I'm guessing that many of you reading this have already watched our story of the Blessing Project. If you haven't taken time to watch it, would you please click here and watch it now? You must understand the vision and what this project means to us and our family.
Decades ago, Malcolm Privette, Paul's father, read a book called "The Blessing" by John Trent and Gary Smalley. The message of this book changed this young father's perspective of how to communicate love and purpose to his children. Malcolm began a family tradition inspired by this book and the Privettes continue this tradition as adults today.
Every birthday, the birthday child would sit on the ottoman in the middle of a small living room. The other six siblings and Malcolm and Dee sat around them. One sibling at a time would share with the birthday boy or girl what they thought was special about them. Then they'd go around the room and each family member would share and then pray over the birthday child. Even at a young age, the Privette children understood how to explain a special attribute of their sibling in a precious childlike way. Malcolm and Dee would always go last. The words that came from these parents were life-giving. They spoke out loud that their children had God-given gifts, that they were special and had great purpose, and that their parents loved them and always would.
Once Paul and I got to the place where we had a clearer vision of what the Blessing Project could be, the first thing Paul did was reach out to his siblings. He asked them if they would be willing to share on camera what the Blessing has meant in their lives.
Every summer the entire Privette family, two grandparents, seven children, seven spouses and 14 grandchildren all head to North Carolina for a family vacation. (I'll have to write about this experience in another post!) While the siblings were all gathered in a beach house on Atlantic Beach, Paul pulled them out individually. He asked them a few questions that got them talking about the Blessing. It was definitely an emotional experience for all of them. Malcolm and Dee had no idea what the kids were doing.
Here are a few of their stories. This is a special and heartfelt video. It is not scripted, and is very personal... it's from our family.
