This week we discussed BLESSINGS in our ladies Bible study.
I know all about BLESSINGS. I have three of them - my children! I know the song "Count your many Blessings". I say "God bless you" after someone sneezes.....
But, as it always seems, I really know so little.
Do I BLESS my children?
Do I tell my children about the blessing they are to me by acknowledging their unique talents and abilities? Do I discuss with them how they can use the gifts they have to serve God? Do I tell them that I appreciate them? Do I encourage them and build them up every day? Do I tell them that I love them? Do I bless them by showing physical affection when they need to feel it?
As a homeschooling Mom I find that I am often the "corrector". "Please correct this problem" is often a phrase that comes out of my mouth. As I listened to the study, I have been struck by my need to bless and encourage my children more by delighting in what they did correctly - not always focusing on what they did incorrectly. I need to show God's love to them by uplifting them more often.
But it's not just our children we should be blessing.
Did you know that we should be blessing our husbands? We should be telling them about all the things that they are doing RIGHT. Wow! It is EASY to point out the things they do wrong, but how much more encouraging and supportive we could be if we cheered them on, noticing the little things that they do for us and our children? We BLESS our husbands by verbally uplifting them both in their prescence and out of it. It might be that we are the only ones lifting them up.
Do you BLESS your parents? Do you thank them for the GOOD THINGS they've done? In todays society it seems that if we have a "problem" in our lives its easy to look back and criticize the way we were raised - after all, our parents are only human, so EVERY parent has made mistakes! But what a BLESSING we could be to our parents to express our appreciation to them for the things that they did RIGHT! It might be that you are the only one that uplifts them.... what a blessing we can be!
And so.... our lesson on BLESSING continues next week, and I am excited about it. I am going to start with my husband and BLESS him every day (several times?) this week for the gift that he IS to me and our children. Then I am going to move on to my children and BLESS them for being who they are. My parent s need to be blessed, too. I'm not sure that my Mother ever received much blessing and uplifting from her own Mother - I can't undo that, but I can encourage her NOW.
Who can you BLESS today? Let me be the one to challenge you to genuinely BLESS 3 people today with very intentional uplifiting words. Let God's love shine through you.
