Saying Grace

AllenJoseph, congratulations on making your goal weight! That is a lot to be thankful for, indeed!!! Continued health & blessings be upon you!

I do not always remember to say grace. I have so very much to be thankful for, and I am very grateful. God has been so good to me. I'm so happy to say that a few weeks ago, I reached my goal weight. I had not been at a healthy weight since 1998. It was about time. God definitely helped me get there. He's helped me with many bridges I've had to cross. I know He will continue to help me when I ask Him for His guidance.

Edited by: ALLENJOSEPH at: 11/28/2012 (22:44)

That's wonderful!

We have a fun sung ending we sometimes do that I learned way back in church camp:
"Amen, Amen, Amen...Dig in, Dig in, Dig in!"

It is sure to get a smile from the kids. And a friend of mine looks down at the food very seriously like it's about to be a very solemn prayer and then smiles and says "Yay God!" and starts eating! Isn't that cute? No matter how you say it, Grace rocks!!!

My family also uses your first prAyer!

So sweet!


cj

Heather, that's adorable.

I love the way the little ones interpret Grace and other prayers. At bed time prayers, my 3-yr-old daughter has started making the sign of the Cross on me and shouting God Bless You Mummy!

Awesome! I love the spontaneous prayers, too. My 3 year old essentially mumbles for a while with his hands folded, then exclaims "Amen!"

We also say the one listed by Heather most times. Occasionally we use the Anglican one as well.

We try to say Grace at every family meal, when we're all at the table together. I also try to remember when I'm just eating lunch at my desk at work, but that's much harder to do as I'm grazing while working, so the association of having a meal doesn't register as well.

The children are getting much better at remembering to say Grace, which is keeping me more mindful. My 10-yr-old son has started to say Grace too. Sometimes he "wings it", and we end up with interesting prayers as a result, but I don't want to squash his enthusiasm by reining him in too much.

Good point, Heather!

All the best making it a habit again, ANDROMEDA.

cj

That's great! I know it's hard sometimes to be thankful for the simple things. But even our next breath is sustained by God! My husband likes a warm breakfast every day if possible. (Yes, he's spoiled.) But there we are saying grace over a bowl of cold cereal.

God Bless all of you.

i used to be better about saying grace when i was younger. My brother would complain when i said grace for pork and beans--"it's just pork and beans", he would say. I fell out of the regular habit, I am trying to get back to it but usually don't remeber until I have already started eating. At which point i say the same grace, but I add " for which we are about to receive and have already received".

I, too, say that Grace, Heather. I am now teaching it to my one year old grandson. He claps when we finish the prayer!!

Edited by: MAREANNIE at: 11/11/2012 (23:17)

Heather, we also pray the Catholic one. However, the other day (when the pork chops were seriously overdone), I threatened to pray the Anglican one:

For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful.

Hugs,

Valerie

I am also a convert (in 1978) from the Methodist faith. I try to say grace at least once every day, for all the blessings he has given me.

thanks for the prayers

Another convert here!


We say the one you listed, Heather.

Growing up, we often said: "For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful."

When my kids were very little, we would say a simpler one for them, "A, B, C, D, E, F, G, thank you, God, for feeding me."

My good friend's son, after spending time in a retreat house when he was discerning the priesthood, came home adding to the "basic" grace, "And make us ever mindful of those who are not blessed in this way".

cj

Edited by: CJBAGGINS at: 11/11/2012 (21:57)

That is beautiful, Rachel. I'm also a convert.

We use the one I grew up with (I was raised Lutheran but went through RCIA about 6 years ago).

Come Lord Jesus
Be our guest
Let these gifts
To us be blessed.

We then add a few specific things we are thankful for that particular day.

I say it at every meal I am thankful for all he has done for me

I just noticed that saying grace at meals is one of the team goals. That is a great goal to add! I'm sure a lot of us do it already and it is so quick and a great way to give Our Lord praise for all his blessings. Here's the simple prayer that we use:

"Bless us O Lord, and these Thy gifts,
which we are about to receive from Thy bounty.
Through Christ Our Lord. Amen."

We also add:
"May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God,
rest in peace. Amen."

That would be nice to hear what prayers you use!