I have a love for anything to do with the kitchen. I love to cook and bake. I love to try new recipes. I love to set a pretty table. I love to work around a time schedule. I love to feed hungry people. I love to fill my table with people and good food where God is thanked and lives are encouraged just because they shared a meal at our table.
However, I know not everyone feels the same and for varied reasons:
It’s a struggle to cook a meal that everyone will eat.
It’s hard to find the time to prepare.
It’s overwhelming to clean up the mess afterwards.
It’s intimidating to invite people over.
I Cor. 10:31 reminds us that our eating and whatever we do should glorify God. That would include meal preparation.
What that doesn’t mean:
Everything has to be made from scratch.
Everything has to look it was prepared by a Food Network chef.
That you can’t take help from quick foods.
That you can’t ever go out to eat.
That you have to fix a different meal for everyone in the family.
What it does mean:
- God should be honored in your heart attitude about meal prep. Remember Martha begrudging her work?
- It’s more about the people we’re serving than trying to impress them. We;re filling a need.
- Because we’re the managers, we must plan ahead so we’ll be able to prepare in advance.
Remember our mantra – We must plan our work and work our plan! This applies maybe even greater when dealing with meals and with food preparation!
- Prioritize eating together at the table. If you’re not doing this much at all, why not plan on having supper as a family at least three nights a week? Or bump up what you’re doing to five nights a week.
Elevate the ordinary to something sacred. This simply means to make it highly valued and important. Here are a few simple ways to do that:
Quiet hearts by turning on soft music.
Make the table inviting. Add placemats or a tablecloth, napkins and all three pieces of silverware.
Put something pretty in the middle of the table. A pitcher with flowers. A candle. Add conversation starter cards to the centerpiece.
Make it fun. Laugh at the table. Teach manners. Talk. Listen. Slow down. Sit back. Read a chapter book together at the end of the meal. Sing a hymn. Pray.
Memories are made around the table. Some of my favorite memories of my girls’ childhood revolve around events and conversations around a meal we shared together. We all remember the evening there was “blue milk” on the table (let’s just say there might have been a little too much laughter!).
This one habit can strengthen your home in so many ways.
But how do we get it done? Next Wednesday we’ll talk about the management part and how to simplify the process. But for now, will you just ask the Lord to help you make family mealtime (one meal a day) a priority? Apply one or more of the ways I shared to elevate the ordinary to something sacred.
Refresh mealtime at your house this week!
If you’ve missed any of this series, you can find the other posts here.
RefreshHer 