Tip of the Day 3/7/12

Time to clean the pantry. Take some time to put this important closet in order. It will encourage you to eat healthier and to enjoy preparing meals more if you can see the ingredients. Putting like items together helps meal prep; cream soups together, spaghetti sauce type ingredients together, etc. I have all of my tomato products by each other in rows. Put the frequently used products at eye level. Arrange the closet so you are not having to dig for items, taller to the back. Always rotate your stock, newest to the back of the row. Wipe down reusable containers and the shelves. People laugh sometimes when they find out my spices are in alphabetical order, but if you try it you will discover how much easier it makes the cooking experience. You do not have to have a matching set of spice jars. My spices are in the original containers, but placed alphabetically on the inexpensive tiered shelves I placed in my cabinet. Because i shop in quantity I also invested in can rotating shelves, but using blocks of wood to make tiers in your pantry would work well. A neat pantry will encourage better eating habits.

Word for Today, Beauty: My marriage did not start with a foundation of faith in the Lord. It started selfishly and we struggled for three years until we surrendered our lives fully to Jesus. It has not been perfect since that time, we are human and there will always be struggles, but our faith has given us the tools we need to build a beautiful life together even in the hard times. There are relationships in life that when they are broken feel like your very heart is being ripped out of you and the only way to survive is trusting your Heavenly Father. Maybe you have suffered the lose of a relationship that should have been forever, whether it was a spouse, a child, or a friend. God is the only one who can use it for good in your life and He will. The scar will remain, but there can be joy on the other side and wisdom for the future. "He has sent me to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn, He gives beauty for ashes, peace for despair."