Blessing

I'm reading J-s-s for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, and it's taking me forever to get through, in a good way. The part I read today was about blessing. So often we think of a blessing as something we're supposed to receive from above, but most uses of blessing in the OT refer to us blessing Him! And in the NT the word bless often means "to speak a good word" which is different from the meaning I had in my head, but helpful when looking at passages like "bless those who curse you" and "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse."

This quote really struck me:
"So often we do things that make sense to us and ask Him to bless our actions and come alongside our plans, rather than looking at the things He promises to bless and acting alongside of them. For we know that His blessing will inevitably follow if we are with the poor, the merciful, the hungry, the persecuted, the peacemakers. But sometimes we'd rather have a Father who conforms to our logic..."