Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Gifts Found in April 2015 - Part 1


I just recently came across information on this awesome-sounding book by Ann Voskamp when I found a "Count 1000 Gifts" for the month of April.

{I just spent a long time on Pinterest looking for ALL of the months so I could continue this daily challenge for the rest of the year - even though these are dated for 2012, they certainly apply to now, or anytime!}

And, I am journaling the Gifts in my "regular" journal...

But, now that I have found ALL of the months, I have decided to use a separate journal just for all of the Gifts I will find along the journey of discovering - an whole year of looking for God's Gifts!

BUT...

I also want to share these Gifts on my blog!


So, a new category, or label, will be added as "1000 Gifts" for these discoveries.


Now that I have shared my thoughts on finding this awesome book, deciding to do the challenge, and sharing it on my blog...


This is what encouraged me to do the April challenge in the first place -


and then to continue with all of the rest of the months:

I read the following quote from Ann Voskamp on Facebook at the time I found the April list of "Gifts":


"Scavenger hunt every day for God's glory, His grace gifts - and find more joy in Him.  And count all the ways He loves you - and find yourself Beloved."

That was my inspiration for following the "1000 Gifts" Scavenger Hunt!

So...here are the gifts I found on my "Scavenger Hunt" in the first of four posts:


"My Gifts Found in April 2015":

April 1st
3 Gifts Round

1.  The Gift of Food:  a bowl (round) of Honey Nut Cheerios (also round).
2.  The Gift of Friendship:  a Tervis tumbler given by a friend.
3.  The Gift of Life:  I cannot look at the sun; but I can look upon the Son who gives me life!



Found on Pinterest
Shared by tudodeom.blogspot.com



April 2nd
3 Gifts White

1.  The Gift of the Word:  a verse, written in a white frame, inside the pages of a scripture "flip-book", reminding me to: "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 (NIV).
2.  The Gift of Words:  a blank white sheet of paper or journal page, ready to write words given to me by God.


Found on Pinterest
Shared by mewithmyheadintheclouds.blogspot.com

3.  The Gift of Another Day:  the beautiful round white moon, signaling another day has come to an end.


April 3rd
3 Gifts Surprisingly Found

1.  The Gift of Quiet:  though few and short, found a {short} pocket of time to spend in morning Bible reading and devotions.
2.  The Gift of Jesus Christ:  an awesome, touching Good Friday service in song, scripture, readings and drama, ending with the Lord's Supper, at The Image Church - a non-denominational church my daughter attends.  Not normally my "style", it was a refreshing and very inspirational service!
3.  The Gift of Open-ness:  Open to the message of Good Friday in a new church, full of His love and His Word to share with all!

April 4th
3 Gifts in His Word

1.  The Gift of Promise:  "Easter morning promises that dark days do not last forever!"  These words were the Thought for the Day in my Upper Room devotion.
2.  The Gift of Love:  "But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us..."  K-love radio station's Encouraging Word for the day.
3.  The Gift of Enough:  "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ."  Philippians 4:19, seen on a blog for Random Journal Day.

April 5th
3 Gifts at 11 am, 2 pm and 6 pm

1.  The Gift of Music at 11 am:  Beautiful Easter Sunday music, Christ, the Lord, Has Risen Today!  Hallelujah!!  And ending with our traditional, "He IS Alive"!
2.  The Gift of Family at 2 pm:  Gathering together at my daughter's home for dinner and - well, just being together!  By a bit after 2 pm, my other daughter and her family had arrived.  It was a blessing to be together with my two daughters, sons-in-love and the 5 grandchildren.
3.  The Gift of The Cross at 6 pm:  Read a short post from Kaitlyn reminding us that the cross brings us joy - 

"May we approach the cross
with joy
instead of shame;
light hearts
instead of tears;
trust
instead of fear.
May we be slow to forget
and
quick to remember."


Found on Pinterest
Shared by thebettermom.com


April 6th
3 Gifts Nailed Together

1.  The Gift of Shelter:  a place to live with adequate space, just right for the two of us; well, 3 including the cat!
2.  The Gift of Hand-Made Items:  a shelf made by my grandfather many years ago; it was once in my grandparents' home and is now lovingly in mine.
3.  The Gift of Furnishings:  Items that were given to us for our new apartment , a couch and love seat, a table for the craft room, and another chair.


April 7th
3 Gifts Waited For

1.  The Gift of "Connection":  Connecting through blogging - and today's word for Tuesday @ Ten is Connection.  The "waited for" is because I was looking for the word on Monday instead of Tuesday!!  I have connected with so many great people through blogging and this Tuesday prompt...some of them have a special connection with me.
2.  The Gift of Trust:  Arms reaching up, knowing you'll reach back; eyes connected to a voice, raspy with age and allergies, slowly closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.  I am always waiting for this moment when I can rock one of my grand children to sleep!
3.  The Gift of Time:  We wait all day long, through hours of chores and other "things" that keep us apart, for the time we can spend together watching a favorite TV show.


This is turning out to be quite a lengthy post - so I will only share the first week in Part 1!

TO BE CONTINUED...




16 comments:

  1. Barbara! I've been intrigued by the sound of this book, too....and have heard that people base book groups around it....often online.....perhaps we might be able to get a group of us together to delve deeper in to it? I think I'd be able to buy it for mid-May time.....so glad you've found it and been inspired!

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    1. Thanks, I have also been intrigued! I am planning to buy the book; may check out the used bookstore since these "Gifts" are actually dated 2012! I'll let you know if I find it.

      Not sure how a book group would work online, but it sounds like a great idea. I know of one other of our blogging group that is doing is, and I think she has done it several years! That is Caitlyn Durbin here: http://stuck-in-indiana.blogspot.com/2015/04/2015apr-1-of-3-one-thousand-gifts.html.

      Thanks for reading and for commenting!

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  2. Just started reading that book. And there is an 1000 gifts app which I just downloaded. So much fun!! Love all the gifts you listed.

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    1. Thanks, Tara!! I was worried it might be too long! Appreciate your reading and commenting! I don't have a "smart" phone; so no apps for me! But am going to find and buy the book!! Oh, and I went to Pinterest and have found all of the months (I think I said that in the post!!)...can you feel the excitement? I was even surprised to find comments already!!

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  3. What a beautiful list!
    I love the idea of counting these wonderful gifts.

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    1. Thank you Romi! It is a great thing to do; although I am having trouble sometimes finding THREE in all days' gifts...but with a bit of inspiration from the Internet and Pinterest...I'm getting them!

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  4. Loved it Barbara!! Not too long at all. Looking forward to reading your next post :) I'm in year 3 of counting & it's been a huge blessing!!

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    1. Awesome!! Do you use the same "gifts"?? I found all 12 from 2012; but didn't know if they were actually updated for each of the following years...

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  5. What a wonderful way, Barbara, of becoming more conscious of the specialness of life!

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    1. Thanks, Alexa! Was excited to come across this book and the monthly "gifts" to look for...I'll be looking for the book soon; but need to figure our finances out first since I have a "weekend {sort of} away - it's IN TOWN but I am staying at the hotel as a "gift" to ME and because someone asked if I wanted to "room" with her and her dog (she is raising/training him for the organization we are fund-raising for - Patriot Service Dogs)...So, I am going to be "sleeping with Jerry" hahaha!!!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  6. I started counting gifts way back when this book was first out, and I continue to do so to this day. It is an awesome exercise of gratefulness.

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    1. Yes, Susan! And I am going to be continuing it as well!! I'll be looking for the book as soon as I can get to the used book store - I have a few books to see if they will take which will pay for anything I want to purchase!! Yay!!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  7. GREAT insights here! I must admit...I totally just bookmarked this to save a few of these later!!!!!

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    1. Great!! Bookmark it and read when you have more time...I know it's a little long; but I wanted to really put down the gifts, as I saw/felt/found them!!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  8. So many gifts each day. So inspiring to look at each day and see what gifts (blessings) we are given. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Yes, Amanda! All the gifts we might overlook...I feel so blessed to have come across this book!!! Next step is to buy the book and read it and to continue to look for gifts (blessings) each day.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

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Thank you for stopping by to read my post today! I appreciate your reading and commenting - your comments are a welcome encouragement for me to continue one of my favorite things - writing!

You are special to me; and your words help in more ways than I can number...Thank you just isn't enough!