The Surprising Power of Family Meals

  Eating together as a family will make your children happier, smarter, taller, more flexible, more likely to succeed, stronger and more likely to be elected as prom king/queen.

  Ok, so those aren't all true.  But most of them are, according to Miriam Weinstein, the author of The Surprising Power of Family  Meals.  It's an interesting look at what is probably one of the most disregarded aspects of American family life.  The family meal is often thrown out the window like so many used fast-food cups as family life roars down the freeway at full speed, desperate to make it to the next soccer practice, violin recital or play date.  Weinstein is urging us to slow down and eat together, not just for our sanity, but for the sake of our children as well.

  In the book she explores how family meals, eaten together (With the television off!!!!!) helps kids be more confidant and gain vocabulary, among other things.  Family meals make a huge difference, not only when kids are young, but as they grow.  It's not just an opportunity to inhale needed calories--it's a chance to reconnect, to tighten our familial bonds, to talk about right and wrong and tell family stories that connect us to the past.  It's important.

  Now, I will freely admit that to this reader, the book was about twice as long as it needed to be.  Weinstein makes her point loudly and clearly, and then spends the rest of the book reinforcing that point.  I wanted to yell at the pages, "I get it!!  It's important!!"  But Weinstein doesn't back off from her main point or the evidence that proves its importance.  Eat facing together.  Talk.

  So much of the New Testament is focused around the table.  It's where Christ often met with sinners and disciples, to pull back the veil and reveal his love.  Christ gathered and taught at the table.  Christ infuriated the Pharisees because he would eat with anyone, anywhere.  Around the table is where Christ's loved was made real.

  And so we, as Christians, continue to gather around the table.  I pray that the families of our congregation, of our communities, gather around the table, that we might show our love for one another, and in so doing, reveal Christ's love to our children, that they may grow confidant in the knowledge that they are loved.

Check out Miram's website:  The Power of Family Meals