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Focus on the Family Broadcast

Ideas for Simple and Budget-Friendly Meals at Home

Ideas for Simple and Budget-Friendly Meals at Home

Mary Beth Lagerborg and Mimi Wilson, co-authors of the best-selling book Once-a-Month Cooking, discuss the resurgence of making meals at home that's been brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic. They encourage listeners to make the most of this opportunity to make mealtime more meaningful for their family, offering many practical suggestions for doing so.
Original Air Date: May 22, 2020

John Fuller: Uh, there’s nothing like the sounds and the smells of a home cooked meal. And boy, there’ve been a lot of those lately, haven’t there?

This is Focus on the Family with your host, Jim Daly, and today we’re going to be sharing a unique cooking method – Once-a-week cooking. It’s designed to make meals at home more simple and budget friendly, especially during this unique season in life. Thanks for joining us. I’m John Fuller.

Jim Day: Hey John. Along with those uh meals, the multiple meals we’re now cooking at home, have you noticed the dishes are piling up?

John: Oh golly. Yes.

(Laughter)

Jim: Is your dishwasher going like 24/7?

John: At least a couple of times a day it seems.

Jim: It’s crazy, but it seems to be, yeah, we look at the dishes and we’re going, “Man, did we use all those things to live today?”

John: Yeah.

Jim: It’s, its nuts. Um, but we want to talk about this. It’s going to be in a fun context obviously, but, uh, you know, once-a-month cooking has been a tremendous hit over the years, probably the last two or three decades, and our guests brought that thinking to our audience many years ago. And we thought it’d be a good time to refresh that content talk about once-a-week cooking ’cause once-a-month may not be the way to get it done right now when you don’t have a lot of wheat or flour or eggs at the same time.

And uh, it is great to have them back. And I’m pleased that Jean is able to join us today. I thought this is the perfect program where Jean could come in and ask some questions and probably contribute some ideas too. So, Jean welcome.

Jean Daly: Okay, well thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to be here. And I’m excited to get some recipes!

John: Well I know we’re gonna be getting some great ideas today from Mary Beth Lagerborg and Mimi Wilson, who created this Once-A-Month cooking method, as Jim said. Uh, we do have their book, The Once-a-Month Cooking Book, in stock here at Focus on the Family. It’s so helpful. Get your copy at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast.

Jim: There’s no bigger plug than you need diversity in your meal planning right now. (laughs) So I think we could just stop now, order the book, ‘cause you’re going to love it.

John: Yeah.

Jim: Thanks for joining us at Focus on the Family.

(Laughter)

John: That’s the ending. (laughs)

Jim: No (chuckling)…we’re going to get into this because it is important and Mary Beth and Mimi, welcome back to Focus. Good to have you.

Mary Beth Lagerborg: Thank you.

Mimi Wilson: Thank you.

Jim: And of course, Jean, welcome again. Um, during this pandemic time, what do you think about this need for a little bit of diversity in your meal planning? What, what are you seeing uh, when you’re kind of sheltered in place, people are getting a little desperate, right. Can we have chicken again?

Mimi: Yeah, that’s true.

Mary Beth: Uh, yeah. We all have to eat (laughs) and we have to eat at home.

Jim: Yeah, it’s been confirmed.

John: Yeah.

Mary Beth: I mean the pressure’s on for the need for variety.

Jim: Yeah.

Mary Beth: Yeah. And so, going to the once, once a week thing, if you have some tricks in your freezer, uh, that’s helpful because you have to think of something every day, every day, every day.

Jim: Now, some husbands might say, “Tricks in your freezer doesn’t sound very appetizing.”

(Laughter)

Jim: That sounds a little scary. But what are you getting at when there’s stuff in the freezer?

Mary Beth: Well, when there’s stuff in the freezer that you’ve been intentional about that you prepared ahead then you really can use more variety because you’re not falling back on pizza and tacos and Mac and Cheese and the things that typically are your go-tos.

Jim: Um, and John said at the beginning, uh, you two are well known for that once a month cooking. Let, let’s get into some of that, Mary Beth. The practical nature of it. Um, I can imagine, and you know, those chores now are divided much more than they used to be in the last generation. Uh, so guys, to lean into, what can I cook for dinner? I get that everybody. And if you’re helping out in the kitchen, that’s great.

Um, but for either that woman who’s trying to think, “At nine o’clock in the morning, what can I do?” Sometimes that’s just perplexing and it used to be, I’m sure, well, let’s just eat out tonight.

Mary Beth: Yeah.

Jim: Let’s call up somebody. Let’s pick something up. And more and more restaurants are able to do that now. But why is that a bad idea all the time? I can think of the pocketbook being one good reason.

Mary Beth: Yeah, the pocketbook is a big reason and a big reason for a lot of people right now because you do pay more eating out. Of course, back in the day when you were eating out in a restaurant and also paying a tip, you’re really paying more, but it just does cost more to eat the same food that you’ve ordered from somewhere.

Jim: Yeah.

Mary Beth: And since you bought in a grocery store, I think we’re going to look back and find this having been an interesting time in realizing, uh, our budget and what we can live on if we’re only paying for what we have to. We’re not going out and shopping and entertainment and all that, but down to the basics and getting the food budget down to the basics. I think it’d be interesting.

Jim: Right and I would think that you probably did some analysis even on the back of an envelope when someone goes out to dinner, you know, for a family of four, that could be $50, $60 $70 if you’re picking it up at a restaurant?

Mary Beth: Well, it can be back when we did research this, it was about 60% more-

Jim: 60% more.

Mary Beth: … to eat the same meal-

Jim: Yeah.

Mary Beth: … or a comparable meal out.

Jim: But in that context, what you’re paying for is the ease of just picking it up and eating it. Right?

Mary Beth: That’s true.

Jim: That’s very-

Mary Beth: And the variety.

Jim: … very appealing.

Mary Beth: Yes, I have to say.

Jim: And the taste, probably-

Mary Beth: Yes.

Jim: It probably tastes pretty good.

Mary Beth: Yes.

Jim: Restaurants are probably a little better at making that taste good.

Mary Beth: Yes.

Jim: Don’t ask how much salt was used-

Mary Beth: Yes.

Jim: … but that is what you’re paying for in essence.

So, in the shelter in place environment, and you guys are now promoting a once a week cooking methodology, how do you go about doing that? What are the mechanics of once a week cooking?

Mimi: Organization.

Jim: Yeah, that’s a fearful word-

Mimi: Yes it is.

Jim: … organization.

Mimi: But to be organized enough to go to the store once a week, once a week.

Jim: Once a week.

Mimi: Once a week.

Jim: So, get your stuff-

Mimi: And come back and put it together.

Mary Beth: Take your list-

Mimi: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Mary Beth: … go once a week, buy the stuff and probably cook the next day rather than the same day. I mean, you can do it, you can come home and do it. It’s kind of an energy thing though. (laughs)

Jim: Yeah.

Mary Beth: You might want to do it the next day and it might take you the whole morning and uh, maybe four hours, maybe three hours if you have a spouse or a child or someone helping you. I mean that’s the ultimate. That’s really, great.

Jim: Do you have to pay them to help you?

Mary Beth: (laughs) Well, whatever it takes you know.

Jim: Whatever it takes, I like that.

Mary Beth: Yeah.

Jim: Five bucks to do the shopping with me. I love that.

Mary Beth: Yeah.

Jim: Let me, let me ask this question kind of through Jean to get her validation of this. Does this make that even more intimidating that somehow I’m going to get organized enough to go shopping for once a week and put all those meals together in a day? That sounds like it could become a bit of a mountain for someone who isn’t that organized.

Jean: Yes, absolutely. And that’s why we need to hear from you, Mary Beth and Mimi, as to how you get organized. How do you make that shopping list? How do you even do that (laughs) for the week?

Mimi: You take the list that’s provided. I think Focus is going to provide a one-week cycle as I understand.

Jim: Well thanks to you, we’re going to put that on the website.

Jean: Yes, yes.

John: I think we got the PDF. Yep.

Jim: Yep

Mimi: But the beauty of it is that you, it takes you step by step by step. You don’t have to yourself be a very organized person or a confident cook. You just follow the directions. Here’s your list. Here’s a list of things that you need to have on hand in your pantry, you know, salt, flour, whatever. Make sure you have these things. If you don’t add ’em to your grocery list, go get the list.

And then it takes you step by step through the recipes so that you’re doing similar processes at once. You’re going to cook all the chicken you have to cook at once, the ground beef you’ll brown at once, that sort of thing. So, it really is a take you by the hand and step by step.

Jim: Let me touch on something else before we kind of get into more of the nuts and bolts of doing this. The financial strain. I mean we have something like 30 million people or over 30 million people now on unemployment.

Uh, over the decades that you have been doing this in once a month cooking context, um, how do you address that special situation where money’s super tight? Is there anything you need to know about that shopping list that you need to do a little differently or the way you prepare meals a little differently when money’s tight?

Mary Beth: We were talking about the.. this cycle, uh, looking at it and thinking it does use cuts of meat that perhaps people might find a little difficult and you might need to look at it and make some adaptations. You know, the cuts of beef and that sort of thing with the price of meat going up-

Mimi: Right.

Mary Beth: … and you might want to modify that a little bit. Personally, raised, having raised three little boys, I would go to the grocery store alone when I really needed to economize because kids see things they want. And you have the struggle of, do I need to say, “No, no, no.” You know, how do I explain we can’t afford this or whatever. But if you’re really trying to economize, I think it helps to take a well-prepared list and go by yourself.

John: This is Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. Our guests in the studio are Mimi Wilson and Mary Beth Lagerborg, and Jim’s wife, Jean. I’m John Fuller. And the Once–Month Cooking Family Favorites book is available at our website. And we’ve made mention of this as well. We do have a week-long kind of a menu sampler with cream chicken pasta and coffee molasses pork and something kids love chicken pockets. You can make all of this at home. Uh, we’ll have the free PDF for you to download focusonthefamily.com/broadcast.

Jean: Mary Beth and Mimi, I feel like I am cycling through the same recipes over and over. How can we add variety to our meals at home?

Mary Beth: Oh, that’s a good question.

Jim: I like that question.

Mary Beth: Yeah, (laughs) you know we always have kept an eye on the ingredients that they’re not too expensive. And we will not use an ingredient if that’s the only time they’re going to use that particular spice. And I always say, I have a lady in mind. She’s a single mom in, uh, Nevada. I don’t have any idea who she is-

Jim: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Mary Beth: … but I always write recipes for her.

Jean: Uh, that’s great.

Mary Beth: So, I will make sure that, that they’re affordable, that they’re kid friendly and that it doesn’t take a long time to put together. And someday I’d like to meet this (laughs) unbelievable lady.

Jean: That’s wonderful.

Mimi: I think it helps if you’re, let’s say that you’re planning a grocery store list for once a week. And uh, if you look at it with the intention of using a main ingredient that you might have leftovers from in a different way another day. For example, if you’re, let’s say you’re having a ham and sweet potatoes one evening-

Jean: Okay.

Mimi: … if you plan to have um, split pea soup another evening, you know, you use maybe the Hambone or some little pieces of ham you have leftover in this split peas which are going to be inexpensive. But if you look at each day a couple of ways, each, uh, protein, each main ingredient, they use a couple of different ways and plan for that. You’re going to end up with more variety.

Jim: Okay. So, you have two or three or four meals out of the same core thing.

Mimi: Right?

Jim: I like that.

Jean: Yeah.

Jim: That’s good.

Mimi: Right.

Jim: Hey, another challenge I think a lot of, and again, I’ll just, I don’t mean to stereotype, but a lot of women are going to face and I get it and a lot of men are helping out in the kitchen and that’s great. I get that. I know that I try to. I don’t know that I do a good job. Let’s not ask that question. (laughs)

Um, but certainly this is universal, that feeling of being unappreciated by their spouse and their kids. I mean whoever is that main cook, assuming let’s say its mom, ‘cause most of the time it’s going to be mom. Um, how do you manage just that underappreciated? I mean, I always think of Jean when we do Thanksgiving at our house. You know we have 12 people over something like that and she takes all day.

I mean we usually have that meal at about two in the afternoon. She’s been working it. I might’ve watched one, maybe two football games already and she said, “You know, can you do this?” “Yeah, just a minute, I got to watch this last play.” I can only imagine what you’re thinking (laughs), “Are you serious.” (laughs)

And uh, and then we sit down to this meal and it’s grand, it’s beautiful, and we say a great prayer and thank the Lord for this. And then all you hear is (sounds of gobbling food) alright? And like 10 minutes later, we all look up and go, “Man, what kind of pie are we going to have?” What does that feel like?

Jean: Well, no, I do. I, I mean really, I feel like the Lord taught me something through Thanksgiving because I was spending all this time making a grand dinner And it was for, we always host Jim’s family. The children were young. Jim was out playing football in the morning-

Jim: A great tradition.

Jean: … and I was taking care of the young children and preparing the meal and I was resenting that. And I was not enjoying myself. And I was so worried about everything being hot and served warm at the same time and I was homemaking rolls.

And you know what I realized? And really the Lord taught me a lesson through this because I was, I was angry one, one Thanksgiving. And I’m sure no one noticed that. But I was. And I felt the Lord saying to me that the people-

Mary Beth: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jean: … are what are important. And, and yes, good food is nice. But if you’re serving it with a, you know, with an angry heart, then the food isn’t going to taste good. And I realized I didn’t have to home make those rolls. I could go to the grocery store and buy really yummy rolls and, and I paired down just the basics for Thanksgiving and began to enjoy the process and enjoy, enjoy the day and enjoy what I did make. And the Lord really, really taught me how to enjoy the people.

Mimi: We have, uh, our sons are now grown and all live close by with their families. They come over on Sunday Night for dinner. And we have, you know, five grandchildren, pretty young, all of them. And I observe, they like to, it’s kind of like you cook it and they’ll come kind of thing.

Jean: Yes.

Mimi: But I can sense the appreciation from them. I mean, you know, you can go through a lot of times where you feel like you’ve put out and it’s not appreciated. But you also know when you see that they’ll come and that they’ll like to be there. You have your times, your glimpses I think-

Jean: Right.

Mimi: … when you realize this day to day to day to dayness is significant-

Jean: Yes.

Mimi: … over time.

Jean: Yes.

Mimi: And it is appreciated over time. Although, you might have a meal like you know, we’re familiar with the one like the Thanksgiving you’re talking about.

Jim: Mimi you have a story about wanting to leave a heritage of gratefulness in your family. What is it?

Mimi: Let me tell you, I had a similar story. Uh, Cal came home, he was in medical school, he came home and he said, “Let’s go to get pizza.” And I said, “Where are you going to go get pizza?” And he said, “A place that was close.” And I said, “But their crusts are too thin.” (laughs) And I could see all my kids that they were all excited and then they wouldn’t have noticed the crust if I hadn’t pointed it out. (laughs) And that so impacted me because the kids all had like, like a damper on their enthusiasm.

Jim: Oh interesting.

Jean: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Mimi: And I had trained them how to fuss sophisticatedly.

Jim: Oh wow.

Mimi: Because they would never have picked up the crust idea.

Jean: Oh.

Mimi: That so taught me. I thought, Lord, I want to be the kind of mom that shows them the good of our God, the graciousness of God. And it’s one at a time. What comes out of our mouth forms the kids thinking and they fussed about the crust-

Jean: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Mimi: … because I had taught them sophisticatedly how to do that. And I thought, I’m, I must change my way of thinking and look for the goodness of God in everything. And so that changed it right there.

Jean: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Well and I really, I really experienced that during this pandemic and because I put what you are teaching in practice. Because I had to only go to the grocery store every seven to 10 days. I felt I had to be organized, so I made a plan for all the meals. I wrote down the ingredients I had. And I knew I needed to use the hamburger that was in the refrigerator and not frozen you know, I knew I needed to use that within a few days. And it really revolutionized my cooking. I think our oldest son had moved back in with us during the COVID pandemic and I felt like I was really providing a service-

Mary Beth: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jean: … for my family. And because it was more organized I enjoyed it.

Mary Beth: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jim: You know, since most sit-down restaurants are still closed what are some ways to make meals at home with your immediate family a little more like a special outing?

Mary Beth: I love that part.

Jim: How do you do that?

Mary Beth: Well, I always have a centerpiece. I always have something on the table to talk about.

Jim: Huh?

Mary Beth: It can be Legos, it can be the latest project, art project, but there’s always something on the table to focus it.

Jim: That’s interesting. Right. So how does that go? You put a Lego, do you make it or is this something-

Mary Beth: No…

Jim: you get from the kids?

Mary Beth: This is something they’ve made.

Jim: Okay, something the kids have made.

Mary Beth: Yeah.

Jim: Okay, good.

Mary Beth: So that’s on the table. And now I do have flowers every chance I get, but-

Jim: Yeah.

Mary Beth: … not every chance of that do I get it. Um, and then I put under the dining room plate a question, and we call it table talk.

Jim: Uh-huh (affirmative).

Mary Beth: And what we’ve say in our family is everybody has a treasure inside of them. We just have to ask the right questions to figure out what it is.

Jim: That’s a good.

Jean: Oh, that’s beautiful.

Jim: What would give us an example of what that, that note card would look like under the, under the plate?

Mary Beth: Well, it really depends on the guests. Um, we have a lot of internationals and so it depends on, uh, tell us about your first-grade teacher. Well, they are so excited to tell you ‘cause no one’s ever asked.

Jean: Oh, my goodness.

Jim: Yeah. Well, my first-grade teacher is Mrs. Krabapple and I think her last name says it all. (laughs) She was the most difficult teacher I’ve ever experienced.

Mary Beth: Oh.

Jim: But anyway, but that’s a beautiful way to do it. How about just between you and the kids and your husband when it was just you?

Mary Beth: I have all kinds…

Jim: What would be a question that you would ask?

Mary Beth: Well, one of them would be, what is the coziest room in our house?

Jim: Oh wow.

Jean: Oh, that’s a great question.

Mary Beth: Uh, or, um, what is your most un-favorite chore?

Jim: That question’s a little intimidating.

Jean: That’s good.

Mary Beth: Yeah, um-

Jim: What’s your least liked chore. Yeah.

Mary Beth: What is your favorite childhood book?

Jim: Yeah.

Mary Beth: But it is a funny thing to watch. The kids come unglued when they’re young and they get asked a question. They sit up with their little bodies and they try to answer it and it is the cutest thing. So, they may not even answer it right but the fact that they’re trying-

Jim: Yeah.

Mary Beth: … is the issue. You know, there’s research that’s shown that children who are used to table conversation are more at ease and do better expressing their opinions in a classroom setting or-

Jim: Huh.

Mary Beth: … in a group of people or with adults. It’s just a very good exercise. Not only do you learn things about your own kids and your own grandkids, uh, but it’s a good exercise for them to know, “Oh, I have something important to say and I’m going to express it here.” And we’ve talked and we always have the rule, you don’t cut down someone else’s answer. I mean there’s no yes, no, right or wrong answer to these things.

Jean: Right.

Mary Beth: They can say whatever they think, whatever their least favorite chore is, they can say that and it’s okay

Jim: As long as it’s not raking the pine needles. (laughs) That can’t be your least favorite chore because I need that done like right now.

Jean: No, that’s really good advice.

Jim: It is, and this is in addition to the wonderful idea of once a month, once a week cooking, which you guys have put together.

Let, let’s end in this place because I think it’s a beautiful expression of Christian love. And that is when you’re organized in this way, even if you’re not that organized person, this system helps you get organized. That’s what you were talking about, Jean. You know the ingredients, you know what you need to get. You prepare it once a week. And the, one of the benefits that I noted in your book was being able to quickly give a meal to someone who needs one.

Mary Beth: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Mimi: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jim: And again-

Jean: Yes.

Jim: … thinking of this pandemic crisis that we’re in, as we began to be able to drop a meal over at someone’s house who may be struggling a bit more, speak to that gift of being able to give the gift of a meal in a way that it’s not too much of a burden for you ‘cause it’s already done.

Mimi: There, that is so true and you learn to love those times when you are being called to give in that manner. Um, but what we have found is that when you do prepare ahead, I like to prepare food that I’m going to give away. I put it in a certain part of my freezer and I make sure that it smells good while it’s cooking.

Jim: Huh…

Mimi: … because the smell of a food cooking is very therapeutic.

Jim: Interesting.

Jean: Ahhh.

Mimi: And so, I want to make sure that the meal I’m giving is going to be therapeutic for them.

Jim: What a detail.

Jean: … and their house will-

Jean: Oh, that’s so thoughtful.

Mimi: … their house, will, will smell good.

Jim: Yeah. So, what, I’m just curious, what do you think is your number one smell good therapeutic meal.

Mimi: It’s chicken, one can of cranberry and one package of onion soup.

Jim: Wow.

Mimi: That’s it.

Jean: I can do that.

Mimi: You can do that tonight.

Jim: That’ll bring the aroma.

Mimi: It’s that. So, I won’t cook that ahead for anybody. I want them to have the benefit of the smell of their in their house.

Jim: Yeah. Fantastic.

Mimi: And I was suggested to them, I said, “Don’t, don’t start the cooking until everybody’s home ‘cause you don’t want it to be done and the smell gone.” It’s a freebie that our God gave us.

Jim: Yeah. Let me, let’s end here. Um, you know, we’ve had some fun talking about this. It’s in a serious context with the pandemic and all that, but how to, kind of summarize this, you know, get the ingredients that you need to get. Try to plan ahead, set one day aside a week to cook these meals. Make sure you have the containers to throw them in your freezer, et cetera. Makes the rest of the week really easy.

Mary Beth: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jim: You know, by nine o’clock in the morning, what you’re going to cook that night. That makes the day a little nicer for you.

I want to give you each a shot just to say, “Okay, I’m still that unorganized person. I’ve heard what you’ve said, but it’s kind of like weight loss. I know what I should do, but I struggled doing it ‘cause those potato chips are so good.” Um, give me your last shot at why this is the best way to do this. Mary Beth.

Mary Beth: I think it releases a lot of anxiety. I think that if you are that person who’s not a real confident cook, you do have a lot of anxiety. If you have a family at home and they have to eat every day, your stress level has gotta be really high. And this is something that would relieve some of that. Take baby steps, you know, maybe do two-day cooking or-

Jim: Yeah.

Mary Beth: … four-day cooking or whatever it… take it, take a part of that and just try it. I’d say take baby steps and try it for your own sake.

Jim: Yeah, that’s good.

Mary Beth: It release some stress.

Jim: It’ll make you feel better and that probably turns into great behavior, better, happier person, right?

Mary Beth: Right.

Jim: Mimi?

Mimi: I would say that you will start seeing the benefit financially of having it done ahead ‘cause there’s not impulse buying. You have it all figured out. So, if by cooking the method, you save.

Jim: Think of that. I mean those are two great attributes. You relieve stress in your life and you save more money. I mean that should be motivating to everyone.

Jean: Absolutely.

Jim: Mimi and Mary Beth, thank you so much for being with us. This has been great to reconnect-

Mary Beth: Thank you.

Jim: … and I just love your spirit, your joy and thank you Jean for being with us.

Jean: My pleasure.

Jim: I really that.

Jean: And I did just get some recipes.

Jim: Yeah, what’s for dinner tonight? I’m just curious, don’t answer that.

Jean: One of, one of their meals.

Jim: I’m looking forward to it. But listen, thank you again.

And to the listeners, go to our website and download the free a once a week cooking meal plans. Thanks to these women, they have been willing to do that and that’s very gracious of you. Thank you for providing that. And I highly recommend you get a copy of Mimi and Mary Beth’s wonderful book Once a Month Cooking Family Favorites and we’ll have that available as well, right John?

John: We will Jim. And let me just say about this Once a Week Cooking menu. It’s got everything. It tells you the, the whole weeks’ worth of meals. It gives you the various things you need to buy in terms of how many canned beans and uh, how much grain and pasta and rice, dairy, produce, uh, all the, all the different things. So, it really will be very helpful. That’s free. That’s online.

And then that book, Once a Month Cooking, uh, when we kind of come out of this season, you can probably, uh, do a little more batch cooking a little easier. And uh, was so get this book and adapt it, and then get the once a week menu, all of that at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast or call us. We’d be happy to tell you more. 800, the letter A and the word FAMILY.

And Focus on the Family is a listener supported ministry. If you can help us help others by making a contribution today to the ministry, we’ll say thanks by sending a copy, a thank you copy, of this book, Once a Month Cooking. Uh, make that monthly pledge or one-time gift when you call 1-800 the letter A and the word FAMILY or at our website.

Well, I hope you have a great weekend with your family and friends and church community, as well.

And then, join us on Monday as we celebrate Memorial Day with powerful stories from listeners like you.

Teaser:

Woman: Hugh Wallace Breckenridge, United States Marine Corps, killed in action, Iwo Jima. Thank you for inspiring me to serve my country.

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Once-a-Month Cooking Family Favorites

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Creating a Shared Vision for Your Marriage (Part 1 of 2)

Pastor Sean and Lanette Reed describe their marital journey and God’s faithfulness. Although many wondered if their relationship would survive, the Reeds were proactive about creating a long-term plan and a godly legacy for future generations of their family. (Part 1 of 2)

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A Legacy of Music and Trusting the Lord

Larnelle Harris shares stories about how God redeemed the dysfunctional past of his parents, the many African-American teachers who sacrificed their time and energy to give young men like himself a better future, and how his faithfulness to godly principles gave him greater opportunities and career success than anything else.

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Accepting Your Imperfect Life

Amy Carroll shares how her perfectionism led to her being discontent in her marriage for over a decade, how she learned to find value in who Christ is, not in what she does, and practical ways everyone can accept the messiness of marriage and of life.

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Avoiding Shame-Based Parenting

Psychologist Dr. Kelly Flanagan discusses the origins of shame, the search for self-worth in all the wrong places, and the importance of extending grace to ourselves. He also explains how parents can help their kids find their own sense of self-worth, belonging and purpose.