Although each day should be filled with our songs of Thanksgiving, for many, it takes a national holiday to remind people of this.  But to the contrary, many families teach their children to thank God for all their blessings – sometimes at meal times and at bed times.

Just as our parents taught my sisters and me to thank God for our food before we ate, we have passed that teaching on to our children.  Before they learned to voice their own thoughts in prayers, we taught them to say, “God is great; God is good; let us thank him for our food.”

Just as a small toddler, my nephew loved to go outside with the big boys and play football.  He would look like a bobble head with his oversized helmet weighing him down.  My sister called him in from his ballgame for lunch one day.  She lifted him into his high chair and pulled him up to the table.  He won the argument about keeping his helmet on.  Before he ate, he remembered to pray but had not forgotten his football game.  He began, “Hut, one, two, three. God is great ----.”

A friend told about her child’s night time prayers.  The little girl was just recovering from a stomach virus.  As per usual, she thanked God for everything she could think of.  Finally she said, “And thank you, God, for the beee-a-u-ti-ful flowers.”  Then as an afterthought she added, “And help them not to have the di –ree (diarrhea).”

My favorite expression of thanks and praise though came from my granddaughter Bethany.  During a visit at our house one summer, we had packed as much fun into the day as possible.  We had been swimming, horseback riding, picnicking, and came home exhausted.  When I took her upstairs to tuck her in that night, I asked, “Bethany, do you want to say your prayers aloud tonight or do you want to say them silently?”

“Gram, let’s just say wow prayers tonight.”

“Okay,” I answered, but you will have to teach me.  I don’t know what a wow prayer is.”

“I will.  I will say something good that God has done for us today and say, ‘Wow, God.’ Then you name something good and say ‘Wow, God.’”