It’s my pleasure to offer this guest post by my friend author Annette
Hubbell.
I will be giving away a copy of her book “A Spoonful of Grace: Mealtime Blessings in Bite-sized Pieces” tomorrow. Come back to enter!
“Mom, I think saying grace makes the food taste better,” my daughter announced the other day.
Do you find that opening a meal with grace brings an aura of harmony or calmness to the table? Saying grace before a meal does have many benefits—if Grace could be bottled or put in pill form, it would be a bestseller!
There are many reasons a heartfelt prayer before a meal will nourish your hearts, minds, and souls, as well as your tummies. Here’s why:
1.Studies do show that saying grace with people you love—or even by yourself—affects your attitude, making the food taste better and aiding in digestion. Ever have a good food experience when you’re sad or angry? Probably not. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:32).
2. Saying grace means that—at least once every day—you acknowledge the presence of God in your life. Thanking God is a great way to develop a relationship with him, and he is just waiting for you to ask him into your heart. “I am knocking at your door,” Jesus says, “just waiting for you to let me in” (Matthew 7:7).
3. Saying grace means that you take time to think of others, because a grace usually includes a request to watch over someone or praise for a blessing in another’s life. Let’s face it, the world of the young is self-centered by definition. Thinking of others helps in the character building process.
4. Saying grace together promotes benefits such as family bonding and enhanced accountability. When you talk about things together, you’re sharing. And that, by definition, invites more than the stock yes, no, or ho-hum answer, because your understanding of each other grows when you interconnect, better equipping you to meet each other’s needs.
5. Saying grace cultivates the confidence to converse openly about your faith. Paul directs us to be ready to season our conversation with salt (Colossians 4:6).
6. Saying grace opens your mind to an attitude of gratitude. Did you know that the more thankful you are the happier, healthier, kinder, and more likeable you’ll be—and the better you’ll sleep?
7. The act of praying aloud together lifts one’s own spirit, fosters praise, and increases mutual feelings of appreciation. “A glad heart makes a cheerful face” (Proverbs 15:13a).
8. Saying grace reminds us that our food, as well as God’s countless other daily blessings, is a gift.
Some people think the meal is incomplete without dessert. Perhaps we’d all be better off if we made grace our dessert and adopted the motto Have Dessert First!
Annette Hubbell earned her undergraduate degree in Marketing from San Diego State University, her M.B.A. from Cal State University in San Marcos, and a Certificate in Christian Apologetics from Biola University.
