Decorations
Decorate using colors associated with fall—brown, orange or rust tablecloths. Place mason jars filled with fall flowers—chrysanthemums in yellow and orange.
Favors: Give small bottles of olive oil. The bottles can be purchased from a craft store, then filled from a larger container of olive oil.
Program Outline
Welcome
Prayer
Icebreaker:
The Best Thing I Ever Ate! (Ask the women to share some of their favorite things to eat and why they like them.
This could be something associated with their childhood or a family favorite.)
Praise and Worship
Song suggestions: “You’re a Good, Good Father,” “God Is So Good”
Scripture Reading
Psalm 34:1–8
Devotional
Taste of His Goodness
Closing Prayer
Let’s Eat
Service Project or Outreach Idea
Invite the women to prepare soup in a jar to be shared with a friend or neighbor along with a word of encouragement. Include the directions for preparing the soup. Following is the recipe for Pasta Fagioli Soup. There are many other recipes on the Internet.
Pasta Fagioli Soup in a Jar
- 1 cup small pasta shells
- ¾ cup pinto beans
- ¾ cup kidney beans
- ¾ great northern or navy beans (white)
- ¼ cup parsley flakes
- ⅓ cup dried diced onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp. basil
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. rosemary
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- quart-sized jar
- 4 zip-top sandwich bags
Additional Ingredients Needed
- 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 3 carrots, chopped (in plastic bag)
- 2 stalks celery, chopped (in plastic bag)
Place pasta in a plastic bag, press out air and seal. Set aside. Place parsley flakes, diced onion, oregano, basil, rosemary, garlic powder, pepper flakes and black pepper in the second bag, press flat and seal, set aside. Layer beans in the quart jar, gently tapping between each layer to pack down.
To prepare soup: Place beans in a Dutch oven; add 6 cups water. Bring to a boil; boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 to 4 hours or until beans are softened. Drain and discard liquid. Return beans to the pan. Add contents of seasoning packet and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 1 hour or until beans are tender. Add tomatoes, carrots, celery and salt; cover and simmer 30 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Stir in pasta. Cover and simmer 5–10 minutes or until pasta and carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf before serving. Garnish with cheese if desired. Yield: 14 servings (3–1/2 quarts).
Taste of His Goodness
Read Psalm 34:1–8, The Message (MSG)
What was the best thing you ever tasted? We had some fun sharing about some of our favorite foods. There is a show on Food Network which I love to watch called The Best Thing I Ever Ate. It features different chefs from around the world who talk about their favorite dishes.
The best thing I ever tasted has to be my mother’s homemade dinner rolls. I can remember as a child watching the entire process, and waiting, watching the oven until the timer dinged. Every year at Thanksgiving I try to duplicate my mom’s recipe for my family. The first time I tried it the rolls came out hard, and I realized I didn’t use fresh ingredients. There was also rushing and impatience involved. Over time I’ve learned that to make mom’s rolls correctly I need fresh flour, butter, eggs and milk. All the ingredients have to be mixed by hand. You see it was all done out of love. She wanted us to have the best possible rolls and to experience this good thing. In the same way, God the Father wants the best for His children.
We read in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.” Psalm 34:8 from The Message tells us to: “Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see how good God is. Blessed are you who run to Him.”
An awesome God, whose goodness never gets old or runs out, loves us. He doesn’t give us His sloppy seconds. We can taste and see all He has done for us in our lives, and we should never take for granted His showers of blessings on us. When was the last time you thanked God for all He’s done? Let’s spend some time in prayer together lifting up prayers of thanksgiving.
Closing Prayer
Father, your love is amazing. We thank you for what You have done, and for all Your blessings. You have given us every good thing, and we are grateful. Amen.
Let’s Eat
Serve different types of soup along with bread, crackers and cheese.
