Having family meals together is almost a lost treasure! Bring back meaningful family time meals using Whit's End Mealtime Devotions! It will not only spark conversations and fun, it will bring your family closer by using mealtime or any time to bring you closer to each other and closer to God!

There are over 90 different "five-course" devotions including special ones for holidays and other occasions. Each includes a short opening prayer or prayer suggestion, an appetizer of something to think about, a main course which may include a Bible story or other thematic topic along with Scripture, and then table talk discussions questions. Each ends with a Scripture called "vitamins & minerals" and would be perfect to inspire family members to begin memorizing God's Word!

Each devotion is easy to follow and will direct your family mealtime into meaningful discussion as well as a lot of fun! A variety of fun methods include Bible book challenges, thinking games, object talks, riddles, etc. They will add life to your time together!

This innovative family devotional doesn't have to be used during mealtimes; each is short enough that they can bring meaningful discussions to any time - car rides, bedtime, snack time, etc.

Conversations about God and our relationship with him are vital to raising our family so that each grows in their love and admonition for Him! Add fun to it and these lessons will not only be enjoyed but also remembered!

Whit's End Mealtime Devotions: 90 Faith-Building Ideas Your Kids Will Eat Up!

by John Avery Whittaker with help from Crystal Bowman and Tricia Goyer

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2013

First of all, I like the idea of mealtime devotions. Research points to the importance of family dinners. The authors do their best to make these devos easy to use so busy parents can make the most of family mealtimes. I've read the book myself and tried some of the devos with my children and their grandparents. I can attest to the fact that Whit's End Mealtime Devotions allow for lots of lively discussion and teaching centered around the Bible and Christian life.

Each day's layout is simple to follow. The authors describe it this way in the introduction:

Mealtime Prayer - a prayer suggestion

Appetizer - something to whet your appetite for more

Main Course - the "meat" of the devo - something to chew on

Table Talk - challenging questions to help families think about what they've learned and how to digest it for their daily lives.

Vitamins and Minerals - a Bible verse that relates to the day's reading and discussion

I like the fact that you can skip around and find topics relevant to your family at a particular time rather than having to go from cover to cover. I also appreciate the special sections of holiday devos (Valentine's, Good Friday, Easter, Mother's Day, etc.) and themed devos (treasure hunt, backward night, Bible riddles, grandparents, caming, etc.)

I give Whit's End Mealtime Devotions:

5 out of 5 for user friendly

4 out of 5 for keeping kids' attention

5 out of 5 for relevant topics

3 out of 5 for some lengthy Scripture readings (40 verses is a bit much for children at a mealtime!)

I highly recommend this book for ease of use and for generating lively discussion at the dinner table and just helping you talk as a family about spiritual things. Rather than just pulling out the book, make sure you read through your selected devo. If you pick one with a long Scripture passage, you can read it ahead of time, summarize the majority of it and pick the most important verses to read.

Note: I received this book free from the publisher for this review. However, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's no secret that sharing meals together is an important part of a healthy family, and Whit's End Mealtime Devotions provides 90 conversation starters to help maximize that time together around the table. There are devotions for "any day" and others specifically for holidays or based on specific themes. The theme devotions include activity suggestions such as baking a treat together, going on a picnic and packing a rainbow salad, or inviting over grandparents or other seniors for dinner to emphasize the lesson.

I liked the brevity of the daily content. If we sat and read at our kids for 15 minutes during dinner, they'd pretty quickly "check out" and grow to loathe that family time together. As it is, we typically enjoy shared meals and just talking about our day. So in order for this to work for us, it had to be a bonus to any conversation, interesting, fun, and thoughtful, in addition to being Bible-based and God-focused.

This devotional works for that. Each day's lesson begins with a one-sentence Mealtime Prayer prompt. Then there's an appetizer with some fun questions to get the family talking (like "How many people from your family would have to stand on each other's shoulders to be as tall as Goliath?")

The Main Course covers the Bible lesson in a few sentences and refers you to Scripture for the full account. Then there are a few questions of Table Talk and finally the Vitamins and Minerals (a verse for the day).

Overall, this is a fun way to make mealtime an opportunity for meaningful discussion about God and His Word. My only wish is that the devotions connected in some way with Adventures in Odyssey other than just an intro by Whit and the pictures of characters on each page. Still, I can see how keeping these daily lessons short and sweet is part of their effectiveness!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

For families looking to not only dig into tasty food morsels at dinner time, but to also feed the spiritual stomach, Whit's End Mealtime Devotions provides the needed nutritional supplement.

This fun, helpful book is practical and makes family meal time devotions easy and manageable as it is broken down into a five course meal consisting of: mealtime prayer, appetizer, main course, table talk, and vitamins and minerals.

I appreciate the relatable starter appetizer questions that flow into the main course and table talk time which ask deeper theological questions (which are still on a family-friendly level for people with small children) and then onto the vitamins and minerals of Scripture. Thus, this devotion is not just cake and ice cream with simple questions, but provides some good, hearty meat so family members can really dig into Scripture and ponder theological questions.

As a pastor, I would recommend this devotional book to all families looking to reinstitute the much needed family meal time back into our culture. This devotional book makes mealtime that much yummier!

For more about Whit's End, visit http://www.whitsend.org/.

*Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for an unbiased review.

One of the most important things you can do for your child's spiritual development is to have regular family devotionals and discussions about godly principles. Many parents are intimidated when they consider family devotionals. Even if they could make the time commitment, what should they study with their children?

Adventures in Odyssey Whit's End Mealtime Devotions by Crystal Bowman and Tricia Goyer provides help for the family beginning the habit of daily devotions. The book contains 90 devotions easy enough for even the most nervous devotional leader to use.

Each of the devotions is broken up into five areas: mealtime prayer, appetizer, main course, table talk and vitamins and minerals. The prayers vary from rote prayers to suggestions of things to cover in your prayer, The appetizer is a light introduction to the subject of the devotional. The main course varies from actual readings of Bible stories to discussions of godly principles. Table talk asks various open ended questions about the topic to encourage your family to discuss the topic in more depth.

My favorite area, may just be the vitamins and minerals. I love the idea of encouraging children to memorize scriptures. The idea of associating a relevant scripture with vitamins and minerals may just encourage some families to stretch themselves and include scripture memorization as a part of each devotional.

In addition to the regular mealtime devotions, the book also includes a section of devotionals for holidays. The final section is perhaps my favorite. It includes eleven, more complex devotionals. These devotionals more closely resemble the devotions in some of the other Focus on the Family devotional books. They are a little deeper and include more in depth family interaction in games, picnics or more involved activities.

Although they encourage families to skip around in the book, I would suggest families wait until they have developed the habit of family devotionals before attempting the more complex ones in the back of the book. Holiday devotionals can easily be slipped into your schedule. If you have very small children I can even see families completing this book more than once.

If you are looking for direct ties to the Adventures in Odyssey series, there really weren't any other than drawings. Families with teens or who have been doing devotionals for a very long time may also find the content a little lighter than they would like. For the average family with young children or for families with older children who have not been having regular devotionals, this book is ideal. It should make establishing an important habit easy and enjoyable. There is definitely enough content to reinforce at least one important Biblical principle with each devotional.

I was provided a copy of this book for free in return for my honest review. I am painfully honest and have shared any concerns I may have.