The Christian Grandparenting Podcast
Hi, I’m Gayle Veitenheimer. Every week, I offer practical hands-on activities to help grandparents enthusiastically share their faith with their grandkids. Seminary-trained, so you don’t have to be, I bring fresh ideas for teaching Scripture and principles from God’s Word. I’ll share prayers for intercession and ways to build character and connection with your grandchildren.
I hope to give you a voice because staying silent places future generations at risk.
As an author, I weave my passion for Scripture with my calling to write by crafting adventurous tales and creative non-fiction that encourage kids to walk out their faith. The Kingswell Kid Detective series, co-authored with my writer friend Jen Weaver, debuts this May. Mother of four and GG to six, I love Jesus, CrossFit, running, hiking, national parks, my Belgian Malinois Blaze, and a great story. Thankfully, my husband is a good sport about it.
Find me at gayleveitenheimer.com.
The Christian Grandparenting Podcast
Making Mealtime Special with Your Grandchildren
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Mealtime is memory time. Join me at the table today on The Christian Grandparenting Podcast. Glad you're here.
Show Notes for Making Mealtime Special with Your Grandchildren
Scripture To Help Grandparents:
Next on The Christian Grandparenting Podcast: Putting Visuals to God's Lavish Love for the Grandchildren.
Find Gayle:
Catch up with Gayle on Facebook
The Christian Grandparenting Podcast: Making Mealtime Special with Your Grandchildren
Mealtime is memory time. Join me at the table today on The Christian Grandparenting Podcast. Glad you're here.
Hi, I'm Gayle Veitenheimer, your host for The Christian Grandparenting Podcast. Each week, I bring practical hands-on activities that teach Scripture and principles from God’s Word. I offer prayers for intercession, as well as ways to build character and to connect with your grandkids.
Finally, I bring encouragement.
Because to stay silent . . . places future generations at risk.
I'm so glad you're listening. Let's walk this grandparenting journey together.
Mealtime. An opportunity for fun, fellowship, and connection. I love festive dishes. Sadly, the lack of storage in my kitchen keeps my desire for fun tableware in check. Still, a pretty table adds to the dining experience. How can we spruce up the meals we share with our grandchildren?
Make Your Meal an Event
Luke 22:14-15 reads, “When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you. . .’” Now, not every meal is the Last Supper, but every meal can be special.
Dishes Need a project to keep the littles busy while you cook dinner? Turn them loose with markers and some paper plates. Plain brown paper makes a great tablecloth that they can personalize with place settings for each family member.
Candles Turn the lights down and light some candles. Bring out some pretty candle holders or have the kids pull from candles stashed throughout the house. How does candlelight change the mealtime atmosphere?
Décor Flowers, fall leaves picked up during an afternoon walk, pinecones. Use whatever is handy. Bonus points if it smells good too.
Bring in as many sensory elements as you can. Sight, taste, smell, touch. As the children age up, they can be trusted with breakables, cloth napkins, and cups without lids. But even casual meals can become an event with a little planning. You don’t need china and crystal. When the grandkids visit for the weekend, we use paper products for now and there are plenty of festive styles and patterns to choose from.
The Jesus Plate
This next idea I stole from my friend, Linda Goldfarb. At their family gatherings, they always set a place for Jesus.
Stop and think about that for a moment. If you knew Jesus was sitting at the table, would you behave differently? Would you watch your comments? Your tone of voice?
Yeah, my grandkids did too when I tried this with them.
What does the Jesus plate look like? It’s as easy as setting another place at the table. Or, with our crew, I had each of them decorate a paper plate for Jesus. We used a different one for every meal. Talk about what it means to have Jesus at the table—because you do. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
What will you serve Jesus? Love? Kindness? Thoughtful words? Give them something to think about.
The Special Plate
When our kids were growing up, we had a special plate, or rather The Special Plate as it was called. The Special Plate was reserved for special things.
Achievements, birthdays, something noteworthy.
This was not an everybody gets a participation ribbon kind of plate, so when it was your night for The Special Plate, it was a big deal.
Because we used it sparingly, it conveyed high value. Our kids still talk about it. So much so, that one Christmas, I gifted each of our daughters-in-law with a Special Plate of their own.
Our daughter, not yet married, watched as they opened their gifts, then turned to the package beside her.
When she opened her gift, our boys pointed. “That’s it! That’s it!”
Their wives just stared at them.
“That’s The Special Plate!”
Our daughter? She was speechless. It was a moment I will always treasure.
Now I'm thinking we need another Special Plate for when the grandkids visit. Here are some ideas I'm playing with:
· One special plate used for all
· A customized special plate for each grandchild
Either way, we’ll go with something non-breakable for now. The nicer one will come later. Maybe with a Bible verse on it or maybe just “With love from GG and Granddad.” And maybe, when our grandchildren marry or have their first child, we’ll pass those special plates along too.
Why go to all the trouble? To bless. Numbers 6:22-27 reads,“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: ‘The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; The LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.’ So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
Bottom line, when The Special Plate made an appearance, my kids knew they were celebrated and loved. And can't we all use more of that?
Let's pray. Father God, show us how to make our tables a place that blesses and honors You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
So, what will you do? How will you prepare your table for your grandchildren? Do you need to stock up on brown paper, paper plates, and markers? Do you need to bargain shop for candles and centerpiece ideas? Or do you need to dig your special plate out of storage? Let me know which resonated with you and if you have some fun ideas that will benefit our grandparent community, please share them in the comments.
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Thanks for joining me. Now, let's hit the trail. See you out there.
Show Notes for A Place at the Table with Your Grandchildren
Scripture to Help Grandparents:
Next on The Christian Grandparenting Podcast: Putting Visuals to God's Lavish Love for the Grandchildren.