I'm in the middle of reading 1000 Gifts, a book I've been told to read by so many people. It. is. wonderful.
Really.
God is speaking to my heart as I turn the pages, and I am grateful.
She calls it a thousand gifts. I'm calling it here "The Thankful Game". You know, there can be joy in anything....the good, easy things, of course. But also the painful, challenging things. How will I choose to give thanks during this advent season?
I mean, the truth is that on any given day, there are about a bizillion things for which to thank God.
Maybe even more than a bizillion.
In any given day, I can choose to look to the heavens, taking my circumstances and turning them into joy, or I can complain, whine, and walk around in defeat.
She is challenging me, that Ann Voskamp person! What she says resonates because she is putting into words the meditations of my heart over these last several years and then forcing me to go a step further.
I've definitely been missing the further.
The Thankful Game begins for me with a list of things remembered from this weekend alone. I will start the timer for 5 minutes and type. And..............go!
-time for reunioning with kids from India
-sitting around the dining room table with my family telling stories
-a brother and nephews to joke around with, even when I'm irritated with them
-my sister and her intentionality toward my son
-time with my mom and my sister, just the three of us
-the fact that my dad is still with us over two years after we almost lost him
-kids who are good travelers
-Chick-fil-A
-coke in a styrofoam cup....yum
-Skype for crossing oceans with a ring-ring
-laughter with Hoffbeast and the kids
-whining for pretend...just to prove a point...and laughing about it as we understood
-beautiful photographs that make me remember...
-difficult conversations that make you think
-watching my boys run around the block while my dad walked
-my mama's pumpkin pie
-advent calendars from Aunt Jill
And the list literally goes on. I'm stopping myself at the 5-minute mark, but my head and my heart keep going....and isn't that part of the point? That as I stop and look, I actually can see?
Give me eyes to see You during this Christmas season, Lord.
Really.
God is speaking to my heart as I turn the pages, and I am grateful.
She calls it a thousand gifts. I'm calling it here "The Thankful Game". You know, there can be joy in anything....the good, easy things, of course. But also the painful, challenging things. How will I choose to give thanks during this advent season?
I mean, the truth is that on any given day, there are about a bizillion things for which to thank God.
Maybe even more than a bizillion.
In any given day, I can choose to look to the heavens, taking my circumstances and turning them into joy, or I can complain, whine, and walk around in defeat.
She is challenging me, that Ann Voskamp person! What she says resonates because she is putting into words the meditations of my heart over these last several years and then forcing me to go a step further.
I've definitely been missing the further.
The Thankful Game begins for me with a list of things remembered from this weekend alone. I will start the timer for 5 minutes and type. And..............go!
-time for reunioning with kids from India
-sitting around the dining room table with my family telling stories
-a brother and nephews to joke around with, even when I'm irritated with them
-my sister and her intentionality toward my son
-time with my mom and my sister, just the three of us
-the fact that my dad is still with us over two years after we almost lost him
-kids who are good travelers
-Chick-fil-A
-coke in a styrofoam cup....yum
-Skype for crossing oceans with a ring-ring
-laughter with Hoffbeast and the kids
-whining for pretend...just to prove a point...and laughing about it as we understood
-beautiful photographs that make me remember...
-difficult conversations that make you think
-watching my boys run around the block while my dad walked
-my mama's pumpkin pie
-advent calendars from Aunt Jill
And the list literally goes on. I'm stopping myself at the 5-minute mark, but my head and my heart keep going....and isn't that part of the point? That as I stop and look, I actually can see?
Give me eyes to see You during this Christmas season, Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment