Monday, September 07, 2009

Free Food times two

Friday night Brian and I ventured out on a date. We had bought tickets to a wonderful worship concert with Matt Maher and we were really looking forward to it. We have seen him in concert several times before and it is always a wonderful experience. Once again, this concert was centered around Eucharistic Adoration. It is a powerful thing! It is not just a concert, but an incredible act of worship of the living God - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharistic Bread on the altar. It just doesn't get much better. I have been a fan of Matt and his music for quite a few years now. I own his four cds and hope to own his next one soon! The kids love his music and know all the words. It was a wonderful evening. We even got to sit in front of a lovely blogging friend, her husband and friends. Thankfully she did not post any incriminating video of me rocking away! :)

The children stayed with Brian's parents and ate dinner with them. Brian and I couldn't decide what to do for dinner. We were leaning towards spending a whopping five dollars at McDonalds on the dollar menu, but Mexican was sounding good too. But, you see, we really didn't want to spend much. We have been trying so hard to not spend over budget. In the months while our house was being built and we sold our other house and moved in and settled, the budget just went out the window. We weren't in the red, but we knew we were overspending. When it came to working on using the budget again, we were too busy, too tired, and dare I say such a bad word on this blog, to LAZY! So, anyway, we did super last month and are at it again for September and we didn't want to spend much money on dinner. The concert tickets were our treat. Plus we really didn't have much time. Brian decided we would head over to a local burrito place and split a burrito (they're huge) and get two small drinks. As we were approaching we saw some other relatively new place - a Mexican grill. On a whim, Brian pulls in and we decide to eat there. It is quick and not crowded and had similar yummy burritos. So we ordered one monster size burrito and two small drinks (free refills) for a total at the checkout of about $12. Brian was pulling out his card to pay when the lady said, "Oh, don't worry about that. You tell your friends about us. We'd like to buy your dinner tonight." We protested. She insisted. I am sure we stood there with our jaws hanging open way too long, but this lady had no idea our agonizing over where to eat that had preceded this restaurant visit. We ate and enjoyed it very much.

While we ate we talked about God and what he had just done for us. I know. You may think "that was just some nice lady and this new company is desperate to drum up some business." We were just the lucky recipients. But I don't believe that. I believe that was a gift from God. He alone knew how we were struggling over the decision. He alone knows that we are trying our hardest to forego unnecessary purchases, to be content with what we have and to do without if need be. He alone know that our budgeting isn't out of cheapness or miserliness or even just to be "good with our money." He alone knows we try to give. I believe he wanted to show Brian and me that he is working for us even in the little insignificant things like $5 versus $12 for dinner. He wants us to see that I am not just here for the big stuff. He is telling us that he can even buy us a free meal - as crazy as that may seem. Brian and I proposed to keep a journal of occasions like this where God is working in our lives. We will forget someday the night we went out to dinner and Rosie bought our dinner for us. But if we record these things, big and small, what a legacy we would have to look over. So look for God in the little everyday things. He's there.

Today we had another free meal. This one we have a friend to thank for. She was the one that let us know that Chick-fil-a was handing out free chicken sandwiches today to everyone that came in wearing an official sports team logo. We donned all our baseball shirts this evening and headed out for six free sandwiches. We ordered two small fries for a total bill of $2.92! Yippee! That would have cost us $21! Thank you Kris and thank you Chick-fil-a.

Oh, and if you are down our way sometime, stop in and have a bite to eat at the Chipotle Mexican Grill in Clear Lake. It may not be free, but still worth it.

Happy Labor Day!

No comments: