Book Review: One Thousand Gifts

“Do not disdain the small. The whole of life – even the hard – is made up of the minute parts, and if I miss the infinitesimals, I miss the whole … There is a way to live the big of giving thanks in all things.  It is this: to give thanks in this one small thing.  The moments add up.” from One Thousand Gifts

Yesterday afternoon I shared my the beginning of my journey back to contentment.   Circumstances, situations, Scripture, devotions, sermons, conversations, and that general sense of, “How did I get here?” … overwhelmed of mind, downtrodden of soul, and weary of spirit … and so the counting began again.

Ann Voskamp’s heart for the beautiful ordinary resounds with my own desire for the great sacred-secular collide in my life.  She eloquently speaks to the holy plain … and the holy pain.   Reading through the pages of One Thousand Gifts crystallized lessons the Lord had been quietly revealing in my heart over the past months.

As she shares the stories of her own struggles, her own failures, and her own learning, I find myself hearing not the words of a gifted writer … oh no!  Instead, I hear from the Word-Giver, He who reaches down and reveals that “ugly beautiful” that Ann lists … He who takes her story of teaching sons to find joy through giving thanks and turns my heart toward gratitude as well … He who moves among the one thousand plus gifts on her lists and makes the searing imprint of joy and thanksgiving – the eucharisteo – in my own heart.

Yes, her writing is poetry.  Many times I have likened her keystrokes to an artist’s brush, her screen to a canvas … and all that remains true.  Certainly our Lord has gifted her with words, beautiful and poignant.  But in this book, in these writings, when all is stripped away – when the stories are told and the listings are finished – what remains is The Gift … He is there.  And He has called to me, “Come.  Count.  Cherish.  Be Changed.”

With gratitude to Ann for graciously allowing me to read One Thousand Gifts and with no hesitation or reservation, I urge you to add One Thousand Gifts to your must-read list in the coming year.   You can pre-order this book by clicking on the link below {affiliate link}.

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are By Ann Voskamp / Zondervan