Praying for Your Family - 18. Breakfast

It is common to eat 3 meals a day in western culture, and we usually refer to them as Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.  Many people pray over their meals before eating, either verbally, or silently, and I think it is a wonderful practice! I have to honestly admit, that since having kids, it has become a more difficult task to pray at meals, but we know it is more valuable than ever because we are setting an example for them.

Begin to try to make a practice of thanking God for your meals. As part of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus includes thanking God for our "daily bread," our food, which is God being our provider.  I want to get better with this one, and am hoping that by writing and posting this, it will help me to be more accountable to myself to thank God for my meals, and include a short prayer for each specific meal for my family.

Naturally, we are going to start with the most important meal of the day - breakfast! As a former personal trainer, I have to recommend that you eat breakfast every day! An ideal breakfast would consist of one protein (2 eggs, 2 oz. meat, or a dairy serving), one whole grain carb (I have to eat wheat-free, so for me this is mostly a Gluten-free waffle, piece of toast, or oatmeal), a cup of fruit (it is best to eat most of your fruit in the morning due to it's high sugar content, and vegetables in the afternoon/evening to aid in digestion and metabolizing of all your eating throughout the day), and a healthy fat (a tablespoon of nuts, nut butter, organic butter, or dark chocolate). I followed "The Flat-Belly Diet" for several months between pregnancies and found amazing food combinations that really helped me to lose the baby weight and not feel hungry.  A few of the breakfast recipes I learned to love from that, which I still frequently use today are:

Power Eggs: 2 eggs scrambled in a tablespoon of organic butter with 1 slice of deli ham, 1 cup fresh spinach chopped, a teaspoon of diced onion, a teaspoon diced tomatoes, garlic powder, italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste, either with one piece of whole grain toast or inside a whole grain wrap, drink water or 1/2 juice and 1/2 water. No milk needed - plenty of protein in eggs/ham. *Note - if you put the butter, ham, and veggies in first to slightly brown for a few minutes over medium-high heat, then add the eggs and seasonings and turn it down to medium heat to finish cooking, the flavors are so much stronger! You could add some cheese as well, if you like!

Easy Smoothie: 1 cup milk of choice, 1/2 cup spinach, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup mango, 1/2 banana, 1 tablespoon almond butter, 1/2 cup ice, 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar if you need it to be sweeter, all finely blended into a cold smoothie! *I prefer frozen fruits/veggies because they make it so much colder - but you can also buy them fresh and freeze them as individual servings in baggies.

Dessert for Breakfast: 1 whole grain waffle toasted with either 1/2 cup strawberries and 2 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips (put the chocolate cups on the waffle fresh out the toaster and it semi-melts them, then put the strawberries on top OR 1 small apple chopped and 2 tablespoons of walnuts, a sprinkle of cinnamon with a 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar on top of the waffle, with 1 cup milk of choice.

So when we consume breakfast - whether an ideal healthy breakfast or a fiber one bar or something from a fast food place, let's pray for bravery.  It's the beginning the day, and we have no idea what our family will face, so let us pray that we will meet it all with bravery.

I can't stop singing this song in my head as I type this post,
and every time I think about being brave.

Breakfast - Bravery

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you so much for providing this meal. Thank you for another day to serve you. Please help my family be brave for you today.  Help my husband to bravely stand firm on your word as he begins to think about planning a sermon, and as he encounters many cultural temptations to fear and doubt.  Help my children to be brave as they grow older. Help them to conquer the fears that would otherwise weigh them down.  Lord help us to teach them to be brave in this life, because to live is Christ and to die is gain. Help me to be brave as a mother today, not parenting or disciplining in fear, but in love.  Help me to be brave as a wife today, not basing my worth on anything my husband does, but in Christ, bravely being the helpmate to my husband that you call me to be.  Help me to focus my mind and thoughts through prayer all throughout this day. For the things I can't plan and pray for now because I don't know what's coming, Lord I pray you help my family to be brave by standing on our faith in you.  In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen. 

This is post eighteen in a series on Praying for Your Family: a 31 Day Challenge.  You can go to the main 'landing page' and scroll to the bottom, for a list of all the days by clicking here:

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