Eucharisteo -- thanksgiving -- always proceeds the miracle
-Ann Voskamp
It's in giving thanks that we allow him to take our not enoughs and multiply them into his more than enoughs. He is, after all, the God that took a snack sack of fish and bread and multiplied them to feed thousands plus leftovers. (Matt. 15: 26-28) He is a God who lavishes us everyday with gifts, pleasures that often go unnoticed.
I am ungrateful. It is often too easy for me to focus on the have nots rather than the haves. Complain instead of praise. I took the love dare challenge found in Ann Voskamps One Thousand Gifts and I am writing 1000 things that I am grateful for. They are heart hugs, those things that change the trajectory of my lips. With Sharpie and paper I began writing my list on July 20, 2012:
- holding a strong hand in prayer
- cool night breezes
- the smell of fresh, clean laundry
As the days and weeks advanced my eyes wandered to these bits of beauty that surround me every day. Love notes delivered straight from my Abba:
48. dew on blades of grass
49. little white flowers sprinkled in grassy field
50. doves cooing in trees
51. tears of joy
52. new friends
Before I knew it I had written 100 gifts and then 150:
154. waking up to a hoot owl
155. crunching, spinning through fallen orange, yellow leaves
156. standing in the gap for a sweet friend
157. coffee with the "just right" amount of cream
158. fresh blanket of snow
As I now round the corner to 300 gifts I am reminded to keep going, always looking, always giving him praise. I started this gratitude journal with the goal of writing 1000 gifts but hope that I never stop looking and writing gifts, remembering that thanksgiving is a choice.
290. morning moon
291. ice crystals on glass
292. ..
Will you take the joy dare? Can you write 1000 things you are grateful for?
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