Christmas Blessings!

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
{A Christmas blessing for you.}

This Christmas, may you catch a glimpse of this truth…

A creche scene with the words 'Love Came Down'

Love came among us on Christmas.

Yes, to us all!
The heart-sick,
the weary,
the lost,
the down-troddened.

To give us hope.
To show us how much God cares.

Share the gift

May you bring this gift to others.
May you be an image-bearer of Christ,
an agent of change,
a light for the world!


May you have a blessed Christmas!

–Love, Carol

Nativity scene with Christmas tree background


Photo credits:
Nativity by Jeff Weese, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License. Altered images here and here, by Carol Hulbert, at Flickr.

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A Blessing: celebrate God with you

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
A young boy runs into someone's arms

God used a burning bush to speak to Moses. I don’t know about you but I’ve never encountered a burning bush; at least not one of the caliper that Moses described. I have, however, encountered God reaching out to me in other ways: Through the Bible, through books, through other people, through nature… God is always waiting for us to notice his intersection into our lives. Isn’t it wonderful? Something to celebrate! Use this blessing with your child(ren).

Say your child’s name and…

May everyday be a celebration of God’s presence with you.


Click on a box if you would like to…
A check-box Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
A check-box View other suggested blessings.


Photo credits: Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Into Your Arms by Darrel Birkett, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

Is blessing your child awkward? Practice blessing yourself!

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
Perhaps you never heard words like this when you were growing up…

You are very special in God’s eyes. God loves you very much!

Could that be why saying blessings to your child(ren) feels awkward?

Would it help if you first received a blessing for yourself? I’ve written one just for you! It’s a little gift to get you started on blessing your kids.

Sunset through the trees

(Are you ready? Just insert your name in the blanks as you read this to yourself.)

A blessing for caregivers…

_______, may you see every day as a new gift.

A new chance to be guided by God through all the moments,
both the taxing and the tranquil.

God is constantly whispering to you.
Do you hear?

stained-glass border

“Hello _______. Today, let me use you to touch the lives of little ones around you.
(And the not so little ones too.)

You are perfect for the job I have for you.
Did you see the way I painted the sky with shades of pink, purple and orange?

You too are one of my limited editions!
I love you just the way you are.”

~~ Love, Carol

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Photo credits:
Sunset photo is from my archives.
Stained glass was adapted from a photo offered in the Public Domain (CC0 1.0) at Pixabay..

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A Blessing: divine source of life

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
On the first Christmas God showed himself to us in a new way.

We were touched by God in the flesh.

Nativity Parament

Inject a little reminder of this, by blessing your child with these words. Say your child’s name and…

Open quote markMay you feel close to the divine source of all life.


Click on a box if you would like to…
A check-box Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
A check-box View other suggested blessings.


Photo credits:
Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Other photo: from my archives.

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A Blessing: for awareness

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
Our story about Mary and Martha encourages us to spend time with God.

Do our kids see us spending time with God?

I distinctly remember an enlightening concept, learned one summer as a teen at camp. There we were, covertly whispering in our bunks after lights out. One girl got asked a question and she didn’t respond the way we all thought she would. She said, “I’ll answer in a minute; I’m saying my prayers.”

Picture yourself using those words with your child.

Have your kids “catch” you talking to God!

Of course that may mean some planning, but what a wondrous way of subtly passing on an important message!

Here’s another way faith can be “caught:” Have them hear you blessing them, using words inspired by our study of Mary and Martha.

Say your child’s name and…

May you find stillness and awareness of God’s presence all around you.

a beautiful sunset with an interesting cloud pattern


Click on a box if you would like to…
A check-box Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
A check-box View other suggested blessings.


Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.
The wonders of the sky as captured by Per Ola Wiberg, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

A blessing for bedtime

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
What words announce that it is time for bed in your house?

  • Time to hit the hay.
  • It’s sleepy time.
  • Beddy-bye bunkies.

A stack of books for bedtime stories

How about adding these words:

It’s time for your blessing!

As you tuck your child in bed give them words that will fill their hearts and minds with peace and comfort. Try out this blessing:

You are a very special person, uniquely created by God.

What a nice way to cue that the day is over.


Click on a box if you would like to…
A check-box Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
A check-box View other suggested blessings.


Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.
Bedtime stories by Robynlou Kavanagh, who licensed this photo on Flickr under Creative Commons License

A blessing: in pursuit

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
Make sure to remind your child that God is active in his pursuit of them with his goodness and mercy (his loving kindness). What can our response be?

To turn around, and actively pursue his presence!

“a

Here is a blessing to match these thoughts:

Say your child’s name and…

Jesus does not stop in his job to provide you loving kindness. May you turn right back around and crave friendship with Jesus.


Click on a box if you would like to…
A check-box Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
A check-box View other suggested blessings.


Photo credits:
Twirling girl by Karah Levely-Rinaldi, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

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A blessing: goodness and mercy are pursuing you

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

The good shepherdAt the end of Psalm 23, Psalmist David is really raving about the benefits of living under the care of a “Good Shepherd.”

 
'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.  Psalm 23:6

Goodness and mercy, follow me?

What?

The Old Testament was originally written mostly in Hebrew. In it’s eventual translation to English (via Greek and Latin) something got lost. Peeking at the Hebrew version (along with an on-line Hebrew lexicon for translation!) we see that the word “follow” in this case was “radish,” meaning to pursue or to chase!

Can you see it?

God’s goodness and loving kindness, actively pursuing you!

One kid chases after another on a beautiful beach with a Hawaiian sunset

Bless your child with these words, saying their name and…

God’s loving kindness is chasing after you.

Don’t you wish that for your kids? I sure do!


Click on a box if you would like to…
A check-box Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
A check-box View other suggested blessings.

p.s. In the Games Workshop this month as our Cool Disciples have studied Psalm 23, they’ve played a relay race game called “Follow me to the Lord’s House.” Here are team members getting ready to race to the Lord’s House, dressed as a sheep with “goodness and mercy jingle bells” around their ankles! Fun!

In the games workshop for Psalm 23, members of a team become one SHEEP.

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Photo credits:
Good Shepherd by waldryano.
Scene of a chase by Lance Shields.
Both photos licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Bottom photo copyright Robert Langdon from our program at Green Wood. Used with permission.