In all things

61. The washing of the Word.

This week has been a series of lessons in hard gratitude.
Not fun.
I have been snappy and grumpy; quick-tempered and emotional.

Give me eyes to see, Lord. Help me to be thankful!

"I can always give thanks because an all-powerful God always has all these things-all things-always-under control." -Ann Voskamp

When I look back on these last seven days there was so many gifts that I did not recognize. So many that I didn't breathe thanks for.

I am grateful to God who IS changing me. Making me more like the risen Savior. Thankful. Slowly but surely...SURELY.

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

 More gifts...

62. Roommate bed routines.

63. Bearing with one another and forgiving each other just as God in Christ Jesus forgave.

65. You are good. Even in tragedy, judgment, and famine. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

67. Divine Romance.

71. Kids running free at recess.

Slow down and dig deep

59.Corn towering ten-feet tall!
On this journey I have already figured out there are some gifts you just can't quite capture on film (or digital sensors :)Like looking up from a hay ride to see starts shining brightly overhead or the warmth of scarf and gloves on a brisk fall night. These moments its best to put the camera down and open eyes wide.It's not enough for me to simply name these gifts and move on. I must stop. observe. mull over whats happening and how I see God in it.Then I can give proper thanks.

55. How He loves!


57. Washer humming, busy at work. 


44. Last rays of summer warming my back. 

40. Knowing that how You  feel about me doesn't change based on how I feel about our relationship.

Re-Gifting

Just to catch you up on a few of the gifts I've recorded thus far...

1. Grace to start again.
7. Understanding that who I am is more important than who I appear to be.
12. The gentle affection of a man who has been changed by Christ.
18. Dirty dishes and a full belly.
21. Heart-felt conversation and prayer with an encouraging friend.
23. A painted sunset.
52. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23). 

"Recording gifts to reform. I pick up a pen and write of the God-gifts, all these things I had blithely and blindly brushed past before." Ann Voskamp

Hello!

                                         
53. Fall flowers from my Sweetie :)

Eyes wide and heart alive. I long to see God, with unveiled eyes, in the everyday, mundane, and ordinary. I want to fully live! I have stumbled through life like a blind traveler. Apathetic toward the God-Man. Trapped; living in response to my circumstances rather than looking above. There were no thanks; just pleas for more. What was left was a miserable, uncontent young woman.  But God (oh, how I love the “but God’s”), gracious as He is, not willing that I die after living a wasted life, is awakening my heart to the full life. A life lived fully alive in the presence of the Almighty. Slowly, painfully, joyfully I am learning to live a life of gratitude by seeing His gifts. God has used a book, One Thousand Gifts, to start the process.  It is written by Ann Voskamp, who records her own journey to waking up to the blessings of God in her own life by naming one thousand gifts in a little journal that she carries with her through cooking, chores, and wrangling  6 kids. This book is poetic. Beautiful. Truth. She very practically shows you what it looks like to live eucharisteo. “Giving thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). This blog is a way for me to practically live this out, recording gifts, for the Glory of God and my joy!  I will weekly post a few of the gifts I recorded through photos, stories, maybe a video or two.