How an Ordinary Dinner becomes an Extraordinary Moment

Since I became a mother, four o’clock in the afternoon has been the worst time of the day. That’s when babies start screaming with colic and don’t quit until dropping from exhaustion around midnight. That’s when preschoolers begin whining from fatigue and boredom and hunger. That’s when children get cranky and argumentative. The TV and computer blare a little too loudly, the screens glow a little too brightly, the head pounds a little too intensely.

At 4pm every day, moms everywhere stand at the refrigerator door weakly, willing ingredients to dance Disney-style into a magically delightful dinner that will amaze and astound the family into contentment and harmony.

We all know family dinner is important.

We know eating together at least once a day, most days a week, guards our loved ones against obesity, infidelity, illiteracy, and crime. Sharing a simple meal teaches compassion, communication, and confidence to our children and builds loyalty, love, and longevity into our family. That’s a lot to expect out of spaghetti, but it delivers.

What we moms forget, in the rush of work, school, sports, and ministry, is that it’s not the gourmet recipes that we need to deliver at 5pm Monday through Friday. It’s just a welcome place at the table with simple, satisfying food.

We don’t need another chore, another list of you should be doing, or another 12-step plan. We just need to serve it, and sit down and eat it.

We need to sit down and eat with our husbands, our children, our family and friends.

Ordinary dinner becomes extraordinary every day

• when your husband tells about his new project at work.
• when your teen shares his frustration with his new job.
• when your child asks how to share the gospel with his friend.
• when you share gratitude, prayer requests, and current events.
• when love flows with the conversation.

Today, I’m not challenging you to make a goal or to add to your already overflowing todo list. I want to help you take something off your plate so you can put tasty food on it.

Sign up for Ordinary Extraordinary Dinners today.

Once a week, I’ll send you an email with what I am serving my own family. I have four children, two of them teens. We all eat a lot. Yet we are a busy family — I work from home and homeschool while performing in an orchestra and directing a church choir. My husband works over 50 hours a week as a bank president and coaches several competitive soccer teams. My children are busy working, performing music, playing soccer, and volunteering in the community.

But supper is the most important part of the day.

We want seriously good, seriously filling food. But I have food issues (diagnosed “probable celiac” with dairy intolerance and malabsorption). So I’ve found the perfect makes-everyone-happy meals that I can serve to big smiles and full bellies every day of the week for months on end.

I want to share them with you, so you can focus on the people who matter.

Here’s what you can expect each week

• Six family-tested, tasty meals you can serve with confidence.
• Most meals ready in 30 minutes, all in less than an hour.
• One or two crock pot recipes that do not involve cream-of-anything soup.
• Recipes appropriate for those allergic to gluten and/or dairy.
• Food tasty and satisfying for everyone, even those with no food issues.

You know ordinary dinner does extraordinary things. Sign up now to take away the headaches and enjoy dining again.