Saturday, January 29, 2011

"Wherever you are, be all there"


A friend and I started reading a book "One Thousand gifts" by Ann Voskamp. It's been more life changing that I ever anticipated. The idea of wanting to journal 1,000 things I am thankful for came from this book. Ann is an absolute beautiful writer and in this book she shares her testimony of how the Lord has changed her by teaching her about Grace (Charis), Joy (Chara) and Thankfulness (Eucharisteo).

I read chapter 4, a sanctuary of time, today and pretty much underlined the entire chapter. She quotes a pastor talking about time and how we are always in a rush,

"Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I've ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing...Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away."

It hurts to think of the thousands of beautiful things I have missed so far in life because I'm such in a hurry to get to the next place or not being thankful for the life the Lord has given me. Ann says it beautifully " I have lived the runner, panting ahead in worry, pounding back in regrets, terrified to live in the present, because here-time asks me to do the hardest of all: just open wide and receive."

As Ann continues to write she talks about how now that she is looking for things to be thankful for she begins to start living in the moment, seeing things in the moment and in continuous communication with God. "The clock ticks slow. I hear it for what it is: good and holy. Time, what God first deemed holy above all else (Genesis 2:3)... When I'm present, I meet I AM, the very presence of a present God. In His embrace, time loses all sense of speed and stress and space and stands so still and ...holy." Oh how I want to meet I AM every day, to be in His presence in the present and to dwell in His embrace.

"The real problem of life is never a lack of time.
The real problem of life-in my life- is lack of thanksgiving."

This is my life too! I desire to live a life of gratitude. To not miss out on the littlest gifts and to live life in the present, to be all here one day at a time and to stand arms wide open ready to receive the gifts the Lord gives daily.

Psalm 39:6 "We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing"

check out Ann's blog:


3 comments:

  1. I know!! So thankful for her! thx for reading :0)

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  2. i am about to read this book. hopefully we can talk about it some!

    ReplyDelete