Joy Bubbles Up from Praise

I am savoring a book chuck full of wisdom and joy, One Thousand Gifts.

The author, Ann VosKamp,

is daughter-of- the-Heavenly-Father, wife-of-a-Canadian-farmer, mother-of-six-children, and truly-a-poet. In prose-poetry, she opens the eyes of her readers' hearts to see God's daily gifts. Then, by listing the Lord's thousands of gifts, they reap a joy-full life.

This post will follow her lead. Won't you trail along, creating your own list of thanksgivings? Joy is sure to follow.

1.  "Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of yourself--your unsoiled righteousness, your unparalleled love, your amazing grace--displayed so obviously in creation."

2.  "Thank you, Lord, for the kind, trustworthy, godly man you gave me."

3.  "Thank you, Lord, for our son's deep-throated belly-laugh at all of life.  Thank you for his wife, a wonderful mother, for their bright thee-year-old little girl and adorable son."

4.  Thank you for the match you made for our oldest daughter who captures beauty in her new home and advocates for victims of crimes against humanity. You knew she needed a brilliant husband whose taste and goals parallel her own, and you provided. What a powerful couple for good they will make as they grow more and more aware of your abundant grace."

5. "Thank you, Father, for our second daughter, her creativity and her compassion.  Thank you for her hardworking, happy, godly husband. And a big thank you for their most exuberant little boy and the promise of another son to frolic with his brother."

6.............


Did you begin your own list?  I hope so, because joy will multiply in your life as you take Ann's advice to thank the Lord for his thousands of gifts.

I have found a praise list to be a gift that gives back.  It works like this: Praising the Creator makes glad the heart of God which in turn bubbles up in ours.

Furthermore, praise is not difficult to voice because, as author-Ann says, "All really is outrageous grace."