christ be all around me

I heard this song yesterday by All Sons and Daughters for the first time and I can't stop listening to it.

The chorus says, "Above and below me, before and behind me, in every eye that sees me, Christ be all around me." 

I love that. Christ be all around me. That's my prayer daily! Shouldn't that be what we as Christ followers desire? That Christ would be all around us throughout our day?

The verses say: 

"As I rise, strength of God, go before me, lift me up. As I wake, eyes of God, look upon, be my sight.

As I wait, heart of God, satisfy and sustain. As I hear, voice of God, lead me on, be my guide.

As I go, hand of God, my defense, by my side. And as I rest, breath of God, fall upon, bring me peace."

I prayed these words this morning while I was making breakfast for my family. What a way to start the day! 

Strength of God, go before me.

Heart of God, satisfy.

Voice of God, lead me on.

Hand of God, my defense.

Breath of God, bring me peace.

Powerful.

This is so important to pray over our kids, too, isn't it? I want my kids to hear God's voice, to feel his peace, to know that the God goes before them and gives them strength! 

I want others who look at me to see Christ all around me. Especially my children. I am a living example of the Bible for my kids, who don't know how to read His word yet. I am who they see all day long, who they learn from. They learn how to react, how to pray, how to listen, how to speak, how to work hard, how to obey... from me. And without Christ, I'm a pretty poor example for them.

So I pray that Christ is all around me, giving me strength and peace, being my defense and satisfaction, so that I can raise my children in a way that pleases Him. I pray that my children and family and strangers I don't even know see Christ all around me.

eucharisteo

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.