24.1.11

book review: one thousand gifts

Click to see a larger image of One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

     "Count your blessings name them one by one, count your blessings see what God has done..." I sang that song as a child. It isn't a new concept, this counting of blessings, but the way the counting is shared here is all new. Ann Voskamp shares of her life in such a real, open way. 

     One thousand blessings... A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are: one thousand gifts by Ann Voskamp is not what I expected. If you read much of my blog, you have seen links to Ann's blog. Her blog is filled with peaceful music, gratitude, and thoughtful pictures. I love her pictures on her blog; she is a gifted photographer and weaves her pictures into each post. So I thought this would be a coffee table book, you know the kind filled with beautiful pictures. It is not filled with photographs but pictures painted by words. Real. Open. Hopeful. This is a true picture of her life, a dare to count thanks, and her joy in Christ.

     Ann encourages bloggers to share gratitude. Here she shares why. How she found joy after heart-wrenching sadness. It is a story of her life, her heart, her path to seeing everyday happenings in a fresh way. It is a story of perspective. Her words paint a picture of harsh reality and different ways of coping. It gave me a new perspective of "asking God" for something. She writes poetically of joy through thanksgiving.

     Reading her translation of eucharisteo from Greek makes me want to learn Greek myself to be able to dig deeper into God's Word. I found myself highlighting passages as I read this book.  For example, from p. 57 “Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts, and I give thanks, and I unwrap the gift given: joy.”  And close behind on p. 60 “Prayer without ceasing is only possible in a life of continual thanks. How did I ever think there was another way to enter into His courts but with thanksgiving?”

     Ann speaks from her heart. She shares Scriptures throughout the book that remind us repeatedly to “give thanks.” Enjoy her book yourself. She shared yesterday on her blog about a book club that is reading through her book together. You can join and hear her discuss her book on videos.

     Disclaimer: Zondervan shared a copy of one thousand gifts with me for the purpose of this review (which was how I got it as soon as it was printed.) All opinions expressed here are completely my own including the fact that even though I first got it for free I have since then ordered more because I want to share it with my Mom, my sister, and a dear friend ... but I highlighted my copy and want to read back over parts during the book club.

3 comments:

  1. Jennifer, I just got my copy last week and am only 30 pages into it, but it is one of those rare books to savor. I enjoyed your review and am hoping to follow along with the book club in incourage. Thanks for visiting me at Day In Day Out too.

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  2. I can't wait to review this one!

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  3. Melissa, it is one to savor. I'm going back and rereading some of the encouragements and plan to go through it more slowly with the book club.

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