Assignment 7

Food as an Expression of Kindness
The Gift of Good Food

Assignment #7
Due November 8, 2006

As Laura Button reminded us during her presentation, food and love go hand-in-hand. Ever since our childhood, mothers and grandmothers showed us love with homemade cookies and meals three times a day. Fathers worked hard to make sure we could buy the ingredients in the first place, and he took the family out to dinner on special occasions. Romance finds its expression at expensive restaurants and boxes of chocolate. When families that love one another dearly travel great distances to see each other’s smiling faces, they gather around hot food. So many times a gift of encouragment or thankfulness is something good to eat wrapped in colored celophane.

Since the beginning of the universe, our Maker has expressed His goodness and mercy to all humans everywhere by making the sun to shine, the rain to fall, seed time and harvest to come with striking regularity.

“… the living God… did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”
Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ, Acts 14:15,17.

“He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man’s heart…. Praise the Lord!”
Psalm 104:14-15


Let us receive the gift of food as a way to love our neighbors! Let us practice giving good food… food that nourishes… rather than food the harms our bodies.

Our assignment: Bring a healthy gift of food to class so we may give them to parents of children at the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Many of them must wait and wait. There may not be much nourishing, fresh food available at the hospital.

Gifts need to be in baggies, wrapped in celophane, boxed, canned, in jars, or sealed in a give-away tupperware. Try to use natural and whole products – honey or molasses instead of sugar, whole wheat instead of refined flours, fats like butter or olive oil but as little as possible, lots of good ingredients like nuts, fresh or dried fruit, seeds, etc. And… enjoy making the gift with thoughts of who your work will inspire and bless!! Follow in the footsteps of our Maker – blessing others through good food.

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