"It’s when you count blessings — you see Who can be counted on.
It’s when you count the ways He loves, that your life multiplies joy.
It’s a life that counts blessings — that discovers it’s yielding more than it seems. The secret to joy — is to keep seeking God where you doubt He is.” -excerpt from One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp
It’s when you count the ways He loves, that your life multiplies joy.
It’s a life that counts blessings — that discovers it’s yielding more than it seems. The secret to joy — is to keep seeking God where you doubt He is.” -excerpt from One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp
God is everywhere--in every rock, every blade of grass, every leaf being tossed by the wind.
His gifts are scattered around for me to see, but sometimes I'm stubborn and don't want to see. I don't want to count or recognize or thank. I want to ignore and complain and fret.
God commanded the Israelites to tell without ceasing throughout the generations the story of their deliverance to keep from forgetting the wonderful and mighty works He had done on their behalf.
The question I asked recently regarding myself was, "Holly, how often do you call to mind the wonderful works, deliverance, and discipline God has provided on your behalf?"
Umm....ahem. Not very often.
Definitely not without ceasing.
I have steadily journaled since I was nine years old. I was organizing my hope chest recently and came across a stack of journals spanning 16 years. To clarify, my hope chest doesn't contain the usual fine china dishes and pre-marriage, waiting-on-a-house stuff one reads about in books; rather it contains my marble and rock collection, a deerskin purse from Alaska given to me by my grandparents, letters from family and friends, the cast from when I broke my arm at the age of 11, an embroidered cloth from Romania, some of Grannie's costume jewelry, my prized plastic frog and lizard collection from childhood, my great-grandmother's nice silverware, and the time capsule my friends and I made in high school 10 years ago, due to be opened in five years.
According to the journal with the puppy on the cover, the nine-year-old me wrote a lot with brightly colored gel pens about school, Beanie Babies, and slumber parties. Yes, Beanie Babies. What can I say? I was a child of the 90s and early 2000s.
The preteen wrote about violin lessons, a new puppy, and disappointment.
The teenager wrote about 9/11, confusion, family vacations, anxiety, and the deaths of two great-grandmothers.
The college student wrote about big dreams, new friendships, classes, Romania, and uncertainty.
The adult writes about new careers, travel, decisions, financial difficulties, and embracing joy in the midst of both monotony and chaos.
There's nothing quite like handwritten personal history to adjust a person's attitude and see God at work in retrospect. Those journals are my continuing story of deliverance. I will read them to remember His mighty and wonderful works--the times He made me be still and the times He let me run; the times His answer was clear and the times when He was silent, forcing my anxious heart to trust and take courage; and the times He allowed me to suffer in the refiner's fire and the times He relieved.
God is everywhere. I'm the one who must be willing to see and remember.
-1,000 Gifts, continued-
91. Hydrangea bushes
92. The two months I spent with orphans in Romania. It was the deepest peace my normally restless, uncertain heart had ever experienced. No other experience in life has come close.
93. River rocks, worn smooth by water and time
94. Bright green tree frogs
95. Icicles
96. College-ruled notebook paper
97. Interesting stamps
98. Rain on a tin roof
99. Making snow angels in the yard
100. Rocking chairs
101. Festive wrapping paper
102. Lunch in a brown paper sack
103. Willow trees
104. Good childhood memories
105. Roller skating
106. Caramel apples
107. Fresh green beans
108. Interacting with sea creatures (petting sharks and feeding sting rays)
109. The sound of bells---doesn't matter what type. Cow bells, sleigh bells, church bells--I love them all!
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| 110. A lone tree in the middle of a field |
111. Copper cookie cutters
112. Oversized knitted sweaters
113. Homemade shortbread with a cup of P.G. Tips tea
114. A fresh coat of paint
115. Snapping peas on the porch with Grandma
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