I am a changed girl!

Maybe this title should be in all caps...I AM A CHANGED GIRL!!! Can I just say that words will not do justice to what God has worked in me this week?

After my run on Monday, I felt like it was time to lay a few things down. I needed to learn to rest in Him, his goodness, grace and love. Little did I know that I would pick up a book (or order it on my iPad) that would change my life. It is called One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp.

God's timing is incredibly perfect. If I had picked up this book at any other time, I would have shirked it and said, "Uh, maybe later." But in this moment I was hungry. I needed something. Our life as a family is in desperate flux. We are shifting, changing, moving in a new direction. For this person who loves variety...it is still scary.

Ann's main thrust of the book is practicing "Eucharisteo"(and I'm afraid my definition might be way off, but I'll give it my best shot). Eucharisteo is the practice of giving thanks always. She challenged herself to write down 1000 reasons she has to be grateful. I can tell you, in doing that, as I've placed myself under the same goal, I am living wide open...my eyes, my heart, my mind. Here are a few of my entries:

Peace is the midst of uncertainty.
Fresh, warm clothes out of the dryer
An uninterrupted night of rest
Singing children
The smell of baking bread

Oh my goodness. When I go through a typical day with my mind focused on gratitude, even on little tiny things, it is indescribable how God works and moves in my heart to bring joy. This is what eucharisteo is, thanksgiving in grace producing joy. Incredible! So many things are making sense to me now.

On Tuesday, when I first started my Gratitude journal, I had to make a few phone calls, canceling services such as housecleaning and coaching. Within twenty minutes I received a call regarding a biopsy I just had done on my upper lip. What I was expecting to be nothing, turned into squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer? Me? I can honestly say I wasn't rattled in the least. Giving thanks in all things allows for trust in God beyond explanation. I am honestly walking fully trusting him not just in my diagnosis, but in all the life shifts we are enduring. I do not know where we'll be in a month or two, but I do know that I am held by the God of the Universe.

I have always been grateful, at least in my adult life. I have not taken God's blessings for granted. But now I can see Him in EVERYTHING. Everything. everything. It is powerful, beyond my imagination, how his Glory is manifesting itself in my soul. Truly he is All Good!