Food For Thought

        Okay, so maybe I spoil my children a little because I make all five of them lunch in the morning, making sure they have a balanced meal of some sort. I could have them all make up their own lunch bags each morning, or even the night before, but to be honest, having five children running around the kitchen trying to get the necessities such as bread, fruit, and dessert would be a headache in itself. I do not mind taking the time to lovingly package up their lunchbags and sending them off with the peace that I know what they are eating and there will be plenty to fill their tummies during the long day. 
        With that said, I must say that lately I have been having a hard time understanding the thought process of food distributors and those who are in charge of packaging and supplying our food. I do not normally go into these kinds of rants in my blogs, but I am coming to the conclusion that people really are not looking out for our well-being and all that stuff they say about good nutrition, obesity, and good health is a bunch of bologna. Whatever happened to the old fashioned farms with plenty of home-grown veggies, cattle, and eggs? 
         I remember going with my dad once a week to get some nice, cold milk out of the large, shiny, metal milk container at Mr. Pigeon's farm. The barn was always warm from the rows of cows lining each side of the building, lazily chewing their cud as their brown eyes watched me play with the many kittens running around. We had some stainless steel milk jugs we would fill with the frothy white stuff and we would take it home where my mom would scoop off the cream that settled on the top. Nothing tasted fresher and more delicious than that milk back in those days not too long ago.  Along with the fresh eggs we had from our chickens (mentioned in an earlier blog), we had something I wish we still had today. 
        With the size of my family, our food budget has been going up, as fast as the prices of the food in the stores have been rising higher and higher. As those prices go up, packaging of food has been getting smaller and cheaper in quantity. Sometimes I wonder if the people who say reduce! reuse! recycle! even mean what they say? If they cared about reducing the packaging as much as they cared about reducing the contents inside, then the packages would become smaller, so we would not have as much waste to clutter the dumps!
       Years ago toys were made to last and so were applicances. Toys were made of solid metal and were actually kind of heavy, and could withstand some rough play. Today, toys are made of cheap plastics that break within the first day, or need more batteries after an hour's worth of play. If people truly wanted us to "be green" and save the earth, wouldn't they take more care in the products they produced to make them last?  
        While I do not believe in the whole 'being green' idea, I do believe God wants us to be good stewards of the earth He has put us on and take care of it. Genesis 2:15 says, "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." We are the caretakers of this earth and since He owns a cattle on a thousand hills, we should do all we can to make sure His world where we live remains a beautiful place. Daily I pray God will give me wisdom in how to feed my family with good, healthy meals, and foods that will help them grown up and not out - may He show me how to wisely manage the unchanging food budget in a world of constantlychanging prices. Amen.