On Meals and Manners

Ty: "Dear Lord, wait my tummy is trying to tell me something <BURP> okay, Dear Lord . . . "

Part of our experience has been to integrate respect into not only the household as a whole but primarily when it comes to meals. This has not been easy for us as we are often finishing up chores outside and/or waiting for Mike to get home from a late day at work. I am tempted to grab a box of Mac and Cheese or some Dinosaur Frozen Chicken pieces. I know the kids will eat every bite and ask for more. But, if we are to promote and provide healthy family meals, we need to condition ourselves to home-cooked dinners and stay away from the fast food alternatives.

By praying before meals, we teach our children to be thankful for what we have. We do not allow them to waste any food or drink that they ask for. They must try everything but are not forced to eat anything. I believe they are learning to like raw foods. Eventually our cravings for these prepackaged meals and snacks fade.

A little over a year ago (yes it took me this much time to implement this), I read a book entitled: To Small to Ignore by Wess Stafford.

http://www.amazon.com/Too-Small-Ignore-Least-Matters/dp/1400073928

This book has had an enormous impact on my growing faith and my view of children in this world. The idea of investing in our children is not foreign but I believe as a culture, our investment has turned away from investing time and turned toward investing money. I began feeling the Lord calling me out on this over this past year while working on building the Youth Ranch. "But what about your children. Don't cast them aside. This was never what I meant for you."

This is what ultimately led to our homeschooling decision. Do we want other children to teach our children how to behave socially? Do we want to give up our parental rights for 8 hours a day? The answer to this question is easy . . . NO. But, in saying "no," we must say "yes" to the alternative. And that was the hard part.