The youth group has been focusing on food quite a bit lately. To be fair there has almost always been plenty of food to go along with our activities. But we have taken up the whole process ourselves lately. Everything from planning, shopping, cooking, serving, and eating, to cleaning up. We have experimented with odd combinations like hot dogs and fried rice or pizza and macaroni and cheese. One of the favorites, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, has become a standard part of the program. And bananas. We always have bananas. And toast. Toast seems to go with everything, too.

We shop for deals. We take turns cooking. There are a blessed few that almost always wash dishes. Making our meals together has become an important part of sharing our lives together. We have a lot of fun conversations and can talk about whatever anyone wants or needs to talk about. A lot of good things happen over shared food.

We used to ask families to sign up for the Sunday evening snack supper, but fewer and fewer people seemed to be able to work it in to their schedules. That was frustrating to me, but then I realized I was just adding another big task to a family's crowded schedule and endless to-do lists. I was close to sending out a guilt-laden letter about priorities, but that just never felt right. So I like that we've figured it out in a positive way. To be clear, there is always room for anyone that wants to host. So if cooking and serving is your thing, just let me know and we will find a date that works.

Jesus did a lot of ministry centered around food and gatherings of people. That's certainly one of my favorite ways to continue his ministry and connect people to faith. Food nourishes and refreshes and satisfies in wonderful ways just like faith does. Putting the two together is a great way to go.

Be Blessed!
Michael

I got a generation older this week when my 102-year-old grandmother passed away. For as far back as I can remember, Grandma Martinek was a focal point for our family. She and my grandfather started a family that had grown to five generations and over 100 members, not even counting spouses. As her elderly niece phrased it to my mother and her siblings, "We're the old people now."
Faith, family, and friends are three words that could easily be used to describe my grandmother's priorities, but would not tell the whole story.
Her faith was shown in many ways. She had pictures of Jesus in her home. Palms blessed on Palm Sunday stuck out from behind crosses on the wall. She drove herself to church for as long as she could. The gift of a family bible went to every new couple in our family on their wedding day. She supported those of us that moved into other denominations over the years, telling me, "It's all the same, it's all God's church."
What underlined her faith even more was the love she showed to family and friends. She vary rarely was without a smile on her face and she made everyone around her feel special. Holidays, weddings, birthdays, and even funerals were a chance to celebrate together. One of her gifts was baking. She didn't just have a few good recopies that she kept to herself. Grandma made wedding cakes, kolaches, and strudels for generations of us fortunate enough to be connected to her. Weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and festivals were better because of her. She instructed and taught others who continue the love and care that she put into her efforts.
I think she loved babies more than anything else in the world. She was always so happy to see and hold new additions to the family. My brother and his wife brought their month-old son and 4-year-old to see her the day before she died. She had not eaten for several days and had been spending most of her time asleep, but they said she got so excited that they thought she was going to hop right out of bed. Our last pictures of her are with bright eyes and big smile as she held this newest member of the family.
One of the phrases that stuck out to me at her funeral was when the priest said, "Forgive Annie for her sins. You know she had the best intentions." I thought to myself, "If Grandma fell short, I don't have a chance. We are lucky to have a God of such grace." I hope to take that love that she showed me with her life. There are so many petty things that we let occupy our attention. Jesus told us that the two most important things are to Love God and to Love each other. Nothing past that really ends up mattering very much.
Thank you Grandma for showing such love and pointing us all toward our Lord. Thank you God for giving me so much love, and especially for putting so much of it in the farm girl and baker that was my grandma. You have both blessed me more than I deserve.

Be Blessed!
Michael

Test, test.