1000 Gifts

Which is totally stolen from A Holy Experience blog. And if you have never read anything by Ann Voskamp, I encourage you to do so. I consider her way more "spiritual" then me, so it is sometimes hard for me to read and understand what she writes. But others say it is just her writing style, which can be somewhat "difficult" to comprehend.

Anyway, she has had a number of struggles in her life and has written a book called One Thousand Gifts. I will be honest, I have not read it. Yet. But, I know many people who have. And I had dinner with one such person about a month ago. She told me that the book got its beginning (if I understood correctly) because she, Ann Voskamp, was struggling with life and decided decided to find out if she could come up with 1000 things she was thankful for. And a book came out of it. (Obviously very general sketch here.)

The woman I was talking with said that she started a similar list in her own home. She placed it somewhere where she could see it daily. And she keeps adding to it, as thankful things come along. And then, if she is having a hard day, she looks at the list and it helps to remind her of things she is thankful for.

I loved, loved, loved the idea. So I stole, stole, stole the idea. I am not a thankful person by nature. What I mean is, I have to remind myself to give thanks. Constantly. And I usually forget. (Although, when I do stop to think about it, it is not very hard for me to find things to be thankful for.)

So, I took some of my pretty cardmaking paper and some stamps and made a 1000 Gifts list and hung it on the side of our pantry, in the kitchen. And, as I think of things to be thankful for or if something happens that makes me smile, I add it to the list.

Some of the things I have added, that I am thankful for are: the Cross, the faith my hubby has in me, books, EG in pigtails, and the big girls dancing. When I start feeling grumpy, I try to remember to look at the list and something on there will usually change my thought process. Or, at least make me smile.

Just recently I received an email from a blog called Proverbs 31. The post was about how our thoughts have wheels. My thoughts take me somewhere. I need to be careful what I think about because those thoughts will either take me to a good place or a bad place. Which usually causes me to act/react in certain ways.

I can see this sooooo prevalently in my life. If something gets me down or annoys me, my actions follow suit real quick. But it is hard to control what rolls around in my brain. Especially when something annoys me! But I hate, hate, hate how something that is stuck in my brain can make me react in an unfavorable way to the life that is going on around me.

As with many things in life, it is all about choice. Some choices are easier to make then others. I know that if I just choose to be thankful, my attitude will change. God says in the bible "a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance." And the list is a way to help me to choose to have a merry heart.

I don't know if I will make it to 1000 anytime soon. But, when I look up at my beginning list, I can't help but have just a little change of heart . . .