What’s For Dinner?

Who Wants Some Soul Food? I grew up in Northeast Arkansas on a hog farm where my family always had a large garden of fresh vegetables. Frequently, my brothers and I would accompany Daddy to pick turnip greens, collard greens, polk salad, muscadines, and blackberries. Then, when we brought everything home to the house, my momma and my sisters would do the home cooking and canning. Needless to say, we always had plenty of good home cooking on our dinner table. Pork chops, pinto beans, greens, corn on the cob, tomatoes, and cornbread were staples at our old farmhouse. Some today refer to this menu as “soul food.”

Just about every day in the mid-afternoon, I think to myself, “I wonder what’s for dinner?” As our community continues to grow, it seems there’s a new restaurant opening almost every week. We now have a vast variety of choices from good ol’ Arkansas BBQ to fresh sushi!

Most of us try to eat at least three meals a day, along with our snacks and our over-priced daily drive-through coffee “pick me up!” Our spiritual lives may resemble our hectic on-the-run lifestyles. We also have lots of choices and variety concerning our spiritual preferences. 

We have churches in our community with a wide variety of options on the spiritual menu, ranging from contemporary, traditional, casual, dressy, conservative, and liberal. And our choices truly determine our physical and spiritual health and well-being. In a world filled with chaos and confusion, we may need to tap the brakes and pull over to order some good ole’ down-home soul food.

We each have so many obligations and commitments that we often fail to take time for ourselves to be refreshed and restored. Therefore, in Psalms 23:1-3, the Psalmist wrote, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He restores my soul.” When the demands of life take a toll, we need to slow down, pull over in the green pastures, and let the Father restore our souls, heal our bodies, and empower us to get up and go again!

Try this simple recipe:

Turn off the news

Take a break from social media

Put on some praise and worship while you’re getting ready for work

Use drive time to listen to an audio Bible and pray

Try meditating on the Word of God on your lunch break

After dinner, take a few minutes just to be thankful

“…for You are with me: Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me….” Psalms 23:4-6

Come eat, dinner’s ready! We’re having some soul food! Come find your seat at the table!