Be A Blessing!

"I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing."- Genesis 12:2

Last Sunday, I referred to Genesis 12 and encouraged you to pack a promise like Abraham, being reassured that it is all we need to make it through our day.

I was reflecting on those verses again last night, and three words from chapter 12 stuck out- "be a blessing."

A blessing is defined as a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.

God gives us so many blessings each and every day. One of my favorite quotations of all time is, "God blesses us every day. It's up to us to notice."

Think about how many simple things we take for granted in our lives, but yet, they are all blessings from God. Someone in one of my classes last week said "I wish God still did miracles."

Um, hello?! He still does! We just take them for granted. Think, every time a new baby is born- that's a miracle. Every small gift of healing that we encounter- that's a miracle. When there is a "near-miss" car-accident, that's a miracle. God is always at work, we just sometimes fail to recognize the blessings in our life.

And each and every day, we have opportunities to be blessings ourselves.

But, wait, it's not so easy.... Especially when our lives are filled with joy bandits.

That's right. Joy bandits. Those things, circumstances, or people, that rob us of our daily joy.

Whether it be a health problem or battle; assignment or test; persecution from another;

In those circumstances, that's where it's most important for us to be a blessing.

I challenge you to be a blessing to someone this day, and every day. Let the happiness you have received from God shine through you and into others, and it's amazing, the happiness will reflect back into your own life.

As promised, here's a list of blessings I recently encountered. The quotes are things people have said to me:

-Mail from friends in Spain

-Opportunities to worship in 3 different locations this weekend

-"We missed you, and we'll be glad to have you back!"

-"You made my day."

-More hugs

-A great visit with the doctor which left me brimming with optimism

-Telling and laughing at really dumb jokes

-"Considering what you've been through, and the way people are still treating you, you are one of the strongest people I know."

-One on one visits with great friends

Ah. I am truly blessed. And blessed to be a blessing.