Last night the house was filled with a delicious smell, and it was coming from the crockpot. Once again, I had mixed my own seasonings and slathered them over a deer roast. I enjoy cooking off the grid! Sometimes my concoctions don’t taste very well, like one Thanksgiving I thought the ham needed a peach salsa glaze, oh my! even the dog wouldn’t sniff it, let alone eat it. Hubs affectionately calls me a chuckwagon cook because, he swears I’ll throw anything and everything together in one pot and call it a meal. (giggle) He’s almost right, but he sure enjoyed that deer roast!

Complaining about my cooking was something he learned not to do pretty early on in our marriage. It seems he had complained (or just explained) to his mother, that I cooked my country style ribs in the crockpot. Being the good southern lady and cook that she was, she decided to let me know that my man didn’t like my ribs. Needless to say, we didn’t eat ribs for over a year!

When the kids were around the jr high age they became pretty busy with activities and we started eating out more. When I did cook a good meal they all griped about one thing or another and so my philosophy became “you don’t have to like, but you do have to eat it!” But after hearing repeated complaints and griping I became discouraged and stopped cooking. Guess what, none of them could or would cook either. We ate junk, microwave meals and fast food for a long time. It’s amazing how quickly griping and complaining can become a habit. A habit you don’t even realize your doing. It starts with something small like moms cooking and can become something you do about every little thing. It’s a habit that can cause those who live with you, to not want to live with you anymore.

Sitting around the patio fire after our evening meal last night, Hubs remembered to thank me for the good grub. Not complaining but having an attitude of gratitude is way more worthy of habit forming. When I told him what spices I used he cracked up, then he said the potatoes had a strong spice taste. But when I told him they weren’t potatoes they were apples I thought we’d die laughing.

Join me and Hubs….practice that gratitude instead of attitude…..and don’t complain about the cooking!! Read Phillipians 2:14

“Lord, we humbly bow to give thanks for the food that we have, at the hand of your providing. We give you thanks and glory for all the good things in our lives, remembering to be thankful to those around us as well. Call us out when we start forming bad habits and hold us accountable. In Jesus name Amen.”