From the Mouths of Babes (or just little kids)!

I just had to share this story - it was pretty cute. I think I laughed myself into some minor contractions!

So - last night we were sitting down to dinner - all 5 of us. No small feat in itself. We really try to make a habit/rule of praying before we eat, but when the kids are hungry and the food is in front of them, it's hard to restrain them. So, after a few "pre" meal bites, we were ready to pray. We usually let the kids pray if they want to.

They got a good start in learning to pray in pre-school, "Thank you, God, for juice and snacks. Amen." For quite a while the dinner prayers would mimic that. Something like "Thank you, God, for potatoes and turkey and gravy and - mommy, what's that - oh - thank you, God, for carrots too. Amen" Kinda cute, huh?!

Well, last night, they shook things up a bit. Caleb started - Dear God, thank you for pasta, and I don't want to eat carrots, Amen." Short and sweet and to the point - kind of like him! Not to be outdone, Kylie proceeded. I kid you not, she sat on her knees, lifted her arms into the air, looked skyward, and proceeded in a very noble voice - Dear God, thank you for the food, thank you for everything, please let it rain so all the things will grow, help all the poor, and let us watch some movies." I about died. It wasn't so much the words, but the posture - cracked me up!

All the while, Macey is mumbling under her breath - baby prayers - and sneaking bites of pasta. I think they have definitely crossed over to their own styles! Gotta love it!

To bring it around to a more serious note - I really was very blessed by the purity of their prayers. I know that I, way too often, pray only what I think God wants to hear, or only what I think needs to be said to bring about what I want. If I am blessed by hearing simply what is on the heart and mind of my children, then how much more is God blessed by their simple prayers and how much more, even, would it bless Him if I were real with Him in the same way. It seems a difficult task to wrap my mind around the fact that the creator, the omnipotent, holy One, wants to commune in such a free and intimate manner with me. It's something I have been taught since I can remember, but I don't think I have ever really made a practice of living it; praying it. What a wonder, what a marvel that He loves us so!

Blessings --

Danni