This sweet little Idaho boy grew up to be my dad!

As a little boy in Idaho, my father eagerly anticipated each trip to the “Mechanafe” (meh-CAN-a-fay). This “mechanical cafe” in Boise, Idaho, not only offered a wide variety of food; but more importantly to a young, quickly growing boy, there was a lot of it!

Established in 1929,* the Mechanafe was—to bottom-line it—similar to our current-day all-you-can-eat buffets. The difference was that you didn’t have to walk to various stations or slowly trek down a long line to select your food. Instead, the food came to you! As my dad would tell it, the customers sat around a centrally located rotating selection of food options and could simply take the plate of meat, vegetables, fruit, salad, dessert, etc. as it passed by. And they could sit there and keep choosing new plates of food until they were full!

Even in his later years, Dad would get a happy twinkle in his eye as he recalled the joys of eating to his little heart’s (tummy’s) content—for only twenty-five cents, I might add!—at Boise’s one and only Mechanafe!

Matthew 5:6 states: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” As I read this verse yesterday, I couldn’t help but think of how Scripture is like a “Christiánafe,” providing us with more spiritual food than we could possibly eat in one sitting and constantly filling us up with the “milk” (see 1 Peter 2:2) and “meat” that our souls need. As Christ’s followers who walk in His steps (i.e., Christians), we need to avail ourselves of the soul-nourishing truths found in His Word.

We don’t have to roam around, looking for answers to questions we face or for the balm that can heal our anxious hearts. We simply need to be seated at the table of Truth (God’s Word—our “Christiánafe”) and anticipate the joy of having our spirits filled!

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To continue this thought of feasting on God’s Word through Bible reading and Bible study, you will want to check back later this week to learn how to take our first Online Bible Study: “Introduction to Bible Study.” This is a FREE course that you can view and study in the time frame that works best for you!

*To confirm the facts as I remembered my father telling them, I found this article regarding the Mechanafe and used it as a source to verify the facts for this post: Mechanafe History.