Wednesday, June 2, 2010

it came highly recommended...

When something this good is brought to my attention, teaches me, touches me emotionally, and I resonate with it I have no choice but to pass it on. Cold Tangerine's by Shauna Niequist just made my top 5 favorite book list of all time! I'm blessed to have read this book and thank Jo, and Rach for bringing it into my world. 

Perspective, appreciation, and love are being shouted from every page, and every story gave me goosebumps, and the more goosebumps I got the more I feel in love. If I was a writer, I would write this way. It's honest, and naked, full of life, insecurity, and most of all hope. It's about "celebrating the extraordinary nature of everyday life" and that's exactly what it is. Reminders of what we overlook and should be celebrating. Turning even the darkest day into the brightest because of God's love and all that he has given. 

It's an absolute must read for everyone, so I won't spoil any of it, but it got me thinking...on the days in which I find myself bored, lazy, complacent, or just plain grumpy instead of wallowing in that puddle of pessimism I know I need to find the joy, appreciate it, and thank God. So, I'll take my queue from Shauna...

I'm so thankful for beautiful Chicago mornings when the birds are chirping, and I haven't yet heard the anticipated first siren...I'm thankful for Jason, and with one smile from him all is right with my world...I'm thankful for raspberries, the little sour and magical fruit that can instantly make me happy....I'm thankful for the clean, white sheets I sleep on, and the clinking of glasses as toasts are made for celebratory occasions...I'm thankful for photography, the capturing of many different perspectives with one shot....I'm thankful for journaling, my sweet and silent therapy...and I'm thankful for my beautiful, large, and crazy family without which I would not be who I am today...

Carefully threaded into all of these things so brilliantly is God, renewing my soul, and preparing me for each step I take forward, and picking me up when I fall four steps behind. Breathing, fighting, encouraging, loving, and consistently giving me hope...with all my love, thank you.


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