Thursday, January 24, 2008

Rice and Beans Night






Yes that's right. It was "rice and beans night" last night. In case you didn't read my last post, once a month we have rice and beans. On that night we write letters and draw pictures for our sponsored Compassion child, Maria. If you haven't read about her, please read the previous post, she's a doll.


Honestly, my family does not like rice and beans. Well, I take that back. My husband and I like rice and beans. Hayley Grace likes rice. Dylan likes the taste of it all, but hates the texture. Hayden and Blake hate it all. We have rice and beans to remind us that for some, this is just about all they have. Even though rice and beans is not very popular around here, you don't hear anyone complaining. They know if they do, "Mom will go on one of her 'well now maybe you can imagine how Maria and the children in Ecuador must feel each day' tirades." It's one meal I fix that there is just about as many leftovers as we had to begin with. I wish I could send the leftovers to someone who would appreciate them.


Even though the food isn't a big hit, this ritual we have is quite meaningful. We not only talk about the needs of Maria and her family, but we also talk about how blessed we are and how much we have. We talk about the prayer requests that Maria has. You see, not only do we write to Maria, but she writes to us too. We pray for her as a family. The kids all pitch in from their allowances and we send the letters and $32 a month to Ecuador. It is such a blessing.


Well, as you can see from the pictures, we have quite a lot of leftovers from our rice and beans dinner, so if you are hungry, come on over! I'll serve ya a heapin' helpin' of R and B! They are quite tasty!




Blessings,


Melissa

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's an excellent idea to show thankfulness to God for all the wonderful things we have. Perhaps if Pleakley agrees to it I might start trying that once a month.

Denise said...

YUMMMMMM I love R and B!!!!!! What a great idea Mels, and it will be something they remember the rrest of their lives.... I can hear it now, "Yea, my mom, she was a speaker and writer and well, she wanted us to relate to this girl in Equador, so, well, she made us eat like her every month, yea, Rice and Beans, ... I hate rice and beans" Ahhh the memories they will have! Love U D