Gratitude and Iron Man

I have discovered this great book "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp which is best described as follows:

With startling lyrical power, Voskamp writes the answers to universal questions:

• Where is joy in the midst of cruelty and chaos, duties and despair?
• How does one slow down enough for the soul and God to live in synch?
• How in the world do we learn to find God and live fully?

It is about finding gratitude daily, even in the midst of feeling anything but grateful.

I am inspired by this book and touched by her ability to put into words so many of my thoughts and feelings.

It is only recently I have started looking for new ways to better who I am with any bit of real sincerity. I have this longing to be a better Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend, etc. I realize I have become stuck, that I have been stuck for a really long time and change is necessary if I am to live my life to its fullest potential.

Practicing gratitude daily, many times through-out each and every day is profoundly uplifting and triggers changes in area's you never thought possible. However, it is hard....It is work...It is not easy to live in the moment and to change life-long habits in order to drink in all there is to be grateful for.

I have been recording my gratitude's by way of the old-school journal, putting pen to paper, and foregoing the ease and convenience of the the computer. I thought that doing it that way would make it more "authentic" somehow. I am here to tell you that it doesn't. What a silly little notion that was. Going forward I am going to record them here, on my blog, where I can type out what I say in a quarter of the time it takes me to write it down.

I am not a girl who can start something mid-way through the week or without having a clear beginning point. For me that beginning point is always at the start of a new week. Every Sunday will be my day to capture my gratitude's from the prior week.

I have also had the boys start a gratitude journal of their own. Priceless are the items in which they feel grateful for. Things like "friends to play basketball with", "The Watermelon Plant that is now growing by leaps and bounds"  and of course "watching Iron Man".....It is a work in progress for each of us but a tradition I intend to maintain with them for years to come.

God....thank you for Ann Voskamp, she is an inspiration to many....amen and amen and amen