one thousand gifts

I've just finished one thousand gifts by Ann Voskamp.  The subtitle is "A Dare to LIVE FULLY Right Where You Are."  I love(d) it.  Hers is a heart like mine.  A heart that longs for peace in the present and joy in the everyday.  I want to live free and fully myself, so I pretty much resonated with the entire book.  I am convicted and convinced by the whole concept.  This eucharisteo - a life of gratitude, grace and joy - of which she speaks is surely where a life of fullness and freedom begins.

Voskamp articulated what I have long believed to be true:  sometimes, most of the time, we must fight for joy.  And what better avenue than gratitude?  I'll share more thoughts and quotes as I unpack and put into practice what I have read.  For now, let me just encourage you to find a notebook and start writing down the little mercies that come your way everyday.  This is where it began for Voskamp, in a "dare" by a friend to write down one thousand gifts in her life.

DISCLAIMER:  The Wesleyan in me feels obligated to say that I really struggled with Voskamp's theology of death.  Frankly, I disagree with her perspective on death and God's will completely.  At least what I gleaned from first reading, anyway.  But I resonated enough with the whole concept to continue the read and hope that you will, too.  I just felt I should disclaim that part of it all, as she hints at it at points throughout the book.  I commend to you Adam Hamilton's book Why? for a Wesleyan perspective on God's will and the problem of pain.  It is a wonderful book by a remarkable man who is changing revitalizing the United Methodist Church.