That book I mentioned on Monday, about blessing people? This is it! I was privileged to get an early look at Empowering Generations, and I definitely liked what I saw.
The first section talks about what blessing is and why it’s important. As with many things in Hebrew culture, it has fallen by the wayside for many of us, and now we’re not sure how to get it back. (Remember, Hebrew culture is sometimes “just Hebrew culture,” but sometimes it’s God’s culture!)
The bulk of the book is broken down into sections that revolve around various individuals in the Bible. Some are pretty well-known; others are more obscure. I thought, going into it, that these were going to be accounts of individuals who received verbal blessings in the Bible, but that’s not necessarily the case.
Rather, they’re “snapshot” accounts of the individuals, used to highlight particular aspects for which you may be able to bless your own friends and family. In other words, they’re used as inspiration – and illustration – of how you might come up with verbal blessings of your own when you’re seeing to bless your husband, your children, or others.
For example, Boaz’s life (as described in Scripture) is summarized in just a couple of pages. Boaz was very generous to Ruth and to her mother-in-law, Naomi, so generosity is the trait that’s focused on in this section. Following the summary of his story, Boaz is used as illustrative in a sample “template” blessing. Among other things, this blessing says, “I pray for you, ______, that you would have a spirit of generosity just as Boaz had…”
Although not what I anticipated, I actually found this more useful than what I had expected.
I would encourage you to pick up a copy of the book; a verbal blessing has the potential for long-lasting effects!
A couple other tips for blessing our kids:
Bless My Little Boy CD (& a little girl version, too)
a blessing I offer my own children
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