Exaltation!!!

When I lived in Miami, I was part of a liturgical dance group at my church. We traveled to a conference in Ohio called Exaltation. It was an ecumenical gathering over a 3-day weekend filled with worship through the arts, seminars, and prayer. Hundreds of people from all over would join this conference that educated, trained, and sent forth people who were willing to use the arts to express their love for Jesus. While I was not “talented” in dance, I had a heart that desired to dance for Jesus…and that is what I did.

When I got married my hubby and I continued the tradition of attending Exaltation. We grew so much in our faith walk. While I attended dance workshops, he attended seminars that interested him. One year when we attended Exaltation, we decided to attend one of the sessions together (by this time we had 2 kids). It was a session on blessings. Now, if you are like me, I have a very short attention span. I have never been one to take good notes, repeat important information, or keep focus for more that a few minutes at a time. So, if there was one thing I took away from this seminar, it was this: Speak blessings over your family.

A Family Night Tradition

We walked away from that session feeling convicted about speaking life and blessings over each other and over our children. So on Family Night, after we eat our meal and have our confessions, my husband leads our time of blessings. We start with blessings to God. Then we speak blessings over Israel. Then he puts his hand on my head and he speaks a blessing over me. Then I place my hand on his head and speak a blessing over him. Then as head of our home, he places his hand over each child’s head, starting with the oldest down to the youngest, and he speaks blessings over each individual child. If I am pregnant, his last blessing is over my belly.

Since we started this tradition over eight years ago, we have used “The Book of Blessings” by R. Scott Osborne. This book is filled with verses from the Bible that are categorized by topic (including blessings to God and over Israel) and written as a prayer.

For example, Matthew 7:24 says “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.”

The books states it as a prayer “May you hear the words of God and act on them so that you will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”

 Buy or download a free copy. (not an affiliate link).

Speak Life

Take some time to speak blessings over your family. I love watching the kids’ faces light up when they hear words of life being spoken over them. It may be hard to keep the younger ones from running around, but they will still receive the impact of God word. One day, your children may put their hand over your head and speak God’s blessing over your life!

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What are some of your ideas for blessings over your family? What traditions do you share in your family to spread God’s blessings?