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Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world.

~Sarah Ban Breathnach

A couple months ago I received a copy of the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  Ann writes on the blog A Holy Experience, which I discovered around Christmas 2009, when I was pregnant with my Phoenix.  Maybe it was all the hormones swirling around, or maybe it was a testament to Ann’s powerful way with words…but every entry I read had me in tears.  My heart would feel so full after reading her words.  They were a kind of manna during a very hungry time in my life. 

I’ve been slowly reading her book, reading maybe a chapter or two at a time every couple of weeks.  I want what she has to say about gratitude and everyday blessings and living life in fullness to sink in.  To summarize very succinctly the premise of her book: she begins to write a list of, you guessed it, one thousand gifts…everyday things she might not have otherwise thought of as gifts.  It notably changes her, and its that full story that she shares in the book. 

Her list inspired me and somewhere along the way I began scribbling down my own list.  I haven’t gotten very far yet in my one thousand gifts, but I can already sense a heightened awareness of life’s simple moments.  I’d like to share my list in this space, and hopefully find some accountability in doing so…and maybe even inspire others to begin their own lists of gratitude. Without further ado…here is what I’ve come up with so far.  I’ll share more as they come to me.

1. The smell of clean baby skin

2. The bubbly sound of boiling water

3. Cool breeze blowing through an open window

4. Paul snuggled with Zion to read every night

5. Shade trees in the park

6. Memory of Eiffel Tower from the clouds

7. Little boys using grown-up phrases

8. Sleepy eyes

9. Running my toes through cool sand

10. Sonic “happy hour”

11. Coils of cotton yarn in pretty colors

12. Easter Vigil—hearing the stories of creation & Exodus in the darkness

13. Bells ringing on Easter morning

14. Sunday afternoon naptime

15. Sleeping under cool sheets

16. Clean toilets

17. Little brother imitating big brother

18. Bubbly baby laughter

19. Paul’s peaceful sleeping face

20. Baby smiles as morning greeting

21. Something yummy in the oven

22. Staying up late to finish a good book

23. Tea kettle whistling in the early hours

24. A good night’s sleep

25. Naptime meditations with Zion

26. Phoenix’s head on my shoulder

27. Colorful tissue paper pom poms, floating in the air

28. Favorite poems that never grow old

29. The smell of books

30. Phoenix kissing me all on his own

31. Reminiscing about our young love

32. Driving past freshly plowed fields

33. The promise of summer on a first hot day

34. The tang of kalamata olives

35. Little boys giggling in the dark

36. Phoenix dancing and bobbing his head to music