Starting January 1, 2014 I started my 12 Steps to an Intentional Life. January was Step 1: Why I’m Making My Bed. On the heels of January…I must say with confidence that I made my bed each and every single day!! Woo, hoo!! Making my bed was about so much more than just making my bed. It was about succeeding in following through with something that has always been marked as a FAIL in my list of accomplishments. It was about believing that I could do it and most importantly experiencing the satisfaction of having followed through. So…onward to February!
This month I’m tackling something that has always been a source of frustration to me…MEAL PLANNING. Ugh. Just writing it, makes me turn my nose up. I have tried to do this over and over and over. All of my efforts have always been short lived and I once again fall back into the pattern of my old ways of scrambling to think of something to eat every night, failing to have the correct ingredients and feeling like a failure due to my lack of follow through.
So…I’m making a goal of planning my meals once every week, creating my grocery list and actually following through with going to the grocery store. I’m tired of not having a plan. For me, not having a plan breeds anxiety and discouragement. Which in turn leads me to feeling like a failure and wanting to give up. Ok, so I’m not really going to quit cooking altogether for my family. But, I really struggle with fear of failure. Oh, what life would be like without fear. I am praying for the Lord to help me with this. How many times does the Bible say, “Fear not.” If I’m honest with myself, most of my fears are related to comparing myself with others and feeling like I’m just not “good enough”. I just have never really enjoyed the kitchen. Ironic though, I spend most of my day in it. My kitchen and I have a love/hate relationship. I love it when it is clean and there is a good meal cooking. But I hate cleaning or cooking in it. Go figure. I need to believe Phil 4:13 “I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.” Even succeed in the kitchen!
So, here’s my “meal planning” plan…
Monday
Plan meals for following week- 30-45min
Tuesday
Grocery shopping
My goals…
1. Decrease my anxiety and discouragement with preparing meals.
2. Prepare nutritious snacks and meals for my family.
3. Decrease my grocery bills.
4. Start mealtime prep at 4:00pm every day.
5. Make only 1 new meal every week to lessen my stress.
Ok, so there you have it. I have ONE SMALL task to follow through on this month. But, ONE GIANT step for my self confidence and for my pursuit of intentional living. I can’t wait to give the follow up post at the end of this month. Accountability sure does encourage motivation.
Please share your meal planning tips and ideas.
I really need to work on this too. I don’t know why I always think other people can be awesome cooks; but it is just not my thing. When I really break it down, I do believe that it is more about a lack of planning rather than ability. I will probably never be the gourmet chef type; but I can try to follow some simple recipes. You are so right. …you have to have a plan….and ingredients! Ha! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for reading my blog sweet friend! I so struggle with planning. Even as I’m trying to work on this, this month, it is so hard. I think I need an accountability partner in this, interested?!