Yesterday while the family was having dinner together, as usual, Elena told us that her teacher had asked her whether it was true that we spent about an hour around the dinner table every day... Then turning towards me she asked "Why mum... doesn't every family do that?... it is so natural (meaning normal) to do it?" She was genuinely surprised to hear that it's quite rare for families to eat together on a weeknight.
Cooking dinner and having a good meal together is time consuming and requires a lot of effort and forward planning. You learn lots of shortcuts and little tricks but it takes time and practice.
Elena is right, it comes very 'natural' to us and it is possible because of the choices we made like very few activities in the evening and jobs that allow us to spend time together though they will never make us millionaires =).
The dinner table is one of the 3 altars of Marriage , it is where many important moments of our life are shared, it is where communion among the family is acquired, empathy is nurtured and most importantly it is where faith is passed on. It is also where we are brought together for a moment of rest at the end of a usually hectic day.
Jesus Himself did much of his preaching around the dinner table... and was lunching here, there and everywhere with sinners, tax collectors and pharisees... (I always knew Jesus was Italian ;-).
Now that the great feast of Christmas is coming the entire family will get together, we will sit (and fit) around a dinner table that grows to meet the grandeur of Jesus's birth. Like last year we will hire a marquee, which we refer to as the 'Tent of Eating', as our houses in London don't have big enough dining rooms to accommodate us all, the table will be beautifully laid, songs and praises will be raised to Heaven, experiences retold, good wine drunk, carefully prepared food shared and enjoyed all in honour of King... and the time spent around the dinner table will start on the 24th and will last for 12 days!
As the time of big dinners approaches to find the right recipe for the right occasion can be quite tricky and your memory goes when looking for an idea. I feel your pain... to help you alleviate your suffering 'The Zelie Group' has put together a little collection of recipes. Here are 3, follow the links below to download/save them all.
Jesus Himself did much of his preaching around the dinner table... and was lunching here, there and everywhere with sinners, tax collectors and pharisees... (I always knew Jesus was Italian ;-).
Now that the great feast of Christmas is coming the entire family will get together, we will sit (and fit) around a dinner table that grows to meet the grandeur of Jesus's birth. Like last year we will hire a marquee, which we refer to as the 'Tent of Eating', as our houses in London don't have big enough dining rooms to accommodate us all, the table will be beautifully laid, songs and praises will be raised to Heaven, experiences retold, good wine drunk, carefully prepared food shared and enjoyed all in honour of King... and the time spent around the dinner table will start on the 24th and will last for 12 days!
Brittany at Everyday Thoughts
Ginny at Not So FormulaicJessica at Pinot Noir and Prayers
Kerry at Fishbowl Fortune
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