Luke 22:19 And he took the bread, and gave thanks...
Acts 27:35 ...he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all...
Matthew 14:19, Mark 6:41, Luke 9:16, John 6:11 "...and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his diciples..."
Matt 15:36, Mark 8:6 "And he took the seven loaves and the fishes and gave thanks..."
A 4-year-old boy was asked to give the meal blessing before Christmas dinner. The family members bowed their heads in expectation. He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the Cool Whip.
Then he paused, and everyone waited-- and waited. After a long silence, the young fellow looked up at his mother and asked, "If I thank God for the broccoli, won't he know that I'm lying?"
We say grace before our meals. We have some Russian friends who say grace before and after their meal. We tried it and found it was very hard to remember to say the grace after we were full. Try it for a week and let me know how you do!
Also, we had a grace we sang to the simple tune of Edelweiss, it was beautiful but I can't find them. Does anyone have the words to this grace?
When we are at a restaurant we always try to say grace and if we see someone say the grace we buy their dinner, usually anonymously. Last year we bought seven meals. Not many.
If you have a grace or tradition before your meals that creates a spirit of gravitate within you please post as a comment!
We taught our dog to say grace, but he keeps his eyes open, doesn't bow his head and recognizes the pause before the Amen---but he's still a puppy!
