One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

My dad got a Kindle this fall and when I told him that there was a book I was wanting to read that was only available electronically, he immediately bought it for me on to read on his Kindle.

When the Christmas crazy became overwhelming I would sneak away and devour a few pages of One Thousand Gifts.

Reading this book is confirming what I already know in my heart to be true,

Gratitude is the antidote to discontentment.

I make a sporadic discipline of making lists of those things for which I can be thankful.

I have reminders on my wall to be grateful, today.

 

Some days it is easy to be thankful.

Some days I have to look a little harder.

But finding something today that I can thank God for shifts my perspective.

In One Thousand Gifts, Ann tells the story of her decision to number all the way to 1000 in listing her gratitude.

It is a beautiful story.  Her life is marked with the kinds of suffering I cannot bear to even imagine.

But the way out of a darkness that threatens to consume her is through these daily, humble offerings of thanksgiving.

Newly inspired to make these lists of my own, I found a gifted journal that I am beginning to fill.

Right now, after the lavish outpouring of blessing that is Christmas, it is easy to mark the gifts.

As the year closes though and the days of January stretch out ahead, I want to take the time to relish each gift.

To ponder in my heart, like Mary, all the treasures of this season.

A few things from my list:

The three youngest cousins playing together, and a sweet aunt who knows how to calm them down.

My parents’ fireplace, always warm.

Nine cups with names marked in masking tape, to use and use and use again.

Buying all the gifts on my kids World Vision list with Cupcake Money.

Hearing my Grandmother share her heart about her friend, Grace.

The kids delighting in some Star Wars pancakes, from molds gifted to us by sweet friends.

What gifts will you remember from this holiday season?