don’t omit the green leafies. From their earliest times, give children veggies and they will grow up liking them. Unfortunately, some children believe there is no life beyond French fries, chicken nuggets and burgers.
5) Try new recipes – especially those here in “Sunday Dinner.” These are good, because if a person has her name attached to it, she wants it to be good. Frequently, people tell me, “I tried your ‘Courier’ recipe for – and it was really good.” That delights me.
6) This is a repeat from other years: Be hospitable (Romans 12:13; 1 Peter 4:9; Titus 1:8; 1 Timothy 3:2). Invite guests to your home. This can be for cake and coffee in the morning; dessert in the afternoon; breakfast, lunch, dinner or any other combination. Don’t think you have to remodel and redecorate the house before you issue invitations; your guests will remember the warmth, kindness and friendship you show. Years from now, these guests will recall having Sunday dinner with you and your family, but not the color of the curtains, the magazines on the coffee table or even the menu. They will remember visiting your welcoming and hospitable home.
7) Invite the pastor, his family and other church staff for Sunday dinner.
8) Set your table properly for all meals, even if you are eating alone.
9) Tithe. Give to the mission programs.
10) Be grateful to our God for family, church family and friends. Be grateful for food and a kitchen in which to prepare it.
11) Send a recipe to “Sunday Dinner.”
12) Send a copy of your church cookbook to the “Courier/Sunday Dinner.”
Dear Readers:
People tell me they enjoy the Sunday Dinner column. Please send your recipes and/or church-published cookbooks to Sunday Dinner, The Baptist Courier, 100 Manly Street, Greenville, SC 29601.
– Juanita Garrison