The Blessing

Book excerpt: The best-selling classic that helps children thrive today and experience a special future tomorrow. Now revised, updated, and enhanced for a new generation! Children of every age long for the gift of “the blessing” — the unconditional love and approval that come from a healthy relationship with their parents. This life-changing gift, essential for instilling a deep sense of self-worth and unshakable emotional well-being, contains five essential elements: meaningful touch, a spoken message, attaching high value, picturing a special future, and an active commitment. Offering solid, practical advice and a fresh perspective on making this gift a bigger part of our families, The Blessing powerfully communicates these biblically based elements as necessary to prepare children for positive future relationships, including their relationship with a loving God. But what if we’ve missed out on the blessing in our own lives? The book includes hope for “reversing the curse” and helps readers find blessing in situations of divorce, death, desertion, adoption, and blended families. New to this updated edition are practical ideas, questions, exercises, and links for online resources — plus practical advice for planning a blessing event for a child, preparing a written keepsake blessing, and living out the blessing every day of our lives.