"One Thousand Gifts"

There are days you know you'll always remember. Pivotal sorts of days. I know this is only the fourth day of the year, but I'm fairly certain I've already had more than one of those days in 2012. And one of them (for certain) was yesterday.

Lynne and I kicked off our 2012 live shows with Ann Voskamp. I was unspeakably nervous about that interview. Not because I worried about Ann's ability to hold her her end of an interview. (After December's blooper reel, I was highly worried about my ability to hold my end of an interview...but I digress.) I was nervous because it's been several years since a book (other than the Bible) touched my soul as profoundly as One Thousand Gifts. And I did not take lightly the opportunity to exchange words with the author.

My pilgrimage through the book was slow, but so worth the extra time it took to digest what she said. (Because it was that good.)

And yesterday I sat in front of the engineering board for the first time in a week and a half, and listened, mesmerized, to her words. Listened to her careful, deliberate delivery, which I'd grown to love from the book and her blog, and then smiled and listened when her words tumbled out in great excitement as her passion for the thankful life couldn't be contained.

What do you say to Ann Voskamp when you have the chance to ask her a question? Among other things, I wanted to know how long it took her to get to 1000 gifts.

Eight weeks. That's it. In a mere eight weeks, she opened 1000 gifts from the Lord and chronicled them in her journal. And she didn't stop. She kept counting. Kept unwrapping love, as she calls it.

Lynne and I are taking the 1000 gifts challenge this year. Keeping our eyes open to the ways our Abba pours love into our lives. Writing down the beauty that is His love. Looking for love in the beautiful. Looking for love in the heartbreaking.

Unwrapping 1000 gifts. Looking back over the list and finding ourselves back in those places, washed with that love again. And when we've reached 1000, we'll go for 2000. 3000. On and on.

We would love for you to join us. I'm listing some of my gifts in each week's recap. Some of you may already be keeping track...but if you aren't, want to come on the journey with us? And even if you have, start again? Ann said she would. Proof that there is always love to be received from His hand.