One Thousand Gifts...

A few weeks ago, a group of ladies from Queen City Church came together and began to read the book "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp.  This book is so wonderful and full of such beauty.  It is about Ann's journey to finding fullness in life through thanksgiving and joy.  One of the big things that she did that began to unfold her heart was to start making a list of one thousand things that she loved.  She added things like "jam piled high on the toast", "grated cheese curls", etc.  Things that she never really paid a whole lot of attention to, but that she really loved.  By making this list, it made her more aware of the little things and she began to see that all these things were gifts from God to her.  By writing them down, she was acknowledging these gifts and receiving them.

After days of wanting to start the list, I finally began. As I was getting into the car last week, I noticed the most beautiful colored leaf laying on the ground next to my car.  This was definitely inspiration to start writing my list.  I snapped a photo and made my first entry on the list.

#1 - The random placement of the wind blown leaves and the colors that are so magnificent and beautiful.

Since that day, I have been more aware of the things around me that bring me so much joy, and have started seeing them as actual gifts from God to me.  Making an effort to write them down makes it that much more real.  The act of writing it down is me taking a moment to say thank you to God for all these little things in my life that I may have just taken for granted for so many years.


After a few days of keeping a list, I am up to 12.  I am still trying to get into the routine of paying attention and then writing my "loves" down.  I actually began "writing" them, but then someone suggested using my iPhone as that is something I will always have with me.  I really liked that idea, so I began typing a list in the notes section of my phone.  I will then transfer them to a journal over time.  Here are a few more "loves" that I have put down this week.


#6 - Raspberries & Vanilla Frozen Yogurt
#7 - Hot Showers
#8 - Listening to Christmas music in the car (yes, I have started already)
#9 - Hearing TJ say that it is so good to see me after a long day at work
#10 - Receiving unexpected packages in the mail


Has anyone else read this book and started a list?  I would love to hear from you!  If you have not read this book, I would HIGHLY suggest it.  It makes it so much more fun and meaningful to me when I get to talk about it with the other ladies in our bible study too.  


I hope to begin blogging about my list weekly.  I know I have been MIA lately due to a busy work schedule, photo shoots, and editing.  I actually will have a blog post coming soon about a great family trip we took to Damascus, VA.  So, stay tuned....I have a lot to be thankful for. :-)