Thank you for this ... Amen

I have teenagers.  Two and a half of them to be exact.  You don't need to feel sorry for me, but feel free to pray for me.  I need it.  I love each of them very much and treasure the time I have with them.  They definitely keep our home interesting.

Let's take meal times for instance.  It can be tense, awkward, silly or outwardly hilarious.  We have all kinds of experiences.  One thing we do try for is to eat together as much as possible.  As we sat at our supper table the other night, my husband prayed thanking God that we were all together at the table again.  See, my husband had been away on a retreat for one week and then my son went away for two days to a friends.  After we began eating our conversation turned as my son told me how cool it was that this family he visited ate breakfast together.  He added how he wished we would eat breakfast together.  Within a second's notice a chorus of other teenagers piped in agreeing with his comment.

Just as quickly my mind was flooded with a long-forgotten image of trying to eat breakfast together on school mornings when the kids were younger.  The ones whining who didn't want to come to the table.  The ones whining because they were at the table but couldn't eat yet.  And of course the mother whining about why she thought this was a good way to start our days.

Why now, do my teenagers,
who I might add hate getting up in the morning more now then they did before, want to eat breakfast together?  Could it be that we have started a legacy with them that they don't even realize they enjoy?  Is it that they actually enjoy spending time together?

So my husband announced we will start eating breakfast together on Sundays.  So, here we go, starting a new tradition. I will let you know who survived the process in an upcoming post - hopefully I will be one of the survivors!  If there are no new posts, then I guess you have your answer.

Yet, I am not here today to talk about eating breakfast together. I am here for a deeper purpose.

Giving thanks.

Although,as parents, we may have successfully shown our kids the importance of a shared meal I feel like we failed the standard of giving thanks.  How are the prayer times around your table?

When our kids were young we taught them rehearsed prayers.

Come Lord Jesus, be our guest.  Let this food to us be blessed.  Amen

We even taught it to them in German.  (I'm not writing that one out :))

I think from time to time we may have even sang Johnny Appleseed, or the Superman Prayer.  The point being we had fun while we said grace.  As the kids outgrew those, they also outgrew the desire to give thanks.

One of my three kids likes to say grace and the other two most graciously allow her.  However if she doesn't want to on any given day, or heaven forbid, the parents ask her not to, the table grows very silent.  Even my ever-starving boy will forgo food. Grace is so simple but it is so important too.  We live in a world of getting nearly anything we could ever want any time we want it. Why (or how) can we expect our kids to understand that without the goodness of God we could be sitting in the filthy dirt of an impoverished mud hut wishing we had food to be thankful for.

I thought I had taken the necessary steps to teach my kids about how blessed we are.  We have adopted three kids through Compassion Canada and World Vision.  Each of my three kids have a child the exact same age as them living around the world in need.  I have also tried to use the worn out line that we are so lucky - there are so many who do not have the luxuries we have. And yet . . .  we sit silently around our dinner table because no one wants to speak out thanks.

I came across a song the other day on the radio.  It was on a radio-a-thon raising awareness and sponsors for the very same organization noted above, Compassion Canada.  The artist is Geoff Moore.  He wrote an entire album out of his experiences travelling the world with CC and meeting the kids that are on the other side of our globe.  You can listen to his full song list on his website here.

The one song that caught my attention is called Saying Grace.

Saying grace – Geoff Moore

It was like a miracle, the way she made us feel.

Like a symphony, the way she made a meal.

She could pull us all together and we would feel the faith,

When we bowed our heads we were saying grace.

Some people have a way you know.  They put you right at ease.

Some people have a kindness that will bring you to your knees.

It’s the ordinary moments when the light is breaking through,

Once a door is open all that you can do

Is open your mouth and say:

God is good and God is great.

Thank you for the bread we break.

Bless the hands that set this table.

For our lives we are truly grateful.

Let every breathe that we take be saying grace.

They were all together for the very last time, 

The bread would soon be broken and the splitting of the wine. 

This is my life I’m pouring out for you.

So always remember in everything you do 

To open your mouth and say:

God is good and God is great.

Thank you for the bread we break.

Bless the hands that set this table.

For our lives we are truly grateful.

We are grateful that you’ve given us another day.

Grateful for another chance for us to say:

God is good God is great.

Thank you for the bread we break. 

God is good and God is great.

Thank you for the bread we break. 

Bless the hands that set this table. 

For our lives we are truly grateful.

Let every breathe that we take (be saying) ...

Let every breathe that we take (be saying) ...

Let every breathe that we take be saying grace.

This has reminded me of how and when I let the words of thanks roll off my tongue.  And how often they are as a sense of duty or habit.  So today I commit to leading by example.  Lord, let every breathe I take be saying grace.

As you enjoy this Thanksgiving week-end with your family or friends may I encourage you to turn every day, every meal, every moment into an opportunity to be saying grace.

Blessings my friends.