advent...join me, I dare you!

Sunday, November 27

{ LOVE these globe ornaments my mama bought me last Christmas! Now I have a tree of my own to put them on! }
{ putting together my $3.42 split pea soup...lunch for the entire week! }

Today begins Advent...the beautiful season of anticipation where we wait to celebrate the birth of our Messiah! As a girl, mom and dad and 3 siblings would round the wreath and light candles and read the sacred story of our Savior's magnificent decent. We would pray and then excitedly fling open tiny doors on advent calendars, gobble chocolate, and then four sleepy children were off to bed.

Advent:
a season to remember his love.
a season to learn his love.
a season to give his love.

God calls us to love Him with everything in us and to love our neighbors as ourselves. But what does it look like in a world where 25,000 of our "neighbors" die from hunger each day, while our refrigerators and cupboards overflow with excess food? How do we love our neighbors as ourselves? How do we keep from falling into the sin of Sodom explained in Ezekiel 16:49? "They were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy."

Empowering Lives International, the organization I work for, is challenging us to put sacrificial love into action by living on a food budget of $2 a day for 2 weeks. You can find out all the details for LOVE IN ACTION here (there are some amazing resources, like menu options, ideas for families with kids, etc) but below I am going to start documenting the LOVE IN ACTION journey Kevin and I embark on this season:)

This Advent, Kevin and I have committed to eating on a food budget of $2 a day for 2 weeks.

We want to love and pray for our neighbors in East Africa (Kenya, Congo, Tanzania, and Kenya).

We want to give out of sacrifice, not just of excess.

But bottom line, we want to be obedient to our radiant Savior who came to love and serve the poor.

If you want to join in the fun I will send you a 14 day advent devotional that I wrote (one devotion for each day), AND you can post your experiences either here on my blog OR join the event on the Empowering Lives facebook event called Love in Action- Advent Experience.

so....here goes our prep:

Kev and I pooled our entire budget for the week....at $2 a day we both have individually $14 for the week, or a collective total of $28 for both of us for the week.

Between La Bodega (our little Mexican market down the street), Trader Joe's, and Ralph's, here is what we came up with for the week:

Breakfast
$2.50 - Big box of Oatmeal
$1.49- Carton of eggs

Lunch
$3.42 - Split pea soup
  • $1- bag of split peas
  • $0.50- bag of carrots
  • $0.69- bag of celery
  • $0.23- one onion
  • $1- ham hock

{Kev chopping the carrots for our split pea soup }
Snacks
$2.49- bag of 8 apples
$1- bag of popcorn
$1.14- 6 bananas
$1.99- bag of spinach

{ Excited that my favorite snack (popcorn) only costs $1 and will last me for both weeks, woo hoo! }
{ beloved (reppin' Indo) with our yummy/healthy snacks! }
Dinner
$2.99- bag of basmati rice
$2.67- 3 cans of black beans
$2.20- salsa
$1.99- chips
$3.99- smoked apple chicken sausage

For a GRAND total of $27.87....JUST under our $28!

we are so excited to live and pray for our brothers and sisters in East Africa, and begin to live out more of the Father's heart for the poor. Will you join us in focusing your heart this advent season?

Love Katie (and Kevin too!)

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