One of the (many) things I’ll remember about 2011 is that it’s the year that began with reading Ann Voskamp’s lovely book, One Thousand Gifts. It has now joined Hind’s Feet on High Places at the top of my favorite book list. I’ve read it twice, and was halfway through it a third time when I felt the strong prompting of the Lord to give it to someone specific. Hilariously, I’d encouraged several other friends to buy/borrow copies, but told them they couldn’t have mine because I wasn’t willing to part with it yet. And then when I GAVE it away (to someone they know, of course), they were like, “Hey!!!”
Since I gave my copy away, I haven’t been able to share a quote from it yet. And I was going to review it, but I don’t think I can – too thought provoking for me, and it hits me too deeply. So this is my review: “It’s really good. You should read it. Now.)
And I hadn’t ordered a new copy yet – I did that today, but then realized that I wrote a BUNCH of quotes out in my journal… so here is (some of) what I wrote down from the first chapter:
From all our beginnings, we keep reliving the garden story…
Our fall was, has always been, always will be, that we aren’t satisfied in God and what He gives. We hunger for something more, something other….
We look at the fruit and see only the material means to fill our emptiness. We don’t see the material world for what it is meant to be: the means of communion with God….
I hunger for filling in a world that is starved…
Grace is…
…A free and ready favor…It is one thing to choose to take the grace offered at the cross. But to choose to live as one FILLING with His grace? Choosing to fill with ALL He freely gives and fully live – with glory and grace and God? Could I live that? The choice to freely receive whatever God gives?
I LOVE THIS BOOK. And I really want to talk about it! I have several friends in other places who have read it, but the friends here (whom I’ve practically bullied into reading it 
) aren’t quite finished yet. And the friend I gave the book to is out of town until the end of summer. So in the meantime, I’ll share these quotes with you, wait for my second copy of the book, and wait for them to finish. Patiently, of course 
.
I’ve read it girl, let’s TALK, I loved it!
Just finished the book. It was so wonderful!
YAY!! I agree, it’s been SUCH a blessing, glad you enjoyed it!