One Thousand Gifts: Book Review

Ann Voskamp, in her book One Thousand Gifts, takes us through her personal voyage into discovering the path to experiencing the fullness of joy and peace that only God can bring us in our lives.  Having experienced a tragic childhood event that carved grooves of pain deep within her subconscious, it's aftershocks manifesting itself in adolescence and adulthood through the form of nearly deabhilitatiing anxiety and panic attacks, she decides to accept a dare from a friend that would cause her life to change forever. The dare? To write a list of one thousand blessings. One thousand gifts that she discovered through her ordinary moments of life that reveal the love of God and His glory. 

She experiences the power and transformation that goes along with the process of identifying the presence and manifestation of God's glory in the details of life that are often overlooked.

"All I can see, think, is that my whim writing of one thousand gratitudes, the naming of the moments-this is a holy work...Naming is to know a thing's function in the cosmos-to name is to solve mystery. In naming that which is right before me, that which I'd otherwise miss, the invisible becomes visible. The space that spans my inner emptiness fills in the naming. I name. And I know the face I face. God's! God is in the details; God is in the moment. God is in all that blurs by in a life-even hurts in a life."        p. 54

The greatest lesson that Voskamp learns in developing an  awareness of the blessings that abound in life is that of thankfulness-eucharisteo. She comes to the conclusion that the dare of listing one thousand blessings is "language lessons in eucharisteo". "Thanks is what multiplies the joy and makes any life large", Voskamp writes, " Learn how to be thankful-whether empty or full."  Throughout the book she is reminded of a revelation she learns early on, that "eucharisteo precedes the miracle". When we thank God for the things in our life, no matter how antithetical they may seem to be to peace and joy, an amazing thing happens; a miracle. The fruit of peace and joy are born amidst situations and circumstances where it would seem initially impossible to feel anything but darkness.  We can choose joy by first becoming thankful, which in turn, conceives joy.

" While I may not always feel joy, God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving."

           p. 176

Voskamp is not afraid to tackle the deep theological questions that believers can oftentimes wrestle with: the existence of pain and suffering that is so prevalent in the world.  She probes such areas with a delicate grace as she draws out the positive from the pain and misery. She finds the taste of honey that is God's glory amidst the bitterness of life.


Voskamp, being a homeschooling mother of six, certainly appeals to readers who are mothers themselves and seek to find God's voice within the pandemonium and chaos of little feet and hands continually stirring about. Her book, though, is applicable to any reader who has sought to discover the presence and reality of God through life's ordinary moments.


She displays a writing style of her own that is unique and intriguing and often flows in a stream-of-consciousness-type format.  This book is a refreshing read and even if you don't decide to make your own list of "one thousand gifts" you will no doubt finish this book with a greater awareness of the blessings that surround you and a new sense of gratitude for the great love of God.


Any thoughts? I'd love to hear them! Please leave them in the comments section! 

A Dare to Live Fully/Ann Voskamp

I am currently reading a powerfully transforming book by Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, in which she shares the journey that  awakened her to the reality of living fully, moment by moment, in her daily life. It is a brilliant masterpeice where she chronicles the voyage that brings her from darkness to light, from being  enslaved in the bondages of emotional pain and fear from her past to being liberated in the joy and peace that comes through the awareness of the abundant blessings and love of God which saturate the world and are waiting to be discovered.

It all had a simple beginning. A dare from a friend and a scrap of paper and a pen. From that humble start a transformation within her began that would bring her a greater awareness of God's presence and revelation of what it means to live a life full of gratitude and joy.

I introduced this book in a post called "Gratitude's Greatest Gifts", you can read it here:  http://ascendingthehills.blogspot.com/2011/05/gratitudes-greatest-gifts.html

I'd like to share the interview she had with Moira Brown. I hope it inspires many of you to consider reading this great book!

Part 1

Part 2

The complete interview is about eighteen minutes, but well worth the watch! I hope you enjoy!

I'd like to share more of my list from my gratitude journal, and perhaps after watching this interview, or maybe after reading my previous post, "Gratitude's Greatest Gifts", you'll be inspired to take part in the dare yourself...the dare to live fully and find abundant blessings in your everyday moments!

14. sun-kissed waters dancing to last light of day
15. mallard ducks bobbing, diving, gloriously feasting
16. soil, fertile with the promise of life
17. open book, words inviting me
18. picnics outside
19. walks to the grocery store, son chattering, bags heavy and full
20. open window, breeze drifting in, fluttering curtains
21. water from the garden hose sparking in the sun's light, a delicate arch, nourishing petals to root
22. rainbow in the spray from hose, making my son jump and clap
23. sounds of children playing happily together
24. heron gliding over water
25. bike rides with my daughter
26. mug heavy with hot coffee
27. pages of Scripture turning
28. reading together as a family at night
29. laying next to my son while he sleeps, watching his delicate chest rise and fall


What did you think of the interview? What simple blessings have you found in your day or week? Please share in the comments section!

God's Two Languages

"What do all the words written in the world really spell out? I had read it in Job, what makes reading God's message in every moment a form of art, fullest life: God speaks to us not in one language but two: "For God does speak-now one way, now another" (33:14NIV). One way, His finger writing words in stars (Psalm 19:1-3), His eternal power written naked in all creation (Romans 1:20); and now another way, the sharp Holy Writ on the page that makes a careful incision into a life, blade words that kindly cut the tissue back to where soul and spirit join, tenderly laying bare the intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

To read His message in moments, I'll need to read His passion on the page; wear the lens of the Word, to read His writing in the world. Only the Word is the answer to rightly reading the world, because The Word has nail-scarred hands that cup our face close, wipe away the tears running down, has eyes to look deep into our brimming ache, and whisper, "I know. I know. " The passion on the page is a Person, and the lens I wear of the Word is not abstract idea but the eyes of the God-Man who came and knows the pain.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts, p. 86-87

This passage is from Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts. What struck me was the concept of God having two languages and the important fact that to come to a fuller understanding of the language of God through the world one must fully understand, or at least be well on one's way towards understanding,  the Word.

To properly see the world we must have a proper relationship with the Word. When we read Scripture and become more and more familiar with Christ we start to see from a more holy perspective; the Spirit conforming our thoughts and desires more to the thoughts and desires of Christ and less to those of our own false egos. We start to see with a lens that is prescribed by a heavenly doctor, the great physician himself, carefully crafted to bring us, over time, the clarity of a Christ-consciousness.

Here's a verse from scripture that describes the importance and phenomenon of transforming our minds to that of Christ's. To  know Christ, through His Word, leads to a consciousness that is attuned to God when approaching the World and reading it through God's language. 

Romans 12:2

² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

When we know God through His Word, the Spirit of God awakens within us, pumping into the arteries of our hearts the nourishment His Word provides. The life and love of God. When our relationship deepens with Christ, who is the Word incarnate, the ears of our hearts become more sensitive to the gentle whisper of His Spirit found throughout Creation. The gifts and lessons in the natural world are revealed through our deepened connection with God. We are able to decipher between our own ego's desires and our attachments towards illusions and God's Will because we know it in our minds and God renews our hearts into embracing these truths.  After disciplined exposure towards reading both languages, while becoming more and more familiar with the Spirit within us, God's will becomes natural, not a second nature, but our nature...our heart and mind intertwining with God's, becoming more and more one with the author of man and all of Creation.

How beautiful is that?

Any thoughts? Comments? I'd love to hear them! Please leave them in the comments section!

Gratitude's Greatest Gifts

When we show gratitude to God for the gifts he gives us, joy begins to blossom within our hearts, drawing us deeper into richer and more fulfilled living.  Part of the process of recognizing the gifts that abundantly surround us, but all too often go unnoticed, is consciously naming those things which we feel thankful for. Those things that cause us to pause and take a breath, savoring their simple existence. Oftentimes, it's the things found in the simplest moments of the present which bring an internal awareness within us of our loving Creator.

I'm reading a great book right now, One Thousand Gifts. The author, Ann Voskamp took the suggestion from a friend to create a list of one thousand gifts, or one thousand blessings, that she experienced during her daily living. One thousand things that touched her heart in a simple and profound way, ultimately causing her to recognize the beauty and glory of God, producing joy and fulfillment within her heart. During her waking moments when she was struck with simple wonder or awe at something, whether it be the beauty of grated cheese piled high on a country plate before put on top of rising dough to make pizza for her kids, a windmill's droning in the evening breeze or moonlight on pillows, she would note these ordinary moments that produced gratitude within her heart down in a journal that was always within reach. They were all things that brought her a simple Joy and reminder of the loving Father we have and the world filled with glory He created for us to dwell in.



Voskamp shares some insights on gratitude from Albert Schweitzer:

"The greatest thing is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live...He who has penetrated the whole mystery of life; giving thanks for everything."

Voskamp talks a lot about the ancient Greek word eucharisteo, and how within this word three meanings can be found. Charis means grace, Eucharisteo, thanksgiving and Chara, Joy. When we take part in the eucharist (or communion), we break bread and observe God's grace that He gave us through the sacrifice of His only son. Being thankful and the realization of God's grace and love for us produces Joy. Gratitude's greatest gifts are joy and the realization of God's great love for us. How beautiful!

I have written much on the present moment and how transforming it is, but a list like this, I have yet to create, at least to such an extent as I am now attempting. It sounds like something that has a potential to draw one deeper into gratitude's depths and deeper into a more fulfilling life of joy. So, I'm joining my book study group (who I am reading this book with) in trying out this discipline, of recording a thousand blessings...and who knows, maybe I won't stop there! I would love it if you would join me and create your own. Whether you completely contribute and make a list during your day on your own and set your goal (like mine) at one thousand blessings, or after reading my posts regarding Gratitude's Gifts leave a few of the moments that you were thankful for that you remember throughout your day or week, I'd love to have you share your precious moments here as I share mine with you.

So...here's the beginning of my list :)

1. music turned loud while I take a long hot shower
2. fellowship's sweet laughter
3. water running down cliffs lining the trail's edge
4. warm towels right out of the dryer
5. a chorus of birds overhead singing in a new day
6. the river's song as inifinite beginnings of rushing and falling water serenade my soul
7. light filtering through delicate leaves
8. tiny hands clasped in prayer
9. carpets of moss lining the forest floor
10. paint, shiny and wet, thick on my son's hands
11. my daughter reading to me
12. the sun's warm rays penetrating my skin, making me feel alive
13. wind's gentle whisper, causing goosebumps to rise, soul to stir

What are some of the blessings you have discovered today, or in your week? Please share them in the comments section!