Right at the beginning of the new year, I read the book "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. If you haven't read this, stop what you're doing and order it. This book has changed the way I live day to day.
The jist of the book is the importance of expressing gratitude to God in everything. Ann Voskamp emphasizes over and over that "thanksgiving precedes the miracle" and she uses several different verses from the Bible to validate this point.
She talks about the importance of writing down what we are thankful for rather than just thinking it, because just this act can make us a more joyful person. I don't know about you but I definitely want to be more joyful!
Ann tells stories in the book from her childhood, and tells her journey towards eucharisteo which is basically a Greek word for "thanksgiving", although Ann breaks the word down more than that. Her friend challenged her to write down 1,000 gifts in a journal - 1,000 different, simple, every day things that she was grateful for; gifts God has given her.
This book is truly eye opening to the power of gratitude in one's life and the impact it can make on your attitudes and actions and reactions. The way Ann writes is so beautiful and poetic that I didn't want to put the book down.
Immediately after finishing this book, I started my own journal of 1,000 gifts. I have also made eucharisteo my "word of the year" for 2016 - something I want to strive for and ponder on every day.
I'm only a month into creating my list, but here are some of my 1,000 gifts:
Number 15: free lattes, venti
Number 19: sunrise peeking over snowy roofs
Number 20: at home gel manicures
Number 34: a husband who shovels in early cold
Number 52: fresh baked banana muffins
Number 61: bible journaling
I hope to reach 1,000 by the end of the year. Why don't you join me? I think you'll be glad you did.
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