Saying thank you matters. It's polite. It keeps us humble. It reminds us of our connections to and relationships with the rest of creation. If Jesus said, "Thank you, God" before he broke bread with his disciples, so can we. To be open to the work of God in our daily lives starts with thank you as much as it ends with it because it helps us to see how God is already there. Being generally a quiet and gentle guest, he's easy to miss in the hubbub of life.
Thank you seems do-able, as a first spiritual discipline to engage with as a family, not least because we're building on an existing habit of sorts. We have two prayer cubes with different graces that we have been using for some time (from time to time - no we are not consistent about this). The season of thanksgiving for creation seemed like a good moment to deepen habits and try some new ways of saying thank you before we eat.
Week 1: The Moment
Inspired by friends we shared a meal with this summer, we will start the main meal of the day with 'The Moment'. Everyone holds hands and takes a moment to reflect on the day. As we eat, we share something for which we're thankful. What was today's daily bread?
Week 2: A Chain of Thanks
A light-hearted one: like the shopping list game, each person repeats what has gone before and adds their own item to the list. "Today I give thanks for..." with the last person closing the list with, "... for all these good things, we give you thanks, holy and loving God." Or words to that effect. No prayer police here.
Week 3: Graffiti Grace
A big piece of paper on the table to which we all add our thanks every day in words and pictures.
Week 4: Free Speech
There are seven people in our household, so we each get one day of the week to pray as each of us sees fit.
That's the plan - join in, try your own things, share in the comments, and watch this space for the outcomes in our home.
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