I haven't typed my gifts for the last three days (including today)! But I've been keeping a list...so let's dig in!
Gifts 36 - 40
36. The Grammy's. They were quite entertaining. Especially Bruno Mars!
37. Friends who have perspectives in life that I don't have and who help me learn and grow.
38. Real Italian spaghetti and meatballs
39. The warmth and relaxation of a shower
40. My husband's gift of connecting with kids/youth. He's so gifted and it's a joy to witness it.
Gifts 41 - 45
41. Meeting pastors at other churches and trying to bridge the gap with the Church.
42. "The only thing we all have the same is time. What distinguishes us is what we do with it." - quote I heard at the Christian Ministries annual dinner.
43. Technologically advanced individuals who help fix problems when I'd have no idea where to start.
44. The beauty of a snowflake.
45. Praising God to worship music with my husband in the car. Love the connection He gives us.
Gifts 46 - 50
46. BOGO at Qdoba.
47. The love that people exude and extend to others on Valentine's Day.
48. Laura Gill's encouragement to continue working out.
49. Jill Cooper's beauty. It's so wonderful to see her physical beauty, but that her soul is even more beautiful is what makes me thankful.
50. Discernment
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Gifts: 26-35
I'm sitting on my couch on a Saturday with no evening plans and waiting for Adam to wake up from a nap. I had both a good and frustrating morning and have found some difficulty in pushing through with this day's thanksgivings. It's evident when things get harder, it is easier to choose sorrow, pity, etc. I love this excerpt from "One Thousand Gifts"
"This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on and have faith in His Messenger]" John 6:29 AMP -That is my daily work, the work God asks of me? To trust. And trust is that: work.
The work of trusting love. Intentional and focused. Stress and anxiety seem easier. Easier to let a mind run wild with worry than to exercise discipline... Are stress and worry evidences of a soul too lazy, too undisciplined, to keep fixed on God. To stay in love."
Ah. I believe and know that my faithfulness to God is dependent upon me and no other. But this discipline to trust. That's hard. Undisciplined. Ouch. I needed that. I can't blame my lack of trust on anyone but myself. And the exercise of that discipline was used today. Let's say I have some work to do still...
Onto my gifts of gratitude.
26 - 30
26. A job where I am needed and also appreciated
27. The differences between others and myself. (while sometimes hard, I am reminded of the beauty of creation)
28. A moment, in the middle of my work day, for solitude and silence
29. Sushi Mmmmmm
30. The ability to exercise - health and an able body.
31 - 35
31. Sweaters that make my dogs look ridiculously adorable!
32. The city of Muncie's generosity to support the Muncie Mission's Walk a Mile in My Shoes (nearly 1000 walkers!)
33. The means where I can get my hair done and have a little pampering.
34. The challenging people in my life. (once again, this is tough, but I know God is calling me to love deeper than I think I can. Those challenging people in my life give me opportunities to love more deeply.)
35. The grace and love showered on my friend when she found out she wasn't pregnant today. Praise Him for providing her with the exact husband she needs to get through challenging times.
"This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on and have faith in His Messenger]" John 6:29 AMP -That is my daily work, the work God asks of me? To trust. And trust is that: work.
The work of trusting love. Intentional and focused. Stress and anxiety seem easier. Easier to let a mind run wild with worry than to exercise discipline... Are stress and worry evidences of a soul too lazy, too undisciplined, to keep fixed on God. To stay in love."
Ah. I believe and know that my faithfulness to God is dependent upon me and no other. But this discipline to trust. That's hard. Undisciplined. Ouch. I needed that. I can't blame my lack of trust on anyone but myself. And the exercise of that discipline was used today. Let's say I have some work to do still...
Onto my gifts of gratitude.
26 - 30
26. A job where I am needed and also appreciated
27. The differences between others and myself. (while sometimes hard, I am reminded of the beauty of creation)
28. A moment, in the middle of my work day, for solitude and silence
29. Sushi Mmmmmm
30. The ability to exercise - health and an able body.
31 - 35
31. Sweaters that make my dogs look ridiculously adorable!
32. The city of Muncie's generosity to support the Muncie Mission's Walk a Mile in My Shoes (nearly 1000 walkers!)
33. The means where I can get my hair done and have a little pampering.
34. The challenging people in my life. (once again, this is tough, but I know God is calling me to love deeper than I think I can. Those challenging people in my life give me opportunities to love more deeply.)
35. The grace and love showered on my friend when she found out she wasn't pregnant today. Praise Him for providing her with the exact husband she needs to get through challenging times.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Gifts: 16-25
Naming gifts and blessings shouldn't be too hard, right?
It's not, really. But it is getting harder to make it a priority to think about. The first two days, I was excited about my goal of 1,000 gifts. But, the newness has now worn off (after just two days? Yes.).
What do they say about habits? It takes doing something for 30 days for it to become a habit? Oh boy... Thankfully, I have this blog as a constant reminder of my commitment to identifying 1,000 gifts. :)
16 - 20
16. Homemade pizza. Mmmmmm!! (Thanks Aly!)
17. Friends who are willing to have honest and open conversation.
18. A fun work training I had yesterday - love getting to know other people who work for the bank, but with whom I rarely work.
19. The knowledge about opportunities to help friends save a little money.
20. One of my best friends who is getting married.
21 - 25
21. An evening when neither Adam nor I have any meetings or requirements after work - No Plans Tonight!!
22. Starting the day off in prayer with the staff at the Muncie Mission. (What a blessing they are!)
23. Sharpie Pens - Love the colors, love how they write...
24. My church family who has responded wonderfully and will represent 40 of the over 900 walkers in the Walk a Mile in My Shoes.
25. My sister-in-law Michelle. She's being such a blessing to the people in her church family and I'm grateful that she's found a place to flourish and grow in community with Christ and others.
It's not, really. But it is getting harder to make it a priority to think about. The first two days, I was excited about my goal of 1,000 gifts. But, the newness has now worn off (after just two days? Yes.).
What do they say about habits? It takes doing something for 30 days for it to become a habit? Oh boy... Thankfully, I have this blog as a constant reminder of my commitment to identifying 1,000 gifts. :)
16 - 20
16. Homemade pizza. Mmmmmm!! (Thanks Aly!)
17. Friends who are willing to have honest and open conversation.
18. A fun work training I had yesterday - love getting to know other people who work for the bank, but with whom I rarely work.
19. The knowledge about opportunities to help friends save a little money.
20. One of my best friends who is getting married.
21 - 25
21. An evening when neither Adam nor I have any meetings or requirements after work - No Plans Tonight!!
22. Starting the day off in prayer with the staff at the Muncie Mission. (What a blessing they are!)
23. Sharpie Pens - Love the colors, love how they write...
24. My church family who has responded wonderfully and will represent 40 of the over 900 walkers in the Walk a Mile in My Shoes.
25. My sister-in-law Michelle. She's being such a blessing to the people in her church family and I'm grateful that she's found a place to flourish and grow in community with Christ and others.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Gifts: 11-15
It's funny how when you're looking for the blessings (big and small) in your life how certain ones are recurring. I'm sure there will be frequent blessings in relation to all the love surrounding me (God, Family, Pups, Friends) but I will try to remain specific and try to prevent duplication. I can't remember what I did a week ago let alone trying to remember if I acknowledged something at 73 or 638.
I digress.
11 through 15...here you go:
11. The daily kiss goodbye when my husband leaves for work.
12. When you're at a four-way stop with other two other cars and all three of you are signaling to each other to go ahead. It's nice that no one was in a rush enough that they couldn't let someone go ahead of them.
13. Grooveshark - for my days when I need kick-butt music and for my days when I need soothing music.
14. Motivation to workout.
15. My health - I'm constantly reminded by the fragility of our immune systems and the illnesses all around. I'm thankful to be feeling well.
I digress.
11 through 15...here you go:
11. The daily kiss goodbye when my husband leaves for work.
12. When you're at a four-way stop with other two other cars and all three of you are signaling to each other to go ahead. It's nice that no one was in a rush enough that they couldn't let someone go ahead of them.
13. Grooveshark - for my days when I need kick-butt music and for my days when I need soothing music.
14. Motivation to workout.
15. My health - I'm constantly reminded by the fragility of our immune systems and the illnesses all around. I'm thankful to be feeling well.
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Start of 1,000
As you are aware, I'm reading a book called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.
So far it's an extremely challenging, convicting, inspiring and motivational book. My friend, with whom I'm reading this book, and I decided it was time to start our list of 1,000 gifts. One thousand seems overwhelming...not going to lie. BUT it's an important process, especially if we're going to put this book into practice in our lives.
So, we're starting with 35 for the week. Looking for at least five blessings, reasons to be thankful, etc per day.
Mine will be on this blog.
(This is not a disclaimer, but if you read this book you will find that the writer seeks all blessings...big or small. Therefore, if we are noticing the small, maybe everyday blessings in our life, then we will have an attitude to gratefulness toward God and the people around us. We will be more aware of the miracles around us, thus helping us not to miss the big things God's doing. That heart of thankfulness helps us to keep life in the appropriate perspective. That thankfulness helps us to find joy in life as we notice all the good surrounding us.)
So let's start this list of 1,000 Gifts:
1. Sunday naps
2. Husband's hands running through my hair
3. Warm chocolate chip cookies
4. Powerful worship music
5. A car that gets me from point A to point B.
That was my list from yesterday. Monday's list is below:
6. Blond Roast from Starbucks with Peppermint Mocha creamer
7. The overwhelming adorableness (that's a word, right?) of Beans snuggled in his crate on a pillow my sister-in-law made him.
8. A boss who is kind, loving, and fun to be around.
9. A coworker who took the courage to ask us about refinancing our mortgage. In doing so, we're saving $103,000 over the life of our loan and cutting 10 years off our mortgage.
10. Doctors who are near my parents house so when I have an appointment, my parents can meet me for dinner.
So far it's an extremely challenging, convicting, inspiring and motivational book. My friend, with whom I'm reading this book, and I decided it was time to start our list of 1,000 gifts. One thousand seems overwhelming...not going to lie. BUT it's an important process, especially if we're going to put this book into practice in our lives.
So, we're starting with 35 for the week. Looking for at least five blessings, reasons to be thankful, etc per day.
Mine will be on this blog.
(This is not a disclaimer, but if you read this book you will find that the writer seeks all blessings...big or small. Therefore, if we are noticing the small, maybe everyday blessings in our life, then we will have an attitude to gratefulness toward God and the people around us. We will be more aware of the miracles around us, thus helping us not to miss the big things God's doing. That heart of thankfulness helps us to keep life in the appropriate perspective. That thankfulness helps us to find joy in life as we notice all the good surrounding us.)
So let's start this list of 1,000 Gifts:
1. Sunday naps
2. Husband's hands running through my hair
3. Warm chocolate chip cookies
4. Powerful worship music
5. A car that gets me from point A to point B.
That was my list from yesterday. Monday's list is below:
6. Blond Roast from Starbucks with Peppermint Mocha creamer
7. The overwhelming adorableness (that's a word, right?) of Beans snuggled in his crate on a pillow my sister-in-law made him.
8. A boss who is kind, loving, and fun to be around.
9. A coworker who took the courage to ask us about refinancing our mortgage. In doing so, we're saving $103,000 over the life of our loan and cutting 10 years off our mortgage.
10. Doctors who are near my parents house so when I have an appointment, my parents can meet me for dinner.
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