Making a List.

Checking it twice. Yes, I've been busy making lists.

Grocery list.
Christmas list.
1,000 Gifts list.

Although I love cooking, and finding the perfect gift for someone is so rewarding, my favorite list of the list is the last. (Say that three times fast!)

1,000 Gifts.

I'd heard raving reviews of the book of the same title, and was thrilled when one day I actually won a blog giveaway and pulled out of the mail box a copy of Ann Voskamp's New York Times bestseller.

I will tell you right off that I'm not a fan of her writing style, and nearly quit after chapter one. But I'm oh so glad I didn't!

Thanksgiving season is a wonderful time to remember what the Lord has done and thank Him for it, but that shouldn't start and end with the month of November. 1,000 Gifts reminds us why we should look for the good in the everyday things of life.

Long before I picked up this book, I learned that contentment is a huge key to living life to the fullest. Because with contentment is peace, and joy, and strength. And the first step to finding contentment in Christ is to give thanks to Him. You're too busy to complain when you focus on your blessings.

So what better way to "set your mind on things above" and "be thankful", than to keep an ongoing list of blessings? Gifts from God--the little and the knock-your-socks-off-huge.

Some gifts from my list include: fall foliage, fuzzy socks, music, reuniting with an old friend, fresh roasted pecans.

You name it, it's a gift from God.

Try it for yourself. Keep a little notepad by your side and jot down the little things that God has given you, and see how easy it is to discover a thousand gifts right in front of your nose.