Showing posts with label One Thousand Gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label One Thousand Gifts. Show all posts

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Counting to One Thousand Gifts

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 107:1

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:36

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him." Colossians 1:15

I began this journey to count to One Thousand Gifts, to tune my heart to God's sovereignty in the naming of daily thanks. The difficulty in this journey, is the practice of putting pen to paper...the recording of thanks. Yes, God is good! God is good and He does good in blessings and sufferings, so why do I fail to daily record my thanks? 

No matter how much time has past in writing my thanks, I will continue to press on because I need it. My heart needs it. Who knew that the simplicity of giving thanks would open the eyes of my heart to see and believe that God is good and He does good! 

And so, I press on.

Counting to One Thousand Gifts:

94. playroom
95. baby toys
96. bad day at work
97. for a friend to listen
98. for prayer and tears
99. boy mommas
100. Sarah and new adventures
101. Caleb's slobbery kisses
102. game night with hubby
103. cheating at Uno
104. Psalm
105. tears and prayers
106. a loving husband
107. a God that speaks
108. morning worship
109. a friend's prayer
110. Bryan's lunch time call
111. Elmo
112. Bible study nights
113. women's heart for God
114. a yellow moon that looks like a banana
115. a caring husband
116. girls weekend
117. sorority sistas and lifelong friends
118. gaylord getaway
119.  good seafood
120. remembering college days
121. waterpark fun
122. new keurig for free
123. sick baby
124. baby daddy who helps
125. crockpot dinners
126. cleaning house
127. doing laundry
128. my owl collection
129. holiday weekends
130. visits with family
131. antibiotics
132. Bryan taking care of Caleb
133. sister helping when I'm sick
134. BFF surprise visits
135. Jesus healing
136. Harry Potter and BFF time
137. my boss
138. paid holidays
139. a God who hears our cries
140. an email with good news
141. my sweet baby boy
142. a caring husband that lets me sleep in
143. Bryan doing the morning feeding
144. a canceled work day
145. a good babysitter
146. toll tags
147. finishing work early
148. reading others' 1,000 thanks
149. cuddles with Caleb
150. Bryan
151. naptime
152. nice weather
153. a walk to the pond
154. house alarm
155. Bryan cleaning the house

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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Counting to One Thousand Gifts

I first told you why I was counting to One Thousand Gifts here, because of Ann's beautiful book One Thousand Gifts, given to me by a sweet friend.

"for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need." {Phil. 4:11-13} Yes, Paul says here that he learned how to be content...whether his situation was awful or if life was perfect at the moment. These words use to haunt me. I couldn't relate to Paul even though I desperately wanted to. 

 Each day I try to count, and name my thank yous to God. The "every day" blessings that I've been previously blinded to. Nothing has changed in the Big K life, our situation is still the same, God hasn't answered our prayer from here, but something in my heart has started to change. This daily practicing of naming my blessings and thanks for both the good and the bad has started to lift the scales off my eyes, and is giving me the lenses to see clearly. I'm beginning to be content. Yes Paul, it is something to be learned. My foundation is my walk with God and abiding in His Word, and with the giving thanks and abiding in God...well...it is bringing heart change. 

Thanks Ann, and thanks Kate for that book.

My List Continues to One Thousand Gifts: 
49. chick-fil-a
50. family visits
51. yummy food
52. baby dedication
53. Christian community--great friends
54. hubby taking care of me when sick
55. 1 Samuel and God's Word
56. Ariel throwing up
57. for being sick
58. for magical antibiotics
59. to send a text to my doc for meds
60. for long naps for CK so I can sleep
61. fairytales
62. for having to clean the house
63. friends and fireworks
64. pool days
65. days off work
66. wurprise gaylord staycation
67. beeritas! yum!
68. babysitter (free)
69. tex-mex food
70. waterpark adventures
71. acting like a kid
72. fun in the sun with just Bryan
73. bryan and his romantic weekend
74. movie night outs
75. out of town family visits
76. tx bbq
77. friends and laughs
78. washer machine
79. free stuff from Amazon!
80. crafting time
81. monograms
82. a loving and kind husband
83. my babysitting sista!
84. free Enfamil =)
85. movie with friends
86. watching caleb crawl and pull up for the first time with Bryan
87. Missa
88. 1Samuel
89. free Mi Cocina
90. awkward lunch with doctors
91. more free Enfamil
92. phone conversations
93. working from home



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Thursday, June 21, 2012

{One Thousand Gifts}: giving thanks

It's been 2 weeks since I've started the dare to count to 1,000 gifts. Naming the thank yous to God, thanks to Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts!
Some days it's really easy to name my thanks, and other days...well, it takes work to have my eyes see clearly.
I have started to notice how documenting, both saying thank you out loud and writing it down, has shifted my thoughts. I've turned it into a game of finding the joys in my day, and I can see how many things God does provide, and in turn it brings me happiness in my day.

{to read why I'm giving thanks and more about One Thousand Gifts click here}

Counting to One Thousand Gifts {one week at a time}:

3. For all green lights from 35-to-114! Huge! Ha!
4. Chelsea's sweet note and coupon mailed
5. Caleb's sweet smile 1st thing in the morning
6. snuggles with Caleb
7. naps
8. Bryan seeing that I'm stressed and asking me to do Bible study with him
9. Fun friends
10. the sweet sound of Bob Marley
11. no traffic
12. safe plane ride
13. family time
14. the sound of the ocean in the dark
15. a holiday at the beach
16. a book on the beach
17. great read-The Hunger Games
18. Caleb playing on the sand
19. nap time
20. not having to cook dinner
21. laying out on the beach
22. fun in the ocean waves
23. time to relax
24. watching Caleb play in the pool
25. Family beach vacation
26. my parents and the gift of vacation
27. Caleb sleeping on my lap
28. a safe flight
29. a picture of Caleb while I work from Melissa
30. Melissa loving my baby while I work
31. Bryan's daily calls at lunch
32. Catching Fire--awesome read!
33. God's Word in 1 Samuel
34. sharing our thoughts with Whit and reading When people are big and God is small
35. a bonus for no reason from my boss
36. Bryan's lunch call
37. Caleb's laugh
38. Bible study with friends
39. Mocking Jay-a perfect ending to an excellent series!
40. a pretty goose in the lake
41. for not working full-time
42. PJ days
43. happy playing baby in the morning
44. long naps on a Monday for me
45. playing with Caleb
46. watching Caleb babble to himself
47. God's Word
48. watching Caleb laugh at Ariel


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Thursday, May 31, 2012

{One Thousand Gifts}: the dare begins

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me." {Philippians 4:11-13}

The first time I walked through the book of Philippians was in the Spring of 2010 with my TVC How to Study the Bible group. I immediately penned in my journal this secret Paul revealed and wrote on a stone to add to my collection to battle against the thief...forgetfulness.

 In 4 sentences, Paul had unpacked the secret to life. "I have learned in whatever situation....I can do all things through him who strengthens me." He learned, in all circumstances the secret to joy and contentment is by abiding in God. This was the beginning of my quest to live abiding in God, praying for God to show me what that looked like, and how to walk with Him. 

In April 2011 we walked with God through Genesis. It was there that I fell deeply in love with Joseph's heart, and I prayed the "dangerous" prayer. Joseph explained, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" {Gen. 50:20}, and I responded in prayer "Yes! God give me a heart like Joseph!". And God heard.

I read Spectacular Sins in the Fall of 2011 and I am forever indebted to John Piper for his weighty truths! I shared my heart on Spectacular Sins and how it inspired me to create a "Thankful Tree" for Thanksgiving here.

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him." {Colossians 1:15-16}

 "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him." -John Piper

"...that is, everything exists to display the greatness of Christ. [...] from the greatest saint to the most wicked genocidal dictator--everything that exists, exists to make the greatness of Christ more fully known" -John Piper 

"In the end, everything and everyone serves to magnify the glory of our Savior and increase the gladness of his people in him." John Piper

God used Piper to unpack weighty truths that made the scales fall off my eyes. God is good, in both gifts and suffering. God began to answer my dangerous prayer for Joseph's heart. 

Most recently, I've shared my walk through Numbers and my struggle with waiting on the LORD. 

During this time of "waiting" I've come back to the spiritual truths Piper revealed:

Eight Things to Do with Evil
On the one hand:
1. Expect evil. “Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Pet. 4:12).
2. Endure evil. “Love bears all thing, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7; cf. Mark 13:13).
3. Give thanks for the refining effect of evil that comes against you. “Give thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20; cf. 1 Thess. 5:18). “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance . . .” (Rom. 5:3–5).
4. Hate evil. “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Rom. 12:9).
5. Pray for escape from evil. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13).
6. Expose evil. “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Eph. 5:11).
7. Overcome evil with good. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).
8. Resist evil. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas. 4:7)

And finally, Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts was given to me by a sweet friend last fall, but it was only until now that I finished this daring book. A dare to give thanks, to live thanks, to live fully and full of grace.  

This has been a 2 year journey learning to abide in God, to get more of Him. I have learned that His Word is necessary, to be in it constantly, because it is more essential, more important than bread. "Man shall not live by bread alone,
    but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." {Matt. 4:4 & Deut. 8:3}

And now, I accept Ann's dare to take pen to paper {or blog} to list 1,000 gifts. 1,000 blessing, the good, the ugly, the bad, the happy, the suffering...to learn contentment in all things, to rejoice in all things, to see God's hand in everything. To find joy in Christ alone.
 
This List of Thanks, one thousand gifts, is the active play of Piper's Christian Hedonism {Philippians 1:20-21}.

So here begins my List of Thanks {#1-1,000}, the pursuit of satisfaction in God...for my joy and His glory. 
"You show me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy, in Your right hand are pleasures for evermore." {Psalm 16:11}  
"We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is 'good,' because it is good, if 'bad' because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country."--C.S. Lewis

One Thousand Gifts:
1. For God's grace and love for sanctifying my heart
2. Kate--for the gift of One Thousand Gifts, for her heart, her friendship and blessing
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