Seeing Is Believing (+ A Giveaway!)

It's the cure for ingratitude. It always precedes the miracle. It leads to joy.

IT is eucharisteo.

I hadn't heard that term before but am so grateful that Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts introduced me to it. What started out as a dare to count 1,000 of the daily gifts from God became a way of life for Ann, and in the process, she traced the roots of eucharisteo not just through her life but through the Bible.


Her book has been described as life-changing. But why? Because taking time to write down the little moments helps us to fully live instead of rush through life. When I write down thanks for pipes not freezing, for the gift of a snow day (or 5) at home, for the super soft fur on my dog's head, it's as if life slows down a bit.


I started listing gifts back at Christmas and just took the time today to number them. There were over 200 gifts that most likely would have slipped away if I hadn't started counting. And in the process, I've discovered what Ann says on page 151 to be true: "Count blessings and discover Who can be counted on." Prior to that, Ann says on page 150 in discussing fear, "Nothing has materialy changed since yesterday's fears, last week's anxiety. But I have. I'm changing."

As one prone to give in to fears, I needed the insight she provided in chapter 8. I needed to be reminded to trust the Bridge Builder and that thanks is what builds trust.

I have never underlined this much in a book that I wasn't going to be tested on. But I want to live out what Ann talks about because her life is not perfect, but it is a beautiful, pure offering - one so opposite from this world - that it draws me in. And I hope it draws you in, as well.

Because I love this book so much, I have already given away two copies, but I bought another to give away here. Just leave a comment telling about one of His special gifts to you, and leave your name so that I can contact you if your name is chosen. I'll draw one person's name at random on Jan. 21.

And as you're reading the book, don't miss the video interviews with Ann here. So far, she has discussed the first two chapters and done an intro. Her passion and excitement in sharing eucharisteo is obvious and contagious. I hope you catch her passion for eucharisteo and start your own list of 1,000+ gifts.

Psalm Devotional - A Sample

I posted a while back about the Psalms devotional book that my writers' group put together, but I failed to give you a sample. So while the electricity is cooperating in the midst of this icy day of rolling power black outs, I thought I'd share one of mine.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! Psalm 100:4 (ESV)

“Father God, forgive me of my sins, protect my family and I throughout the day and night, give us good health, . . . .” The same prayer night after night. The same order, the same basic requests, and the same repetitive words: “me” and “I.”

Delights that just hours earlier I had sworn not to forget went unpraised because I allowed my mind to be consumed with my needs and my desires. I forgot to thank God for the smiles, laughter, and joy he had given me. I neglected to give God the praise that he is due as God, Creator, Lord of lords, and Holy of holies.

Frustrated that my prayers failed to convey my heartfelt praise, I decided to start listing my praises each day before I lifted up my prayers. To help remind me, I use a spiral notebook and write on the top of each page, “Father, I praise You for . . .”; toward the bottom of the page, I write, “Father, I lift up to You . . . .”

This little tool of keeping a praise/prayer journal not only redirected my me-centered prayers, helping me to put the focus back on God by praising him from the start, but also made me on the lookout for God’s handiwork throughout the day. Before I started keeping a daily praise list, a sunset that took my breath away might have lasted only a moment. Now I know I want to record it later in my journal, so I pay more attention to it in the moment. Similarly, an answered prayer does not slip through the cracks of my memory as easily because I have written prayer requests down and can look back through them to note when they are answered.

It took a little work to put into practice Psalm 100:4’s wisdom and to enter his gates with thanksgiving. But now, instead of waiting to thank God until I have spelled out all of my needs and my desires, I look forward to listing my praises first and seeing how they often far outnumber my requests.

Father God, thank You for all the big and little ways that You touch my heart throughout the day. You alone are worthy of all my praise.

What one step could you take to make praising God an integral part of your prayer time? (A few suggestions include memorizing Psalm 100:4, listening to praise music, keeping a list of praises, or beginning your prayers with praise rather than petitions.)

When to Use Words

Why is it that when I want to write, I think long and hard and words barely trickle? But when I speak, words flow too freely, often when they shouldn't flow at all. At least that's the case most of the time.

This past week, the opposite occurred. I went to pay my respects to a family who had lost a loved one, and the words would not come. I didn't know how to sum up the impact of the loved one's life on my own in that short time at the visitation while the line of people behind me grew longer. As the small talk quickly dried up, because it is merely filler to begin with, and the line pressed in, I was thanked for coming. All I could think of to convey my huge heart thoughts was, "He was worth the trip."

In some ways, the tongue-tied-ness fits the situation perfectly. The loved one had made a big impact on my life through his presence, not his words which were mostly few and far between. And there I was trying to show by my presence that his life mattered much.

I think back to those friends of Job and the role that they played in those first seven days. They sat by Job's side without speaking. A ministry of presence. It was when they opened their mouths that things started going downhill.

I am not sure I learned from their example because my lack of words and mere presence didn't seem like enough. I wanted to put words to the feelings I had.

And so I wrote a letter.

I tried to convey that my life was better because I had the opportunity to know this caring man who took the time to acknowledge my presence every time he saw me, spent time patiently trying to correct my golf swing, and loved his family with all of his heart. I tried to pass along how very proud he was of his son as shown by his presence if not by his words. And, above all, I wanted it known I will not forget this loved one.

The words were well received, but I'm not sure they were necessary.

I recall a lawyer friend of mine making a three-hour trip to attend my dad's funeral. She was an assistant district attorney in Houston at the time. The fact that she got someone to cover her docket and that she drove six hours round-trip for a 30-45 minute funeral blew my mind. She hugged me through tears and said nothing, if I recall correctly. Yet, over seven years have passed, and I have never forgoten her act of kindness.

I think a ministry of presence is a powerful thing, sometimes more powerful than words. But I need the wisdom to know which is best in any given circumstance.

[This is my second attempt to participate in the Words Project with Holley & Ann over at A Holy Experience.]

The Christmas Jars - Redux

A couple of you have asked for more details on The Christmas Jars that I posted on. I hesitated to post more on the story because the book is such a good read. But I don't want you to miss out on the blessing that is sure to come with filling and giving away a Christmas jar, so I'll do my best to summarize the premise behind the jars here.

The book, which appears to be a work of fiction even though it could just as easily be based on a true story, chronicles a budding writer who, after receiving a Christmas jar, decides to track down the people behind the tradition. The family who started the tradition used the jar initially to save money for their own Christmas. As newlyweds, the couple would take however much was in the jar, divide it between the two of them, and go to a local department store to buy the best gift they could buy with their half of the meager savings. This practice continued for several years until they had children.

It was then that the tradition took a different twist when their daughter gave their jar to a lady sitting on a curb as they were on their way into the bank to have the change turned into dollars so that they could go shopping. From that point on, they gave away the Christmas jar each year. Sometimes to a family who had lost a loved one, sometimes to a wealthy person who needed to learn how to receive (& possibly regift), and sometimes to a stranger who came across their path and was in obvious need.

The Christmas jar helped the family stay focused on others throughout the year and proved to be a blessing to them as they stored away their change day after day, anticipating the day when they would get to give it away. And ultimately, the tradition was carried on by the recipients, who started giving their own jars after being blessed by a Christmas jar.



As unexpected checks have come my way this month, I've cashed them and put them in the jar. As change weighs down my wallet, I empty it into the jar. And with each emptying, I am reminded of how Christ came and emptied Himself for us. So for me, the jar is already serving as a reminder to think about Christmas each and every day, instead of just in December. But there's a new anticipation about Christmas as I am looking forward to seeing who is supposed to receive my jar.

It's not too late to start a Christmas Jar. The initial ones in the book were started much later in the year. I hope you'll join me in this new tradition and that we can exchange stories this Christmas about what we learned from the tradition, how we made it our own, and how it blessed us.

The Weight of Words

I've been reading through the Chronological Bible, and the past few weeks spent in Job have left me thinking about words with friends. I'm not referring to the popular game but rather about the ones in real life that I've spoken to my friends.

Like those three friends of Job, my lips part too often, words flowing without the wisdom to back them up. Critiquing. Accusing. Not a word of encouragement to be found. Not taking into account what the heart on the receiving end of my words needs to hear.

Could it be that those who receive my words have the love language of encouraging words, such that emails received and sentences spoken get rehashed time and time again? Might they store up my words? Make boxes for "Cards Worth Keeping" and online folders for "Emails Worth Saving"? Do words hold such weight for the receivers of my words?

If there is even a chance that the people on the receiving end of my words stores them up like I do, why do I not speak encouragement into their lives? Why not err more on the side of encouragement than discouragement?

I've heard that the enemy of gentleness isn't meanness; it's efficiency. After all, it takes time to be gentle. What if I took the time to think through my responses before I said them? What if I searched for encouraging words before I responded? What delight might be added to someone's day?

Negative feedback is readily available many places in this world, but it need not be on my lips. If I love others the way I need to be loved, I share a gift that doesn't cost a thing but can uplift, bring a smile, and hopefully point them toward the One Who has unlimited power to encourage. I just need to put some time into it. Because there's no telling how long my words might be weighed, and I want them to be the good kind worth saving.

[Ann Voskamp and Holly Gerth have challenged other bloggers to write a post about loving Jesus and others with our words, and the above is my attempt to respond to that assignment.]

Beholding

I recently listened to a sermon on "Beholding the Beauty of the Bible." One of the initial points that caught my attention was Pastor Ronnie Smith's comment: "We become what we behold." And while I was still chewing on that, he said, "Worldliness kills your capacity to behold the glory of God in the Scriptures."

Enough said. I was convicted and guilty.

Pastor Smith's words provided an explanation, a diagnosis of sorts, for what I was experiencing as I read through Job in the chronological Bible, trying day after day to look forward to Job's friends berating him. But each day, what was pulling at my heart was a desire to do other things, worldly things. Things that won't count for eternity.

But hearing that sermon, I realized that my choice to follow after the worldly desires pulling at my heart is robbing me of much more than I ever thought; it's robbing me of seeing God's glory when I read His Word. That's not something I'm okay with.

Pastor Smith urges that part of the solution is to lay ax to the root of worldliness in your (my) life. I don't know exactly what all that will entail, but I know I want my mind focused more on God's glory than on worldly things. And one way that I can do that is to have music that keeps my mind off worldly things and puts the focus on God.

So lately, I've been listening to Chris Tomlin's newest CD entitled If Our God Is For Us and Hillsong United's song You Hold Me Now. I leave you with a video of the latter; I hope it ministers to you and helps you keep your focus on God's glory.

Christmas Jars

When I mentioned the idea of not giving family Christmas gifts this year, my mom immediately threw out the idea of doing Christmas jars for others instead. She said that she had read a book about this tradition and thought it would be a neat idea. She said that she'd send my sister and I copies of the book.

Last week, the book arrived in my mailbox, and I couldn't wait to read it.


If not for starting it so late in the evening (intending to read only a few pages), I could have finished it in one night. The story is compelling and is the perfect way to keep my focus on others as I drop my change into my Christmas jar each day. The best part will be praying about who to give the jar to at Christmas.

I'd love for you to join me in this new tradition or share your stories if you've done this in the past.