The Family Meal

It is so hard, this day and age, to have a family dinner. Our kids are all involved in different activities, Dad might have to stay late at work, or we have something going on. It seems Sundays after church is the only guaranteed time I have to get my family around the table at the same time. When I was growing up, not only did we always have family dinners, but somehow, my Mom managed to pull off the family breakfast. We were all expected at the table at a certain time and while we were eating my Dad would read a short devotional followed by a prayer and that's how we always started our day. This week I was convicted that my family should be doing this. We started on Monday. It meant getting up about 20 minutes earlier and giving up precious sleep, but we were going to give it our best shot. We told the girls they were expected to be ready for school at 7:00 and that's when we would be starting our breakfast. We have managed to do it every day this week. Not only is it wonderful precious time with eachother, but our mornings have been much less frazzled. We seem to have extra time...I guess this goes back to the property of tithing. We are giving God the firstfruits of each day and somehow the time seems to be given back to us. At the beginning of the year, I plan to add to the tradition. My friend, Katie, keeps her Christmas cards in a basket near her table. They prayer for a different family each day. I can't wait to start this tradition with my family.