March 22, 2011
Eucharisteo 1
Ann Voskamp writes, in One Thousand Gifts, Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are,
“The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning “grace.” Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be gift and gave thanks.
But there is more, and I read it. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning “joy.” Joy. Ah…yes. I might be needing me some of that. That might be what the quest for more is all about–that which Augustine claimed, “Without exception…all try their hardest to reach the same goal, that is joy.”
11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. (Philippians 4:11-12)
And so begins my list of 1,000 gifts. Gifts of my life. Gifts that I have been given. Small and large. The gift of breath and the gift of death. The gifts, they have been given to me.
1. Sun prints through my front window
2. Tiny seeds to plant
3. The taste of the first watermelon of the season
4. One more good day with my dog.
5. The warm winds ushering in spring.
6. Memories captured in a photo book.
7. A flower hidden in the trees.
8. The sound of a humming fan.
9. The light flashing on my phone, telling me that I have a message
10. Spring flowers, even if they are just weeds…because they are yellow.
“Learn how to be thankful-whether empty or full. Gratitude in the midst of death and divorce and debt-that’s the language I’ve got to learn to speak-because that’s the kind of life I’m living, the kind I have to solve. If living eucharisteo is the key to unlocking the mystery of life, this I want. I want to hunt, the long sleuth, the careful piecing together. To learn how to be grateful and happy, whether hands full or hands empty. That is a secret worth spending a life on learning.“ ~Ann Voskamp~
Mar 22, 2011 @ 20:04:30
I so love this book. It really has drawn me to a deeper relationship with God. To realize the gift of the everyday that we take for granted. It must be embraced with contentment. I am thankful for the heart beats at my feet that I call Candy and Corky. They keep my feet warm.