I just hate to see good food go to waste!  That’s one reason I’m the Queen of the Freezer!  Leftover baked potatoes get scooped out and frozen for future pots of Potato Soup.  Leftover Chicken Carcasses get cooked in pots of herbed water so we can enjoy homemade chicken stock.

Last week when I used five chickens to feed a group of people, the Lord brought a spiritual truth to my mind. Even greater than wasting good food that can be used for a future meal, how tragic it is when I waste a lesson He has taught me.  It’s so crucial to journal the truths that I’ve learned by means of a trial, sickness, or difficulty so I won’t forget them – this would be the boiling of the chicken bones!  I need to get down to the bottom of what I’ve learned.  That takes prayer, quiet and then time to write in a journal.

The next step is pulling it back out and reminding myself of the Truth on days when I need it.  Preaching to myself is something that happens frequently because my mind likes to dwell on things other than truth (ever been there?).  I’ll flip back to my journal and reread what God did in my life, what He taught me or how He answered a prayer request and provided a need and I have food to go on for that day!  This is the freezing process of the stock making lesson.  I can pull that frozen stock out and make a meal with it such as Chicken enchiladas, pot pies or Golden Winter Soup . I’m always so thankful that I took the time to make the stock!  I’m doubly glad to have that truth hidden away to encourage my heart.

Sometimes I also get to make a meal for someone else with that stock!  I love to give other people good food.  The spiritual application here is that sometimes I get to take the lessons God has taught me and share them with others.  When I do that, I’m giving them Divine view point rather than my human view point.  That will help them so much more than my feeble words ever could!

If I threw that chicken carcass in the trash I would be wasting something good.  If I finish a time of trial and simply breathe a sigh that it’s over, I’ll be wasting those precious lessons God has graciously given to me.  It wasn’t a waste of time in my life, so I should value it enough to hold fast to it so I can benefit from it in the future!

Here’s a simple video and pictures of the process I go through to make my own stock.  It helps you make good use of the whole chicken, plus it’s a real money saver, considering that a can of broth is a dollar or more and you get less than two cups in each can!

Do you ever make your own stock?  

What spiritual lesson has the Lord recently taught you that you could share with others or remind your own self of in the days ahead?

Don’t waste it!