Leveraging the Dinner Table
Email 1
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Subject Line: Leveraging the Dinner Table, Part One
Happy New Year Parents!
It is a time of new beginnings and fresh starts. Every year around this time we make some promises and resolutions for ourselves personally. Why not make a resolution as a family? The challenge for this new year is to have dinner together as a family on a regular basis every single week!
Family dinners can be a powerful time for your family to connect and discuss, if you are willing to leverage those moments. Check out this monthās Online Parenting Class for some helpful ideas.
The Bible speaks often about food and meals. There is something that is spiritually significant about meals. Think about it for a moment. Christ referred to Himself as the āBread of Lifeā (John 6). The way He asked His disciples and us to remember Him was around a meal (Matt. 2). Even when we look to the future and eternity, we will be celebrating at a meal, the āWedding Supper of the Lambā (Rev. 19).
Meals are powerful moments for your family. Do not miss out on those moments and the power they can provide this new year.
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/280518371/2f0a847073
In Him,
Children’s Pastor
Email 2
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Subject Line: Leveraging the Dinner Table, Part 2
Hello Moms, Dads, and Families:
I am excited to share with you another great Online Parenting Class for our month! This monthās OPC is all about the power of meals together as a family. It explains how to make the most of those times when you are together around a table talking face to face.
Your family routine and schedule may not allow this to be a nightly occurrence, but it is important to plan to gather everyone at home around a table to have a meal together.
Hope you enjoy a meal together this week!
Blessings ā
Children’s Pastor
Video Script
Leveraging the Dinner Table
This month we want to talk about dinner! Not cooking dinner but rather leveraging dinner as a place of connection for our families. Growing up many of us remember family dinners as an almost daily part of family life. Each night we slowed down and gathered around a table together. What we all ate at dinner was different from family to family but the common bond was being together. Some of us loved it, some survived, and some of us never want to go back because we would have to eat our broccoli!
What happened when our family gathered together each day was that we actually had conversations. We shared what happened that day. We told stories. We picked on each other. We actually connected and it was normal.
Many of us miss this rhythm in our current family routine. We rush out the door in the morning to school. We eat lunch at work or school. With all the different events we have to attend after school, we often eat dinner at different times. What we miss with this modern schedule is that we miss time to connect. One of the best times to connect with our families is over a meal.
Iām not talking about dinner out. Thatās full of distractions. I am talking about a regular rhythm of a meal at home where you can actually slow down and connect. You donāt have to be a great cook since we are blessed with glorious take out options. You also donāt have to make it happen every night. We are taking about several nights a week where we protect our schedule and plan time to sit around the table to share a meal. Here are a few ways we can leverage dinner as a family each weekā¦
ā¢ Link dinner with something else that brings connection. // Dinner and a family show you watch together. Dinner and a board game. Dinner and ______! You can connect dinner nights with something else fun.
ā¢ Have a question each meal. // Leverage a question that everyone around the table can answer. As your kids get older questions change but intentional questions spark connection.
ā¢ Have a quick family devotional and time of prayer. // Have someone in the family share a thought from the Bible and then pray together as a family. Your church provides tools that can help.
ā¢ Let kids plan the meal once a week. // Get kids involved in cooking or planning the meal. Itās just fun and making it fun will make it stick as a family.
ā¢ Embrace dinner nights as a priority. // Schedule your week so this time becomes a priority meaning you say no to other things that might break the tradition. You will never regret making these memories.
This month give this a shot and see how your family comes together!
Texts/Tweets
TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.
Tweet One: Join the movement, Family Meals Matter! https://www.fmi.org/family-meals-month/meals-matter #familymeals #family #parenting #dadlife #momlife #godlyparenting #eattogether
Tweet Two: Have a family meal around a table in chairs facing each other, Human community happens in circles! #familymeals #dinnerdad #mealswithmom #parenting #dinnertable
Tweet Three: When a family gathers around a table, there are opportunities to have conversations! #familydinner #suppertime #sitandshare #parenting #fam #familyandfood
Tweet Four: Take several nights a week to protect your schedule and plan time to sit around the table with your family to share a meal. #dinnertime #mealtime #familyfood #parenting #tabletalk #mom #dad