A Conversation About Food Worth Dropping in On

My lovely and brilliant friend LaVonne Neff is leading a conversation about food at her church, St. Barnabus Episcopal in Glen Ellyn, IL, for the next two weeks. (It started last week.)To go along with that series, she’s been blogging about food every weekday since last Monday, and she’ll be continuing through Friday, October 4th.

I highly recommend checking out her blog. Here’s one entry that I love:

“If you are under the impression that the Bible recommends a life of dour deprivation–especially of good food and drink–read Deuteronomy 14:22-26 for comfort:

Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field. In the presence of the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for his name, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. But if, when the Lord your God has blessed you, the distance is so great that you are unable to transport it, because the place where the Lord your God will choose to set his name is too far away from you, then you may turn it into money. With the money secure in hand, go to the place that the Lord your God will choose; spend the money for whatever you wish–oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever you desire. And you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your household rejoicing together.

And the tradition continues in the New Testament. Remember the winemaker for the wedding at Cana!”

Got it? Some of your money should go worshipfully toward strong drink. Bet you haven’t heard that preached too many times.

Here’s the start of another post by LaVonne that I love:

“Q. What is one of the best ways to look good, feel good, and enjoy a long life?
A. Celebrate!

Yes, it’s counterintuitive. Most Americans are convinced that if only we could eat little enough fat, ingest few enough calories, spend enough sweaty minutes at the gym, and drink exactly 5 ounces of red wine a day, then we might live forever–with enough expensive medical intervention, of course.

How dreary.”

And then she goes on to talk about how celebrating can help us look good, feel good, and enjoy a long life.

I should say that I’m humbled and thankful that LaVonne has chosen to use my book in this adult-ed series. But her own insights are well worth checking out in their own right.

Read (& bookmark!) her blog here.