Every morning when I wake up

It has been 30 days since I started counting my gifts on a daily basis.  This little act of daring to live fully right where I am has become part of my morning routine.  Writing in my journal each day and reflecting on how God has blessed me is a two-fold joy -- it brings me into a closer relationship with our Father and it dispels those dark, gloomy clouds of worry that are always lurking in the deep corners of my mind.

Waking up each day with the anticipation of sending out today's Joy Dare prompt to our small group, writing in my journal, spending quiet, reflective time with the Lord, all of these prepare my heart for whatever life flings at me during the day.  There's a Facebook page; "I love it when I wake up in the morning and Barack Obama is President!"  

This is a much better thought upon waking, "I love it when I wake up in the morning secure in the knowledge that God will be with me throughout the day."

One Thousand Gifts

I am reading Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts, A dare to live fully right where you are.  The book can be hard to read, she writes in long, poetic prose, which is difficult to maneuver.  I found it's a book best read over a period time, a book read in little spurts then set aside. However, I found her invitation to embrace everyday blessings and chronicle God's gifts, to express eucharisteo (with grace, thanksgiving, joy) regardless of circumstances is spot-on.

So, I am taking her Joy Dare, a dare to capture 3 gifts each day .  Blessings that I journal with a word or words, a photo, or a song.  Blessings that might be overlooked in my hustle, bustle, walking around life.  The Joy Dare is a reminder to stop, take a deep breath and look at our world with eyes trained on Him and hearts overflowing with thanksgiving. Those little moments in time can come and go in the blink of an eye and so often are forgotten as we rush to complete the next task.

I am only a couple of weeks into the Joy Dare but already I am more content, more peaceful.  Nothing has changed, I still have the everyday, walking around,  little messes in my ordinary life, but each day I keep my eyes and my heart open for those 3 nuggets of God's glory, 3 gifts that make me realize just how blessed I am.  So at the end of day as I journal these gifts, I realize I am not only capturing them for myself but I am leaving my loved ones the written legacy of a life lived with eucharisteo!