A while ago Dora sent us the following testimony about her experience with the blessing book
I started my blessing book early 2012. I gave my life to Jesus in 2009 and even though God healed me wonderfully from breast cancer, I kept on falling back in depressive thoughts on a regular basis. I have been struggling with this for several years. Ann suggested starting a series of conversations about this issue. The only condition she proposed during our first appointment was for me to write daily three blessings in a notebook.
She asked me to bring that notebook the next session. I did my best to explain that I would never succeed. Then she asked me: do you not have a pair of shoes that fit and is not tight; or a house to live in; or a warm coat to put on; or a car to drive... That makes already more than three examples to start with.
I had no choice. One day I have – possibly just like some other church members – been sitting with a blank page in front of me dozing and asking myself what on earth I could write down. I went to the next appointment with a fearful heart, because I did not manage easily in daily writing down three things that felt like a blessing for me. But Ann never asked me about it again. Only much later I understood the reason for this. God’s love and His blessing are unconditional. The choice, the decision to start writing and receive, however, was mine.
When looking back in my blessing book and reading all the things I wrote in the beginning, it seems that I wrote thing down that are "normal" things in the eyes of others. Maybe they look just like diary notes that I now – however – joyfully reread. It are one by one things that slowly taught me to look at differently: learning to see the beauty in the changing of seasons again; to see how beautifully and wonderfully a tree starts blooming again in spring and has green leaves again one day; to see how it gives his shade to me in summer; to see how beautifully it leaves color in autumn, before he loses them again; to see how fantastic it feels to walk late autumn through these beautiful colors in the woods… There is so much to be thankful for, just like Jesus tells us in Matthew 6: Watch the birds… Look at the flowers!
And no, I am not writing all these small things that make life worth living anymore since a while; but I learned to write down all great blessings and all ongoing healing that God gives me over and over again throughout the year. There are so many things I previously did not see anymore previously; like the love that my family shows me; the relationship and loving care of and for my sister; the relationship with my papa; the many warm friendships God gave me after my sickness...
Not everyone is always aware of the blessing that she/he is to someone else; it gives me a deep inner peace to be able to share this with my heavenly Papa. And in this way he might teach me to become a blessing for others.