A Vegan at McDonalds

There once was a moderately committed vegan who had two children. He did his best to feed them well, with a healthy mix of plant-based foods (and the occasional dessert). He also tried hard to take them outside for some exercise every day. But in an east coast town, weather is inevitable, and when the rains came down, this man had limited options to keep his kids entertained.

The mall playground. Chick-fil-A. McDonald's. (Or "Inside park," "Chickalay" and "Old McDonald's" as his kids called them.) These were the options, and out of the three, Old McDonald's had the best play place. It could be dirty at times, and with this season's high level of flu going around, he carefully weighed his options each time the sun didn't shine. But occasionally Old McDonald's won out, and there they headed, sanitizer in tow.

But what does a vegan eat at McDonald's, or any fast food restaurant for that matter? Not much. A bunch of fries and a glass of sweet tea or coffee were his go-to choices. But on this day, a cloudy, drizzly Monday, he decided to expand his horizons and order a single Happy Meal for them all to share.

Now don't call this Vegan foolish, for he brought several healthy snacks to compliment the meal. Apple sauce, veggie sticks, tangerines and a Clif Bar (for himself) were loaded in his already full diaper bag. But when he saw that you could get a Happy Meal for $3, which included a drink, fries, apple slices (or yogurt, for the less-vegan) AND a toy (we won't mention the meatful abomination of an entree)...well, an order of fries and a $1 sweet tea almost equaled that much in itself. So he took the chance, and this is what he received:

The fries were pretty skimpy, as well as the apple slices. The drink was nice, as three or four cups of tea can make up for a lost dollar or two. The toy was also a good one -- cutout monsters with stickers for Valentine's Day (nothing says, "I love you" like a pink smiling monster with horns and three eyes). All in all, it wasn't a terrible choice, though he thought a side order of oatmeal and a sweet tea may have been worth the extra thirty cents.

And as for the meat? Don't tell anyone, but this vegan ate all four chicken nuggets...with sweet and sour sauce! The sky was dark and so was his judgement as the memories of tasty chicken that was fried and breaded in a way that only Old McDonald can flooded his mind. He didn't feel great afterwards, and doesn't feel the best while writing about the whole ordeal. But what is a meatless man to do in a meat-filled world? Take his kids to Whole Foods to play? No thanks...

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Marker & Toothpaste

It's no secret that life as a parent is filled with messes. Well, the other day my wife was cooking sushi (how cool is that?) and I was working on the car (lame...), and somehow in our shuffle in and out of the dining room, this happened:

Yes, that is sharpie on our nice dining room table. Katie immediately cleaned it with a wet wipe, to no avail. "Why do permanent markers even exist?" I asked, a little peeved and spouting out nonsense. The table was a gift from a friend, and though a solid one, we try not to put much stock in material possessions, especially with kids around. Still, that is kind of an eyesore, isn't it?

Back in the yonder days, we used to ask our neighbors or moms about how to clean up messes like this, now we just have Brother Google to help out. I searched and found this site, which suggested using toothpaste, of all things. Here is a little foreshadowing: I wouldn't be writing this if something didn't happen...

That is the picture from the first try. Not bad, right? So a second application and...

Boom! The table is clean! It took a lot of elbow grease and repetition, but don't most cleanups in life require that? (There's some existential thought for you.) I'm not sure why it works. Maybe toothpaste is a mild abrasive? It's supposed to clean headlights too. Perhaps I'll try that next and report back.

Since it worked, I thought I would share with the world. You have to write a practical post every now and then, right? So if you can't keep the markers away from the kids, make sure you have some toothpaste nearby. Or do it if you want a minty-fresh smelling table...just saying.

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Stingy

I'll admit it: I have spent most of my life being pretty stingy. I would probably attribute it to not really having an abundance most of the time -- always enough, but not a lot extra. Maybe this is my fault -- career choices and the such -- but whatever. I have lots of embarrassing stories where I cheaped out on myself and my friends, but I stand here ashamed and working towards a more generous Rick.

So fast forward to the parenting version of me and, though I am much better in this arena of life (thanks almost exclusively to my wife), I can still be quite stingy. Almost every day the kids eat oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast. Well, blueberries can be pretty expensive, so I try to balance cost with giving my kids a nutritious breakfast, as well as meeting their massive appetites; which means I can't give them as much as they want, but I still strive for a solid coverage.

Well, today I was doing the blueberry dance and found myself in the same predicament as usual. But then I had a thought: Don't be stingy with your kids. Why? Because God isn't stingy with us.

Do you believe that? I think I do, but sometimes my actions don't back it up. Recently I read this passage though, which supports the idea.
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Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.

Amaziah called the people of Judah together and assigned them according to their families to commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He then mustered those twenty years old or more and found that there were three hundred thousand men fit for military service, able to handle the spear and shield. He also hired a hundred thousand fighting men from Israel for a hundred talents of silver.

But a man of God came to him and said, “Your Majesty, these troops from Israel must not march with you, for the Lord is not with Israel—not with any of the people of Ephraim. Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.”

Amaziah asked the man of God, “But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?”

The man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”

So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. They were furious with Judah and left for home in a great rage. (2 Chronicles 25:1-2, 5-10)

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"The LORD can give you much more than that." Isn't that amazing? Amaziah was worried about financials and God brushed it off like dust on his shoulder; an afterthought.  I also love how the soldiers were furious (I'm sure some of his own camp was unhappy as well), but he still followed God despite the unpopular decision. If you read ahead though, Judah was victorious for listening to the Lord, proving that it is always a good choice.

Is this a good amount?

"Your dad is rich," one of my friends often tells me when talking about money, and it's true. Money isn't anything to God, so why is it such a big deal to us? Why do we strive so hard or worry about having enough when we are told not to by our Heavenly Father? Jesus gives us wisdom on the same idea:
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Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:19-21 and 25-34)

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I wrote earlier that my wife is an incredibly generous person, and you know what? It's never led her wrong. We never run out, despite lost jobs and insufficient income, and I have to conclude that God is the reason.

So if you see my kids and their faces are blue, you know why. I have chosen to ignore the high cost of antioxidants and decided to indulge them in the anticipation that we will always have enough blueberries; and everything else we need along with them.

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Lunchbox

My kids go to a half-day preschool twice a week, and my main responsibility in the matter is to get them there on time and make them a lunch. At first it was a huge stress -- getting kids anywhere on time is difficult -- but we've worked it out. Every week my girls go through their lunchbox on the way to school to check out what I made them, to see if they approve or not. It is pretty annoying to be honest, but today something occurred to me. "Don't you trust that I made you a good lunch?" I said with disdain, and a bible verse immediately popped in my head:

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13)

My kids asking to preview their lunch boxes has got to be akin to us doubting God's provision, striving to make our own way because we don't trust that he does what he says he will do. Why is it this way? Apparently it is nothing new to humanity if my children do it at such a young age. But I suppose that tension is a huge portion of the Christian walk: fighting against our sin-nature.

It's kind of a funny concept, isn't it? We are born with this ingrained set of inclinations and we are called to rebel against most of them. Why is it such a struggle? We chose to sin, and still do, you could say, and you would be right. But does it have to be so hard?

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) 

Both of these verses come from Jesus, and the idea is the same: trust God. Learn from him. Take the burden he gives us, not the one we are born with or the ones we make up for ourselves. Maybe it is difficult because we try hard to change nature in our own volition. Maybe, when we fail, we are supposed to give ourselves more grace than we do. Maybe "faith like a child" is a little less difficult than we make it.

This post was supposed to be about trusting God to provide practically, and it turned into a statement on the struggle of humanity. Like a mountain river, sometimes words take their own way...but the destination is the same I think: ask God and he will respond. This requires faith, hope, love. Trust. Some say learning to trust God is the whole point of this life, and maybe they are right.

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