Family Dinner Nights to Begin the Week of September 24, 2012

So... what exactly are these "Family Dinner Nights." Well, consider it an invitation to an intentional dinner night with your family, a time to connect with one another and talk about how God is working in your life. You can watch this brief video on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx2h6DHphaU&feature=em-share_video_user or read more about it here:  

What? Good food and nutritious conversation! Ascension Lutheran Church & School, along with Raising Micah, want to help families connect with one another and grow in faith. Each week, Pastors Tim & Chamie will be providing a way to talk, over dinner, about one of the week’s Bible passages from the Revised Common Lectionary - scripture that will preached about during weekend worship and Wednesday school chapel. You can look here on the blog for the weekly scripture passage, questions for conversation, and prayer.  

When? You pick whatever day and mealtime works for YOUR family! So it could be breakfast, lunch, or dinner on any day of the week.  

Who? Families of all shapes and sizes. You may wish to have dinner and talk-time with just you own family, or join with another family – or families – each week. Or perhaps, you and your family practice weekly dinner and devotion nights, and then once a month gather for dinner with families that are doing the same thing and share your experiences. The invitation – and challenge – is that families covenant to one weekly dinner and devotional talk-time.  

Why? Well, here are just a few reasons:

3. Families who share dinner together have children who have better report cards. Of teens who eat with their family fewer than three times a week, 20% get C's or lower on their report cards, according to a national study. Only 9% of teens who eat frequently with their families do this poorly in school. Family meals give children an opportunity to have conversations with adults, as well as to pick up on how adults are using words with each other, which may explain why family dinnertime is also thought to build a young child's vocabulary. 

2. Healthy meals mean healthy kids. Studies have shown that kids who eat with their families frequently are less likely to get depressed, develop an eating disorder, or engage in risky activities. When a child is feeling down or depressed, family dinner can act as an intervention. 

1. Mealtime is central to the Christian life. Jesus, on his last night before his crucifixion, gathered the disciples for the “Last Supper.” Today, we continue this celebration through Holy Communion. Yet you as families can celebrate the presence of Christ at your table… and even include bread and juice (or wine) at your own family table. Also, Jesus shared meal upon meal with people. He even said, “I am the bread of life.” So as we gather with our families, we gather, too, with “the Bread of Life” and experience God’s grace.