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"Amen"

Just recently Nathan and I started praying before dinner each night, thanking the Lord for another day He has blessed us with and the meal that we are about to eat. We thank Him for family and friends and we ask Him to keep us and our loved ones safe from harm. These meal time prayers are kept short because we have a one year old with a limited attention span and who is usually pretty hungry at that time! We save our longer, more personal prayers for a time when we can devote our entire attention to God, usually right before we go to sleep.

So during these right-before-dinner prayers, the three of us hold hands, close our eyes, one of us prays, and we all begin to eat dinner. Instead of saying "Amen," like we do, Benjamin chooses to clap. Perhaps he is cheering for Jesus. :)

So like I said, we only started doing this about two weeks ago and only when Nathan is home for dinner. So it was only after 5 or 6 times of this ritual that we were at my in-laws house for Easter. We sit down at the table and since we usually don't pray there, I started putting food on Benjamin's plate. As I set his dinner in front of him I realize that Benjamin has grabbed his Uncle Travis' hand (who is sitting next to him) and is now reaching for my hand. My one year old was reminding me that we needed to pray! Well, thoroughly humbled, I put down my fork, took his hand, and we waited until everyone was at the table so I could say a prayer of thanks, not only for the meal in front of us but for God sending His son down to Earth so he could die for our sins. Now that is definitely something to be thankful for and I am so glad my sweet little boy didn't let me forget that.

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