One Thousand Gifts

The other day I happened upon my list of things to be grateful for.  I had a total of four, and as of yesterday I'm up to six.  "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp elaborates on this premise.  She's written many greeting cards you've probably purchased at Hallmark, but what I appreciated most in "One Thousand Gifts" was the details of her pain and healing from losing a sibling while she was a child.  Below are a few of my favorite quotes from the book (and one of the highlights is the beautiful cover - GREAT work there!) My goal is to keep praising and being thankful in the midst of struggle. I know dwelling on them and stuffing them inside only makes things worse - but when I pray and seek the Lord, He's going to help me. There's a clear message in scripture not to complain but to pray.  If I can continue to make progress towards that holy attribute, I will continue to experience peace in a greater way.

God extravagantly pays back everything we give away and exactly in the currency that is not of this world but the one we jearn for: Joy in Him. Ann Voskamp “One Thousand Gifts”

The highest form of prayer is to the goodness of God. God only desires that our soul cling to him with all its strength, in particular, that it clings to his goodness. For of all the things our minds can think about God, it is thinking upon his goodness that pleases him most and brings the most profit to our souls. Julian of Norwich

You would be very ashamed if you knew what the experiences you call setbacks, upheavals, pointless disturbances, and tedious annoyances really are. You would realize that your complaints about them are nothing more nor less than blasphemies – though that never occurs to you. Nothing happens to you except by the will of God, and yet God's beloved children curse it because they do not know what it is. Caussade

I used to think that God's gifts were on the shelves one above the other, and that the aller we grew in Christian character the easier we should reach them. I find now that God's gifts are on shelves one beneath the other, and that it's not a question of growing taller but of stooping lower, and that we have to go down, always down, to get His best gifts. F.B. Meyer

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