Look up blessing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Look up bless in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A blessing, (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.

Etymology and Germanic paganism[link]

The modern English language term bless likely derives from the 1225 term blessen, which developed from the Old English blǣdsian (preserved in the Northumbrian dialect around 950 AD).^[1] The term also appears in other forms, such as blēdsian or bldsian (before 830 and derived from Proto-Germanic *blōðisōjanan), blētsian from around 725 and blesian from around 1000, all meaning to make sacred or holy by a sacrificial custom in the Anglo-Saxon pagan period, originating in Germanic paganism; to mark with blood.^[1] Due to this, the term is related to the term blōd, meaning blood.^[1] References to this indigenous practice, Blót, exist in related Icelandic sources.

The modern meaning of the term may have been influenced in translations of the Bible into Old English during the process of Christianization to translate the Latin term benedīcere meaning to "speak well of", resulting in meanings such as to "praise" or "extol" or to speak of or to wish well.^[1]

Abrahamic religion[link]

Isaac Blessing Jacob, painting by Govert Flinck (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam).

Position in which a Jewish kohen places his hands and fingers during the Priestly Blessing.

"To be blessed" means 'to be favored by God'. Blessings therefore are directly associated with God and come from God. Therefore to express a blessing, is like bestowing a wish on someone that she will experience the favor of God. "May you have a blessed Christmas", therefore can also be translated as: "May you experience the favor of God during this Christmas period."

A curse, at least in its most formal sense, is the opposite of a blessing. Compare charm.

In the Bible, blessings and curses are related; the book of Deuteronomy prescribes that obedience to the Law of Moses brings God's blessing. Similar constructions appear in the New Testament, as in the blessings and curses of Jesus recorded in the Beatitudes of Luke 6:20-22.

One of the first incidences of blessing in the Bible is in Genesis 12:1-2 where Abram is ordered by the LORD to leave his country and is told:

"I will bless you, I will make your name great."

The Priestly Blessing is set forth at Numbers 6:24-26:

May the LORD bless you, and keep you;

May the LORD make His countenance shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

May the LORD turn His countenance to you and grant you peace.

Judaism[link]

In Judaism, a blessing (or berakhah) is recited at a specified moment during a prayer, ceremony or other activity, especially before and after partaking of food. The function of these blessings is to acknowledge God as the source of all blessing.^[2] A berakhah typically starts with the words, "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe..." Judaism teaches that food ultimately is a gift of the one great Provider, God, and that to partake of food legitimately one must express gratitude to God by reciting the appropriate blessing.^[2] Jewish law does not reserve recitation of blessings to only a specific class of Jews; but it does mandate specific blessings to specific occasions, so that, for example, women chiefly recite the blessing for lighting Shabbat candles.

Christianity[link]

Within Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and similar traditions, formal blessings of the church are performed by the bishops, priests and sometimes deacons.

In Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches blessings are bestowed by bishops and priests in a liturgical context, raising their right hand and making the sign of the cross with it over persons or objects to be blessed. They also make blessings to begin divine services and at the dismissal at the end.

In the Orthodox Church liturgical blessings are performed over people, objects, or are given at specific points during divine services. A priest or bishop usually blesses with his hand, but may use a blessing cross, candles, an icon, the Chalice or Gospel Book to bestow blessings, always making the Sign of the Cross therewith. When blessing with the hand, a priest uses his right hand, holding his fingers so that they form the Greek letters IC XC, the monogram of Jesus Christ. A bishop does the same, except he uses both hands, or may hold the crozier in his left hand, using both to make the Sign of the Cross. A bishop may also bless with special candlesticks known as the dikirion and trikirion.

When blessing an object, the rubrics often instruct Orthodox bishops and priests to make use of such substances as incense and holy water.

Also, formal ecclesiastical permission to undertake an action is referred to as a "blessing". The blessing may be bestowed by a bishop or priest, or by one's own spiritual father.

When an Orthodox layperson bestows a blessing, he or she will hold the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand together (the same configuration used when making the Sign of the Cross on themselved), and make the sign of the cross over the person or object they are blessing.

In the Roman Catholic Church a priest or bishop blesses the faithful with the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

Islam[link]

Islam has no clerical caste, and therefore no blessings reserved to specific individuals. Islam itself is regarded as being a "Blessing upon mankind". Muslims will frequently pronounce "peace and blessings be upon him" when mentioning the name of the prophet Muhammad. Muslims will also greet one another with a blessing everytime they meet and depart.

Hinduism[link]

Aarti.

In Hinduism Puja is a religious ritual performed by Hindus as an offering to various deities, distinguished persons, or special guests. It is modeled on the idea of giving a gift or offering to a deity or important person and receiving their blessing ("Ashirbad"). During the Puja involves an 'Aarti plate' or 'Aarti lamp' is circulating around a deity or person and is generally accompanied by the singing of songs in praise of that deity or person (many versions exist). In doing so, the plate or lamp is supposed to acquire the power of the deity. The priest circulates the plate or lamp to all those present. They cup their down-turned hands over the flame and then raise their palms to their forehead - the purificatory blessing, passed from the deity's image to the flame, has now been passed to the devotee.

During the naivedya ritual, a devotee makes an offering of a material substance such as flowers, fruits, or sweets. The deity then 'enjoys' or tastes a bit of the offering, which is then temporarily known as bhogya. This now-divinely invested substance is called prasāda, and is received by the devotee to be ingested, worn, etc. It may be the same material that was originally offered, or material offered by others and then re-distributed to other devotees. In many temples, several kinds of prasada (e.g. nuts, sweets) are distributed to the devotees.

Hindu priest giving blessing.

Darshan is a term meaning "sight" (in the sense of an instance of seeing or beholding; from a root dṛś "to see"), vision, apparition, or glimpse. It is most commonly used for "visions of the divine," e.g., of a god or a very holy person or artifact. One could "receive darshana" of the deity in the temple, or from a great saintly person, such as a great guru. The touching of the feet (pranāma) is a show of respect and it is often an integral part of darshan. Children touch the feet of their family elders while people of all ages will bend to touch the feet of a great guru, murti (icon) of a Deva (God) (such as Rama and Krishna).^[3]

There is a special link between worshipper and guru during pujas, in which people may touch the guru's feet in respect (Pranāma), or remove the dust from a guru's feet before touching their own head.

Another tradition is "Vahana puja" (car blessing). This is a ritual that is performed when one purchases a new vehicle.^{[citation needed]}

Other uses[link]

A blessing can also be a request for permission, as in "gaining your parents' blessing" would consist of having been granted consent. Clergy will normally receive a blessing from their ecclesiastical superiors to begin their ministry. In the Russian Orthodox Church pious laymen would go to a starets (elder) to receive his or her blessing before embarking upon any important work or making a major decision in their life. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a member may receive a special blessing, known as a patriarchal blessing, as guidance.

In Spanish, there is a blessing which can be used as a tender farewell, especially from a parent: Vaya con Dios ("Go with God"), also Adiós (A Dios, "to God"), similar to the French Adieu.

Blessing is also a term used for marriage in the Unification Church, see: Blessing Ceremony of the Unification Church.

Blessing is the collective noun for a group of Unicorns.^[4]

In a darker turn of phrase, a Blood (street gang) initiation rite will involve getting blessed, a process by which an inductee is punched as hard as possible in the forehead.

In Hawaii anything new (a new building, a new stretch of road to be opened, a new garden) receives a blessing by a Hawaiian practitioner (or Kahuna) in a public ceremony (involving also the unwinding of e.g. a maile lei).

See also[link]

• Apostolic Blessing
• Benediction
• Darśana
• List of Jewish Prayers and Blessings
• Priesthood blessing

Notes[link]

References[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Blessings

• Barnhart, Robert K. (1995) The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology Harper Collins ISBN 0-06-270084-7

Laura Mixon Story Elvington (born c. 1978) is an American Contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter from Spartanburg, South Carolina.^[1]

Her single off the album "Blessings" became her first to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart, making her one of the few female Christian artists to ever reach the top of the singles chart.

Career[link]

Story began her career in 1996 when she met Shane Williams, from the band Silers Bald, at Columbia International University. Williams asked Story to join the band and she became their bass player. Story released four independent albums with the band.^[2]

When the band was about to sign a deal with Essential Records, Story's manager suggested her to record a solo album. In 2002, Story left Silers Bald and began working on her first album, Indescribable, which was released independently that same year. In 2004, the title track of her album was recorded by Chris Tomlin in his album, Arriving. Tomlin's version peaked at #2 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs and was included in the compilation album Passion: How Great Is Our God. The band Avalon also recorded a version of the song for the WOW Worship 2006 album.^[3]

Story released her second independent album in 2005, titled There Is Nothing. The album was produced by Ed Cash and Mitch Dane. During that year, she also married Martin Elvington, and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to become the worship leader and women’s pastor for the arts and music community at Perimeter Church (http://www.perimeter.org).

In 2006, Story signed a record contract with INO Records and two years later, released her third album, Great God Who Saves. The album was also produced by Ed Cash.^[4] In 2010, she was nominated for a Dove Award for Female Vocalist of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards.^[5]

Blessings[link]

In May 2011 Story released her fourth album titled Blessings. To date the album has become her biggest commercial success having debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart, giving Story her highest placement ever on the album chart. In June 2011, the first single off the album also titled "Blessings" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart, giving Story her first number one hit and making her one of the few female Christian artists to ever reach the top of the singles chart. In an interview, Story explains “Blessings is just a bunch of songs about worshipping when life is hard". Her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and she wondered "Why didn’t you just fix it, God? You’re all powerful and all loving… just fix it." Later after mentioning her desire to return back to normal, her sister said "You know, I think the detour is actually the road." She realized that “Spending time with [husband] Martin obviously makes me happy, but it makes me a better person. That’s the blessing of it.”^[6]

Discography[link]

Solo Albums[link]

• Great God Who Saves also charted on the Billboard Heatseekers Album chart peaking at #25.
• Blessings also charted on the Billboard Folk Albums chart peaking at #3 and on the Billboard 200 chart peaking at #30.

With Silers Bald[link]

Singles[link]

• "Blessings" also charted on the Billboard Heatseekers Song chart peaking at #18.
• "Blessings" also charted on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart peaking at #7.

Awards and nominations[link]

GMA Dove Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official biography

Medal record
Women's athletics
Competitor for  Nigeria
Olympic Games
Bronze	2008 Beijing	Long jump
All-Africa Games
Gold	2011 Maputo	Long jump
Silver	2011 Maputo	100 m
Silver	2011 Maputo	4x100 m
African Championships
Gold	2010 Nairobi	100 m
Gold	2010 Nairobi	Long jump
Continental Cup
Bronze	2010 Split	100 m

Blessing Okagbare (born 9 October 1988) is a Nigerian long and triple jumper and short sprinter.

In May 2007, at the All-Africa Games trials in Lagos, she established a Nigerian record of 14.13 metres in the triple jump.^[1] At the 2007 All-Africa Games she won the silver medal in the long jump^[2] and finished fourth in the triple jump.^[3] In the latter competition her Nigerian record was beaten by Chinonye Ohadugha, who jumped 14.21 metres. She won a bronze medal in the women's long jump event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.^[4]

Okagbare scored a 100 m/long jump double at the NCAA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship for University of Texas at El Paso, completing an undefeated collegiate streak that year.^[5] She won the Nigerian 100 m title in 2010, running a time of 11.04 seconds, and stated that she was opting out of the long jump in order to save herself for the upcoming African championships.^[6]

References[link]

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This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. Its citation style may be unclear. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. Tagged since July 2011. It relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Tagged since July 2011. It is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. Tagged since July 2011.

Matt Redman (born 14 February 1974^[1]) is an English Christian worship leader, songwriter and author based in Brighton.

He has worked with Newfrontiers, Passion Conferences, Hillsong London, Soul Survivor, is an artist for Sixstepsrecords and is a member of Compassionart a charity founded by Martin Smith.

He appeared with Hillsong London for a song on their 2005 album Jesus Is; he co-wrote and sang the song "Greatest Gift".

Many Contemporary Christian music (CCM) artists such as Matt Maher, Michael W. Smith, Rebecca St. James, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder Band, Tree63, and Hillsong United have covered a number of Redman's songs. Some of his most popular early songs include "Heart Of Worship", "Let Everything That Has Breath", "Once Again", "Undignified", and "Better Is One Day". More recently he has co-written songs like You Never Let Go, the 2005 Dove Award-winning "Blessed Be Your Name" (Worship Song of the Year) and the Grammy Award nominated "Our God". He regularly works alongside other Christian artists such as Chris Tomlin and Tim Hughes.

Redman started leading worship at St Andrews, Chorleywood, moving to help start up Soul Survivor alongside Mike Pilavachi and was the worship leader for the Soul Survivor Church in Watford. According to founder Mike Pilavachi, the Soul Survivor festivals (which began in 1993) grew out of worship sessions with him and the then 15-year-old Redman.^[2] Redman led worship at the early Soul Survivor festivals, returning to lead worship again in 2011.

In 2002, after a sabbatical in America recording Where Angels Fear To Tread, Redman moved to Brighton to work with Terry Virgo at the Newfrontiers church, CCK. He has been involved in their 'Newday' and 'Together on a Mission' conferences.

In 2004 Redman joined a new church plant, The Point, also in West Sussex, led by Will Kemp.

In 2008 Matt and Beth Redman, along with their three children, moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to plant a church with Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin called Passion City Church. In August 2010 Redman and his family returned to the UK. They have since joined a church plant in Brighton at St Peter's Church, Brighton. ^[3][4]

On 18 and 19 February 2011, Redman joined Chris Tomlin, Louie Giglio, and Nathan and Christy Nockels at LIFT - A Worship Leader Collective. His new live album, 10,000 Reasons, was recorded during this event.^[5]

He has authored and edited multiple books on Christian worship, including The Unquenchable Worshipper and the book Facedown which accompanied the album of the same name. His latest book Mirror Ball relays his thoughts and experiences of 'living boldly and shining brightly for the glory of God'.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Wake Up My Soul (1993)
• Passion for Your Name (1995)
• The Friendship and the Fear (1998)
• Intimacy (1998), released as The Heart of Worship in USA (1999)
• The Father's Song (2000)
• Where Angels Fear to Tread (2002)
• Facedown (2004)
• Blessed Be Your Name: The Songs of Matt Redman Vol. 1 (2005)
• Beautiful News (2006)
• We Shall Not Be Shaken (2009)
• Ultimate Collection (2010)
• 10,000 Reasons (2011) (UK chart peak: No. 149)^[6] (US Christian Album chart peak: No. 1)^[7][8]

Video albums[link]

• Facedown (DVD, 2004)

Passion event albums[link]

• The Road To OneDay (2000)
• OneDay: Live (2000)
• Sacred Revolution: Songs From OneDay 03 (2003)
• Hymns: Ancient and Modern (2004)
• How Great Is Our God (2005)
• Everything Glorious (2006)
• The Best of Passion (So Far) (2006)
• Live from Passion 07 Pt. 2 (2007)
• God of This City (2008)
• Awakening (2010)
• Here for You (2011)
• White Flag (2012)

Singles[link]

Awards[link]

Dove Award wins^[9]

• 2005: Worship Song of the Year: "Blessed Be Your Name"
• 2006: Praise and Worship Album of the Year: Blessed Be Your Name: The Songs of Matt Redman Vol. 1
• 2007: Children's Music Album of the Year: VeggieTales Worship Songs
• 2007: Special Event Album of the Year: Passion: Everything Glorious
• 2009: Special Event Album of the Year: Passion: God of This City
• 2011: Worship Song of the Year - TIE: "Our God"
• 2011: Special Event Album of the Year: Passion: Awakening

Published[link]

• The Unquenchable Worshipper, (2001)
• Where Angels Fear to Tread, (2002)
• The Heart of Worship Files, (2003)
• Facedown, (2004)
• Inside Out Worship, (2005)
• Blessed Be Your Name (with Beth Redman), (2005)
• Mirror Ball, (2011)

See also[link]

• Tim Hughes
• Mike Pilavachi
• Chris Tomlin

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Interview at Christian Music Today
• Interview @ Premier.tv