Going into the colder, darker months of the year when we are inside more and it’s generally easier to gather the family around the table for dinner in the evenings has made me think about developing healthy, Godly, and fun family dinner traditions. Just simple things that help us connect as a family.
One thing we have been doing is called “Best and Hardest.” We go around the table and each person shares their hardest or most challenging thing from the day and then their best thing from the day. It’s been a great conversation-starter and segue into talking about other important things.
Anyone have any other simple dinnertime routines or traditions that help you connect with each other and God?
We keep a “Thankfulness Jar” in the living room. Every few days, someone writes down something they’re grateful for or a way they saw God at work, folds it up, and drops it in. At the end of the month, we read them together. It’s quiet, but it really shifts our focus when things feel heavy or hectic. Helps us see the little ways God is moving.
It’s usually just a simple prayer thanking the Lord for our food and family and asking him to be with us for the evening, or something along those lines. Sometimes we will also all say/sing the blessing my son knows from school.
I have children who are all different ages and stages. I have some in elementary school, some in middle, and some in high school. But no matter what time of day we eat (sometimes dinner is at 8 pm because of school functions or soccer practice), we always pray before our one meal a day together.