One Thousand Gifts

I was "window shopping" through Amazon one night when I came across this book.

One Thousand Gifts

I was intrigued by the 295 mostly 5 star reviews. There were a few people who did not like Ann Voskamp's writing style, but most thought the book was life changing and loved the way she wrote. So, I paid for my book and waited the 2 days for UPS to drop it off at my home.

I started reading it the same day of delivery, and have not stopped since then. It's been a few weeks and I am almost done.

It is one of the most amazing books I have read.

It has reached deep in my soul and changed me.

Here is a little glimpse of what the book is about

"One Thousand Gifts beckons you to leave the parched ground of pride, fear, and white-knuckle control and abandon yourself to the God who overflows your cup. As Ann Voskamp invites you into her own moments of grace, she gently teaches you how to biblically lament loss, turning pain into poetry; intentionally embrace a lifestyle of radical gratitude; and slow down and catch God in the moment."

One Thousand Gifts has taken me a while to read because it is so incredibly deep. It is more relevant in my life then I could imagined. When I am done, I will immediately start my 2nd round, this time with a pen to underline and take notes.

I could share a hundred quotes from this book if that were possible.

Don't worry though, I won't do that to you! There have been many that have touched me, causing me to find my husband and share the words that have pierced my soul and taught me much.

Here are just 2 of them......

"We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His fee gift of salvation if not with thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives. Thanksgiving is the manifestation of our Yes! to His grace.

Thanksgiving is inherent to a true salvation experience; thanksgiving is necessary to live the well whole fullest life."

and

" "Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body," Jesus said. "When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!" (Matthew6:22-23). If Satan can keep my eyes from the Word, my eyesight is too poor to read light--to fill with light. Bad eyes fill with darkness so heavy the soul aches because empty is never truly empty: empty is only a full, deepening darkness. "

__________________________________________________________________________

Went with the 3 oldest to a field trip last week. We joined a large group of other homeschoolers to take a 4 hour tour in the glades. We learned, explored, and had a great deal of fun.

Riding in the tram

Walking up, and up, and up to do some great sight-seeing

He volunteeered to do this, and did it well!

Those little babies are so cute!

My brave boys testing the water to see what it tastes like.

more time on the tram

Love this picture!

Love the freindship!

Sonny Ericson Open and other things too!

We have never watched tennis on TV, nor have I have I ever played the game(loved to play Raquet ball though)or watched others play. Since our oldest 2 started playing tennis months back, we have really come to enjoy the sport. Recently we started playing them in tennis, which has been so much fun for us all! Having a sport to play as a family was one thing we were looking for when we looked into tennis lessons. This is a sport we can play with them, and enjoy for years to come. Along with the pleasure of being able to play together, we have also enljoyed seeing a few tournaments. This past week, we went to see the Sony Ericson Open.

It was a bit on the hot side, but we really enjoyed it.

He's getting so big!!!

A few band friends during the Homeschool Convention

Nightime Beach Adventure

Buddies on the playground

Groupons and Coupons!

I love coupons!

Just got this one this morning.

What a deal!

I found it here

Great site with lots of info. and coupons.

Another site I LOVE!!!!!!!

Groupon

In the last month, I have bought 6 Groupons.

1. paid $10 to get $20 worth of merchendise at Barnes and Nobles

2. Got the Sunday Sun Sentinel for the whole year for $10

3. Paid $5 for $10 worth of treats at a local Frozen Yougurt place that we love.

4. Paid $25 for $50 worth of food at a very nice Italian Restaurant

5. Paid $20 for 4 people to play miniture golf, hit some balls in a batting cage, and end the night with ice-cream

6. Paid $50 for a photography session(and a few prints too) with a very talented, local photographer

Just wanted to share!

Some shots of Lil' Man

Great times!

The last 3 days were full of great fellowhiop, good food, and lots of fun!

I LOVE my homeschool community!

I love the support and fellowship that we share :o) Thanks girls!

We am so blessed with such great relationships!

2 good friends came over with 5 kids each. Made for a fun play group!

Last Football Game & Retirement Party

We had a really fun Saturday!

Football game early in the am, shoe shopping, grocery shopping, and then off to a retirement party in honor of my dad and a few other retiring firefighters.

Last game of the season

I'm so proud of my father for the many years he served

his community as a fire fighter and paramedic!

I'm even more proud of how he has fought so hard and for so long to beat a terrible disease.

I pray that this liver transplnt brings him renewed heatlth and stregnth. May the many years that lay ahead of them be full of good health and good times!

Mom and the girls

Me and my handsome husband!

I LOVE when he dresses up :o)

Pictures from the 1st week in March

Our hip hop crew

I love, love, love watching my kids playing outside together.

I love the nature, the fresh air, and the creative play.

They love to play outside for hours just about every day.

This afternoon, they were outside for about 2 hours playing.

They made a club together, and then played World War 3.

This is what the little man does while his siblings play tennis

English Peas

I love FoodTV. I love to watch the cooking shows, and also love to look through their website for new and interesting things. This evening, I came across a recipe that literally had me crying! Not out of sadness, but because the recipe and the comments that came after it were hysterical. :o)

So, here is the recipe from Paul Deen

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 2 cans (14 1/2-ounces) English peas, drained

Directions

Melt the butter in small pot and add the peas. Cook over medium heat until peas are warm.

Can't get much simpler then that ! I check out the 252 "Users Reviews" next because I was curious how the recipe got that many reviews. This is when the laughing started

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! Here are some to share with you.

The recipe sounds simple enough, but one question...how the heck do I get the peas out of the can???

Perhaps Paula got this recipe from Martha Stewart, who got it from one of her white collar cell mates, who tried to make decent food out of anything they could find

Ummm....Ok....sounds to me as if these English peas are tired if they're "drained" ?? So how long do I wait 'til I ask them if they're warm enough? I don't want to be too pushy with them before I butter them up.

Screw the middle man! Just grab a stick of butter and dip it into a can of peas.

Can I substitute the butter with margarine?
This recipe is very confusing.

Was I supposed to take the peas out of the can? Cause it didn't work when I put the cans and packaged butter in the pot.

Oh c'mon!! I'm so tired of these recipes that aren't specific. Do I use salted or unsalted butter? How "small" is a small pot? Do I have to cover the pot or can I leave it uncovered? Can somebody who has made this recipe help me out? Also, I have checked every store around and I can't find drained English Peas. All of them come with liquid!!!!

Which half of the 1/2 stick of butter should I melt?

Just a half stick of butter? You're slipping, Deen.

The recipe is complicated. The health benefits make it well worth it though.

I approached this recipe a little differently. I added 2 sticks of butter and only one can of peas. It was the most delicious pea soup I ever ate. Extra butter, is there anything it can't do? Oh, gotta go, the EMT crew is here...

This was a very good way for us to end a long day :o)

I hope this brought you a little smile. If not, at least you got a good recipe from reading it!

For more Reviews