Hey everyone!
I hope your day is going well! It has officially been my first full day of seeking gifts the Lord has given me! It has definitely been a busy and good day! I learned a lot about God's sovereignty and timing. Of course, I failed to seek Joy and Christ during certain moments throughout the day, but I was thankful that there was grace and forgiveness offered to me to cover that sin. Thank you Jesus! So, without further adieu, here are my gifts for the day!
GIFTS:
8. Me telling Uriah no to touching certain items and him listening
9. Uriah "fake coughing"
10. Floss!
11. Bottled Water so we can stay healthy while in Uganda
12. My mouth guard to wear at night so my jaw doesn't hurt during the day
13. Toilet paper! I think we all know why I am thankful for that!
14. "Renew" lotion! It is the only lotion that has cured my dry cracked hands
15. Uganda rain storms! So refreshing and cool when most days are pretty warm!
16. Uriah's Bison wind suit to protect him from the rain on our way to breakfast!
17. A NEGATIVE HIV test for Uriah! Praise God!
18. Our driver Gilbert whom I trust with driving us around Kampala! What a gentleman!
19. The strawberry waffle I had today for lunch with coconut ice cream!
20. A beautiful mall in Kampala to cool off in!
21. A call from IOM (International Office of Migration) to go and sign the papers with Uriah's medical results! We have been waiting for this call for about 2 weeks!
22. Uriah taking over a 2 hour nap so I could get a small nap in and get some crocheting done.
23. While praying with Uriah tonight, Josh prayed these words: "Our lives that God has created is like a song...it at times can take unexpected turns, but that's what makes it beautiful."
24. An email from the embassy!!!! We have an appointment at 10:00 am tomorrow morning to turn in our paperwork! One more step closer to coming home!
25. Traffic in Kampala! Today, it taught me a lot about trusting in the Lord and His sovereignty, knowing He is in control and works everything according to His will!
26. Forgiveness for thoughts of comparison
It's so fun and good to look back on the day and see God's gifts....I easily forget. Thank you God for these treasures today!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.
- Philippians 4:6-7
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
The Beginning
Hello everyone!
I hope you all are well. I am so excited about this journey I am on with the Lord! I am currently in Uganda, Africa with my husband adopting our 1 year old son Uriah! I am telling you that, because that is part of what sparked this adventure we (the Lord and I) are on...
Before we flew here, I was looking for some books to bring along, because I knew I may have some time to read. I also knew that this step of our adoption process (the parts about becoming legal guardians of our son and the in country process to come home) would be difficult and possibly long-we planned to be gone for 12 weeks. So I thought, "this would be a good time to learn and read more about being content. I have been told by several people that the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp is good and that I should read it. So, I purchased it for the trip! I didn't know much about the book, only that it was about being content and seeing the gifts that God has given me right where I am in life. Not going to lie, when I started reading it, it was hard for me to follow because Ann is very poetic, and I sometimes have a hard time following that style of writing. But I stuck with it, and I am glad I did!
I finished the book today, and feel like I should read it again to process everything. The book mainly talks about being thankful in every situation: good and bad. When you choose and seek to be thankful for every situation in life, you really are seeking the Lord. You are praising the Lord for His goodness and sovereignty in every situation in life. Those situations can be: getting a job you've badly wanted, losing your job, having a baby, struggling with infertility, rejoicing because your baby slept through the night, struggling because your baby is having a hard time sleeping etc. It can be simple things such as a sunrise, the beautiful snow fall, leaves that are changing, a smile from a loved one. It opened my eyes to help me see that there really are so many things to be thankful for around me.
The whole point of thanking the Lord for gifts around you is to seek and see God's face! You may be agreeing with this statement, disagreeing or wondering, "what does that even mean?" I have had to ponder that statement for a while, and I believe that I am still figuring that out. But, the Lord has helped me to understand that seeking His face is to know Him more, to learn about His heart, His character and His ways. When you see someone's face, it tells you who they are. It reminds you of everything you know about that person, and encourages you to keep learning more about them. Now, I am still trying to grasp what this is like... to be thankful for gifts given every day that I am alive. Sometimes I wondered throughout the book, "How does Ann being thankful for things such as sink bubbles and her children's curly hair lead her to the Lord?" But I think this "thousand gift" challenge is a process. It's not like Ann just started on this journey and all of a sudden she knew/learned everything she wrote about in the book. I realized that it's ok to not know how this journey will unfold. I don't have to know the whole plan. All I know right now is that I am going to try and find/write down 1000 gifts that I see in my daily life, and see where the Lord takes me. I am excited to see how God changes my heart. How I start to react during times of complaining, fear, anxiety, ungratefulness, joy etc. I pray that in the good and bad moments of my life, I can give thanksgiving to the Lord for His goodness, grow in trust in Him, and knowing that He is sovereign.
So, I will be trying to blog about this journey... not sure how long it will take, but I pray this will become a lifestyle. I am anxious often, and am ungrateful for a lot of things in life. I want to see the Lord's goodness in every aspect of my life. I am wanting to blog so that I am held accountable... and so that you all can see the Lord's goodness not only in my life but your own. Feel free to join me on this journey! You can find a sweet app in the app store to help you keep track of your gifts! If you just type in One Thousand Gifts you will find it!
So here's to seeking joy by seeking HIS face!
Gifts:
1. Our baby boy learning to feed himself crackers
2. A tea pot to boil the water here in Uganda so that we can have clean water for cleaning things including dishes.
3. Dish soap here in Uganda to help clean our dishes instead of just using cold tap water that isn't clean.
4. A cute smile and response from a little boy that is being adopted by a family that is staying at the same place we are!
5. An array of beautiful paper beads of all different colors at one of the local craft markets. It's neat to see these beautiful women make such wonderful jewelry with the gifts God has given them
6. Our friend Alex who taught us tonight how to cook some good food
7. The game Dots that I have on my phone, simply because it is fun and it only allows you 5 lives at a time and makes you wait to get more lives so you don't waste your life away!
For Christ's glory,
Marissa
I hope you all are well. I am so excited about this journey I am on with the Lord! I am currently in Uganda, Africa with my husband adopting our 1 year old son Uriah! I am telling you that, because that is part of what sparked this adventure we (the Lord and I) are on...
Before we flew here, I was looking for some books to bring along, because I knew I may have some time to read. I also knew that this step of our adoption process (the parts about becoming legal guardians of our son and the in country process to come home) would be difficult and possibly long-we planned to be gone for 12 weeks. So I thought, "this would be a good time to learn and read more about being content. I have been told by several people that the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp is good and that I should read it. So, I purchased it for the trip! I didn't know much about the book, only that it was about being content and seeing the gifts that God has given me right where I am in life. Not going to lie, when I started reading it, it was hard for me to follow because Ann is very poetic, and I sometimes have a hard time following that style of writing. But I stuck with it, and I am glad I did!
I finished the book today, and feel like I should read it again to process everything. The book mainly talks about being thankful in every situation: good and bad. When you choose and seek to be thankful for every situation in life, you really are seeking the Lord. You are praising the Lord for His goodness and sovereignty in every situation in life. Those situations can be: getting a job you've badly wanted, losing your job, having a baby, struggling with infertility, rejoicing because your baby slept through the night, struggling because your baby is having a hard time sleeping etc. It can be simple things such as a sunrise, the beautiful snow fall, leaves that are changing, a smile from a loved one. It opened my eyes to help me see that there really are so many things to be thankful for around me.
The whole point of thanking the Lord for gifts around you is to seek and see God's face! You may be agreeing with this statement, disagreeing or wondering, "what does that even mean?" I have had to ponder that statement for a while, and I believe that I am still figuring that out. But, the Lord has helped me to understand that seeking His face is to know Him more, to learn about His heart, His character and His ways. When you see someone's face, it tells you who they are. It reminds you of everything you know about that person, and encourages you to keep learning more about them. Now, I am still trying to grasp what this is like... to be thankful for gifts given every day that I am alive. Sometimes I wondered throughout the book, "How does Ann being thankful for things such as sink bubbles and her children's curly hair lead her to the Lord?" But I think this "thousand gift" challenge is a process. It's not like Ann just started on this journey and all of a sudden she knew/learned everything she wrote about in the book. I realized that it's ok to not know how this journey will unfold. I don't have to know the whole plan. All I know right now is that I am going to try and find/write down 1000 gifts that I see in my daily life, and see where the Lord takes me. I am excited to see how God changes my heart. How I start to react during times of complaining, fear, anxiety, ungratefulness, joy etc. I pray that in the good and bad moments of my life, I can give thanksgiving to the Lord for His goodness, grow in trust in Him, and knowing that He is sovereign.
So, I will be trying to blog about this journey... not sure how long it will take, but I pray this will become a lifestyle. I am anxious often, and am ungrateful for a lot of things in life. I want to see the Lord's goodness in every aspect of my life. I am wanting to blog so that I am held accountable... and so that you all can see the Lord's goodness not only in my life but your own. Feel free to join me on this journey! You can find a sweet app in the app store to help you keep track of your gifts! If you just type in One Thousand Gifts you will find it!
So here's to seeking joy by seeking HIS face!
Gifts:
1. Our baby boy learning to feed himself crackers
2. A tea pot to boil the water here in Uganda so that we can have clean water for cleaning things including dishes.
3. Dish soap here in Uganda to help clean our dishes instead of just using cold tap water that isn't clean.
4. A cute smile and response from a little boy that is being adopted by a family that is staying at the same place we are!
5. An array of beautiful paper beads of all different colors at one of the local craft markets. It's neat to see these beautiful women make such wonderful jewelry with the gifts God has given them
6. Our friend Alex who taught us tonight how to cook some good food
7. The game Dots that I have on my phone, simply because it is fun and it only allows you 5 lives at a time and makes you wait to get more lives so you don't waste your life away!
For Christ's glory,
Marissa
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