For Everything A Season: 75 Blessings for Daily Life [Paperback]

The Nilsen Family (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999

This book is a compilation of 75 Christian ritual blessings that help deepen and make sacred ordinary and out of the ordinary life moments. It offers three simple blessings for the seasons of the day; thirteen for the seasons of the year (holidays we celebrate from New Year's Eve to Thanksgiving); twenty-five blessings for seasons of our lives--event such as getting a driver's license, leaving home, getting a pet; seventeen blessings for seasons of our relationships; eleven for seasons of the Christian life; and six for the seasons of the church year.

Each ritual has a welcome, prayer, time for reflection, suggested ritual action such as lighting a candle or passing a blessing cup, and a closing blessing. They can be done by families or other groups or by someone alone.

These accessible blessings help to transform ordinary moments in time and space into holy moments of timeless grace.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The Nilsen Family is composed of two parents (Roy C. and Mary Ylvisaker Nilsen) and their five adult children (Per, Kai, Linnea Nilsen Capshaw, Solveig Nilsen-Goodin, and Erika Nilsen). All family members are involved in church related professions, including five ordained clergy. It is a family who, over the years and through the struggles and joy common to all families, discovered the power of ritual to draw them closer to God and to each other.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Zion Publishing (IA) (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962714712
• ISBN-13: 978-0962714719
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #993,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mary Ylvisaker Nilsen, writer, teacher, publisher, and spiritual director, has a graduate degree in Literary Non-Fiction from The University of Iowa and another in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. In addition, she is a certified Enneagram instructor and a spiritual director.

Mary Nilsen has published Christian education materials through Winston Press and Augsburg Fortress, and articles in a variety of journals, including The Lutheran, The Other Side, and Word and World. Her first novel, When A Bough Breaks: Mending the Family Tree, published by Hazelden and Harper and Row, traces a family's journey through a family treatment program after discovering their son was addicted. She is listed in the International Authors and Writers Who's Who, 10th, 11th, and 12th editions.

In addition, Nilsen has spent years teaching prose style, metaphor, fiction and non-fiction writing at The University of Iowa, and week-long writing courses for the Iowa Summer Writing Festival and in her home city, Des Moines, Iowa. Mary has brought her passion for teaching literary writing to various seminaries including Luther Seminary, Columbia Seminary, The Graduate Theological Union, and Princeton. Currently she teaches "Words that Sing" and "Words that Sing II" at the Collegeville Institute. These courses focus on advanced literary skills. She and her husband work together leading Enneagram retreats for church staffs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Blessing for Everyday Life, January 17, 2000

By 

John P. Eide (Macksburg, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For Everything A Season: 75 Blessings for Daily Life (Paperback)

I've found "For Everything A Season" a profound blessing in itself. As a Lutheran pastor, I eagerly seek ways to effectively empower the people who gather together with me in worship and service. Too often spirituality evaporates under the stress and distraction of daily life. "For Everything a Season" offers a collection of simple, creative, adaptive opportunities to consciously integrate the sacred every day. The range of blessings is delightful, and their simple honesty is refreshing. I've used them many times as I've met with people in joy and in sorrow, in struggle and in celebration. I use them daily in my personal worship. I commend this marvelous collection to you.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be blessed!, February 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: For Everything A Season: 75 Blessings for Daily Life (Paperback)

Inside you'll find blessings for birthdays, the new school year, and the changing of the seasons. You'll find blessings for adolescent body changes, getting a driver's license, graduations, a new home, a new pet or the death of a pet. Ever wonder what to do for an ill friend of family member? Bless them! Try blessing an important conversation before you begin -- it could be good for business. There is even a blessing for protection against evil. We all could use that. Anyone who uses this book will unleash the power of blessings in their life. May you be so blessed!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Add Some Seasoning to Your Life, November 21, 2001

By 

Word for Word "Trinity Book Club" (Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For Everything A Season: 75 Blessings for Daily Life (Paperback)

How often have the major changes in our lives just passed us by? This resource helps to highlight the events of our life both good and bad with simple rituals. I have found the rituals simplicity and depth to be refreshing. For families, and counselling and people who provide spiritual guidance this is an excellent resource.