Day 8 {Whole30}

Watch out y’all, I’m about to get all deep and theological for a sec 😉

Kraft prays Night Prayer (Office of Compline) with our kiddos every night. (It’s adorable to be hear our little three year old chant.) But tonight he is driving back from Wichita Falls with our middle two so I did Night Prayer with Olivia at bedtime. These lines from Psalm 4 struck me:

“What can bring us happiness?” many say.
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord.
You have put in my heart a greater joy
than they have from abundance of corn and new wine.

I have felt moments of great joy in my life. And while I can remember several moments of joy that have included food, the joy came from the experience around the food more than the food itself. I can still perfectly remember the most amazing bowl of Frosted Flakes with whole milk I’ve ever had. It was at a hotel on Times Square but it was after the most comically futile trip across the city to try and get SNL tickets. Or I can remember eating this delicious pumpkin tempura at Uchi but it was during our first date out after our first kid was born and it was our first anniversary. Or I can remember this really good seafood meal in New Orleans but it was in one of John Besh’s restaurants and we actually got to meet him and tell him our three year old loves watching him on PBS.

When I think about why I sometimes eat my emotions, it’s because I’m looking for a fast fix. I’m not really wanting to find a solution to my kids acting crazy right when I should be cooking dinner. I’m not really wanting to dig a little deeper to figure out why Kraft and I keep having the same argument. I’m not really wanting to learn how to control my anger better. I know I don’t feel joy at the moment and want a Dr. Pepper and some chocolate to trick myself into feeling better.

But food is not “the” joy that fulfills our deepest longings. The joy great food brings me will never come close to the joy I’ve felt after having a baby, or getting married, or working through a difficult issue with someone, really acing a project at work, or coming out of the confessional.

While I will always LOVE food, I need to remember, I was made for an even greater joy.

Breakfast:

• Fried Eggs
• Pederson Farms (sugar-free) bacon
• Green Monster Smoothie – I know that we’re not really supposed to be having smoothies but I’ve decided we’ll have one a week. And I just couldn’t chew more salad. Instead I blended it.

Lunch: [not pictured]

• Rudy’s Brisket and Turkey – I have no idea what kind of rub they put on their barbecue and they do not list ingredients on their website. If you know, shoot me a comment 🙂
• Lots of fruit – I was at my parents’ neighborhood block party so this is all I could really eat

Dinner:

• Tuna Salad with jalapeños and avocado instead of mayo
• Handful of Almonds