In Chapter 5 of One Thousand Gifts, author Ann Voskamp recalls the strong faith of her brother-in-law John at the funerals of his two infant sons, who had died 18 months apart of a genetic lung disease, calling such affirmation of God’s goodness “the unwavering faith of fissured hearts”. Indeed, the author states, that kind […]
Ann Voskamp begins Chapter 5 of One Thousand Gifts by revisiting an issue she initially presented in Chapter 1: “How to lay the hand open for this moment’s bread- when it will hurt.” In other words, is God’s grace sufficient in all life’s circumstances, good as well as bad? As the author phrases it, “awakening […]
Midway through Chapter 4 of One Thousand Gifts, author Ann Voskamp establishes the concept that thanksgiving makes- as opposed to takes- time. Referencing John’s account of Jesus feeding the 5000 (John 6: 1-15), Ann posits that when we slow down time by giving full attention to God’s gifts with joy, grace and thanksgiving (eucharisteo), our […]
When I was 2 or 3 years old, I developed a severe case of wanderlust, fueled by unbridled curiosity. Eager to escape the confining environs of my back yard in Evergreen Park, IL or my parents’ immediate reach, I was a constant escape threat. Although I had the “fever”, my parents had the cure- aka […]
In Chapter 4 of One Thousand Gifts, author Ann Voskamp rightly observes that we live in a world addicted to speed. Describing herself as one who blurs the moments “into one holy smear”, Ann speaks for all of us. As we wildly rush to get things done yesterday, our hurry creates hurt and empties our souls. […]
Ann Voskamp begins Chapter 4 (“A Sanctuary of Time”) of One Thousand Gifts with the following quote from J. R. R. Tolkien: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Indeed, Ann admits that she craves more time to manage just her current life. She comments that […]
In the concluding pages of Chapter 3 of One Thousand Gifts, author Ann Voskamp speaks about how giving thanks for the most minute or microscopic blessings enables God to grow within us. Ann describes this as the other side of prayer: “This act of naming grace moments, this list of God’s gifts, moves beyond the […]
In Chapter 3 of One Thousand Gifts, author Ann Voskamp offers her definition of joy: “Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.” Put another way, it’s impossible to give something you’re holding onto […]
Toward the end of Chapter 3 of One Thousand Gifts, author Ann Voskamp remarks that sometimes her quest to list 1,000 things for which she is thankful seems quite juvenile. In the midst of mundane existence, is making that list merely a ridiculous experiment? The truth is, Ann explains, that learning requires practice- and at […]
Ann Voskamp’s (One Thousand Gifts) husband is a pig farmer in Ontario, Canada. In Chapter 3 Ann tells of the time her husband was having trouble with his sows delivering stillborn litters or testing positive for pregnancy when they weren’t pregnant at all. Despite various tests and a consultation with the veterinarian, no solution was […]
As author Ann Voskamp begins her list of 100o things she loves in Chapter 3 of One Thousand Gifts, she describes 5 characteristics of her endeavor: 1. Writing the list makes her feel happy- all day. She describes her feeling as a “running stream of consciousness, river I drink from and am quenched in, a […]
In Chapter 3 (“First Flight”) of One Thousand Gifts, author Ann Voskamp recounts her first step toward a life of gratitude. It’s July, and Ann is cutting cucmber slices in a friend’s kitchen in preparation for a barbecue. Out of the blue, Ann’s friend remarks that Ann has changed. Ann had thought that her change […]