Bound in Love

“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.

You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,

that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!”

Psalm 30

So it turns out that writing down on paper the gifts we see from God is a big part of the thankful journey.  I thought that writing in a blog format only would do the trick, but I have been feeling a huge urge to put pen to paper and keep a hand written journal of one thousand gifts, as Ann VosKamp suggests we do.

Today I bought a small journal that fits into my pocketbook so I can jot down the gifts as I see them.  And here’s the thing – when you are writing them on paper in a journal, the gifts become more apparent.  As I wrote down my first four gifts, more started popping to mind.  Seeing the world through thankful eyes makes all the difference.

•   a soft breeze on a warm fall day
•   the clean taste of water when you are really thirsty
•   green pumkpins
•   cinderella pumpkins with their blazing orange color and squashed shape
•   an unexpected anniversary gift from my husband 

And then it hits me.  I have seen this way before.  Years ago, in a particularly fruitful spiritual time in my life, on retreat.  But hey, now I am feeling the retreat closeness to God just living my regular life.  Thank you God for Ann Voskamp’s gift with words and for whomever first thought it was a good idea to write a list of one thousand gifts.