James and I have a deep desire to cultivate a healthy and active community. We want to create a loving space where we can invite others into our home and into our hearts. As we seek to build relationships, we are constantly looking around us at the things that take away from our ability to care best for each other.

The other day I started watching a mini series on Netflix called “Cooked.” It’s an amazing exploration of why we cook our food and, as a result, an intriguing look at the culture that surrounds the way we eat.As we looked back at the history of food, we were forced to consider the traditions we have lost and the value they had then and may have now.

As I took in this information it compelled me to make a list of steps I can be taking to build community through the preparation and sharing of food:

1. Shop locally and ethically: we can build a community by buying local foods and ensuring that the farms we support are ethical farmers.
2. In rather than out: by eating in we can spend our money on these high quality foods and get more for that money, thus enabling us to share with others.
3. Work together to share together: while we might not be out hunting as a family, we are still working in order to put food on the table; by creating a mentality of that togetherness beyond our family walls, we are more willing to come together and share our bounty.
4. Waste not: you’re likely not butchering your own pigs and making use of each body part, but we do waste other resources throughout our cooking processes; by buying less, by sharing more, and by being mindful we can waste less in our day-to-day lives.

We are not called to be passive consumerists! We are thinkers and creators, an identity we need to return to. Be critical about your purchases, think through your interactions, and be intentional about living for more than just ourselves.

Just as fire has drawn us together from the beginning, so it continues to do so now. Whether it’s the cooking fire, bon fire, or the fire in your soul, we are called to come together as a community.