Eucharisteo

...not a word you hear very much.  Most may not know what it means.  Eucharisteo - to be grateful, feel thankful, give thanks.

I recently stumbled upon a book, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  It was a beautiful book.  The inside is even more beautiful than the outside.  Reading it has been slower than usual, but not because it isn't good.  It is one of the most thought provoking books I've ever read.  As I read, I find myself stopping and thinking on her words--God's words--through her.  I sometimes don't even come back to it for a few days.  I ponder it in my heart because God is moving, and changing, and re-forming me.  I want to give Him room.

She is an amazing writer and poet.  Her words are so beautifully formed together.  Its a beautiful read!

It seems our world is so bogged down with getting the newest, the greatest, the fastest everything.  How can we even come to be truly grateful for what we have if we are always seeking what is next.

Im thankful for my amazing husband, and my beautiful children, and the home we live in.  But, do I give thanks for the humbling job of being my husbands most important helper in life? {even when its hard}  Am I thankful that I was chosen to be a mama to my two little blessings?  {even when Im cleaning up a spilled bowl of milk from the cracks of the table for the third morning in a row}  Am I content with the home I live in?   {it does provide shelter from the rain, cool from the heat and warmth from the cold}  Do your toes hurt a little?  Mine did too when I thought about this.  

How could I not be content, thankful, even joyful for these things.  Im right where I am on purpose.  God didn't place me on this earth to stumble my way around figuring out exactly what it is that Im supposed to do with my life.  He has an amazing plan for me.  All I have to do is step back, allow Him in, and watch Him work.

Living in gratitude, giving thanks for everything is the way to go from living on empty to full life.  Could my living in constant thankfulness, for even the smallest of things in each moment, be the key to seeing and receiving the fullest salvation that God intended for me?!

"Every moment I live, I live bowed to something.  If I don't see God in the moments, Ill bow to something else." 

I pray that I always see God, His faithfulness, and His glory.  And remember the greatest gift ever given, of His son, for my sin.

 "All gratitude is ultimately gratitude for Christ, all remembering a remembrance of Him."

"I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me."

What do I need to rid myself of so the God has room to grow within me?  ...b/c I sure do feel full, busy, overwhelmed with keeping my head above water sometimes...or most of the time.

"Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped.  God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given: joy.  Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant--a seed--this plants the giant miracle.  The miracle of eucharisteo, like the Last Supper, is in the eating of crumbs, the swallowing down one mouthful.  Do not distain the small.  The role of the life--even the hard--is made up of the minute parts, and if I miss the infinitestimals, I miss the whole.  Life-changing gratitude does not fasten to a life unless nailed through with one very specific nail at a time.  Little nails and a steady hammer can rebuild a life--eucharisteo precedes the miracle."

Ive lived all my life as a "Christian".  Or, have I been living like a Christian but not really living for Christ?  Am I living fully right where I am "as unto the Lord"?  I want to.  Im on the journey to that place.  Follow me.  Joy abounds!

And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:20