And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain. So God granted him what he requested. 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

I was feeling a little blue last week. Out of sorts. I had a funny sensation all week. Couldnt really put my finger on it. I was feeling uncomfortable in my own skin. An uncommon feeling for me and one that I havent experienced since I can remember. I came to the conclusion that it was because I was entering unchartered territory in getting this Rocket Mom Society officially launched. That even though I see the need, feel the need and am eager to respond to the need, that others would not necessarily catch my vision. That to get it up and running was too much work. That I was unqualified. Technologically retarded. Feeling a tad bit sorry for myselfno, feeling sorry isnt quite rightum, maybe feeling that I had over-stretched my personal limitations. Yes, thats it: stretched too much. Reached too far. Dreamed too big. And my emotions hadnt yet caught up with my brain.

I needed perspective, but far more, I needed wisdom. I needed to read that going out on a limb produces anxiety. That these feelings were normal. That I wasnt nuts. That it was okay to ask for blessings. For reassurances. That praying for enlarged territory was not only allowable, but it was part of Gods design on my life.

I curled up on my living room sofa with one of my favorite books: Bruce Wilkinsons The Prayer of Jabez. Having read and re-read it many times, I needed to re-read it now and capture, once again, the wisdom contained in its few pages.

Growing up as one of those Christians who believed it would be greedy of me to ask for even more of Gods blessings when I enjoy so much to begin with, I had a hard time with the concept that it was not only okay to ask for more, but that it was what God wants from me. For starters, I had an incorrect understanding of the word blessing. I had, of course, heard the word, seen the word. Hundreds if not thousands of times before. But we use it incorrectly. And it leads to misunderstanding. As Wilkinson discusses, we say Bless you after someone sneezes. We casually tell people we wish them blessings. We bless the food, bless the turkey, bless the pumpkin pie.

But to bless in the Biblical sense means to ask for or to impart supernatural favor. (1) When I ask for Gods blessings, Im not asking for more of what I could get, or more of what I could accomplish or more of what I believe I deserve! Im asking for God to impart to methrough His supernatural powersomething which I could not attain by my own.

In Wilkinsons book, we see that Jabez left everything up to God: how he should be blessed, what blessings would befall him and how he would receive them.

It met me exactly in the moment in which I needed it. (I love when that happens) I was able to finish the book, pull myself up off the sofa (after a nice little nap) and bounce through the weekend with renewed energy and enthusiasm. I had a simple prayer: Lord, show Yourself powerfully. Show me that You are here. All around me. Working everywhere. Even in my loneliness and my fear.

And funny little things happened all weekend long. I got emails from friends with whom I hadnt conversed in weeks. Phonemails, too. Kind gestures were bestowed on mecatching me totally off-guard. Like when I offered to watch a complete strangers little girl in the outside lobby at the Cheesecake Factory so the mom could check on the estimated length of her wait, only to receive during dinner some food sent over by her as a way of saying Thank you. Several more small, seemingly insignificant acts of kindness occurred over the next couple days, giving me very much a sense of Gods presence. Of His working everywhere.

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, I would ask you to give special consideration to the word blessing. It is not meant to be taken lightly. It is a word which we raise up to our Creator in prayer. With humility. We ask for showers of blessings in order to further glorify God. Praying for Gods desires to be met. Not ours. We pray without ego. Or competitive ambition. But just to better walk these days in service to Him and to our fellow man.

My Thanksgiving prayer is that you would receive supernatural blessings in order to live more fully Gods design on your life. That He would abundantly bless you so that all of the things that He desires in the world would be met through each one of us bold enough to ask for our place in it. That however God wants to use you to fulfill His goals, you would be up for the challenge. And that it would be crystal clear, that it will not be by your worksor by minethat His will be fulfilled. For as Scripture teaches: The Lords blessing is our greatest wealth; all our work adds nothing to it. (Proverbs 10:22) I hope you use some of the downtime of the holiday weekend to prayerfully submit yourself to Gods work in this world. To be fully open of how and where you might fit into the eternal drama. That your heart would be pricked in such a way that you would be open to the miracles which God wants to do through your life.

May Gods richest blessings come to you, on Thanksgiving Day and everyday!

NOTE:
Wilkinson, Bruce, The Prayer of Jabez, Multnomah Publishers, Sisters, p.23.

Carolina Fernandez

Carolina Fernandez earned an M.B.A. before working at IBM and as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch. She left the corporate world to work as a full-time wife, mother, and homemaker.

Coming home to longer hours, harder work, and more demanding relationships left her feeling totally overwhelmed. Granted, she traded one investment field for another which has yielded immeasurable returns heretofore unimagined. Nonetheless, her frustration at her lack of ability in tackling all of motherhood?s inherently difficult challenges pushed her into a nearly twenty year labor of love. Her research in child development, child psychology, social psychology, nutrition, and exercise physiology, along with indispensable insights and experiences gained along the way, finally evolved into ROCKET MOM!

She re-invented herself in the process. She has dabbled in the domestic, performing, and visual arts, undertaking projects ranging from painting in oils to hooking rugs to singing onstage in Carnegie Hall. She has developed strong convictions about the role of the arts in child development; these convictions have shaped the specific strategies played out in the book.

She has a passion for inspiring creativity in people of all ages, from pre-schoolers to rocket grandmoms! Indeed, she receives particular joy in helping moms on the front line as they engage in what is arguably the most creative challenge ever invented: motherhood. To this end, she writes and speaks extensively, and is constantly developing teaching materials in her effort to share the crucial intervention of creative nurturing in developing children. She shares her message via radio and TV interviews; print media; and in speaking platforms via seminars and workshops, lectures and keynotes for pre-schools, women?s groups, retreats, civic organizations and adult education classes. Her soon-to-be-launched cable TV program, ROCKET MOM! will reach thousands of households in the Fairfield County area of Connecticut.

Her newly-formed Rocket Mom Society attempts to meet her mission head-on as she ?encourages, equips and empowers moms for excellence.?

She lives with her husband and their four children in Ridgefield, Connecticut.