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?

 

-Matthew 6:26

 

 

This week so much goodness came from so many directions that I swear I feel like I’m being pursued, like I’m being wooed, y’all. The bridegroom has literally penetrated every corner of my life, flirting his cosmic goodness. And telling me I’m pretty and stuff.

 

From the amazon.com grocery wishlist we received baking soda and garbanzo beans. We use baking soda for shampoo, toothpaste, cleaning, and baking. So we can never have enough of it. And I use the garbanzo beans to make hummus weekly. I, literally, used the last of the previous 5lb bag last week.

 

 

 

We also received rolled oats and black beans in the mail from the grocery wishlist. Usually at least half of the people in this family eat oatmeal for breakfast each morning, so we can tear through some oats like it’s nobody’s business. And black beans are like my new favorite thing. Now that we’re honorary vegetarians I’m learning to make all kinds of magic with them.

 

 

We also got a box of Valentine goodies in the mail from one of the Wild Thing’s grandmothers. We’ve gotten a lot of packages like this over the years of being far from family. They never get old. I may or may not have eaten more oreos this week than necessary.

 

 

I helped serve dinner one night this past week at a local homeless shelter. It wasn’t all that noble, I smiled and handed out pie. But the other volunteers were nice and the cook was a little Indian lady that I could get used to. She insisted that I take some of the food home that is donated for the taking. Apparently they throw away great gobs of the stuff each week (particularly the produce, I gather) because the homeless aren’t interested in it.

And that is the story of how I ended up with a mountain of lettuce. I ended up giving away bags of romaine to no less than three other families this week. And that’s precisely the point where I was like, “Okay, God. Now you’re just showing off.”

 

 

With some of the amazon.com giftcard money that you guys blessed us with during Christmas time, we ordered some treats for ourselves. A new Madeleine L’engle book for me, a new Life of Birds DVD for Jeremy (our old ones actually wore out. Like birds, much?), and Fiddler on the Roof for the Wild Things.

 

 

On Friday we were invited over for dinner and sent home with some beef stew leftovers. Paired with rice sent to us in the mail awhile back, and our homeless rolls, lettuce, and crackers, it made for a blessed Sunday lunch.

 

 

More and more I’m aware just how much this Birds Of The Air thing permeates our days.

 

We sit down to a family movie and not only was the show purchased from giftcard money, but the popcorn came from the wishlist several months back and the candy is a treat from grandma.

 

 

Nearly every meal we eat consists of mostly donated goods. My coffee and the sugar I put it in. The black beans, carrots, onions, and quinoa in my veggie burgers. The vegetables and couscous and spinach in my salad. The flour that I make tortillas with. The peanut butter and apples the Wild Boys snack on. The beans and lentils that I have soaking on my counter at least a couple of nights a week that will turn into dinner deliciousness.

 

 

It’s just really awesome.  The end.

 

And in addition to all the goodness above, just this week as I crunched some numbers and suffered from a minor case of holy-crap-we’re-going-to-run-out-of-money-before-we-run-out-of-Canada, someone sent a generous donation through paypal. I get it, God. No more worrying.

 

Want to know how you can help? We’re running lowish on peanut butter, coffee, and sugar from our grocery wishlist.

 

Also, do you shop on amazon.com in general? (Come on, everybody’s doing it) Well, by all means, use one of the amazon-related links in my sidebar to access amazon and I’ll earn a small commission on your purchases (at no extra charge to you). Seriously. Win-win-win.

 

 

Do you have a Birds Of The Air story this week?

 

-Jessica