Time to Clean Out the Pantry

​by Karen Prevost

Don’t get me wrong; I love the holidays—spending time with family and friends, enjoying special meals and celebrating together. But to be honest, I am somewhat relieved once they are over. The rich dishes and desserts leave me so bloated that my body yearns for simple, healthy foods—some fresh fruit or a tasty salad. As we enter the New Year, we often make plans to eat whole foods, exercise more, and shed those extra pounds. It’s time to improve our eating habits.

Did you know that the Apostle Peter also proposed a change in diet? However, he was referring to what we feed our souls. He said that we should get rid of all of the unhealthy malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander (1 Peter 2:1-2 NIV). Many times we enjoy these feelings at first because they make us feel more important than others, but soon they leave a bitter taste in our mouths and weigh us down. It’s time to clean out the pantries of our minds.

A friend of mine quipped that she had decided to get rid of all of the holiday sweets in her kitchen pantry. Once she finished, she said, “They were delicious!” Of course she was only joking; the idea is not to consume them, but to throw them in the trash!

Once we have cleaned out the pantries of our minds, we need to fill them with healthier fare. Peter exhorted us to desire the spiritual milk of the Word of God. Paul laid out a more specific diet to feed our souls: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8 NASB)


​A soul diet like this will set us up for incredible spiritual strength and growth for 2026. What will you feed your soul this year?

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​Karen Prevost, a licensed AG minister, has served alongside her husband, Kevin, as a missionary to Spain for 39 years. Together they have pastored churches and worked with an evangelism training ministry in Madrid with a heart to equip believers to share their faith effectively. They currently reside in the Springfield area where they continue to create evangelistic courses and tools for local churches. Karen also travels to minister in women’s events in Latin America and Europe. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, artwork, taking walks in nature, and spending time with their three grown children and six grandchildren.

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