The Blessing: Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance by John Trent, PH.D. and Gary Smalley

“This book can put into words what you missed as a child as well as provide practical, hands-on ways of communicating unconditional love and acceptance to your children and loved ones.”
-Excerpt, pg. 5, The Blessing: Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance


I am a parent. I want to be a good parent. I don’t think this knowledge just comes naturally. Parents need tools and education to be that guide down the path that God has planned for their children. In the book, The Blessing: Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance, John Trent, PH.D., and Gary Smalley demonstrate a biblically- based plan for blessing your child, and helping them to become everything God created them to be.

There are five elements of “The Blessing,” including meaningful touch, a spoken message, attaching high value, picturing a special future, and an active commitment. The book is divided into three parts that include “Why Is the Blessing So Important?”, “Understanding the Blessing”, and “When the Blessing Doesn’t Happen.” Each of these three sections elaborates more on the five aspects of “The Blessing” and shows why it is so important.

This is a very important book in my opinion. The Blessing is focused on the parent-child relationship, but it will benefit other relationships as well. “The Blessing” can be applied to a relationship with a spouse, a friend, a co-worker, and anybody who you feel compelled to help achieve God’s very best for their life.

I liked this book very much. I cried frequently while reading it. I could see where “The Blessing” had been missing in my own life, and where I needed to work on applying “The Blessing” with my children. I recommend this to everybody. If you want to improve your relationships with people, this will be helpful to you. If you want insight into your own behavior, this book will help you as well, because you will be able to see where “The Blessing” was missing in your own life, which might bring some healing to your soul.

Many “Blessings” to you as read.

In Him,
Beth

Disclaimer: I receieved this book free from Booksneeze as part of a books for bloggers program. I was not required to give a favorable review. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Children Are A Gift From God

Children Are a Gift From God
Psalm 127:3-5

3-5 Don't you see that children are GOD's best gift?
the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?
Like a warrior's fistful of arrows
are the children of a vigorous youth.
Oh, how blessed are you parents,
with your quivers full of children!
Your enemies don't stand a chance against you;
you'll sweep them right off your doorstep.


Children are a gift from God. The Bible says so. They come from God and are delivered to us as a reward, a legacy, a heritage, a gift. I am a stay at home mommy and I am with my children all day long every day. They challenge me regularly. I must always remember that they are here with me by God’s divine appointment and He has a plan for them. I am just a steward. Now, we planned all four of our children. Some people don’t. That doesn’t matter. No matter how they got here, they were planned in the mind of God from the beginning of time. He just chose you as the vessel to get them here. This week as we are preparing for Thanksgiving let us remind ourselves to be thankful for the children God has placed in our life. They have a purpose and are part of His plan. Let us thank Him for the joy they bring and well as the challenges that help us as parents grow.