It's Time for Thanksgiving

http://www.jacobabshire.com/musings/wallpapers/wednesday-wallpaper-give-thanks-to-the-lord-for-he-is-good/

I read the book, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, when it first came out.  I think Ann Voskamp is a modern day poet and prophet, and her blog has challenged me to go deeper with God for years now.  This book is a challenging, but incredible read.  In it, with her rich words that paint a picture in your mind, she teaches us that God gave us the secret to joy and peace.  She uses the Greek word eucharisteo to explain,

Yes, it's all Greek to me, but this is the word that can change everything: eucharisteo—it comes right out of the Gospel of Luke: “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them…” (Luke 22:19 NIV). In the original language, “he gave thanks” reads “eucharisteo.” 

The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning “grace.” Jesus took the bread and saw it as graceand gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be gift and gave thanks. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning “joy.” Charis. Grace. Eucharisteo. Thanksgiving. Chara. Joy.

Deep chara joy is found only at the table of the euCHARisteo; the table of thanksgiving. The holy grail of joy, God set it in the very center of Christianity. The Eucharist is the central symbol of Christianity...

One of Christ’s very last directives He offers to His disciples is to take the bread, the wine, and to remember. Do this in remembrance of Me. Remember and give thanks.

This is the crux of Christianity: to remember and give thanks, eucharisteo.

Why? Why is remembering and giving thanks the core of the Christ-faith? Because remembering with thanks is what causes us to trust; to really believe. Re-membering, giving thanks, is what makes us a member again of the body of Christ. Re-membering, giving thanks is what puts us back together again in this hurried, broken, fragmented world.

It's a powerful message.  And for her it all started with a challenge from a friend to list 1,000 things in which she was grateful.  It began a change in her heart, in her life, in her calling, and the book shares what she learned through all of it.

I've confessed that I love lists a little too much and a formulaic way of thinking is dangerous for me. Knowing this about myself, I decided not to jump in with a list when I read this, but lately this book and this eucharisteo thought keeps coming back to me.  I've been asking God to open my eyes.  Help me see the people, the things, the world around me through a different lens.

You know what I'm finding?  The troubles and weights of this life feel lighter and my heart becomes more free as I allow the Holy Spirit to change my mindset to one of thankfulness in all things.  

Today I am thankful for,

1. A God who sustains.  He holds me together all the time, even when I feel like I'm falling apart.
2. Hot coffee on a cool morning
3. Friends who pray for me even I am too proud to ask
4. My home, not just a house, but a home - a place to invite, to unwind, to take shelter from this crazy world.
5. Books.  Real paper books that I can hold and write in and let me tears of both grief and joy  falls on their pages.
6. A God who loves me where I am.  He loves me when I doubt.  He loves me even when I choose self.  He loves me enough to call me to choose Him.
7. Getting glimpses of the man my 10-year-old is becoming and knowing God is doing a good work in him.
8. Grace. Grace. And more GRACE.
9. A doctor who continues to seek answers on my behalf even when nothing makes sense.
10. Pathology reports that start opening the door to answers.
11. Autumn.  Today we usher in a new season, my favorite season, with a sigh. It's a time for coolness, a time for family, a time to breathe and relax, and a time to give thanks.
12. A marriage of two imperfect sinners could bring disaster but when yielded to a perfect God brings goodness, mercy, love, kindness, and humility.

Chasing God: Book Review and More

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First of all, I'd like to tell you how I ended up reading Chasing God by Angie Smith.  I had the privilege of attending the Friday night portion of IF:Gathering in February.  It was an incredible night of teaching and worship.  I left excited to go back on Saturday.  Instead, I ended up in the ER Saturday morning with intense and mysterious stomach pains. In a desire to somehow still be connected to the women at the conference, I picked up the book that had been given away in our fabulous, goody bags.  As I started reading this book, I was challenged and felt like Angie Smith and I might have been separated at birth (seriously if you read the chapter entitled The Binder - you will get a glimpse into the workings of my brain ;) ).  You may think I'm reading too much into this, but I think God purposed me to read this book.  Because if I'm being completely honest, had I not ended up at the ER, the book would've been put on my ever-growing pile of books I want to read.  The pile of books on my nightstand that I know are just going to change my life, but I rarely get around to reading them.

From the start, Angie's honesty and transparency grabbed me.  She shares of a struggle that I identify with so much.  She talks about how she has spent most of her Christian life chasing God thinking this was how it was supposed to be.  I want to share her words from the introduction,

It's the difference between following and chasing.

The key that finally turned the door of my faith was understanding that we are called to one and not the other.

We stare at the rest of the pew, wondering why we aren't as far along as they are, secretly resenting those who unswervingly claim their faith while we enter another Bible study group, hoping something will stick.

If I just do this, I'll catch Him.

I'll catch Him.  Those words haunted me over the next few days.  Is that what I struggle with so often?  Was she somehow in my mind?  I exhaust myself trying to catch God who is already here.  I believe His promises for other people but have trouble claiming them as my own.  

Angie continues throughout the book to share her heart, to let you into her struggle and how her mind works, and give you examples of how she chases God instead of being with Him.  I highly recommend this book, especially if you struggle with striving and feeling like you are never getting anywhere.  Freedom can be found in these pages.  Not because of Angie Smith, but because of the truths of scripture she obediently shares and gives skin to through her own vulnerability.  Her writing is fresh and her sometimes-sarcastic humor only adds to the words she shares.

I'll leave you with this excerpt,

... I had been running after Him for as long as I could remember, and I didn't know how to stop.  I have given days of my life to the notion that I had some power to catch Him.  And I couldn't help but hear His voice in the midst of it, urging me to see the truth.  And in time, I began to understand what He had been whispering for years. 

You chase Me because you trust your own legs more than you trust Me.

You chase Me because you can feel the air in your lungs, not because you want to breathe true life.

And as long as you can chase, you still get a say.  You maintain part-ownership of our relationship.  You would run forever in the wrong direction if it meant your flesh didn't have to admit the truth.

You chase because it feels like you can.

Disclaimer: The links in this post contain referral links.  My review is my own words and I receive nothing for sharing it. While the goal of this blog is not to make money, I'd love the privilege to give away any that it may someday.