Eucharisteo

The eyes flutter open; sun streams in the sliver of curtain that doesn't quite cover. Blink. And again.

Reach for glasses to see the new day. Beautiful sunshine. Thank you Lord.

Listen. The house is quiet. I excite at the prospect of quiet time on my own. Or with my God. Get up.

The sun meanders across the dining floor, touches the photos of my loved ones smiling from the walls. Of my baby whom I can only know now through these, and my memories. I smile.

Click the kettle, glancing to make sure it does not wake the children, interrupt the peace of morning.

Stir the coffee. Inhale. Ahh.... The sun is warm and lovely as I take a seat under the patio, outside. Taking in the beauty, the quiet.

Thank you Lord for all of this. This mundane, every day morning? No, this new day. Every little piece of your incredible blessing. Your Joy is new each morning!

Eucharisteo.

Its Greek for 'Thanksgiving'. Yet it encompasses more than that too.

From Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts:
 “And he took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them…”(Luke 22:19).....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 grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be gift and gave thanks….But there is more, and I read it. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But is also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning “joy.”  -- from One Thousand Gifts. 

So Eucharisteo - Grace + Joy = Thanksgiving.

Not just being thankful. Heart looking up to God, bended on knee. It is the act of surrending all to God, to start to see His glorious gifts in all aspects of life. To REALLY SEE around. See those little things that ARE THERE.

Yes, life can throw us the most horrible side balls. But practicing eucharisteo can be healing. It can give you a different focus  - it is seeing God through those. And so I can try to look at the blessings God gave me in my darling Sebastian, in the time I had with him, how God changed me in that time.

A shift in perspective. A HEAVENLY perspective, not an Earthly perspective.

His Joy. His Grace.

I want it. I need it. Yes God, MORE of you in each day. I need You more, coursing through my veins. When I wake and when I sleep. When I bake, when I sew, when I clean, when I kiss sore knees.

More of You.

And so this is My One Word for 2012. Eucharisteo. 

My hope is to grow so much deeper in my relationship with God. To open my eyes to the whole earth filled with His Glory. To heal. To be loved. And to love Him too. To grow. To deepen. To really see.

How do I do this, enter in Eucharisteo?

I mentioned Ann Voskamp's book. One Thousand Gifts. I am reading this through right now, and its life-changing stuff. Amazing. One of the revelations I love the very most is this one...

'I shape loaves and think how Jesus took the bread and gave thanks... and then the miracle of the multiplying of the loaves and fishes.
How Jesus tool the bread and gave thanks... and then the miracle of Jesus enduring the cross for the joy set before Him.
How Jesus stood outside Lazarus's tomb, the tears streaming down His face, and He looked up and prayed "Father, I thank that you have heard me..." (John 11:14 NIV). And then the miracle of a dead man rising! Thanksgiving raises the dead! ...
How there is thanks.... and then the mind-blowing miracle! ...
Eucharisteo - thanksgiving - always precedes the miracle. ' - from One Thousand Gifts


This very thought made me think about Sebastian. Did I not give thanks enough to receive God's miracle? What if I had been more thankful? Would he be here, healthy? A living, breathing example of the miracle of God?

Well really, who knows. I tend to think not though. I did give thanks. Maybe not as keenly or as openly as I plan to in 2012. However, I trusted God and thanked Him for the blessing of Sebastian's life. Each day we had with our boy. His birth. His beautiful feet. I was so thankful for all we were given with our sweet boy. And so I do believe that God's plan was fulfilled.

But I head into this new year with new hope. New hope to see more of God, more of life and to really LIVE. To maybe create new miracles.

And so the simple ACT of practicing Eucharisteo is this.

Write it down.

Grab a pen RIGHT NOW, where you are right now. Get yourself a journal, or even a scrap of paper (this is what I'm currently using).

Look around you. Look at your blessings. They are ALL AROUND!

Write them down.

1. A new day
2. Hot water cascading down my back
3. Ripe, red tomatoes, bursting with flavour
4. Eating breakfast in the sunshine
5. Three children playing together; no fighting.
6. Coffee in the morning
7. Fresh cut ham on sandwiches.

And that was it. My first morning. Just a quick 10 minutes thinking about how good my life really is.

Just write. They will come easily. You will see.

YOU WILL SMILE.

A weight lifts. A peace settles.

We are so blessed. We are so LOVED.

Count your gifts with me?


"He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me. and he prepares the was so that I may show him the salvation of God (Psalm 50:23 NIV)

If you'd like to read more of living eucharisteo every day, then please take a look at the blessing that is Ann Voskamp's blog - A Holy Experience. Geez, even the music alone blesses my soul. When I hear that music (got to get me a copy), my soul knows where I am, that I am here to soak in more God. More grace. More joy. And a peace comes over me even listening.

Ann's book is incredible too. I've decided I'm going to give away a copy. Pass along God's Love. Just a little. Bless someone with this wisdom.

To be in the running to win this copy of Ann's book (and yes you can live anywhere in the world, I'll order it and send it directly to you), please leave a comment below. Tell me 10 blessings in your life today, right where you are, right now. Play along with me.

I will draw it in about a week's time.

And my hope is that you might join me in a little eucharisteo too.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (Thessolonians 5:16-18 NIV)

You can find more about One Thousand Gifts - and lots of cool free printables - even an App for your smartphone (I want a smartphone!)...  here

One Word...

As the sun begins to shine on the first day of a new year, pens befriend paper, and plans for the year ahead form. We make 'New Years Resolutions' - goals to break those nasty habits we don't like about ourselves, things we don't want in our lives when next year rolls around... Many of these we give up on after January!

I've given up on making Resolutions I know I won't keep.

For the last few years, New Years Day has usually had me pick One Little Word to work on for the year.

The concept of One Word is quite easy, but can be quite profound.

You pick a word that encompasses what you would like to achieve for the year, the person you would like to see yourself to be in that year. Sometimes a word might stand for many things, sometimes just one thing.

But yesterday, a Christian friend of mine linked me to this website, My One Word

My One Word is God-based!
With GOD as centre to My Word.
Not so much about who I want to be, but who GOD wants me to be.....
Yes! We're going somewhere this year!

Here's a snippet from My One Word:

Our resolutions seldom work because they focus on the type of person we want to become rather than who God wants us to be. Many people do not see God at work in their lives simply because they don’t know what to look for. So, what if our hopes for the year centered on who God wanted us to become instead? 
It’s okay to want to be a better you—and the New Year is a natural time to start. The question is, how? My One Word replaces broken promises with a vision for real change. When you choose a single word, you have a single focus. You are moving toward the future rather than swearing off the past.
With My One Word, you’re right where God wants you: in His hands. And it’s not an extreme makeover we’re talking about. This year, the goal is to see His work in one area of your life.

 So I've thought a little about My One Word over the last week, and it had chosen me before I even realised it was time to choose it! I'll come back and blog about My Word soon, but I wanted to write this blog to extend this same challenge to you.

Hop on over to My One Word and check it out. Then have some time with God and ask Him to reveal to you what your word should be for 2012. Really SEEK HIM for it. It will be there.

With the My One Word project/website/blog, you will have support for really living your word out for the year. Weekly blog prompts will help you to focus on your word through different questions, activities etc.

I'm looking forward to it. Will you join me? If so, let me know below and if you'd like to share your One Word, please do! I'll be back to blog about mine.