[hoggie]

I was quite shocked last night. my brother and SIL are away so DD and I had dinner with my mum and my niece and nephew. I was putting stuff out on the table and my nephew was very quiet. Someone asked him if he was OK and he looked up and said yes. I said for a laugh - "oh he's ok he was just saying grace". Both he (he's 13) and my niece (who's 15) looked at me and my mum totally blank. Didn't have a clue what on earth I was talking about.

I was quite shocked - not because they don't say it (neither do we for that matter) but that by their teens they did not have the slightest clue what grace was

I don't say grace because I went to a Catholic boarding school, where we said grace before and after meals as a school and it was TOTALLY meaningless. So I don't bother with grace but I try to say thank you as I prepare the food in the kitchen.

Do people still say grace - or am I just so old-fashioned that it is just in my memory?

hoggie

 

[Pony]

We always bless the food before we eat. When we have company, when it's just Nick and me, even if I'm alone, I thank God for my daily bread; not just the food, but His presence that sustains me each moment of my life.

If I'm out, I'll give thanks quietly, but I still praise God for His many, many blessings!

Pony!

 

[seedspreader]

I was quite shocked last night. my brother and SIL are away so DD and I had dinner with my mum and my niece and nephew. I was putting stuff out on the table and my nephew was very quiet. Someone asked him if he was OK and he looked up and said yes. I said for a laugh - "oh he's ok he was just saying grace". Both he (he's 13) and my niece (who's 15) looked at me and my mum totally blank. Didn't have a clue what on earth I was talking about.

I was quite shocked - not because they don't say it (neither do we for that matter) but that by their teens they did not have the slightest clue what grace was

I don't say grace because I went to a Catholic boarding school, where we said grace before and after meals as a school and it was TOTALLY meaningless. So I don't bother with grace but I try to say thank you as I prepare the food in the kitchen.

Do people still say grace - or am I just so old-fashioned that it is just in my memory?

hoggie

We pray and thank God for our meal and the hands that prepared it and his goodness in general. I would think that it's far more prevalent in the U.S. than the U.K.

 

[junie]

We say grace before every meal. The kids even do it when they are away from home, without ever being told to.

 

[WindowOrMirror]

We own nothing on this earth and are asked by God to be a good steward of all the earthly things He owns. We should regularly thank God for everything we have and are, not just the food. Mealtime is a great time to pray together as a family for God's blessings, including the food we eat.

R

 

[RockyGlen]

We ask a blessing before every meal. During that blessing, we thank God for His provision, but also for other things and we pray for those in need, or who have less.

Once we had a visiting preacher to dinner here and dh asked him to say the grace. When he was finished, our daughter, who was 4 at the time, piped up and said, "I wish you'd come pray every time I'm hungry - you go really fast. A girl could starve to death while this family prays!"

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

We give thanks out loud before each meal - regardless if we're at home, in public, with or without company.

It is always ended with

' Yay God!! ---- Boo devil!'

 

[patnewmex]

I'll be a nickel that over 75% of kids under the age of 15 have no idea what the word means other than to be graceful which is another meaning altogether.

 

[Pony]

We give thanks out loud before each meal - regardless if we're at home, in public, with or without company.

It is always ended with

' Yay God!! ---- Boo devil!'

Nick and I have shared many meals at the Muller table (at home and out) that ended with the now-familiar "Yay, God! Boo, devil!" And we thank God for that, too!!

Pony!

 

[Ravenlost]

At my inlaws and my mom's house grace is said before meals.

 

[big rockpile]

Say Blessing over every Meal.

big rockpile

 

[limey]

Speaking as an ex-pat Brit, it is my opinion that Britain is now a post-Christian society :Bawling: . A very sad state of affairs. I am not surprised that your relatives had no clue as to what "Grace" is. Yet another reason I prefer to live in America where, for the moment, the majority seem to believe in God.

Limey

 

[southrngardngal]

My Daddy called it "Turning Thanks." Has anyone else ever heard this phrase?

We ask blessings on our food whether we are at home or eating out.

southrngardngal-Jan

 

[RockyGlen]

My FIL always called it "returning thanks" and I never quite understood why.

We also pray before meals if eating in public, and we do so quietly, but out loud and while holding hands.

 

[Pigeon Lady]

We do, but I've never heard it called "grace" over here. People always "say the blessing"

Pauline

 

[AngieM2]

I remember my grandparents calling it "saying Grace" and with my parents it was more "saying the Blessing".

Maybe it's an age factor.

Angie

 

[culpeper]

I don't know anybody who says Grace. I can't see the point in it at all. Any meals served at any private home I know is provided through the hard labour of the family breadwinner(s) and the person(s) who do the cooking and cleaning up afterwards - by no other means. Either they grow the food themselves, or they work to earn the money to pay for it, or (in my case, for instance) the government pays me a small income to keep me fed because I am unable to work for a living. The taxes I paid when I could work have contributed towards my upkeep.

The nearest I ever come to it is at Christmas dinner, when I usually ask people to remember those who are less fortunate than we are. That's it.

Unless you count things like 'Rolly-rolly round the table, eat as much as you are able'. Or 'Two, four, six, eight, Bog in. Don't wait.'

Any thanks that are offered, are done at the end of the meal. 'Thanks Mum, that was delicious'. That is a welcome optional extra.

 

[AR Cattails]

I think saying the blessing is a very beautiful thing to do and I'm saddened to say that we don't do it right now. My family did it at home growing up and my dh and I did it for the first several years of our marriage. I think with trying to raise the boys basically alone while my husband was on the road trucking for weeks at a time, it kinda stopped. I want to start doing it back up again. I think it's important to thank God for all He has given us.

 

[Cheryl in SD]

We say grace at our home and in public. Now it starts with the children all chiming in with "Oremus!" I don't that they would know the term "grace" to mean saying the blessing before the meal.

 

[cjb]

We take turns saying a spontaneous prayer at each meal as a family. I think its good for all of us (myself included) to stop for a moment and realize that our blessings come from God. This teaches our children to realize the source of our blessings and to have humility and grateful hearts. Not to mention, I think it delights our Father's heart to have us simply say "thank you" for his generosity in our lives. I know that I don't NEED a 'thank you' from my kids for everything I do for them - but it does bless me to hear it.