Slow Down and Take a Deep Breath...

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It's Monday and I already know it will be a very busy Monday. I have much to accomplish today, lots to check off my mental to do list. I can already feel my body tensing, and my mind racing at top speed. How can I be most efficient with my time? How will I get everything completed?

Not enough time! Not enough time!

Slow down. Take a breath.

Say thank you.

Breathe in the joy of the everyday.

Exhale... thanks.

A gift. I need to slow myself...and appreciate, be in awe of the fleeting moments.

I have a sign hanging in my kitchen, a sign my oldest son gave me as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago. I keep the sign up year round.

"It's a Wonderful Life" , beautifully matted and framed.

Yes, it is the title of a favorite holiday movie.....but, it could... and should be my motto.

Because thankfulness does bring joy--  And joy makes for a wonderful life.

A daily reminder.

* Emerald green, springtime grass

* Wet smell after the rain

* Eggs and toast for breakfast

* Long hugs from my child

* My husband laughing

* A good nights sleep

* Opportunity

* Friendship

* A floor that needs swept

* A bathroom that needs cleaned

* Errands to run

* Candles in the windows

* A full eucharisteo board

* Bare feet on concrete

* The smell of coffee

* Hands and fingers that type without pain

* A smile
I will praise the name of God with song, And shall magnify Him with thanksgiving.  Psalm 69:30 



Won't you take a moment and drop by? Visit with others who are sharing Multitudes On Mondays?

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Hard Thanks...

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All the reasons to be thankful....Click on the Multitudes On Mondays graphic on my right sidebar to read more.

Dear Reader,

I'll be honest with you. I'm not feeling very thankful today.

Mondays are never my best day of the week, and today seems especially "not very thankful". I feel guilty. I struggle.

Right now I'm seeing all "the holes" in the canvas of my life.  When concentrating on the holes, the rips, the tears... I find it difficult to see the beauty. I know that is a poor attitude, you don't have to remind me. Believe me, I know.

All the things I wish were....and aren't.

All the things I want...and can't.

All the trying to measure up....and falling short.

All the dreams...dashed.

All the little things....that become BIG things.

All the words thought....but never said.

All the wishing....not coming true.

All the obstacles....not overcome.

All the life beautiful...is really broken.

We live in an imperfect world.

 

Life IS broken. Isn't that true for us all?

Aren't there days when we each wonder, the why?

When our vision is full of gray, and the colors seem dulled?

When we want so much more, but get so much less?

 

God knew we'd have days like this. Hard days. Painful days. Days of longing for something else. Something that is seemingly just out of reach. The frustration. The grieving. The seemingly unfairness of it all. He knew. He always knew.

Giving thanks through the difficult times. The broken times.  Ann Voskamp calls it the "hard eucharisteo". The giving of thanks when we are searching through the darkness. The saying "yes" to God, when we don't understand. The trusting that this hard place we are in, is not the final destination.

Ann goes on to say, "Grace + Thanks = Joy".  She's right, you know

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything. Not about life plans. Not the wondering. Not the worrying. But in everything That is a big, all encompassing word. By prayer and petition God hears us!  With thanksgiving Always thanksgiving...even when it is the hard eucharisteo. present your requests to God. He wants us to talk with Him. In the good times and the not so good times. He is there.

And on a day when it seems dark, not just because of the storm clouds, I can say thank you. I can give the thanksgiving to the One who hears me even when the words aren't spoken aloud. I am thankful.

 

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The Barns Of NorthWest Ohio

Sun bleached.

Rain beaten.

Utilitarian buildings

that are beacons

to the farming way of life.

Barns standing

over the years

as a reminder of those

that work the land

and raise the animals.

Strong. Sturdy. Dependable.

Though my family does not farm, we are surrounded by those who do.

I am thankful for them.

Each day, I am reminded more and more of God's grace.

Wonderful. Amazing. Grace.

I have much to be thankful for...we all do.

I continue with my list of thanks, my eucharisteo, to the One who gives the moments. Each one a gift.

#350 laughter

#351 time spent with the ones I love

#352 contentment

#353 family

#354 deep conversations

#355 warm chocolate chip cookies

#356 non-busy Friday night

#357 Saturday afternoon

#358 my son cleaning the kitchen for me

#359 soft cats

#360 bedtime

If you want to learn more about Eucharisteo, click on the Multitudes on Monday graphic on my right side bar.

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It's All Grace

I had just returned  from an early morning walk.

I was struck by the beauty of this scene...a  scene right in my front yard.

I'm so glad I took the time to snap the picture.

My peaceful morning picture.

I enjoy looking at it. Over and over again.

Saturday night I was completely awestruck by the beauty of the "super" moon. The moon was huge. And perfect.

The light it cast was reflecting on the winter lake across the road. Out here, in rural America we have "winter water lakes" .  The lakes are not real lakes. In our case, the farmer across the road has a low spot in his field. The rain and snow melt cause a lake to form. It doesn't last forever but, for now the geese and ducks love it....and so do I.

The moonlight rippled across the water. The black silhouette of a still bare tree. The moon. The beautiful moon.

I had a difficult time pulling my gaze away from the scene.

I could hear frogs croaking in the darkness, along with the shrill sound of a killdeer.

I attempted to take a picture. I wanted to capture the beauty of the moment. Alas, my camera was unable to accurately copy the night time scene. My picture was dark.  I wonder if  catching moonlight is even possible?  I ended up with a dark picture with a white spot in the middle...which was the moon. No aura. No still beauty. No moonlight.

I wanted to savor the moment so I grabbed my Eurcharisteo journal...and I gave thanks.

#281  bright moon, close to Earth

#282  cool night air

#283  silhouette of bare tree under moonlight

#284  moon mirrored in the winter lake, in the field

#285   enjoying the beauty of God

#286   afternoon nap

#287  snuggling

#288  breath taking views

#289  pink

#290  the awe in the Almighty

#291  warm sweater

#292  smooth hair

#293  my tall son

#294  blue tennis shoes

# 295  Jeremiah 31:9

#296 comfortable clothes

#297  early morning quiet

#298 breakfast

#299 sunlight on the barn

#300 the mail van stopping at my house

It's all by His grace. Every bit of it.

As I've been writing down in my notebook.... filling it with eucharisteo, I have become more and more aware of this fact.

If you are interested in reading more, click on the Multitudes on Mondays graphic in the right hand column.

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In The Rearview Mirror

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In chapter 8 of One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp says, "God reveals Himself in rearview mirrors. And I've an inkling that there are times when we need to drive a long, long distance, before we can look back and see God's back in the rearview mirror...Maybe sometimes about as far as heaven ---that kind of distance."

Wow. That statement rocked me. Hard.

I've thought about this a lot, long before I read Ann's words. She just reminded me of it.

In my own life, I can look back and see all the ways that God has loved and provided for me. He has shown patience with me, and forgiven me.  During the good days...and also in the days I slogged through the muck.

It's all His grace.

Looking back...

Both the wise decisions I've made and the poor decisions...consequences I suffered.

People I've lost...tears I've shed. New friendships and relationships.

Drawing close to Him...Him drawing even closer to me.

My life glimmers in the mirror. School, Family, Career, Marriage, Motherhood, Friendships, Homes, Widowhood, Death, Dating, Remarriage, Blended Families, Resigning from teaching, Home School, New House, Moving, Job Loss, New Job.....

The small decisions of the every day, the big decisions that change a life, the happy, the sad, the silly and the profound. All the things that knit together to make my life.

It is when I look in my rearview mirror that I realize God was there.

He's always been there..... It was me. I was the one driving blind.

I must keep my eyes open to see Him.

I'm continuing on this journey, to thank Him in the daily grind. To live fully...right where I'm at.

# 196 It was only the basement that flooded during this rainy weather. It could have been worse...and it wasn't.

# 197 My husband who is good at fixing stuff, in the now muddy and soggy basement. He's trying hard to get this done.

#198 Warm socks on a cold floor.

#199 Conversations with my children.

#200 Letters from the heart.

# 201 Warm quilts

# 202 My favorite wing back chair to read in

#203 An extra spoonful of sour cream

# 204 My son making dinner

# 205 Kindness

It's all eucharisteo to... Him. It's all grace to me.

(Click the multitudes on Mondays --One Thousand Gifts graphic on the ride side of my blog...if you want to read what others are saying!)

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Growth Can't Always Be Measured With A Ruler

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I still have a long way to go.

Growing. Stretching. Absorbing. Changing.

Some days I think I've got it all together. Whatever "it" is. I've got it all figured out. I'm on top of things.

Other days I know I don't. I wonder if I ever did.

I look at other people. I think maybe their lives are right. And good.

Even if they aren't.

I measure myself.

I come up short.

I want more.

More of what is good. More of what makes me happy. More of things going my way.

More. More. More.

Ungrateful.

The dark emotion washes over me like the cold waves of a surly ocean. I am overcome.

I breathe deeply. I don't really like this place.

I snip at my kids, ignore my husband, don't even want to pet the dog.

Who am I?

I breathe again.

Ann Voskamp reminds me in chapter 8. I know this woman's words are a gift to me from God Himself. There is no other explanation. God speaks in many ways--and sometimes it is through a Canadian woman, a farmer's wife, a home schooling mom of six. I am humbled.

On page 143, her words sear through me. Cutting me. Straight to the place that oozes with the ungrateful. The worry. The stress. The parts of myself that I don't like to show.

"Anxiety has been my natural posture, my default stiffness.  How I angle my jaw, braced, chisel, the brow with the lines of distrust. How I don't fold my hands in prayer...weld them into tight fists of control...... Do I hold worry close as this ruse of control, this pretense that I'm the one who will determine the course of events as I stir and churn and ruminate? Worry is the facade of taking action when prayer really is. And stressed, this pitched word that punctuates every conversation, is it really my attempt to prove how indispensable I am? Or is it more? Maybe disguising my deep fears as stress seems braver somehow."

And on page 146, " Stress isn't only a joy stealer. The way we respond to it can be sin." ......"I've got to get this thing, what it means to trust, to gut-believe in the good touch of God toward me, because it's true: I can't fill with joy until I learn how to trust: 'May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow." (Romans 15:13)

I breathe again.

And I work on giving thanks. I need to give thanks. I must give thanks.

In order to see.

#155  Rainy days

#156 Warm light spilling through the kitchen

#157  Green showing through melted snow

# 158  Children laughing

 

 

 

 

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Eucharisteo

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Eucharisteo--Greek.   yoo-khar-is-teh'-o. Verb. Definition: 1.To be grateful, to feel thankful. 2. Give thanks

In chapter two of One Thousand Gifts, Ann talks about eucharisteo. Eucharisteo is the key word. The meaning behind it, the challenge of this entire book.

To Give Thanks.

(pg. 30)"On this page Ann asks herself if she needs to see the world, visit the exquisite, before she faces eternity? Or isn't it here? Can't I find it here? (31) Isn't it here? The wonder? Why do I spend so much of my living hours struggling to see it?"

This is so true for me. It is easy for me to skim over the very real miracles of today, not seeing them. Blinded by the busyness of life, thinking I need to do something more. Something big. Something significant. Before I am witness to the incredible.Could it really be something as simple as giving thanks? Being grateful for what I have? Even if it is a simple thing...The simple things become the big things, if they are appreciated. If I remember to offer thanks for them.


(pg. 37) "What precedes the miracle is thanksgiving, eucharisteo, and it is a Greek word with a hard meaning that is harder yet to live. Do I really want to take up this word?"

Should I really take up the challenge of gratitude? Will it change me? Will my eyes begin to see the ways that God is saying "yes" to me, on a daily basis? Certainly it is true that God acts in big ways, when He chooses. But, isn't it just as true that God acts in small ways? The small things that touch us in the grind of the every day? Shouldn't I be as appreciative for the beauty in the quiet stillness of freshly fallen snow, as I am for the healing of a loved one? Shouldn't I thank Him for hugs from children that he has blessed me with? As much as I see him in the faces of the forgiven? Shouldn't the smell of freshly laundered towels be as heady to me as the view from a mountain top?


Isn't God big enough to have everything under control? But small enough to to have communion with me as I thank him for the warm chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven? Why does my eucharisteo have to be small? Or only for certain things? Can I not thank God for ALL he does? All the ways he blesses? Even when I don't understand? Even when things don't go "my way". Can I not thank him for being in control--even when I'm so out of control? For being sovereign when I can't even see a second into my own future?


And with that...the Father of Lies whispers in my ear. He spits out the word eucharisteo. A whisper of irritation. A scratch of ungratefulness. "You don't need eucharisteo. It's useless. God isn't listening." And I am taken back to the garden. In the beginning he convinced Adam and Eve that ungratefulness was normal. That it was okay. That what God gave them wasn't good enough...and with that they sunk their teeth into that glorious fruit. The same fruit that turned bitter and rotten in their mouths. Communion with God was fractured, and the ungratefulness started to fester. It has been that way ever since.

And yet...

I want to take the challenge....the dare....to give thanks. To live eucharisteo. To see with my own eyes the difference it makes.

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