SOCIAL MEDIA

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

At the Table || Fourth of July

"When you read the gospels, you'll notice how often Jesus shared a table with someone-sometimes sinners, and other times, saints.  Nonetheless the table was a crucial gathering place." - Ruth Schwenk 

The kitchen table is more than a piece of furniture.  It's more like the "home base."
 Eating around the family table is something I fear is becoming a thing of the past.
For all the years my husband worked off & I was driving back + forth to work or college, I know we, as a family, never got this precious time around the table together. 
 We ate our meals separately, on the go, or occasionally with family gatherings
- but never the four of us together.
This is now one of the things I love & appreciate most now. 
 It's the very reason I have found a love for cooking & meal planning these days.
 It's here where I find each of us talking, laughing, dreaming, praying together...
If you really think about your family table, it is a place used with great purpose.
 
Not to say that people these days don't have "tables" in their homes or sit at them to gobble down a meal quickly.  There's also a little thing competing for our undivided attention called cell phones or television.  I know in my own experience, it's so easy for them to sneak in to meal times & prevent a family from even saying so much as one word to one another given they do have the time to sit around a table & have a meal together.  It seems that there just isn't time anymore.  There's a meeting here, a ballgame there.  Practice after school this day and a school program that day.  Don't forget, gotta squeezing some time at a friends house or extra time to practice at open gym.
 
I pray this is something my husband & I can limit.  I pray that the family table is something we never forget or take for granted, & I pray that it is one of our top priorities.
A table is meant to be used!

If Jesus thought it was important to sit around a table together, then shouldn't we take note? 
 
Yep, I'd say that if there is one time of day, that a family has the chance to come together, make it at the family table. 

---
I'm gonna do a little something new around here.
Decorating is a passion of mine & we are not at the right place to do any remodeling or decorating right now, so I thought it'd be fun to still get to talk + share some decorating with table settings & continue to talk about the significance of making our tables a safe & happy place for our families!
If simple & cheap is what you're after, you've came to the right place;)

Sources:
$9. -  Cloth Napkins || Target
2 boxes - $2 -  Cracker Jacks || Dollar Tree
(old). Twine || Walmart
 $3. -  Center Runner || Target
***$8. -  Fire work stems || JoAnns
$10. -  Peony Flowers || JoAnns
***(didn't make the cut but I imagine if they were spray painted a more neutral color like silver... they would be really cute stuck in the napkins or flowers!  These were just too loud & sparkly for this simple tablescape)

So, there you have a table setting for $30 or less, for the fourth!  A budget friendly way to make the home a little more festive:)

A few more ideas I had but didn't use: glass coke bottles, large stars laying in middle of table (hello, dollar bin!) & tinsel cupcake toppers used as fireworks. 

Also, so I can sleep at night (🙈), please don't take these posts as know it all.   I always worry that with every post I make.   This was all something I personally had my eyes opened to & over time came to realize.  I read a similar devotion to this & it really spoke to me:).
 Just wanted to share!
Happy Wednesday, sweet friends!

"When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
Luke 14:15
 
Amie said...

We definitely struggle with this one. I usually make Bowen's dinner first, he is so picky and won't eat everything we eat. While he eats I am typically making our dinner. Then I eat before I gotta get him down then my husband gets home after us and eats while I am getting Bowen to bed...ugh! Chaos This is a great reminder! We talk about everyone eating together but dang it's hard. I will say we usually do have breakfast together on Saturday and Sunday so I guess that's a start :)

Brenda @ Chatting Over Chocolate said...

Love this post! I picked up a wooden block art piece from Hobby Lobby a while back that hangs in our dining room and sums up my thoughts on table time. It says, "The fondest memories are made when gathered around the table." :) We don't eat around it every night, but the nights we are able to are some of the best! I love the distraction free, lingering conversations and laughter with those dearest to my heart. Now about your table setting - it couldn't be cuter! I adore every last detail, right down to the Cracker Jacks! So fun! Thank you for sharing your heart and your table with us, friend! xo!

Anonymous said...

The table, the décor and the bible references are beautiful. Echoing what you said I think sharing bread at the table is always nice, and having communal dishes of food to pick from and pass. Or carving at the table, or lots of small courses that you have breaks and games in between. We seldom get to do the latter (Christmas. Easter) but BBQs are a great opportunity yo do this too don't you think? We are going to drag our entire dining table into the garden on Saturday night rather than eat at our crummy tiny garden table (also covered in bird poop) - I hope we sit at it for hours! I hope you do at yours too on 4th July - it looks lovely xx

Cassidy Adams said...

Thank you girls! It is VERY hard to have a sit down meal with everyone at the table. I never dreamed it would require such WORK. And you're right, it can be at different times of day... different occasions... as long as an effort is made, because I've found it's so rewarding & important<3.

a little bit of emily said...

Growing up, we always would eat dinner around the table. Except for Friday nights - that was usually pizza in the TV as a 'special' thing. But I agree - it's definitely the place and time to really just be with your family!

Laura Darling said...

I love this post! And your table is gorgeous! We don't have kids yet but my husband and I eat dinner together at the table every single night, and it's my favorite part of the day!