One Thousand Gifts

I am about 1/2 way through a book that I am enjoying, “One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are” .  The author initiates the exercise of naming blessings God brings to her each day.  God uses thankfulness in the midst of difficulty to transform her. Here is the author’s website if you are interested: http://www.aholyexperience.com/   I am listening to the lovely music on that site as I write this.  May God do the same radical heart surgery on me, using whatever tools He deems best including teaching me gratefulness in the midst of cancer and pain.

  

A friend emailed me these direct quotes from the book: 

when I realize that it is not God who is in my debt but I who am in His great debt, then doesn’t all become a gift?

-here dies another day during which I have had eyes, ears, hands and the great world around me; and with tomorrow begins another.  Why am I allowed two days?  Why lavished with 3? A whole string of grace days?

 

-the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord Job 1:21

-it’s just that the eyes are bad – my perspective.

-only because I was looking.  Because that list of one thousand gifts has me always looking for one more- to behold one more moment pregnant with wonder

-little nails and a steady hammer rebuild a life – eucharisteo precedes a miracle (and He took the bread and gave “thanks”… Luke 22:19. Eucharisteo. Root word charis meaning grace. Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. He knew it to be a gift. Greek derivative chara meaning joy. Deep chara joy is only found at the table of the euCHARisteo – the table of thanksgiving.)

-Jesus enduring the cross for the joy set before Him

-His secret purpose framed from the very beginning is to bring us to our full glory 1Cor 2:7 NEB. He means to heal our soul holes to return us to our full glory before the fall.

– maybe it’s accepting there are things I don’t understand, but He does.

– God is in the details; God is in the moment.  God is in all that blurs by in life – even hurts in life. By naming the things we are thankful for we are recognizing God in that moment.  The moments will add up.

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I think I will start naming some of my “One Thousand PLUS gifts” in this thread Another friend shared yesterday that she keeps a notebook out for her whole family to jot down blessings,  Maybe our family will do that too–I like that idea!

 

Here goes the start of my list:

 

1. Thank you Lord for a RIGHT arm that does not have an  “invisible tourniquet/inflated BP cuff” sensation on it 🙂  OH, the joy and blessing of having one arm that does not constantly hurt!  Two painful arms would be much harder for me than one.  Thank you Father for BOTH my left and right arm.  Some people don’t have any arms.   The two are blessings and gifts from You to me.

2. Clean sheets on my bed

3. My husband’s loving arms to hold me close

4.  Fresh starts available to me from God 24/7/365

5. Beautiful sunsets and rises 

Have Thine Own Way, Lord!

God’s beloved bald-headed Paula

(Can you pray that God will give me grace for the chemo induced sores, (“Mucositis” is it’s official name)?  They are thankfully clearing up on my scalp right now.  They are most irritating and uncomfortable to me when they pop out in my mouth and enlarge blood vessels normally not seen, creep down my throat, inside my nose, and in my ears–soooo, thanls Lord, for the blessing that they are mostly just on my scalp right now and are healing up) Don’t forget to count that simple blessing, friends if you don’t have any sores bugging you :).  There are so many gifts from our loving Heavenly Father that we take for granted.

*** See comments below in this blog entry: I will be adding to my “1000 gifts” list on a continuing basis down there***

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_Thine_Own_Way,_Lord

“Have Thine Own Way, Lord” is a Christian hymn with lyrics by Adelaide A. Pollard and music by George C. Stebbins was first published in 1907, in the “Northfield Hymnal with Alexander’s Supplement”. Later that year, it also appeared in two other popular hymnals, Ira Sankey’s “Hallowed Hymns New and Old” and Sankey and Clement’s “Best Endeavor Hymns”.

 

 

Background For the Hymn:

 In 1902, Adelaide A. Pollard, a Bible teacher and hymn writer, was hoping to go to Africa as a missionary but found herself unable to raise the needed funds to make the journey. Greatly discouraged, she attended a prayer service one evening and as she sat there, she overheard an elderly woman say “It really doesn’t matter what you do with us, Lord, just have your own way with our lives.” The elderly woman inspired Pollard and she contemplated the story of the potter from Jeremiah 18:3 and, upon her return home that evening, wrote all four stanzas before retiring for the night.

Five years later George Stebbins wrote a tune titled “Adelaide” to accompany the text.

 Lyrics

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
      Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
     While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
     Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
     As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
     Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
     Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
     Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit ’till all shall see
     Christ only, always, living in me.

Have Thine Own Way, Lord