New Beginnings

When I think of Spring, my thoughts go to new beginnings—trees budding and blossoming, daffodils and tulips erupting from the ground, and warmer temperatures. Here in Middle Tennessee, Spring also brings plenty of rain.

We lived in New Mexico during Nashville’s floods in 2010, but during the weekend of March 27, we experienced the area’s second largest rainfall with over seven inches. One of our favorite places to walk has been closed because of flooding. We are thankful another location reopened and that it didn’t flood where we live with our daughter and her family.

My 2021 verses, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, A New Year Filled With Joy, are 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
(NIV)

Give thanks in all circumstances. Besides keeping us dry through the downpours, God has blessed us with precious time with our daughter and her family, along with our son and his family. He kept us safe and warm during several days in February while stranded at the house because an abundance of snow caused a slippery subdivision.

I’m keeping a gratitude journal this year to remind myself of God’s goodness. Every day I add something for which I am grateful. Often, it’s sunshine since Tennessee isn’t as bright and cheery as New Mexico. Other times it’s something to do with my writing or a church service we attended. I’ve also noted thankfulness for God’s Word and how it strengthens me and fills me with hope. I’ve been grateful for simple things too—café mochas, walks along the river, holding my husband’s hand, laughing with family, watching birds outside my window, and a good night’s sleep.

Although it may seem odd, I often thank the Lord when our offer on a house isn’t accepted. God knows what we need and if it doesn’t work out for a specific house, then I believe it’s not where He wants us. He has a plan for us, and I trust Him with that.

My verses say to be thankful in all circumstances. I believe I am. New beginnings are all around me. In His time, a new home will belong to my family and me too.

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Photo by Laura Ockel - Unsplash

Saying Grace

Has someone asked you to say grace before a meal? Why is the word “grace” used to describe a mealtime prayer? I’ve heard God’s grace described as His unmerited favor and kindness toward us. Grace, we don’t earn or deserve. But what does it mean to “say grace”?

I think of a mealtime prayer as giving thanks and investigated the meaning of grace to find out its connection to thanksgiving. The word grace (charis) in the Greek also means gratitude, favor, gift, benefit, pleasure, and thanks. When we say grace before our meal, we are giving thanks and showing gratitude for God’s bountiful gifts.

As a child, I learned this simple prayer for mealtime:
God is great. God is good. Let us thank Him for our food.

I found this traditional prayer while researching for this blog post:
God our Father, Lord, and Savior,
Thank you for Your love and favor,
Bless this food and drink we pray,
And all who share with us today.

In God’s Word, we see Jesus giving thanks for food when He fed the 5000, during the Lord’s Supper, and in the Emmaus Road story after his resurrection.

In the story of feeding the 5000, “given thanks” is used in John 6:11, ESV and “said a blessing” is used in Mark 6:41 and Matthew 14:19.

Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
Matthew 14:19

The Greek word for bless (eulogeo) is to speak well of, thank or invoke a benediction upon.

We find the same descriptions used in the retelling of the Lord’s Supper. In Matthew 26:26, the ESV uses the word, "blessing.” Luke 22:19, uses “given thanks.”

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Luke 22:19

Thanks, used here, is the word eucharisteo in the Greek, and means to be grateful, express gratitude, and give thanks. The words “said a blessing” and “given thanks” appear to be interchangeable in the verses above due to their similar meanings.

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
1 Timothy 4:4-5

Although I don’t recite a traditional prayer before I eat, my family does say grace. We believe we should follow our Lord’s example by offering God thanksgiving for our food as Christ did, whether we call it saying grace, saying the blessing, or giving thanks.

Do you have a favorite mealtime prayer or one you learned as a child?