Family Mealtimes

I am a firm believer that things should be as they were.  I am very, VERY traditional, because I see the traditional ways as God's ways.  I often feel like a woman from the 50's (or earlier) trapped in the 21st century.  Constantly going against the grain of the world...yes I am!

Feeding our families is very important.  Whoever told you that "you are what you eat" was right.  Food is our fuel to get us through our day.  It affects our energy, our performance, and our moods.....and...yep, our children's too!  Meals are not something to be put together half-heartedly.  They should be planned and thoughtfully constructed to best benefit those that we are responsible for.  Not only is the food important, but so is the time together as a family.  Regular family mealtimes also give a sense of order, and a schedule.  We have three consistent meals each day, with at least own two of them (breakfast and dinner) being a time that we all sit down together at the kitchen table and share a meal together. 

I don't know about you, but I just enjoy doing this so much!  It brings so much joy to my day.  I love pouring into my family...setting the table for breakfast in the morning, putting food such as eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, and juice (our breakfast this morning) on the table, and gathering together to say a prayer and eat a meal.  It is sad to me that this has been so lost to a lot of the world.  They are missing so much.  I praise God every day that I have my family at home with me, and that we can share these times together.  I hope that these are memories that my children cherish when they are grown.

I would like to encourage all of you to take Proverbs 31:27 to heart: "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness."

Those two go hand in hand.  If you are looking well to the ways of your household, you are putting effort into it.  You're going the extra mile to do things well.  You'll look for ways to do a little extra something to make things special, such as getting up a little earlier to make an nice breakfast to bless your family with. You will have so many things that you can be doing, that you will have no desire to be idle, and you certainly will never be bored.  (Pet peeve of mine: stay at home moms who say they're BORED.  This should not be!  There is always, always something that can be done...a little extra effort in some aspect of the home.  If nothing else, you can always bake cookies!)

Proverbs 31:15 says: "She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants."  This virtuous woman/excellent wife makes providing food for her household VERY important, so important that she gets up early to do it.  I would like to encourage you to do the same.  This really works best if you make a menu plan ahead of time and shop for everything you need.  I plan all three meals for the week.  For breakfast planning, it really helps to grab a pack of bacon and/or sausage and fruit and juice, along with plenty of eggs.  Those are basic staples that can make many varieties of breakfasts.  I make pancakes and waffles from scratch, but there are mixes you can get that are quick to throw together, or if you're really pressed for time there's toaster waffles!  Another thing that I do, is to make sure there are often leftover baked potatoes in the fridge.  These are easy to shred in the morning and cook for hash browns.

I need to get going to bed, but I will post some of my breakfast menus in my next post.  I hope some of my ideas have been helpful to those of you who are desiring to bless your family with meals.  May the Lord bless each of your homes!