The Blessings by John Trent, PHD & Gary Smalley

The best-selling classic that helps children thrive today and experience a special future tomorrow. Now revised, updated and enhanced for a new generation!

Synopsis :

Children of every ago 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 installing 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
• 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.

Review :

I was blown away by some of the contents of this book. Right from the first chapter, The Blessings has so much to offer. As I read, some the stories used to illustrate the points are really heart wrenching and some are quite funny and I ended up having tears coming down my cheek at one emotional story and a smile at another wonderful story. At the end of certain sections, there are opportunities and guided notes for readers to reflect on the points mentioned for that section.

Parents – in my opinion, this is THE parenting book to read. You can forgo all others and just concentrate on the 5 points mentioned above and you will be amazed by what you learned and what you have been missing out.

But then, reading about a book won’t be of much use if you don’t make it real and active. The authors talked about ‘The Blessing Challenge’ and being a ‘Blessing Champion’. However, you don’t have to take up such initiative but just impart the blessing message to your family and your friends and church and this world would benefit greatly from it.

If I have a ‘must read’ category to recommend readers, this would be on top of the list.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.