Chapter 2 - Bless

This month and next, we will be reading Chapter 2, Bless.

Chapter 2, Bless, tells us that there are three ways of fulfilling a life with blessing:
1. Bless some thing or some action
2. Count your blessings
3. Ask God’s blessing

Ideas for God’s To-Do List – Bless

1. What are the blessings in your life? To whom do you owe thanks for them?

2. Think about the “bless” stories in Chapter 2. Do you have stories to share about blessing?

3. Bless your children, your spouse. You might need to explain why you are doing it beforehand.

4. If you are on a committee at CBI, create an activity or program in which you can create or be a blessing.

5. Bless your extended family and your friends.

6. Bless your home. Make it a sanctuary, a safe place, a retreat.

7. Bless our country.

8. If someone gives you a great service, ask the person of the name of his/her boss and write a thank you note.

9. Ask God’s blessing for the food you eat, safe journeys, and healing.

10. Ask Rabbi Dan or Rabbi Tom or a respected friend to offer blessings from God at times of need.

11. When someone asks you for your blessing, give it.

12. Think of yourself as a blessing, you are!

As a continuation of this process, we invite you to share your ideas/stories/creations with the rest of the CBI community. We have begun a God’s To-Do List blog spot to promote the sharing of our experiences. You can find it at, http://cbigodstodolist.blogspot.com. If you would like to post your experiences with this chapter on the blog, please e-mail me at shelbyapple@yahoo.com. We would also like to feature an individual or family every month in the new God’s To-Do List section of our bulletin. If you or your family has had an experience you’d like to share, please let me know. Also, please make sure to check out the CBI lobby for our traveling display. Feel free to tack up your experiences and ideas for others to read.

Here is just a sampling of some additional BLESS ideas which come from the CBI preschool teachers during a BLESS brainstorm session:

- Encourage use of blessings for food at home- video, send home informationand words
- Blessing for each class
- Attitude of gratitude- gratitude journal, different blessings
- Friends as a blessing
- Take photos of blessings for the children- visual journal
- Slideshow of blessing drawings/art
- Poster of blessings
- Shehekiyanu- new things in life
- Count your blessings- how to appreciate
- Blessing tree or bush in the classroom- kids bring in blessing notes fromhome
- Learn all the different blessings for food
- Pick a blessing theme for class blessing- use as a welcome at beginning ofyear
- In corporate family blessings on dreidel shield
- Representative art display or mural
- Shabbat blessings


If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at shelbyapple@yahoo.com. I’m looking forward to hearing about all of your ideas, progress and blessings!

Now as we start on this journey together in hopes of walking with God, let’s put one foot in front of the other…and begin!

B’Shalom,

Shelby Apple
God’s To-Do List Coordinator