SAYING AND SAVING GRACE

Maybe that's why we say grace before our meals. Because God is so gracious to us. Certainly it's nothing we've done. It's nothing we deserve. We were not better than anyone else when God selected us. And that's what makes it all the more precious.

My entry today is about saying grace. Friend Pastor Hal told the story of eating dinner at a girlfriend's house. When her father said grace, he prayed for the lions in Africa. Hal, being a religious guy from early on in life, thought to himself,"what kind of family is this? Praying for the lions in Africa?"

It seems the Lyons were missionary friends serving in Africa.

Another friend Boppy was blessing a meal. There were several people from out of state at the meal he had helped his wife Grandy prepare. He announced, "I'd like to say grace before we eat. I don't do this just because we have guests tonight. We always bless our food because we love the Lord who has been so good to us."

What a great chance to honor God. And to be a witness. To stand up for your faith.

We always bless our food. When Boppy and Jeff and I play golf, and when we happen to eat at the golf course, we always bless our food. Once there were some guys in the restaurant that had had a lot of beer after their round. (Of golf, not drinks) though I guess you could say both, for they had stacked one beer can on top of the other and was getting pretty high in to the air before one toppled (can not golfer). I'd like to have a better ending to the story, but I don't. We didn't say grace for them. But if they did notice us, then we were simply being salt and light to the world.

If you've gotten out of the habit of saying grace, get back into it today. It's the proper thing to do to show respect to the One whose saving grace was offered freely to us.