Blessings

I've been thinking a lot about the word "blessing" or rather the root word "bless." It's one of those Christianese phrases that we all use but how often do we actually think about the real meaning behind it? "Well it means.... I mean a blessing is like... well it's something good that happens. Right?" Probably what most of us think of when we hear the word blessing. But there's so much more to it than that. According to the dictionary definition of bless the word means more than just a good thing.

First definition of bless, to consecrate or make holy, to sanctify. The second was to ask God to bestow divine favor on. Third, to bestow any kind of good upon. Some others were to give honor or glory to, to call upon God to protect, to worship or adore, or to grant happiness, health, or even a talent to. When you really sit and think about all of these, they make sense. But you really have to take the definitions at the real depth of what they are.

To consecrate or make holy, to sanctify. This is my favorite definition I think. Most of the time when we think of this form of blessing something or someone it's thought of as a priest or church official praying over something to make it pure. But dig deeper and think about it. God blesses us in various ways. I would venture to say that he even to say that he blesses us in this sense. He makes us holy, sanctifies us, purifies us, refines us. Refines us... refining implies that you take something that is coarse or in the rough and you make it pure and free of any impurities. Most of the time it's worth it in the end, but painful in the process.

Two songs come to mind, the song Blessings by Laura Story and the commonly sung worship song Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman. Blessings by Laura Story talks about the refining process of being blessed. The fact that sometimes life's biggest blessings, the best things that come out of life, the things that refine you and make you better come from the most painful refining moments. "Cause what if you blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near." And then the chorus, "What if the trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?" God blesses us through the trials and the hard things in life because that's the process of refining us, making us pure, holy, more like Him, set apart.

Blessed Be Your Name combines two types of blessings. The same kind of blessing that's talked about in Laura Story's song, God bestowing a refining blessing on us. "You give and take away, you give and take away." But it also talks about blessing God's name, or praising him and worshipping him.Those two elements combined, being tested and refined by God but praising and worshipping him even when things aren't going well for us are rarely found. But that's what we're called to do isn't it? Praise him in the storm. "When the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say blessed be your name."

James 1:2-18

Blessings,
Lindsey

It's Mid-July

Okay, so it's almost mid-July. I have exactly 44 more days until I can move into college! Needless to say, I'm pumped. I went to Wal-Mart with mom today and we started buying towels and stuff. At first I figured, it's just towels, like who cares what they look like right? But then Mom goes and says, "You might have these towels to use until you get married." Whoa! The pressure is on! I'm using these towels for the rest of my single life? I guess I better picked some out that I really like. Needless to say, our trip to Wal-Mart probably took a lot longer than it should have. But oh well, it happens. Maybe eventually I'll get everything I need for school. Right now everything is just in piles on my bedroom floor and I'm not completely sure what I have and what I don't. I need to make a list! But before I do that, I need to finish all my Thank You letters. There were a lot of people that gave me stuff! I don't know if I'll ever finish! And not to mention I work crazy hours. This week looks like it'll be a little better. Hopefully I'll get more done.