Last week, my sisters and I decided to become cloggers. It's rather ambitious, really. I mean we have never taken a single clogging class, but if you ask me, it's never too late! Sometimes I want to just pick up and do something like that - clogging or learn to play the french horn or go to Europe. Especially on the days that the fluorescent lights get the best of me.... I keep reading that the cure for these momentary question marks in my life is developing a heart of thanksgiving.
In light of that, I will be posting every so often a list of what I have been given. Today's goes like this:
1. my own office
2. a hot cup of coffee
3. a precious, light-up-your-day-with-a-smile nephew
4. a cute scarf
5. a forum to write
I do think there is value in expressing Thanksgiving. Ann Voskamp wrote the book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. She talks a lot about not missing your life, but learning to appreciate where you have been placed. I always hesitate to recommend this book to other people - Mama gave it to me awhile back and when I read the first chapter, I thought she had to be kidding. The words are flowery and kind of spacey. She writes differently than what I was used to. So I put the book down and didn't pick it up for another year. But this time, I got through the first chapter and saw the point of where she was going. Her heart and desire is to teach about Eucharisteo or the concept of being grateful. (You can read more about this concept here.) I want to be a person who lives like that, who recognizes gifts and gives thanks. Starting this blog was part of wanting to share joy in my life, but sometimes I wonder if I would write more if I had a specific direction. But when it comes down to it, I am not sure where this blog is going or what the end goal really is with my writing. I have considered fashion, baking, life experiences or wisdom, but none of them really have stood out. I guess maybe this blog will just be a combination of all of those with Thanksgiving embedded throughout. I hope to live with a heart of thankfulness. I know that I will probably always want to pick up and go somewhere else or just take a day off to play and escape, but the reality is that you can't always just do that. So when you can't, you need a game plan. I think, for now, I will try to train mine to be gratitude.
“...the secret to joy is to keep seeking God where we doubt He is.” - Ann Voskamp
