Now I lay me...

Tonight's bedtime routine was one of our sweetest yet.

Lately we've been practicing saying prayers with Abby, and we try each evening at dinner to let her ask the blessing before we eat. We've explained to her that we wait until everyone is seated at the table, then we thank God for the food, then we get to eat. So on many nights, we'll ask Abby if she wants to say the blessing, then one of the adults will say "Thank you God" and Abby will finish "for food. Amen"

I'm hoping that what she's soaking in as we say mealtime and nighttime prayers is the idea that "every good and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17) and that she'll soon come up with her own prayers of thanksgiving and adoration for the God who has so richly blessed our family. Tonight made me think she's starting to get it.

After bathtime and storytime, I told Abby it was time to say her prayers.

"Let's thank God for Caleb," I suggested.

"Thank you for Cabey," she replied.

"That's very sweet Abby," I told her. "What else do you want to thank God for?"

"Thank you for Abby. Thank you for mommy. Thank you for daddy. Thank you for soccer balls. Thank you for puppies. Thank you for meows."

"Those are all great things to thank God for," I told her. "Are you all done?"

"Yeah," she said. "Amen."

Amen, indeed.