Here it is another Monday, another beginning and here I am again, fingers moving over the worn keys punching words into empty space, calling into shape the thoughts that slide over one another and some days laugh at the idea of being captured, tamed, written into being.
There is something beautiful happening over here, at Ann’s quiet corner. Ann’s offering of 1000 gifts, the counting of blessings, the Gratitude Community has shaped itself into a book, all this beauty and all suffering, the breathtaking and the ugly, the sweet and bitter and the wholeness of it all that together form an overwhelming offering to really Live, to appreciate each moment as the gift it is, to unwrap it with eager anticipation, with the understanding that this gift is given by the One who knows us best, who loves us most.
I can’t wait to read it. Ann’s words are poetry whispered breathlessly into your ear, and I cannot think of anyone whose words I’d rather hold in my hand, unfold with the turning of each page.
And the Gifts? I have been changed by the counting. I’ve seen my days slow and the hours count, I’ve felt my vision sharpen, I’ve learned how to pull myself up when the daily overwhelms, I’ve learned to appreciate the fact that what seems like the mundane routine of daily parenting is actually water that feeds the blossoming future, I’ve found that I’m thankful for some things I didn’t think I ever would be, I’ve found the beauty in the broken and I’ve learned to appreciate and live in the exquisite, the piercingly-beautiful moment of the everyday now.
I am just slightly over halfway finished counting and recording 1000 gifts here. In my heart, countless more have been unwrapped, appreciated, written on my heart. Have you started counting? Have you let gratitude change you?
Thank you, Ann, for sharing your gifts and inspiring so many to count theirs!
A recap of Gratitude posts that share how counting these gifts has changed my heart….
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Thank you for sharing, especially your paragraph that begins: “And the Gifts?….” It has moved me this morning and I am grateful for something new today.
Caring through Christ, ~ linda
I’ve been counting – but forgotten in the last few weeks of trial that there is gratefulness to be had even there. So I stopped. You have reminded me to begin again. #517 – beauty in the broken – right? Thank you.
God Bless and Keep you and all of yours in this year of “servitude”
oooops I’m an idiot – your year isn’t servitude – ugh – really sorry – really sorry – but the good news is up until today I was praying for your year of living his will – servitude is close – right?
Right, you are. There *is* something very special about Ann’s corner. …
And right here, too. YOU have a special thing going on here. God has given you a grateful, grace-filled heart. Yes, gratitude transforms. Let’s keep counting, shall we?
Craig, yes…Servitude! It was a tossup, actually, between that and living His will and they are one in the same in many ways. Sorry to hear that you’ve had a hard week…prayers said for you, and yes! Do begin again!
Linda…grateful for you, too. Thank you!
Jennifer, I’m thankful for your special corner of the internet, too! And let’s do. Keep counting. It’s a blessing, and even more so when it’s shared!
Hey, I just came across your blog by doing a bit of blog-surfing, and I’m glad I did! I’ve added myself as your newest follower, and I hope you’ll check out my Christian devotional site as well: http://www.nocondemnation81.blogspot.com
Have a blessed day!
In Christ,
Dakota
love the pictures!