One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

The most incredible, most AMAZING and easily the best, most soul-shattering book I have ever read. Seriously, I keep a stack of my favorite books on my nightstand so I can regularly open to them when I am in need of a good nugget of truth, hope, joy... The Shack tops the stack with The Kite Runner underneath it. Then The Atonement Child, by Francine Rivers. I just sandwiched One Thousand Gifts in between The Shack and The Kite Runner. All of those books impacted me in an incredibly positive way, changing my life somehow. One Thousand Gifts was such a blessing to read (a gift in itself!) and I have to share why. I started reading on April 5, posting a comment on Facebook that said, "One chapter in to One Thousand Gifts by Voskamp and I am hooked. What magnetic honesty!" She hooked me in the first chapter with her beautifully moving style of writing and the words she chose to explain the scars of her past. I scribbled in the margin on the fourth page "I love her questions," as she asks, "where hides this joy of the Lord, this God who fills the earth with good things, and how do I fully live when life is full of hurt? How do I wake up to joy and grace and beauty and all that is the fullest life when I must stay numb to losses and crushed dreams and all that empties me out?" So many times we are AFRAID to ask God those questions, to give life to the darkness that threatens to take us over. In FOUR PAGES OF WRITING, this woman had penetrated my soul by baring hers. I quickly realized this wasn't just any book, and I wasn't exactly prepared to be a spectator of the journey she goes on in accepting the challenge of a friend to thank the Lord for one thousand blessings in her life. I didn't realize that she would be breaking down walls for me and inviting me to join her in counting a thousand blessings. But as I kept reading, her words continued to ring true and strike chords in my heart: "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." "I won't shield God from my anguish..I can cry..and He embraces the David-hearts who pound hard on His heart with their grief and I can moan deep that He did this..And I can hear Him soothe soft, "Are your ways My ways?..Can you eat My manna, sustain on My mystery? Can you believe that I tenderly, tirelessly work all for the best good of the whole world- because My flame of love for you can never, ever be quenched?" "Perhaps the opposite of faith is not doubt. Perhaps the opposite of faith is fear. To lack faith perhaps isn't as much an intellectual disbelief in the existence of God as fear and distrust that there is a good God. If I don't emotionally believe, practically believe, in the goodness of God, am I a believer? Don't the believers have to believe? Don't the saved have to trust the Savior?" "Joy is a flame that glimmers only in the palm of the open and humble hand..Humbly let go. let go of trying to do, let go of trying to control. Let go of my own way, let go of my own fears. Let God blow His wind, His trials, oxygen for joy's fire. Leave the hand open and be. Be at peace. Bend the knee and be small and let God give what God chooses to give because He only gives love and whisper surprised thanks." I mark up all my books. Much like my Bible, if I am reading and something strikes me, I will underline it so I can find it again, or simply use the space in the margins to write out everything that I'm thinking. I've always done that, and it's the reason why I hate to borrow books from people, because I can't get into a borrowed book the way I can one that I own and have the freedom to mark all over. THIS BOOK is completely marked up. All over! I have underlined, circled, written in the margins, used the space at the end of each chapter as my own personal diary... I have definitely left my mark on my copy. In turn, Ann Voskamp has left her mark on me. I am deeply grateful to her for writing this masterpiece. I love to write, but I could never, ever touch what she's done here. Just by sharing her story and looking deeply enough into it to see where God was and what He was up to, she carves a path for the rest of us to do the same. I encourage everyone to pick up a copy of this book and give it a shot. I plan to start giving them away as gifts for every occasion! Additionally, you should take the 1000 Gift challenge. I started mine when I was halfway through the book, and made it to 25 things in about five minutes. Here are a few from my list: 1) snores awakening me to another day 5) the more I bear my soul, my true self, the more accepted I am and the closer we are 6) the dials all turned exactly right to support life on this planet: air to breathe, sun to warm, firm ground to walk on, food to nourish, water to quench 9) the crisp binding of a never-before-opened book 10) the smell of a many-times-opened old book with yellowed pages 13) being known and understood 14) my husband on his way home to me 19) the fact that God does not leave us in our mess but comes down, gets in our face and SHOWS US THE WAY OUT! 21) the time to count blessings I don't sit down and make myself add to my list at any certain part of the day. I keep it on my nightstand, next to my stack of books, and when I think of something I write it down. Sometimes I write down one or two things, sometimes I will write twenty. It is an neat exercise, and I pray that it helps me make counting my blessings a habit instead of an every-now-and-then kind of thing. I pray that it changes my life the same way it changed Ann's and so many others who have read One Thousand Gifts! Get your copy today!!!

Disclaimer: This isn't a typical book review. This was originally written as a blog post, and is more my "reaction" to the book, then a review of the book. But, I needed to share it here as well. My dear Twitter/Bloggie/hopefully one day real life friend Michelle recommended this read for me. What I read was the egalley/pre-published version of the book. What follows is not so much a book review as it is my reaction to the words themselves. From the very first words of the book I was drawn in. The beginning paragraph was captivating, engrossing, and so very poetic, I knew I wanted to read more. By the end of the 1st chapter, I'm already in tears. But fully, completely involved in the story, in the pain, and in the questions...I want to read more. By page 40 I can't seem to stop reading, I lose sense of all around me and am completely immersed in her words, her beautiful, mesmerizing prose. By page 122, I'm feeling filled up, inspired, excited to participate in my own life with the vigor the author is expressing in hers. I have all the same questions, all the same doubts, all the same struggles. I have all the same hopes, all the same desires, all the same grains of faith. By page 141, I'm making a list. No, not a list of graces, though that will surely come soon enough, but a list of names. Names of people I will be gifting this book when it is released next year. By page 167, I am craving that childlike wonder, and professing to live like a child. Every day. To see the world through the innocent and joyous eyes of a child. By page 188, I'm in tears once again, and wanting to thank God for my friend, the one I call The Disciple, because she won't hesitate to stop and hug a homeless person on the street. By page 201 I realize I'm nearing the end, and I don't want it to end...so I stop for the day, save the last 40 pages for another day's grace... By the last page, the acknowledgements, the Thank You's...I am again in tears. Feeling blessed for having shared in these intimate moments with the author. And I am ready to begin my own list of One Thousand Gifts...and beyond. This book is beautiful, full, enriching. EVERYONE should read this book. Everyone! One final disclaimer: I have since reading this book discovered the author's blog, and also found her on Twitter. I've since then had a few conversations via social media with her, and will continue to read her blog, and hope to continue to converse with her. But I need it noted that when I read this book, I knew nothing of her, the words written above come straight from my heart, and are a pure unbiased reaction to her beautiful words. That's all.

Anything but a light read, Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts; A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, has left me undone...only to be reformed by the Hand of my Master. Join me as I share a small piece of how the Savior has used it in my life. Captured immediately by Ann's incredible gift of pen, I learned that life dealt her several seemingly cruel hands. The book begins with the story of the loss of Ann's sister, Aimee, who was literally crushed in front of her family by a trucker who simply didn't see her. As a mother of young children, the sheer angst of Ann's telling made me want to crawl in bed with my little ones and hold them close to me forever. A mother's heart wants to protect...and yet with raw authenticity Ann cracks open the question we all have asked at one time or another, "How can a good God..." Her answer comes in what I found to be a most unlikely place. Thanksgiving. I always thought of myself as a thankful person before reading this book. I know I have been blessed...or at least I can look at my life and see good things I call blessings...and they outnumber the bad things I call something else. But Ann made me think beyond my limitations...in fact urging me to put on a whole new set of eyes to see the deep thankfulness in both the good and the bad. A task not humanly possible. But nothing is impossible with God. She calls it eucharisteo. And I admit to letting it roll off of my lips in those sacred moments of deep thanksgiving. And so I began, with great excitement, counting my blessings with Ann. Little gratitudes found along the way. A soft little cheek here, a song lyric there...Before I knew what was happening, I began seeing thanksgiving in things I had overlooked for a lifetime. In a recent blog post, I wrote these words describing this new way of seeing: "I'm seeing them EVERYWHERE of late...picture must needs! And me with no real camera! I'm eaten inside with the desire to capture the deep thanksgiving...the things the Lord seems to be doing just for me in the sky...with those clouds...and those mountains and when, tell me WHEN, did those mountains I've loved all my life begin looking so glorious in the fall? Someone MUST needs take a picture!" Indeed...the Lord seems to have given me a new set of eyes. And rather than calling only the good the blessing, I now clearly see the radical, hard thanksgiving in the bad. Though I say that with a hint of fear. Because a part of me still lives in fear that if I invite God to bring me wholly into Him, great sacrifice...loss...will be required of me to get there. I know that in this world we will have troubles...and I know that suffering is means God uses to draw us unmistakably to Him. I know He can be trusted. I know He is good. But the fear remains. What if God must take something (someone?) from me to bring me to Him most fully? I cannot ask that of Him. Angie Smith, at a recent conference said (paraphrased) about the loss of her infant daughter , Audrey Caroline, "for all that her death has brought me...the understanding of God, the opportunities to comfort others and show them God's grace...I would still rather have Audrey." And my heart nods in agreement. This describes the words of my heart. Beautifully and fully, Ann weaves comfort to my fear when she says, "It is impossible to give thanks and simultaneously feel fear" (p. 203). And now I know the reason for the thanksgiving...the counting of the blessings...graces. So many times God calls us to remember and give thanks, for as we remember His good works, His salvation, His provisions, protection...we give thanks...and are built up, given peace and hope that He can do it again. Knowing this helps me take one step closer to the fullness of Him and realize it as an area where He continues to work. His work is grace. And I can not only count my gratitude, I can actually BE grace to those around me. "A life contemplating the blessings of Christ becomes a life acting the love of Christ" (p.184). And "to give the thanks away. That thanks-giving might literally become thanks-living" (p. 192). I am not the same. Upside down in a right-side-up world and wanting to stay there. Seeking the thanksgivings of each day with a fully devoted heart knowing that I'll have to read it again...and probably again. So many are the thoughts of my heart right now...so many are the ways I feel challenged to look beyond circumstances for the thanksgiving in life. So fully have I decided to live in this dare of the right now...that all I have to say to Ann Voskamp (and to my Savior) is: One Thousand Thank-You's friends. Brooke McGlothlin, of A Life in Need of Change

....to express the beauty of God - because Ann Voskamp has used all of the good ones. This just may be the best and most beautifully written book I've ever read (excluding, obviously the Bible). It is so beautiful that I wish I could memorize the whole thing like a Psalm....I hate to let any of it go...I hate ending one sentence and going on to the next because I don't want the poetry of her words to end. It may be best suited to the poetic soul of a woman, but it so excellent that it can't fail to have universal appeal. The author comes from a place of tragedy and loss which left her hating her life...and one day has a revelation, brought on by a nightmare,that leads her to pursue what it means to live a full life;one that is ready to face God without heartbreak at the end of it. She explores the topics of suffering, loss and the Sovereignty of God, and then works her way to Gratitude, Grace and joy. (all three of which are contained in the roots of the Greek word Eucharisteo which is the word used when Jesus gave thanks for the broken bread.) The book talks about how to live the Eucharist. The writer is uses numerous quotations from many sources of religious literature and her conclusions and approach would have appeal and relevance to anyone of any faith... As a person who has suffered deeply and greatly in my life, I can affirm personally the truth of the conclusions arrived at by Ms. Voskamp. There is no fluffy, trite theology here...It is blood and guts reality discussed in a manner which allows you to see the Beauty in the Ugliness of Life. And shining through it all is the face of a beautiful, loving, and sovereign God. The book, while not difficult to read, contains many deep, inexhaustible truths all encapsulated in sentences so consummately elegant that you wish there were frames to put phrases in and hang them on a wall to admire. Instead you can merely repeat them over and over tasting them on the tastebuds of your heart and savor their exquisite flavor. I would be wondering why and how it is that this book and I have not met sooner--as it seems to be so very much 'down my alley'...but I know that God reserved it, like a special gift, for just this very moment of my life. The book does not require much of a time commitment because it is so jam - packed with God and beauty that you can only tolerate it in one or two page chunks...or your soul would explode. I cannot (obviously) recommend it highly enough.

This was a good reminder of all we have to be thankful for. When we are thankful to God for all He has given, we cannot be fearful or anxious. As I was reading and starting to practice this, I realized the author is right, thankfulness brings joy.

The writing is poetic and more free flowing. Yet, through the stylistic approach, I found a release of my critical eye and embraced the beauty in the prose. This is a love story, how God pursues us and wants us to see His love in the midst of difficult times. My faith in the Lord was changed after reading this book. I am falling in love and accepting His perfect love.

If you have somehow gotten to my review in the midst of hundreds of others, then you already know that this is a book on gratitude, about how gratitude changed the author and can change us, too. It did me. I have an aversion to trendy things (which I realize is weird) and I had avoided this book for a long time simply because it was so popular, but when I finally read it for the first time (that was a little over a year ago, and I am currently reading it for the third time), I think every chapter except one had me laid out on the floor weeping. Actually, they still inspire me to tears. I am a different person today than I was before I read this book. Reading it stimulates my mind, and practicing gratitude as a daily ritual has changed my life (meaning, given me new perspective, erased my need to ruminate over some very real pain, planted seeds of trust toward God in me, and released me from Fear's ownership). I love how the concept is so simple. (I am a busy mother of young children and can find moments to name things to be grateful for.) I love how she explores a simple concept with great depth. (I am a busy mother of young children and can find sanity in deep thoughts on gratitude and trust in a God who transfigures.) :-) The writing is definitely beautiful (the lady is a poet), but this book is also jam packed with insight from people who really inspire me - like Tim Keller, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Henri Nouwen, Amy Carmichael, Mark Buchanan, Mother Teresa, St. Augustine, A.W. Tozer, John Piper, and on and on. I found it theologically rich, foundation-wise. That said, I wouldn't call it a theological treatise. It is probably way more effective and enjoyable for a poet at heart than a get-to-the-point thinker. She starts each chapter with the beginnings of a thought and then carefully takes the reader into the depths of the thought process with her as she explores and discovers and chews on the thought and her explorations and discoveries and how all of those things intertwine. If that would drive you nuts, don't buy the book. :-) Trust. Grace. Sovereignty. Seeing. This was, to me, a beautiful invitation to live life with hands figuratively opened to God, receiving each moment with gratitude, starting with the easy and simple things that I often miss and continuing with the habit when things are difficult, because God is good, and He is a God who transfigures.

I have been reading Ann Voskamp's blog A Holy Experience since 2008. I found her right after Danica's birth, a time when I was finding my way back to God after many years living apart from Him. I have often described reading Ann's words like meeting a friend at the foot of the cross. Many times I would print her posts and stick them in my Bible to meditate on them with the Word. I began keeping links of the ones I needed to read again and again in a folder on my computer. I often prayed someday her words would be printed on pages with a binding I could touch and treasure. There were a series of posts from the summer of 2008 I needed the most as we approached Danica's surgery (my three year old daughter who had her second brain surgery and spinal fusion [...]) last fall. Scandalous Faith in a Good God. When Bad Things Happen. What is the Truth? I clicked the links I had saved. They were gone. I emailed dear Ann asking her where I could find them, and she shared they had been pulled from her site to be folded in her book One Thousand Gifts which was planned to be released by Zondervan in January. She graciously emailed me the posts and reminded me to hold tight to "an outrageous belief in a God who can only, always, give good." Chapter Five "What in the world, in all this world, is grace?" is a blending of the posts I mentioned above. It is as heart and life changing as Ann's blog has been to me these many years. I have certainly lost my way on the gratitude journey many times. It has often been Ann's words and her consistent reminder that we deserve nothing and everything in Christ that has encouraged me to stay the course. Danica is lying here sleeping beside me as I type. She wears her little cage, and I see the scar from the huge incision in the back of her neck and head peeking out. Just like Ann that day looking down at her son Levi's mangled hand all bandaged up, " . . . I see what I am. I'm amputated. I have hacked my life into grace moments and curse moments. The chopping that has cut myself off from embracing love of a God who "does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow" (Lamentations 3:33), but labors to birth grief into greater grace. Isn't this the crux of the gospel? The good news that all those living in the land of shadow of death have been birthed into new life, that the transfiguration of a suffering world has already begun. That suffering nourishes grace, and pain and joy are arteries of the same heart--and mourning and dancing are but movements in His unfinished symphony of beauty. Can I believe the gospel, that God is patiently transfiguring all the notes of my life into the song of His Son? What in the world, in all this world, is grace? I can say it certain now. All is grace. I can see through the woods of the world. God is always good and I am always loved. Everything is Eucharisteo. . ." Yes, He is making this story good. I don't want to stop reading yet, do you?

This is one of those books that is life-changing. Not only is the writing very lyrical (I felt like I was reading poetry!), what she SAYS . . . oh, what she says . . . about 'eucharisteo': living a life of thanksgiving! I want to say that this book changed me, but it didn't, not really. I've discovered over the past several years my own journey to 'eucharisteo', though I didn't have that word for it. Instead of being life-changing, for me this book was one big affirmation. I know I was shouting in my mind "yes, Yes, YES!" several times during the book. I understood what Ann was saying, because it has played out in similar ways in my own life. Do yourself a favour if you've not already read this book, and READ IT! Your life will be blessed for it. Easily my favourite read (other than Scripture) in 2018.

What an amazing book. Love the way Ann writes. This book has changed the way I approach life in general. #Grateful

This amazing book is beautifully written and will live in your heart for a very long time. There is so much here that one read is not enough - I am currently reading it for a second time and enjoying it just as much. It may well change your life and your heart. Don't worry, it's not a saccharine sweet book about being happy all the time. Ann Voskamp has known pain and heartache in her life, but this book shows how God has led her step by step into a deeper relationship with Him. It's absolutely beautiful and I can't think of many books that I would recommend this highly.

This helped me reach the shore during times of troubled faith and a world falling apart Reading the structured prose and the deeply imbibed emotions, felt like embrace of the almighty

A powerful story that reminds the reader to always be thankful to God and to give thanks as a form of worship in both the big and the small things of life.