Asking the blessin'

{My sister found this little article in a Southern Living magazine {<3} and because I know it to be so true, I just had to share it. If you're from the South {or even if you aren't!}, it'll put a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart too.}

"LORD, help us to be thankful for these and all our many other blessings.  Prayers of thanks have always helped define the spiritual South, and there is a comfort in the way we repeat certain phrases in our supplications to the Almighty, especially when we're gathered around the table with people we love. Some of us "offer thanks," while others "ask the blessing." Either way, the blessing of the food is part of the ritual of breaking bread together, and it connects us again and again with the faith of our family-- whatever it may be-- handed down from one generation to the next. There's no right or wrong way to do it, although we Southerners tend to bow our heads, close our eyes, and maybe even join hands. Truly, the only requirements for a proper blessing are thankful hearts and a yearning to be found worthy: Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies and our bodies to Your service. We think for a moment of those who are no longer with us. And then we give thanks together-- for our health, for the food we're about to eat and those who have prepared it, and for each and every member of our family. Amen."

{Norman Rockwell}