eucharisteo:: thanksgiving

so, one of my personal goals for this year is to be more transparent and to maybe write a little more, but i'll be honest reading and writing are not my strongest qualities, so it will be a work in progress this year.  i've been dying to write about this for a few days, but life will just not slow down long enough for me to sit in front of the computer long enough to form my thoughts.  i've been traveling quite a bit for work, and that has this girl extra sleepy and a little out of the semi-routine i have.  the one fantastic thing about traveling is that i always read on planes, and i had a longer flight than normal last thursday to arizona, so i started reading this book that everyone has been talking about and even my counselor suggested i read, one thousand gifts.  so i pulled it out and just the first 50 pages rocked my world.  don't worry, contrary to what you are probably thinking, it didn't take me 3.5 hours to read those 50 pages, i did other things and slept some too:)  so i am sitting there reading, and i come to this part where the author (ann voskamp) starts talking about the passage in the Bible where Jesus restores ten lepers to wholeness and how only one of them returns to offer any thanks.  i am thinking, yes, i know this one!!!  but ann goes a little deeper than just pointing out that only one was thankful, follow along for a minute.

" One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.  He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him - and he was a Samaritan.  Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed?"  Where are the other nine?"  Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"  Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." (Luke 17:  15-19)

okay, so i am somewhat horrible at reading comprehension, but the point that ann made (in my words) is that basically, even though all ten were healed, the leper who received sozo (which means salvation) was the one who actually returned and gave thanks.  so, the big point here is that "our very saving is associated with our gratitude." 

i'm not going to pretend to be a scholar or anything, but quite simply i think this passage and her words sum it up quite nicely.  if ultimately our fall was not being thankful (which i know for myself i am guilty of everyday), then salvation has to be intimately related to giving thanks.  just think, eve was tempted and ate the forbidden fruit, because what God had given her wasn't enough, she wanted more. 

so, here i am on my way to arizona for work, kind of mad, because i have to be gone over the weekend, missing a chance to go hear matt chandler with my best friends, and basically just having a pity party for myself, because i am so tired of traveling for my job, and then i read this...  i am thinking snap out of it, and quite simply live a life of thanksgiving.  how different would my life be if i didn't constantly focus on what i did not have and focus on all the gifts i have in my life daily.  my mind quickly went back to all those beautiful faces from my haiti trip.  those kids never once complained or talked about things they did not have, they praised God and thanked him for the things they did, which was not very much at all.  (i know we could all learn many lessons from them.)  recently i've been on my why i am still single kick, what if i chose to focus on the many blessings in my life, and stopped whining about something that is clearly not in God's timing right now.  instead, i should thank him for his provision and protection in this area of my life:)  the author of the book decides to make a list of 1000 gifts she already has/things she loves/blessings, etc.  so, i pray about this on the plane, and i think i need to do this, i think it will help me live a life more joyful, less self-centered:)

so, i hope in all of this rambling, i have made some sense, i know that i am not the best writer, but hopefully something in this post has maybe helped you realize that we could all benefit from being a little more thankful on any given day:) 

a few things from this week....

1. a window seat on my plane to jacksonville
2. white chocolate mocha from starbucks
3. sound machine app
4. sunny days in jacksonville
5. my lead helping me with a new system at work
6. at 5pm, most days, lindsey calls me
7. seeing my favorite toddlers every sunday at church
8. hearing a great message on identity in Christ at church on sunday
9. cold medicine
10. co-monitors
11. naviagtion to find my way in cities that i could easily get lost in
12. curly hair
13. made to crave devotionals in the morning
14. dinner with co-workers on Monday night
15. a three hour nap on sunday after the red-eye flight home

Thanksgiving is inherent to a true salvation experience; thanksgiving is necessary to live the well, whole, fullest life."  - one thousand gifts, Ann Voskamp