“Very few people ever find themselves in a role where they must literally speak a death sentence over someone. But many of us, including myself, have said something to another person that hurt them, discouraged them, zapped their enthusiasm or deflated their idea.  It’s a terrible feeling to recognize you spoke a curse,” Reverend Scott Osborne, author of the new eBook “The Book of Blessings,” told Breaking Israel News.

“The Book of Blessings” follows the various benedictions bestowed by God throughout the Bible and explains the various meanings behind each blessing. Osborne was inspired to write his book after hearing from his children how much his blessing them around the dinner table influenced and helped their lives, even through very difficult times.

“The world surrounds us with negativity. The common news channels format is a split screen with two or more commentators spewing foul remarks at one another. Professional athletes ‘smack talk’ their opponents before or after competing. Facebook, Twitter and countless internet sites provide a forum for people to express critical, harsh comments about those they don’t like. We are barraged with pessimism and disapproval at every turn. Positive words provide a counterbalance. That is what this book is about,” Osborne explained.

Osborne’s book is quite the magnum opus of positive speech, meant to affirm “the other” by using God’s own style of speech and words from the Bible. This affirmation is “a help to the mental and emotional health of everyone around us,” says Osborne.

“Personal experience tells us this is true. You may remember hugs from your father when he said, ‘I’m so proud of you.’ Perhaps you once saved a note from a grade school teacher that said, ‘Excellent work. I knew you could do it.’ These experiences made you feel good about yourself, boosted your confidence, and helped you see the possibilities for your future.”

The idea behind “The Book of Blessings” is just that: to provide positive experiences and words to help support another person rather than bring them down. It is an educational guide which instructs one on how to incorporate blessing others into their everyday life and how to allow blessings to enter our lives. According to Osborne, bringing forth blessings is essential in today’s society.

“I have great concern about the onslaught of negative talk in today’s world,” says Osborne. “The word of God is an antidote for the curses we encounter throughout the course of everyday life. We have the opportunity to spread joy, hope and encouragement by sharing blessings with the people in our lives.”

Osborne himself admits to utilizing his own techniques in order to improve his own behavior and speech to his family and friends. “I try to speak a word of blessing to my family when I head out for the day. Words convey our thoughts and feelings. If I speak a positive word to you, it communicates my positive feelings toward you. As you consider my positivity toward you, it’s like a little bit of emotional therapy.”

When asked why adopt a positive style of speech from the Bible, Osborne explained: “When I speak a blessing from the word of God, it not only resonates with a person’s emotions, it also communicates a thought from the Holy One. This often triggers a moment of contemplation that elevates the mood of both the person giving the blessing as well as the one receiving it.”

Osborne continued to explain what in particular is so special about these types of blessings, as opposed to other blessings that people may be more regular to say to one another. “A blessing utilizing the language of God reminds us about eternal truths. It brings the heart of God into the situation. The One who is greater than my problems or my self-pity spoke words millennia ago that bring transformational influence to me, if I choose to pause and consider them.”

But when it comes right down to it, blessing someone else is all just another mode of positive communication, one in which God will hopefully bless the person in kind. “I want to be a positive voice in this negative world,” says Osborne. “God is holy; he is altogether good. I want to communicate his goodness to others by speaking blessings. More so, I want to help others to be the voices of the optimism and reassurance that comes from God alone.”

Osborne hopes that the book and the lessons therein will spread widely. He hopes that as people become equipped to speak blessings fin the language of God, that they will have a profound positive influence on their world.

To receive a free, abridged version of “The Book of Blessings,” click here.