"A practice of the eyes"

“Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant—a seed—this plants the giant miracle.” 

“...life change comes when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change.” 

“The practice of giving thanks...eucharisteo...this is the way we practice the presence of God, 

stay present to His presence, and it is always a practice of the eyes. 

We don't have to change what we see. Only the way we see.”

Ann Voskamp

I recently read Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts and was moved and inspired by it in so many ways.  The book is currently #4 in its category on the New York Times bestseller list .   

The video below is a trailer of sorts for the book.

This is a book to read and re-read - to highlight and mark up and quote from, to download to 

your e-reader, to share with friends.  

The book reminded me of  why I started this blog, but it also showed me that what I have been trying to do has only touched the surface of what giving thanks means.  

As Ann Voskamp says, 

“Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—always precedes the miracle.” 

 Giving thanks - it seems simple and easy.  In reality it means changing the way you see.  It means changing your life minute by minute, day by day.  It requires patience and practice.  

 

Here are a few of the things I've listed in my gratitude journal this month:

Warm shower, hot coffee

A hug from my brother

Deja Vu at the pool with Sy

A good long run

Home with my love

Walking into a warm house on a cold night

Crocuses lined up by the walkway

JH's smile, G's batman cape

Glorious, glorious sunset

Bird song in the morning

Sharing a meal with a friend

A full moon through the trees

A good long run

Happy faces and excitement at the park with M & E

Heated car seats on a cold morning

Holy Communion

An afternoon nap and a good book

Tulips on Valentine's Day

Champagne with dinner

Gentle rain

Budding forsythia

Origin of EUCHARIST

Middle English eukarist, from Anglo-French eukariste, from Late Latin eucharistia, from Greek, Eucharist, gratitude, from eucharistos grateful, from eu- + charizesthai to show favor, from charis favor, grace, gratitude; akin to Greekchairein to rejoice — more at yearn

First Known Use: 14th century

from Merriam Webster dictionary

A storehouse of blessings

Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day. ~Robert Caspar Lintner

The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings! ~Henry Ward Beecher

Warm happy memories are like a storehouse of blessings.  When the days are long and dull and that normally thankful heart is having difficulty finding the blessing in every hour, we can draw on those happy memories.  They cheer us, bless us, and transport us.

A few months ago I purchased a relatively inexpensive slide scanner.  In the 1970s and early 1980s we used slide film for our photos.  We have boxes and boxes of slides stored in a trunk.  Occasionally we get out the slide projector and have a viewing, but digital photography has spoiled us.  And we want to be able to preserve the slide images and share them.  

And so I've been scanning - an entire tray at a time in the beginning and a few slides at at time recently.  The scanner doesn't like flash pictures or any pictures with a great difference in light levels.  But nevertheless, I am happy to get as many images as I can stored on my computer.  And even happier to be remembering all of those vacations and holidays when we were young parents with small children.

 Each one of those memories is a blessing.  Through the month of November, I want to share some of them with you.  

 We're a family of readers, and the children got an early start.  My oldest daughter was almost always happy to read to her sister and later to her brother.  

I did a little running in my younger days - even ran in a couple of 10ks.  My sister encouraged me and stuck with me through those races.  Here we are returning from a run on Thanksgiving Day in the early 1980s.  Don't you just love the socks?

Summer vacations at the lake - the hammock - so many great memories!

More to come - stay tuned!