old fashion dinner time!

When I mentioned having dinner together in my last post it wasn't because that is just my personal preference -- although the more my family has dinner together on a consistent basis the more I like it! I first thought about my family's habbits when a good friend of mine (Kathy G., you know who you are!) got on her soap box about families who don't practice sharing meals together around the table.

At the time I had a weekly committment to a ministry that met every Wednesday night, as well as a meeting sometime during the week to prepare for that ministry. Then there were the sports practices that my young children were already committed to. Everyone was tired, we were moving fast, and I was really annoyed with Kathy G.'s soap box -- by the way, that annoying feeling is what's called "conviction."

Then my other good friend (Jill V., you know who you are too!)challenged me with the idea of saving all that money spent weekly on fast food. Followed by the undeniable fact that nothing beats a home-cooked meal, even mine!

But the real satisfying part of dinner together is the relationship built and supported by sitting down, face to face, and eating Mom's "dinner surprise!" If it seems I'm oversimplifying things, consider this statistic I got from the AWARE program that did a presentation at our church. Institute for Youth Development, 2002:

"Having dinner with your teenager at least 5 times a week can reduce the probability of their having sex by 20percent."

Wow. So if that was in 2002, I wonder what the statistic would be today. In this ever-changing fast paced world we live in, kids need something to count on --I'm talking about time together every day 'cuz those of you who know me well, know it isn't the food I'm talking about!