Thankful Thursday . . . delayed

This Thankful Thursday (Sunday edition) I am thankful for a little experiment that has been going on in Houston. "The Newlys" are the conductors of this experiment and they have shared it all on a blog.

To give you a little background . . . Our church has undertaken a huge project involving the Children's Hunger Fund (CHF). The goal is to fill 10,000 CHF Food Pac Boxes to be distributed here in San Antonio, where statistically one in four children goes to bed hungry every night. (The hunger rate among Texas kids is the highest in the nation).

These food pacs contain dried beans, rice, two canned meats, two canned vegetables, two canned fruits, peanut butter, crackers, pasta, tomato sauce and a few other items. It costs between $18-25 to fill a pac, and it is supposed to feed a family of four for one week. As you can imagine, $25 worth of non-perishable food is not a lot of food, but it is adequate. If you have nothing in your cupboards, it probably feels like a feast. Sadly, most of us cannot even begin to identify with the thought of empty cupboards, or of living off a very simple box of food for a week.

The Newly's decided to take the project a bit further, and truly experience what it would feel like to live solely on the contents of a food pac for one week. So they filled their box, and ate simply. Not other food, no eating out. Word got around, and by the end of the week their blog began to draw attention from the people at CFH, but by this time their experiment was wrapping up. So . . . what did they decide to do? A repeat. After a one week break, they filled another box, and again blogged about their experience, including tallying the cost of each meal. Anyone made dinner for two for $2.22 lately? And that was one of the costlier meals!

As you can imagine, this "living below their means" was a growing experience for Taylor and Frankie. It spoke to a lot of other hearts as well, including my own. I realize that I have no idea what it is like to be truly hungry, or to not have food to feed my children. I often take this for granted. We are indeed blessed beyond measure.

I regret that I didn't post about the kid's experiment sooner so you could follow along as things unfolded. I would love for you to go pay them a visit now, and see the outcome of their adventure. The fruits of their labor will amaze you! Go see for yourself at The Adventures of Taylor and Frankie. God did some really cool things--take a look at the post from September 18th, "Day Five in the Field"! This mama is thankful . . . and more than a wee bit proud!

Blessings from my very blessed nest ~

Tina