The GIFT of the Blessing

by Gary Smalley & John Trent, Ph.D.

This special edition of Gary Smalley and John Trent's best-selling book offers a fresh, updated look at the life-changing gift the Bible calls "the blessing."  The unconditional love and approval that comes with the blessing is an important element of our self-esteem and emotional well-being.  And many of us - perhaps unknowingly-spend a lifetime striving for this acceptance.

The Gift of the Blessing Dr. Trent tells of his search to receive the blessing from his father and the new insight-and deeper blessing-he received from God as he sought to pick up the pieces of his shattered dream.  And Gary Smalley expands the concept of the blessing to include eight ways to bless adult children.  "I never realized how powerful-and how necessary-the blessing has become to my older children until now.  So if you have older children who have moved away from home, they're never out-of-reach of the blessing."

The Gift of the Blessing is a powerful book no family should be without.  Within its pages, you will find solid, practical advice on how to be a blessing as well as how to insure that your parents, spouse, and children all feel the security of family approval.

Table of Contents

1. The Birth of the Blessing
2. In Search of the Blessing
3. The Blessing: Yesterday and Today
4. The First Element of the Blessing: Meaningful Touch
5. The Second Element of the Blessing: Spoken Words
6. The Third Element of the Blessing: Expressing High Value
7. The Fourth Element of the Blessing: Picturing a Special Future
8. The Fifth Element of the Blessing: An Active Commitment
9. Homes That Withhold the Blessing Part 1
10. Homes That Withhold the Blessing Part 2
11. Learning to Live Apart from the Blessing
12. When You Know You Will Never Receive a Parent's Blessing
13. Giving the Blessing to Your Spouse and Friends
14. Giving the Blessing to Your Parents
15. Giving the Blessing to Your Older Children
16. A Church That Gives the Blessing
17. A Final Blessing
18. Evenings of Blessing to Apply with Your Loved Ones
19. Sample Blessings based on the Scriptures

What People Are Saying About The Blessing