When Your Spiritual Life Looks Like Cheerios and Sliced Red Pepper

Every few weeks or so we announce it’s “Fend Night” around here. Usually Fend happens when Brad and I are tired of the complaints about stinky fish and laments about “Soup? Again?” Or when the cupboards contain a single stick of Juicy Fruit and a can of refried beans.

That’s when I’ll declare, “Iiiiiiiiiiit’s Fend!” and the kids cheer because they know what it means: Fend for yourself, people. You’re on your own. Scrap around, figure it out. Scrape together what you can. Make the best in less-...