Turkey Dinner

Today was a good day. My incredible wife made a turkey dinner for tonight. I would have to say that this is one of my favorite meals, and Kim usually allows me to enjoy this meal more than one time at Thanksgiving. This dinner serves as another reminder that I have been blessed with an incredible wife who I thank God for bringing into my life.

I have always enjoyed Kim's gifts and skills in the kitchen, She has the gift to look at a recipe and decide whether it has the potential to taste good. Many of these concoctions are also healthy. In today's world of instant gratification, she is willing to put hours into preparing a meal like tonight's meal because she cares so much for our family and for giving us time to eat together around the table. And it's not just the cooking. Much time goes into the planning for consistently putting prepared meals on the table. To give some of you that are ignorant to the kitchen a better appreciation, take this turkey dinner as an example. First, Kim had to plan what day she would have this meal because the turkey needs to thaw for DAYS before it can be placed within the oven. (Placing a frozen turkey in an oven will guarantee you a quick trip to Little Caesar's for a $5 pizza.) Then, Kim has to coordinate the other courses so that the potatoes, stuffing and turkey would all finish cooking at approximately the same time. When I was single, Stouffer's, Hamburger Helper and Marie Callendar were gourmet to me. I am definitely spoiled!



A couple reminders have arisen lately to not again not take my beautiful cook for granted. The first came in watching Kim grade a project she gave to her Foods classes over Christmas break. The students were to prepare a five-course meal for friends or family where they prepared three of the five courses. She asked the students to have photos taken and to have feedback given from the guests about the food and the experience. Judging from the feedback, I think many students gained a greater appreciation for everything that goes into putting a meal like this together. Some students really took to the project and put together some impressive creations. In fact, Kim took one of these main dishes (Italian dish with penne, spaghetti sauce, sausage, cream cheese and cheese) and served it to our family last night. Very delicious!



The other reminder came in a conversation of one of the things I love about Young Life camps. When meals are served at the camps, they are served family style with the campers sitting around round tables with their Young Life leaders. The leaders intentionally incorporate conversation into the mealtime. Many campers are coming from homes where they have never had this experience that I took so for granted when I was growing up.

Far too many people undervalue the social impact that comes with eating. We were made to break bread together. When I think about times in my life where I felt alone in this world, many of those times occurred when I was eating by myself. When I was single, I rarely sat at a table to eat, and having the television turned on was a definite must to shut out the quiet. And you would never catch me at a "sit-down" restaurant by myself.

Kim and I value this time to sit together at the dinner table, and Kim makes it possible so many times each week. Thank you, beautiful, for all the work that you do to help our family grow closer together!