One Thousand Gifts

For Christmas I received a book titled "One Thousand Gifts: Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are" by Ann Voskamp. I thought this was particularly appropriate since the NewSpring Church preaching series for the month of December was titled "Fully Alive".

My intention is not to write a synopsis or a review of the book but to start my list of one thousand gifts. Ann had struggled with unresolved grief since her little sister was hit and killed by a truck when they young. As she studied scripture she saw how thankfulness was tied into salvation and blessings so she started a list - on a dare - to name 1000 gifts from God for which she was thankful.

These will not to be the ordinary family, friends, health, etc gifts but the unexpected or unnoticed gifts, the things we too often take for granted. So today I have started my list and have two items:

1. the honking of geese as they fly over my house on their way to the pond
2. bright sunshine after many days, and almost 6 inches, of rain  

Each day I want to be expectant of some precious gift from God that I might not ordinarily even recognize as a gift but God gives to me anyway. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17 ESV