A Facebook Food Explosion!

Two weeks ago I wrote a blog on the healing power of food.  At the time I wrote it I thought God had taught me what I needed to know in that area.  (You can stop laughing now).  As with all things, the minute I think I have it figured out God shows me how much more I have to learn.   While I've been continuing to process this new found passion and lesson, He has continued to show me how great of a need there is for the power of a home cooked meal.

The day I wrote my last blog I saw a recipe on the Food Tidings facebook page where they said, "This would make a great freezer meal".  I posted a comment about our group, as well as links to our group and my blog.  I am familiar with Food Tidings because our MOPS group has used them for use to coordinate meals for families after the birth of a baby.

A few days after I posted my comment I got a message from Lisa, the co-founder of Food Tidings, asking more about our group.  The e-mail conversation I had with Lisa became a story Food Tidings blog.  The Funky Freezer Girls facebook page added several new friends as a result of that post and Jackie and I were left saying "Wow, God!"   I was energized by those events and was convinced that we'd just seen a glimpse of what God was going to do with Jackie's "crazy little idea".

On Friday, August 26 I saw on my Facebook news feed that a friend "liked" a group called Crock Pot Girls.  The "girls" had about 25,000 "likes" at that time and I was amazed they'd only been on Facebook since Friday, August 19!

After I liked the group I wrote on their wall telling them how excited I was about the idea because some of the most loved meals in our group are crock pot meals.  I shared the FFG Facebook page and by Saturday afternoon we had 1000 likes!  We're up over 2200 likes and my little dream is becoming a reality as groups are starting to form in several cities!

The Crock Pot Girls are seriously exploding on the internet and these 3 MOPS moms who started the site for their family and friends are having their world rocked.  In the time it's taken me to write this they're up over 25k "likes" and, at this rate, will pass 500k within the hour! WOW! ONLY GOD could do something this amazing and this incredible.

As I've been cheering on Crock Pot Girls, and have been watching a friend help them with marketing and media relations, I've been thinking about what has made them such a phenomenon.   I think it comes back to the fact that there is healing power in food and, at the end of the day, we all want to feed our families good, healthy food.  Sitting around the table and sharing a meal with our families is about so much more than filling our stomachs--it's about feeding our souls, strengthening relationships and taking the time to slow down.  Ok, I'm sure part of the popularity of Crock Pot Girls might have to do with the fact there are thousands of crock pots collecting dust in kitchens across America because everyone's got one, but not all of us know what to do with it, but I prefer to think of the Crock Pot Girls as a ministry that is being used to bring families together.

The Crock Pot Girls, Funky Freezer Girls and Food Tidings are all groups started by women and are about helping others provide home cooked meals. Three different groups, but at their root all these groups are grounded in the power of food.  (I've also noticed these groups are all born out of churches and/or mom's groups . . . I don't think that's a coincidence, either).

Instead of thinking I've got this whole "power of food" thing down I'm realizing that I'm just beginning to glimpse the power of food for the nourishment of our souls.  Judging by what's happening on Facebook this week I think the world is starting to realize it, too . .