One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

The author is challenged to list one thousand things she is thankful for and in so doing finds a way to deal with trauma from her past and learns to trust God and live life more fully in the present. I gleaned some good thoughts from it, but I really struggled with the writing style. Though she has some great phrases of evocative imagery, overall, I found her style to be disjointed and hard to get into. I forced myself through about 2/3 of the book before giving up. There are some graphic descriptions of her sister being crushed by a truck and other traumatic events in her life.

It’s rare these days that I’ll pull out a perfect ten for a book. Even more rare — that I’ll start a book with such misguided expectations and end up loving it. At first, I thought Voskamp’s writing was far to flowery, mystical, and poetic for me, but it didn’t take long for me to be enveloped by her language and lost in her words. Voskamp had lived a life of anxiety and sadness, and yet one day decides to start a gratitude list, writing out the small things that she could thank God for. This small act begins to change every aspect of her life, from the way she views her children and husband, the way she reacts to difficult times, and the way she sees God as an abundant provider instead of constantly taking things away. I show more finished this up on a flight home recently, and I got out my journal and sat there and wept in my seat as I wrote down a list of the things I was thankful for just that evening. I think other passengers must have thought I was crazy.

I want to gift this book to so many of my friends, especially those struggling with some really difficult life issues, such as depression. I know that the poetic language might turn a lot of readers off, but as someone who usually likes her writing much more solid and fact-driving, I can honestly say that I was able to immerse myself in her language and get to the true point of what she was trying to convey. I am so thankful for this book — I really hope you’ll give it a chance and pick it up. show less

When two separate people give you the same book as a birthday present, a year apart from each other, it must surely mean that Someone wants you to read it ;)

If I were to read this as a critic of literature I would most probably be less than impressed. There are some sentences where the grammar is befuddling, and the subject matter and thoughts jump around like the mind of an inquisitive child who's had too much sugar.

But thankfully I'm not a full-time literary critic. This is a book that one reads with the heart, not with the mind. It is a sincere outpouring of spirit and experience, and while at times I had to reread sections to fully understand them, the overarching message was clear and beautifully portrayed. Sometimes her choice of show more words confused or shocked me (the last chapter in particular, despite that all actually being quite accurate to Biblical metaphor and analogy). But in the end, it all made sense. And I read the final pages with unexpected tears threatening my eyes.

I don't quite know the right words to sum up the experience. But this book is filled with heart and humanity, and an unyielding desire to find God and His grace and His gifts in all things - the good, the beautiful, the mundane, the times of despair.

If you are a human, and you too sometimes wonder 'where is God in this? In this trial? In this moment? In this calamity? In this monotony?' I highly recommend this book. It does not have all the answers, it may not even hold any answers that you personally need. But it is a precious story, a testament, of one person's discovery of God in all things, at all times. And I believe that what the author shares is something we all can learn from, and perhaps, try to practice. show less

Timing matters. A friend recommend this title. I ordered a copy through a library share system. Once in hand, the book waited on my night stand. When I did start reading, the timing still wasn't right. But on a roadtrip/camping/hiking venture to Sedona, the fullness of time for me and Ann arrived.

I tend to dodge work by conservatives (political or faith) and feel drawn to the likes of Anne Lamott. However, I'm glad I spent time with this Ann. Once in sync, the reading just flowed. Occasionally, the voice felt a bit overly-self-conscious, just a little too writerly. But on the whole, the poetic prose rang clear and effortless. I kept turning the pages for more.

Beginning my read before Easter, and the passion of Jesus which serves as a show more hinge-pin for one of Voskamp's central themes, can not have been an accident. Just as I picked up The Year of Magical Thinking -- without realizing what it is about -- a few weeks after my mother passed away, books often come to me with surreal timing.

Pictures from the Sedona trip and my initial response to the book are in a post I wrote HERE. show less

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Koskamp is a 2011Thomas Nelson publication.

I love the concept of this book. Stopping during a busy day, just when stress is about to take over our thought processes, considering something you are thankful for, counting your blessings, seeing a precious gift you might otherwise have missed, is a great, and very healthy idea.

In our fast-paced world, stopping long enough to jot down a positive thought or feeling, or just meditate on it for a moment, slows things down and allows us to catch our breath and be mindful of all the good things- often little moments with our family, we might have missed because we are always trying to fit too much into one day. It teaches us to show more live in that moment, to experience the blessings, which are the things that make life feel joyous and abundant.

I’ve been trying to keep the ‘three blessings’ exercise daily, and it works like Ann’s thousand gifts journal. It’s good to remember the positive things; instead of looking at a sink full of dirty dishes, be grateful you have dishes and food to fill your plate with.

Like Ann, over time that attitude changes your perspective. We must always recognize and remember from whom these blessings flow, and before long an inner joy and peace helps us cope with life’s bumps and bruises, helping us deal with feeling overwhelmed and stressed.

That said, the author’s writing approach could be distracting. Many have described it as poetic, but I thought it had more of a stream of consciousness that was as chaotic as Ann’s life was. Still, one can see how Ann’s life had changed. She still struggled, of course, but her depression lifted as she found time to live right there in the moment.

Her responsibilities were many, and there were great demands on her time, but she could handle it much better, had a more positive self-image through her steadfast faith in God.

Overall, despite the execution problems, I liked Ann’s approach to life, could understand her troubled mind and how she slowly got a grip on herself through faith and thankfulness.

3.5 rounded up show less

I am torn about how to review this book. I found it difficult to read, due to the writing style and in particular the author's idiosyncratic use (and non-use!) of the definite and indefinite articles. It generally read as though she was writing poetry, with varying degrees of success. References to members of her family as "Man-Boy" and "the Farmer" etc grated on me too.

However, many of her thoughts, practices and the quotations from ancient mystics were very helpful to me, even if the theological leaps she took to get to them seemed to me to be exactly that - leaps. I have started my own list of one thousand gifts and the concept that "all is grace" will stick with me. She talks about difficult, important questions and this book made show more me think. show less

I find it very hard to rate and review this book. It's key message of thankfulness and the joy and freedom it brings is encouraging and uplifting, but for me the writing is a headache. It's too descriptive, flowery and abstract for my taste. It seems like this little book has been a blessing to many many people, so I'd still recommend it. But it's really not for me.