Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts & The Place of Suffering

A few days ago I went to the Kalamazoo Public Library and picked up Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts. (That's her photo above this post).  The subtitle reads "A dare to live fully right where you are."

I'm about half-way through this very well written and extremely thought provoking book.

Here's something she wrote on page 58: "Why would the world need more anger, more outrage? How does it save the world to reject unabashed joy when it is joy that saves us? Rejecting joy to stand in solidarity with the suffering doesn't rescue the suffering. The converse does. The brave who focus on all-things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world."

She goes on: "When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry open places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows. How can this not be the best thing for the world? For us?"

This morning I was sitting on my little deck, admiring the evergreen tree that was transplanted near the herb garden. I found it one spring in the front yard flower bed. It had grown up from a pinecone seed, probably planted by a squirrel. For some reason I thought it was such a remarkable thing. A small miracle in the vast scheme of things, but a miracle nonetheless. I was so thankful to find it!

So a few years after finding the accidental evergreen, I transplanted it to a spot with more and even sunlight. Now, that same tree is as tall as I am (just an inch or two over five feet) and it's beautiful and full of life.

I've often looked out the dining room window at that evergreen and almost without exception, every time I do, a smile comes to my face. Because I LOVE that tree! I love how it came to be, secretly planted in a very inconvenient spot. Probably planted there by another participant in life (the squirrel). How I stumbled upon it. How I transplanted it when it was just over twelve inches high, and how it's grown every year since.

That tree, a gift of nature, continues to bring joy. And I'm still thankful for it.

I like how Ann Voskamp makes the connection between being thankful and joy.

For more about Ann Voskamp and One Thousand Gifts, and to link to her blog, check out the link below.

Ann Voskamp

The Purpose Driven Life Revisited

I've been re-reading the The Purpose Driven Life, (#purposedrivenlife) which is one of the biggest selling non-fiction Christian books in history.

It's written by Rick Warren, (#RickWarren) whose photo is at the top of this post. Rick does a simply fantastic job of delving into the age-old question, why are we here? from a Christian perspective.

The first time I read the book (several years ago), I didn't do as Rick suggested, read only one chapter a day. I flew through it and, consequently, didn't gain as much insight as I am this time 'round.

For instance, in Chapter 31, Rick goes into detail regarding our unique personalities. He writes: "We don't realize how truly unique each of us is. DNA molecules can unite in an infinite number of ways. That number is 10 to the 2,400,000,000th power. The number is the likelihood that you'd find somebody just like you. If you were to write out that number with each zero being one inch wide, you'd need a strip of paper 37,000 miles long!"

WOW! That one fact regarding how special each of us is, just blows me away.

Enough to say that the scripture which reads: "I am fearfully and wonderfully made," is quite true!
(Psalm 139:14).

So today, if you are feeling like you aren't someone special, please realize that simply isn't true. In fact you are special -- something like 10 to the 2,400,000,000th power!!!

Link to Purpose Driven Life

In Praise of Rooted Together

Last week I was part of a Michigan Authors' Gathering at the Ransom District Library in Plainwell, MI.  There were over 25 authors there, which was impressive. During the event, I had a chance to chat with Jolene Witt, author of Rooted Together.

Jolene is a laid back person, but her writing ability is anything but. I bartered for a copy of her book and found it to be a very captivating telling of a mother-daughter trip she took with her oldest child. The destination (to climb and sleep in a tree that was over 250 feet tall) was remarkable. So was the journey that she chronicles with lots of humor, grace and wisdom. You really don't have to be mom to appreciate the special connection that Witt so artfully describes.

Rooted Together is available via Amazon.com. I highly recommend it.

Link to Rooted Together

Too Good For Words

Every so often, a video gets posted that is too good for words. This is one of them. You need to be on Facebook to view it:

https://www.facebook.com/WildBunchRadio/videos/390722991048473/?fref=nf