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One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are
Von Ann Voskamp
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New York Times bestselling author Ann Voskamp invites you to embrace everyday blessings and embark on the transformative spiritual discipline of chronicling God's gifts.
Just like you, Ann Voskamp hungers to live her one life well. Forget the bucket lists that have us escaping our everyday lives for exotic experiences. "How," Ann wondered, "do we find joy in the midst of deadlines, debt, drama, and daily duties? What does the Christ-life really look like when your days are gritty, long - and sometimes even dark? How is God even here?"
In One Thousand Gifts, Ann invites you to discover a way of seeing that opens your eyes to ordinary amazing grace, a way of living that is fully alive, and a way of becoming present to God that brings you deep and lasting joy. It's only in the expression of gratitude for the life we already have, we discover the life we've always wanted . . . a life we can take, give thanks for, and break for others. We come to feel and know the impossible right down in our bones: we are wildly loved - by God.
Let Ann's beautiful, heart-aching stories of the everyday give you a way of seeing that opens your eyes to ordinary amazing grace, a way of being present to God that makes you deeply happy, and a way of living that is finally fully alive. Come live the best dare of all!
For extended study into the One Thousand Gifts message, Ann has also created the One Thousand Gifts video study and study guide, a One Thousand Gifts devotional, and a special gift edition. This title is also available in Spanish, Millar de Obsequios.
Buchaktionen
Mit Lesen beginnenInformationen über das Buch
One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are
Von Ann Voskamp
Beschreibung
MORE THAN ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD
New York Times bestselling author Ann Voskamp invites you to embrace everyday blessings and embark on the transformative spiritual discipline of chronicling God's gifts.
Just like you, Ann Voskamp hungers to live her one life well. Forget the bucket lists that have us escaping our everyday lives for exotic experiences. "How," Ann wondered, "do we find joy in the midst of deadlines, debt, drama, and daily duties? What does the Christ-life really look like when your days are gritty, long - and sometimes even dark? How is God even here?"
In One Thousand Gifts, Ann invites you to discover a way of seeing that opens your eyes to ordinary amazing grace, a way of living that is fully alive, and a way of becoming present to God that brings you deep and lasting joy. It's only in the expression of gratitude for the life we already have, we discover the life we've always wanted . . . a life we can take, give thanks for, and break for others. We come to feel and know the impossible right down in our bones: we are wildly loved - by God.
Let Ann's beautiful, heart-aching stories of the everyday give you a way of seeing that opens your eyes to ordinary amazing grace, a way of being present to God that makes you deeply happy, and a way of living that is finally fully alive. Come live the best dare of all!
For extended study into the One Thousand Gifts message, Ann has also created the One Thousand Gifts video study and study guide, a One Thousand Gifts devotional, and a special gift edition. This title is also available in Spanish, Millar de Obsequios.
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It’s rare these days that I’ll pull out a perfect ten for a book. Even more rare — that I’ll start a book with such misguided expectations and end up loving it. At first, I thought Voskamp’s writing was far to flowery, mystical, and poetic for me, but it didn’t take long for me to be enveloped by her language and lost in her words. Voskamp had lived a life of anxiety and sadness, and yet one day decides to start a gratitude list, writing out the small things that she could thank God for. This small act begins to change every aspect of her life, from the way she views her children and husband, the way she reacts to difficult times, and the way she sees God as an abundant provider instead of constantly taking things away. I finished this up on a flight home recently, and I got out my journal and sat there and wept in my seat as I wrote down a list of the things I was thankful for just that evening. I think other passengers must have thought I was crazy.I want to gift this book to so many of my friends, especially those struggling with some really difficult life issues, such as depression. I know that the poetic language might turn a lot of readers off, but as someone who usually likes her writing much more solid and fact-driving, I can honestly say that I was able to immerse myself in her language and get to the true point of what she was trying to convey. I am so thankful for this book — I really hope you’ll give it a chance and pick it up.
Ann Voskamp is experienced with dealing with tragedy. Her younger sister was tragically killed by a car accident which Ann witness while still a girl. Her sensitive nature caused her to internalize her sorrow, pain and questions. At times her worries and questions about life threatened to overwhelm her mind, despite her faith. Then someone challenges her to find 1000 gifts for which she is grateful. As she practices finding these gifts, these graces the Lord begins to work on her mind and heart. She discovers the power of thankfulness, of Eucharisteo as she calls it. The concepts of this book are wonderful and beg to be applied by the reader. It is written in a very poetic style and must be read slowly and (I found) in small pieces. I listened to the audio version which Ann narrates herself. She has a wonderful speaking voice and the words are like spoken song. One must pay careful attention and listen well to capture all of them. Great for individual or group study, for those interested in living a life of faith and grace to the fullest, while still feeling deeply and confronting the dark places of life.
Beautiful writing, encouraging and convicting. I highly recommend this book.
just finished reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts. This book touched my heart. Ann does a beautiful job of writing her feelings and thoughts so descriptively. She writes the questions that many of us think deep within our hearts after we face a devastating tragedy...questions that we dare not say out loud for fear of what others might think of us. "Can there be a good God? A God who graces with good gifts when a crib lies empty through long nights, and bugs burrow through coffins? Where is God, really? How can He be good when babies die, and marriages implode, and dreams blow away, dust in the wind? ...Where hides this joy of the Lord, this God who fills the earth with good things, and how do I fully live when life is full of hurt?" (pg. 12)It isn't until a friend dares Ann to list one thousand gifts that things begin to really change in her life. She begins to list not the things she wants, but the gifts she has already been given. It begins to help her see the grace of God in her life in the little everyday things from jam on toast to nature outside and more. She learns what it means to be thankful and it changes her life. "When the laundry is for the dozen arms of children or the dozen legs, it's true, I think I'm due some appreciation. So comes a storm of trouble and lightning strikes joy. But when Christ is at the center, when dishes, laundry, work is my song of thanks to Him, joy rains." (pg. 194) I love this. It's exactly what I face every day. And like Ann says in the book, it's a daily choice of gratitude and with that choice, my whole outlook on life changes b/c life is not about me but about Christ. This is one of those books that you must read. So go to your local bookstore or check it out from the library and enjoy a book that will change your perspective on life.
I am torn about how to review this book. I found it difficult to read, due to the writing style and in particular the author's idiosyncratic use (and non-use!) of the definite and indefinite articles. It generally read as though she was writing poetry, with varying degrees of success. References to members of her family as "Man-Boy" and "the Farmer" etc grated on me too. However, many of her thoughts, practices and the quotations from ancient mystics were very helpful to me, even if the theological leaps she took to get to them seemed to me to be exactly that - leaps. I have started my own list of one thousand gifts and the concept that "all is grace" will stick with me. She talks about difficult, important questions and this book made me think.
"A beautifully practical guide to living a life of joy, One Thousand Gifts invites you to wake up to God's everyday blessings." "...grace-bathed reflections on her farming, parenting, and writing life, you will embark on a transformative spiritual discipline of chronicling gifts. Along the way, you will discover a way of seeing that opens your eyes to gratitude, a way of living so you are not afraid to die, and a way of becoming present to God's presence that brings deep and lasting happiness."I love the way this lady writes. If you are an outdoors lover, it will appeal to you as well.
I loved many of the ideas explored in this book, specifically the way Ann goes into the root words for eucharisteo to explain how thanksgiving always comes before the miracle. There are parts of the book that I read and reread, highlighting and writing down in my journal to remember in the future. That being said, there were many parts that I had to quickly skim through in order to finish the book. It reminded me a little of L. M. Montgomery's style of writing - I love "Anne of Green Gables" as well, but both include too many prolonged descriptions for me.
"One Thousand Gifts
beckons you to leave the parched ground of pride, fear, and white-knuckle control and abandon yourself to the God who overflows your cup.
It invites you to wake up to God's everyday blessings,
and discover, as Ann did,
that in giving thanks for the life you already have,
you find the life you've always wanted." ~ dayspring
Here's a book needing a slow swirl to savour both fragrance and flavour... take that sip, close your eyes to capture nuances and absorb depths of richness uncommon to the spiritual palate...
a welcome addition to this reader's library ~
beckons you to leave the parched ground of pride, fear, and white-knuckle control and abandon yourself to the God who overflows your cup.
It invites you to wake up to God's everyday blessings,
and discover, as Ann did,
that in giving thanks for the life you already have,
you find the life you've always wanted." ~ dayspring
Here's a book needing a slow swirl to savour both fragrance and flavour... take that sip, close your eyes to capture nuances and absorb depths of richness uncommon to the spiritual palate...
a welcome addition to this reader's library ~
Loved this book. With beautiful details, Ann gives you glimpses into her life as a homeschooling mom of 6, married to a farmer, and how her life has been transformed from depression to gratitude for all God's gifts. Inspiring and challenging. I definitely recommend this, especially to mom seeking God in their daily lives.
UPDATE: Well, my thoughts still stand. I will re-visit this book, I think... I'm glad I read it and bought it... The writing style does bug me, so I take it in little doses... So I give it 5 stars for thoughts and insights, 3 or 2.5 for irritating, inconsistent, idiosyncratic, annoying grammar!
I first heard of Voskamp several years ago when I was looking for a read aloud geography book for my daughter, for home school. Voskamp is a homeschooler herself. We loved that book and read it through.
I have been reading One Thousand Gifts s-l-o-w-l-y. It is that kind of book. I love the ideas Voskamp writes about. To find joy in little things, even hard things... trials, inconveniences.. yes, there are blessings in everything. I took the book out of the library at first, but then realized I wanted to underline and highlight a lot, so I bought the book and am now still highlighting and underlining thoughts.. A lot of goodreads reviewers criticized Voskamp's writing style. And when I saw these criticisms it hindered me a bit, made me wonder if I want to bother w/reading it. I'm glad I did, but I do agree w/the criticisms. Voskamp's writing style, at least in this book, is over the top poetic, and frankly it gets irritating. And what's worse, from this grammar nerd's perspective, her inconsistencies bug the heck out of me.. for ex... her misuse of adjectives for adverbs... "I touched his cheek soft." She leaves out articles. Here and there, not always.. just often enough to bother me. "Son goes to window." Now I wouldn't mind it much but she doesn't do this consistently throughout the book. And so if I were the editor I'd say, 'make up your mind which way ya want to go lady." Either keep the idiosyncratic style throughout the book or hang it up... despite the technique issues, I do find her thoughts inspiring and I will finish this one....
I first heard of Voskamp several years ago when I was looking for a read aloud geography book for my daughter, for home school. Voskamp is a homeschooler herself. We loved that book and read it through.
I have been reading One Thousand Gifts s-l-o-w-l-y. It is that kind of book. I love the ideas Voskamp writes about. To find joy in little things, even hard things... trials, inconveniences.. yes, there are blessings in everything. I took the book out of the library at first, but then realized I wanted to underline and highlight a lot, so I bought the book and am now still highlighting and underlining thoughts.. A lot of goodreads reviewers criticized Voskamp's writing style. And when I saw these criticisms it hindered me a bit, made me wonder if I want to bother w/reading it. I'm glad I did, but I do agree w/the criticisms. Voskamp's writing style, at least in this book, is over the top poetic, and frankly it gets irritating. And what's worse, from this grammar nerd's perspective, her inconsistencies bug the heck out of me.. for ex... her misuse of adjectives for adverbs... "I touched his cheek soft." She leaves out articles. Here and there, not always.. just often enough to bother me. "Son goes to window." Now I wouldn't mind it much but she doesn't do this consistently throughout the book. And so if I were the editor I'd say, 'make up your mind which way ya want to go lady." Either keep the idiosyncratic style throughout the book or hang it up... despite the technique issues, I do find her thoughts inspiring and I will finish this one....
This book is packaged well, it looks good. It has an interesting idea behind it. Ann Voskamp was disheartened with her life until a friend challenged her to write a list of one thousand things that she is grateful for. This is a book with many thought provoking passages and many important messages. The trouble is finding these important messages within the book.It starts off well. The author begins the book by writing about her family life and giving background to the reasons behind her negative feelings towards God. She reveals a heartbreaking tragedy that led to a life full of anxiety and fear. I found that in the parts of the book where the author was revealing subjects close to her heart and events from her past, she was able to write those without pretension and without resorting to use of flowery language. Those parts of the book are good and really held my interest, and sometimes moved me. However, most of the book is full of poetic language to the extent that it reads more like poetry than prose. There is also an inordinate amount of repetition of the same thing over and over again. It took me a long time to read this book because sometimes I could not bear to read another word. If I hadn’t been reading it to review it for Bookpleasures, I would have stopped reading about half way through.All that said, I think it is a great shame that the book wasn’t thoroughly edited. Half of the words should definitely have been cut out. The flowery poetry should have been binned, in my opinion. It was as if the author was either trying too hard to find imagery to describe things, or was hiding behind this purple prose. She obviously has a great talent, because the bits of the book that I liked, I really liked.She brought up many important issues in this book, but the way it was written makes it almost unreadable, unfortunately. It is a pity because, if this book was re-edited and restructured, it would be a perfect way to get across to people the importance of trusting and being grateful for the many gifts we take for granted in life on a daily basis.Reviewed by Maria Savva as a reviewer for Bookpleasures.
Awesome inspirational reading.
I have been changed by the truths, poetically told in this book.I challenge you to let your life be invaded by a new vision that will bring you closer to God.
One Thousand Gifts contains a lot of excellent perspective. I found some of the word pictures to be a bit too much.
Thank you for urging me to embark on this incredible journey...in this season I am learning the truest sense of Eucharistio.....outrageous grace and gratefulness in all things...
I recently attended an Advent retreat before Christmas 2020. The retreat presenter pointed out that when she read this book and was introduced to, and challenged as well, to write down 1000 gifts of gratitude, it changed her life. I download the book on Scribd and from the first chapter I knew it would also change my life, and it has. There is such profound wisdom from this mother, this wife, this disciple, this one who journeys eucharisteo and who now passes it on to others. One can see, from her experiences and if we allow it to penetrate our heart and our soul that, we too, will experience that eucharisteo does and will indeed come before the miracle. It goes without saying that it is highly recommended for anyone that wants to live a life of Thanksgiving, grace and joy in God. Thank you.
This book reads like poetry, prose, and a sermon with vivid illustrations at points. Voskamp develops a theology of thanksgiving. She begins with her own realization that Luke 22:19 tells us Jesus gave thanks when he broke the bread and blessed the wine that symbolized his soon-to-be-broken body and blood. The Greek word for this giving thanks is "eucharisteo," which Voskamp holds as the "holy grail" of joy. It holds the root "charis" (grace) and "chara" (joy). A search shows that this word is used 36 times in the New Testament (and probably 360 times in the book)-- giving thanks is central to the life of the believer. "God set (the eucharist) at the very center of Christianity." He said "Do this in remembrance of Me." We begin each week being thankful for the Gospel.
This book is popular among women, including my wife, and reading it reminded me both of Foster and Beebe's Longing for God (my review) and The Shack (my review).Why The Shack? Because the underlying theme of both books is that God is sovereign and good. They both begin with tragedies that lead the authors to ask "How could a good, loving God let this happen?" which leads to the discoveries that we are free to give thanks in the midst of tragedy and pain because "nothing happens to you apart from God's will." When we accept God's gifts with bitterness and self-pity, we're implicitly saying that Satan's way would be better--it's blasphemy. Voskamp rightly states that distrust and worry are atheism. Jesus commanded us not to worry, and most of our anxiety comes from our lack of trust in God. Unlike The Shack, however, Voskamp openly quotes Scripture to explain her points and tell stories to her children.
Israel was covenanted to regularly observe days of thanks for what God had done for them, just as Jesus commanded us to observe the eucharist "in remembrance of Me." Remembrance should bring joy. But what about the dark memories of death, abuse, pain? Those events, too, were part of God's purpose. Voskamp writes that distance and time makes us appreciate them more for the gifts they were-- though we may never understand fully. Gratitude, she writes, is the foremost characteristic of a disciple. Jesus gave thanks for the very thing that would break and crush him. We give thanks for being able to die, for dying with Christ daily.
I appreciated her observation that we all read Ephesians 5:20, have heard sermons, and have books on our shelves reminding us to "give thanks for everything," but the more we broad-brush say "I'm thankful for everything," the less we're truly thankful for. She accepts a dare to record 1,000 things she's thankful for, developing a discipline of thankfulness. When we count our blessings we find out Who can be counted on. These range from boiled eggs to sorted clothes to the smell of the woods-- everyday things she experiences as a housewife on a farm. At this point, she discovers work as worship, finding that she can worship God by serving others as a housewife-- washing potatoes can be an act of worship. She quotes Dorothy Sayers (doesn't everyone?) on these points but I would have loved to see some Tozer and others in there as well.
Voskamp has gotten some criticism from people like Tim Challies (I will probably write another post critical of his review for several reasons.) for quoting Dallas Willard, Teresa of Avila, and other "mystics." Challies neglects to mention that she also quotes John Piper, J.I. Packer, Tim Keller, John Calvin, and other Reformed non-mystics heavily. The book gives little information of her education, but she's clearly well-read. Voskamp's words are similar to poems written by John Piper, her quest for the joy parallel's his quest for joy as explained in Desiring God. For Voskamp, the key to joy and "paradise" is in a life of gratefulness and thanksgiving.
When reading this book, I'm reminded that women think differently than men. A man would turn this book into a how-to manual with bullet points summarizing the scripture references. She writes from her own experiences, putting all her emotions out on paper. Women probably trust personal experiences and testimony more and professional credentials less (are there studies backing me up?). I listened to her read the book, so I experienced her tears and her laughter in a personal way.
With all the positive above, there are a few caveats about the book. My biggest issue came at the conclusion where there is a weird scene where she's visiting Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and experiencing a "union" with and "caresses" by God that are a bit disturbing. "God makes love with grace upon grace, every moment a making of His love for us. [C]ouldn’t I make love to God, making every moment love for Him? To know Him the way Adam knew Eve. Spirit skin to spirit skin?” She has a sort of ecstasy here that I find disturbing and off-putting, and it is definitely not akin to how the Apostles wrote about their experience of Jesus in the New Testament.
While the sovereignty and goodness of God are clear, the holiness of God is not so clear. Neither are the entirety of the death, burial, and resurrection. A Christian reading this book can find great encouragement, but a non-Christian reading this book might admire her ability to find joy in her tragedy and trust God to give her all good things, but still be confused as to how that's possible-- through Christ's atonement for our sins, and his physical resurrection. The book is not a complete autobiography, but it is very inward-focused. It is almost entirely about "me." My feelings, my daily life, my children, etc. That got to be a little too much for me.
In all, I give it 3.5 stars out of 5. I enjoyed it, and was encouraged to live with more gratitude and remember to "consider it all joy."
This book is popular among women, including my wife, and reading it reminded me both of Foster and Beebe's Longing for God (my review) and The Shack (my review).Why The Shack? Because the underlying theme of both books is that God is sovereign and good. They both begin with tragedies that lead the authors to ask "How could a good, loving God let this happen?" which leads to the discoveries that we are free to give thanks in the midst of tragedy and pain because "nothing happens to you apart from God's will." When we accept God's gifts with bitterness and self-pity, we're implicitly saying that Satan's way would be better--it's blasphemy. Voskamp rightly states that distrust and worry are atheism. Jesus commanded us not to worry, and most of our anxiety comes from our lack of trust in God. Unlike The Shack, however, Voskamp openly quotes Scripture to explain her points and tell stories to her children.
Israel was covenanted to regularly observe days of thanks for what God had done for them, just as Jesus commanded us to observe the eucharist "in remembrance of Me." Remembrance should bring joy. But what about the dark memories of death, abuse, pain? Those events, too, were part of God's purpose. Voskamp writes that distance and time makes us appreciate them more for the gifts they were-- though we may never understand fully. Gratitude, she writes, is the foremost characteristic of a disciple. Jesus gave thanks for the very thing that would break and crush him. We give thanks for being able to die, for dying with Christ daily.
I appreciated her observation that we all read Ephesians 5:20, have heard sermons, and have books on our shelves reminding us to "give thanks for everything," but the more we broad-brush say "I'm thankful for everything," the less we're truly thankful for. She accepts a dare to record 1,000 things she's thankful for, developing a discipline of thankfulness. When we count our blessings we find out Who can be counted on. These range from boiled eggs to sorted clothes to the smell of the woods-- everyday things she experiences as a housewife on a farm. At this point, she discovers work as worship, finding that she can worship God by serving others as a housewife-- washing potatoes can be an act of worship. She quotes Dorothy Sayers (doesn't everyone?) on these points but I would have loved to see some Tozer and others in there as well.
Voskamp has gotten some criticism from people like Tim Challies (I will probably write another post critical of his review for several reasons.) for quoting Dallas Willard, Teresa of Avila, and other "mystics." Challies neglects to mention that she also quotes John Piper, J.I. Packer, Tim Keller, John Calvin, and other Reformed non-mystics heavily. The book gives little information of her education, but she's clearly well-read. Voskamp's words are similar to poems written by John Piper, her quest for the joy parallel's his quest for joy as explained in Desiring God. For Voskamp, the key to joy and "paradise" is in a life of gratefulness and thanksgiving.
When reading this book, I'm reminded that women think differently than men. A man would turn this book into a how-to manual with bullet points summarizing the scripture references. She writes from her own experiences, putting all her emotions out on paper. Women probably trust personal experiences and testimony more and professional credentials less (are there studies backing me up?). I listened to her read the book, so I experienced her tears and her laughter in a personal way.
With all the positive above, there are a few caveats about the book. My biggest issue came at the conclusion where there is a weird scene where she's visiting Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and experiencing a "union" with and "caresses" by God that are a bit disturbing. "God makes love with grace upon grace, every moment a making of His love for us. [C]ouldn’t I make love to God, making every moment love for Him? To know Him the way Adam knew Eve. Spirit skin to spirit skin?” She has a sort of ecstasy here that I find disturbing and off-putting, and it is definitely not akin to how the Apostles wrote about their experience of Jesus in the New Testament.
While the sovereignty and goodness of God are clear, the holiness of God is not so clear. Neither are the entirety of the death, burial, and resurrection. A Christian reading this book can find great encouragement, but a non-Christian reading this book might admire her ability to find joy in her tragedy and trust God to give her all good things, but still be confused as to how that's possible-- through Christ's atonement for our sins, and his physical resurrection. The book is not a complete autobiography, but it is very inward-focused. It is almost entirely about "me." My feelings, my daily life, my children, etc. That got to be a little too much for me.
In all, I give it 3.5 stars out of 5. I enjoyed it, and was encouraged to live with more gratitude and remember to "consider it all joy."