one thousand gifts: a dare to live full..

 I have been reading this book, One Thousand Gifts.  I started out not really liking the cadence of how the author wrote, but I am really starting to enjoy her style as well as just appreciating the book.  According to my kindle app, I have read 21% of the book.  The other night, I read a passage that gave words to my struggle and frustration for when we didnt yet have an American name for Jie.  I was really feeling disconnected to this little boy simply because I didnt know what to call him.  Of course, I could have used his Chinese name, but it felt so foreign in my mouth and so uncertain since I am not sure how to pronounce it.  As I read through the passage, I kept thinking over and over, this is how I feel!  This is why it was so important to have a name for our son!  Here is just a short section that sums up my feelings:
"Naming is to know a thing's function in the cosmos - to name is to solve mystery.  In naming that which is right before me, that which I'd otherwise miss, the invisible becomes visible."

This book has also made me start to think about how do I give thanksgiving to the Lord and am I even offering it?  I think I would like to start my own list of things that I am thankful for.  I have several things off the top of my head that seem obvious - my husband, children, a home, food in my tummy, etc.  But, I want to be thankful in the small, less obvious things - the things that I take for granted and dont even notice anymore.  A meaningful list of 1000 things will definitely take some time; i think it is going to be difficult..

Here are a few other quotes taken from the book that resonate with me..

"If you think of this world as a place intended simply for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable: think of it as a place of training and correction and its not so bad."  CS Lewis

Practice is the hardest part of learning, and training is the essence of transformation.

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.