Scripture to Memorize
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:30
Passage to Read
This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.”
Jeremiah 6:16
Guided Prayer
Dear Lord, I want to take time today to stand at the crossroads and look at my life. I confess that I haven’t always followed the ancient or wise path, but have rushed headlong with the maddening crowd that’s going nowhere in a hurry. Holy Spirit, teach me to slow down. Show me the ancient paths, the good way to follow. I want to walk in it. More than anything, I long to find rest for my soul. Then I’ll be able to guide my family down the path that will restore their souls as well. Be with me as I make changes in our lifestyle. Help me to use wisdom and to be considerate of my family members as we travel along. Amen.
Whatever happened to the family dinner hour? I was the youngest of eight children, and every night we had dinner together. Occasionally one of us would miss dinner for a sporting event or after-school activity, but if we did, our dinner plate was prepared and ready for us to heat up when we got home. I remember the times we had McDonald’s. It was so rare, it was memorable! I remember going to IHOP on several occasions precisely because each time was a big occasion. Things have changed.
According to several surveys, 30–40 percent of families do not eat dinner together five to seven nights a week, and families with older teenagers eat fewer dinners together than those with younger children.1 This is a disturbing trend when you consider the research that has shown the significance of family meals. For example, a 2004 study of 4,746 children eleven to eighteen years old, published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, found that frequent family meals were associated with a lower risk of smoking, drinking, and using marijuana; with a lower incidence of depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts; and with better grades.2
Another study surveyed twelve- to seventeen-year-olds and found that teenagers who reported eating two or fewer dinners a week with family members were more than one and a half times more likely to smoke, drink, or use illegal substances than were teenagers who ate five to seven family dinners per week. “We also noticed that the more often teens had dinner with their parents, the less likely they were to have sexually active friends, less likely girls were to have boyfriends two years older, and the less time teens spent with boyfriends or girlfriends,” said Joseph A. Califano Jr., the chairman and president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.3
A recent study from the University of Minnesota found that adolescent girls who reported having more frequent family meals and a positive atmosphere during those meals were less likely to have eating disorders. A Harvard University study of sixteen thousand nine-year-olds found that those who ate dinner at home with their parents regularly are more likely to have higher intakes of essential nutrients and vitamins.4
Clearly, family meals are extremely significant, but no one has time to cook anymore! What’s the answer? Here’s my proposal: the family breakfast half hour. Get everyone together before they scatter to the four winds. This has proven to be a much more realistic approach for our family. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. A protein shake and fresh fruit are sufficient. There are many breakfast casserole recipes you can prepare the night before. Put one in the oven when you awake for your TAG and it will be ready in time for breakfast. Once in a while, you can surprise everyone with a more elaborate meal of flapjacks, eggs, and hash browns.
If you want to make the meal extra special, you can set a beautiful table the night before, complete with china, napkins, and so on. Whatever works for you and your family is fine. Put some praise music on to create an uplifting atmosphere. Share a Scripture, prayer, or word of encouragement from your own TAG time. Have your Personal Notebook handy to bring everyone up to speed on important happenings for the day and jot down anything a family member needs from you. If you want to be supermom of the year, during your TAG time, jot down a Scripture or one-sentence encouragement on an index card, and give it to a family member you know really needs it before he or she goes out into the big, cruel world.
Though I have proclaimed the virtues of the family breakfast half hour, I don’t think you should give up all hope of ever having dinner together as a family. It probably won’t happen every night. In my family, my ten-year-old is at gymnastics three nights a week during what would normally be dinnertime, so she eats two minimeals: one before and another after her lessons.
My teenager is often running here and there, and my husband, who is in the process of starting his own business, keeps erratic hours. My guess is this sounds a lot like your household. You can still make nutritious food available, rather than running to fast-food restaurants, sending out for pizza, or picking up Chinese food. The average American family spends more than two thousand dollars a year on dinners away from home, and 10 percent of those dinners come from McDonald’s.5 God’s people can do better.
If you haven’t already implemented my suggestions on Day 19 (concerning Crock-Pots and meal assembly kitchens), you should prayerfully reconsider doing so. Anything you can do to make it more likely that your family can share a meal together is well worth the time and effort. And something that actually makes this possible while saving you time, effort, and money is priceless.
Affirmation: I make mealtimes special.
Have one sit-down-at-home meal every day. Try instituting a family breakfast half hour.