Saturday, February 28, 2009

Competitive Praying

Years ago (when three-year-old James and two-year-old Ben were first noticing that we'd pray before meals) they, as boys tend to do, decided that this activity needs to be a competition. So before each meal they'd argue about who's turn it was to issue the family's thanks to God. One evening, as we were bowing our heads to acknowledge the Lord's bountiful harvest of Domino's Pizza, I came up with the brilliant idea of letting both boys pray alternately as each new slice was removed from the communal greasy box. For a while this worked like a charm, but then Ben (having already said the blessing twice) decided that it was high time to turn the tables on me.

He informed me, "Dad, your turn."

I had to acknowledge the fairness of Ben's newly invented rule, so I folded my hands, bowed my head and said, "Ready?"

Ben replied, "Set! ... Go!"

8 comments:

Missy said...

Too cute! Maybe I should try that with my boys! Anything with ready, set, go gets their attention!

Bag Blog said...

I like that. They are not just running the race with endurance, they want to win.

Anonymous said...

We used to have an argument on who got to say Amen last. You know how the person praying says, "Amen" and then everyone in unison does their own, as if acknowledging?

It would become a real problem. My Dad finally had it, when it dragged out to 20 extra Amen's and then to sneak one in, someone would cough and say Amen. *cough* Amen *cough*

Or, Please *amen* pass the chicken.

I wonder if my brother and sister rmember that?

Bob said...

Bou--
I can picture that. It's something my brothers and I might have done when we were kids, if we weren't so busy trying to win the "eating" contest by finishing first.

Bag Blog--
Yeah, at our house there was a lot of "striving to win the prize" (though not always "of the high calling of God"). BTW, we drove through Duncan, OK today. I haven't blogged about it, but last month when it was icy, James totaled his truck on I44 and has since bought a new car. Joyce and I picked up his plates from the dealer in Dallas yesterday and (since I'm not teaching Sunday school this weekend) we used this as an excuse to drive to Lawton and attend church with James. Anyway all that is to just say, when Joyce and I left Lawton this afternoon, we decided to stay on Lee Blvd (Hwy 7) to Duncan where we went south on US 81 to Bowie. Duncan seems to be a nice little community.

Missy--
With boys, everything is a competition.

Anonymous said...

What church is James attending in Lawton? If I'd known you were going to Lawton, I could have gone with you to visit friends. Ha!

Bag Blog said...

Bob, I was under the weather this weekend, but one of these days we will meet. I live about 12 miles east of Duncan just off Hwy 7. Whenever I am headed to the D/FW area, I travel down Hwy 81 to Bowie, but if I want scenery, the Bridge to Nowhere that crosses the RR is great fun. That is not the actual name of the bridge, but it should be. The bridge is south of Ringling, OK and north of Muenster and St. Jo, TX. Also on this road there is a small community called Illinois Bend where some folks from Illinois settled in TX back in the old days. Muenster is a wonderful little German community with some of the best sausage, cheese, wine, and beer choices in TX.

Bob said...

Bag Blog--
Do get better soon (and kick a chicken for me when you're up to it). We were surprised to find that the route through Duncan is exactly the same distance for us as the one through Wichita Falls. My social secretary will be in touch with you to arrange a visit someday, but (be forewarned) our trips to Fort Sill may be limited in the next few months. James (with his fiance in the DFW area) is powerfully motivated to drive our way ever weekend. She was chaperoning a youth retreat this weekend, so he figured it was a good time to check out churches in Lawton.

Donna--
James is still searching for a church home.

Burkulater said...

Awesome. This sounds like our dinner table...except for that our 2 year old likes to thank Jesus for everyone he's ever met in his entire life, but not for food.