Gratitude

I just finished reading “one thousand gifts” last night. Wow. What a ride! It’s a book I’m going to have to read over and over. So much poetic imagery and language. Men may not like the writing style so much, but it’s sure to capture the hearts of many women. I’m not sure I can even give a good overview, but I’ll try.

She starts off with a dare. A dare from a friend to write down 1000 gifts from God. 1000 things to be thankful for. Over the course of 18 months she not only surpasses 1000 easily, but finds her entire life so transformed by the act, that family and friends remark on how it’s changed her. Visible transformation by simply being grateful.

Everything we have comes from the Lord. Every experience we have gone through has come through His permission or volition. Good. Bad. All of it. While noticing and appreciating the good things comes easier, can we thank Him for the hard stuff? The death of someone we love, betrayal, loss of income, cancer, 1000 knives stabbing into our life, used by one skillful surgeon for our good. “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thess. 5:18 All?…Does He really mean all? Yikes.

The gist of the book is that learning to give thanks is showing God love. He shows us love in a million different ways every day. We show Him love when we say simply “thank you.” Gratitude blesses God.

So I’ll keep thanking Him everyday for something…lots of things, like warm beds and sweet oranges, sweet boys and helpful girls, lost jobs and found library books, thunderstorms and sunshine. Thank you Lord for it all.

 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone. I hope you all had a safe New Years Eve. I sure did. Watched the ball drop at home, went to bed at 11:01. Got up again at 3:30 when little Professor woke up. Can’t go back to sleep so I’m blogging in peace and quiet…except for the Charmer who got up at 5:30. What is it with these kids?

So I shared some New Years Resolutions on Facebook, but I thought I would elaborate here. Besides some of you aren’t my Facebook buddies. I’ve been reading Ann Voskamp’s blog “aholyexperience”. Oh my, she feeds my soul. I simply must get her book “A Thousand Gifts”. Such an eloquent writer. Deep. Inspiring.

She’s inspired me to be more grateful, to see everything as a gift from God. So this year I want to thank God for something different every day. I want to focus more on others and less on me. To love others more and complain less. She has a habit of naming her years. “The Year of Yes” “The Year of Now” etc. I’ve decided to name this year “The Year of Looking Up”

The year to look up to the Father when I have a need, to look up in gratitude when He blesses me, to think on the unseen things above not what is seen, and to look up when I “see all these things taking place for your redemption draws nigh.”

I have other things I want to accomplish too. Lose 36 lbs. Declutter my house. Do a better job of sticking to a schedule. But those will only come when my focus is on pleasing the one who made me, not checking off my to do list. Not by working harder, or smarter, but by working holier. Doing it all for the glory of God. God bless us all in this new year with a greater measure of His presence and His grace.