Have you ever had a bad food day?

You know, the kind of day where breakfast consists of granola bars in the car on the way to a field trip–to which you are still late?

Then, when the field trip is over, you realize that you forgot to pack a picnic lunch. You stick around for a while, chatting with your friends while the children run circles around each other–even homeschoolers need to socialize every once in a while. (right?)

Then suddenly, your two year old melts into a kicking, screaming puddle of tantrum and tears…which, of course, reminds you that it’s 1pm and the kids haven’t eaten lunch yet. In the least whiny voice she can muster, your five year old tugs on your skirt and says, “Mommy, I’m really hungry.” Okay, gotta go.

So, you find the nearest burger joint, collapse in a booth with your tray, and start doling out french fries. (“Why, yes, thank-you, they are all mine!”) You breath an air-conditioned sigh of relief, sip your iced tea, and try not to think about how much less expensive it would have been to feed them at home.

By the time you pull into the driveway it is 3pm.  The baby and the toddler are asleep. You shuttle your brood and all their stuff into the house, and lay the little ones in their beds. You’re just about to put your feet up and read a good book to the older kids when the phone rings. You decide that it’s the better part of wisdom not to answer the phone right now…but when you recognize the voice on the answering machine to be a good friend going through a crisis…

“Okay, children, let’s get out the paper and crayons and color at the table for a while,”

…and you call her back. Before you know it nap time is over and the afternoon is gone. How did it get to be 5:30?

The children, whose little bodies are already stressed from the high-sugar, low nutrient day are running out of patience. And so are you. Your darling husband calls and, hearing the anxiety in your voice, decides to save the day by bringing home pizza. You choke down the mommy guilt, break out the paper plates, and call it “good enough”. Tomorrow is a new day, right?

While I hate to admit it, I have had this day. The good news is, it’s not most days. In fact, they are few and far between. Most of the time I feed my children nutritious meals at reasonable times. I am very blessed to be able to provide my little ones with good food. Even on our worst days, they do eat. If I decided that we were too busy today and neglected to feed my children anything, you’d probably think I was a pretty lousy mother, wouldn’t you?

And yet, most of us wouldn’t bat an eyelash at the thought of going an entire day without reading the Bible to our children. In fact, many children with otherwise attentive Christian parents are chronically spiritually malnourished.

Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” Deuteronomy 8:3

We’ve all heard that verse, but have we considered the implications? The nourishment of the Word of God is just as important to our souls as physical nourishment is to our bodies.

like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,” 1 Peter 2:2 (NASB)

Having nursed a few babies, I can tell you that newborns need to be fed frequently. Christians–especially young ones–are the same way. We need the Word of God, not just every day, but many, many times every day.

Have you quit feeding your children? Are their little bellies starving for pure spiritual milk from the Bible? Take heart! If you have a Bible in your house, your family’s next “meal” is readily available, and it won’t even cost you a trip to the grocery store.

Not sure where to start? Need a menu? How about this one:

A Psalm for Breakfast, A Gospel for lunch, and An Epistle for Dinner

There you have it. Three square meals a day.

That’s too simple!

Maybe, but you can do it, right?

But I won’t get through the whole Bible doing it this way!

Maybe not, but is it more than you’re already doing?

Will you try it for a week? Let me know by posting below!

And, check back here next week for more more ideas to get your kids feasting on the Word of God!

By His Grace,

Tiana

Click here to read post #2.