Once you begin, isn’t it hard to stop?”
Joy’s addictive.
My girl's wide open smile, eyes large aperature and I look into her, all frame. She’s clicked and captured my morphing. 
“Yes, Hope-girl. I should have warned you.” I can’t stop smiling. “That’s the way the counting went for me too. And before you know it, you’ve changed your life.”
She’s got a nub of a pencil in her hand, one she’s pulled from her back pocket, little scalpel for life surgery. I wish I had gone under its sharp point when I was ten. Just bits of lead scratching out the paper with life-list, the only one that matters, list that counts the blessings in a life.
He cut me open in my thirties, plunged joy into the chest cavity, transplant near painless, and now I can’t stop counting the graces and she’ll be young when she’s changed.
Change can come in five minutes a day.
When I started The Real Life-List, the list of how God’s graces a Life, I had a goal of noticing, writing down 100 common gifts.
I had no idea that I’d ring the walls with more laughter, hug my kids tighter, kiss the lips of husband longer, discover the way out of stress’s chokehold, and pour out more to family, community, God.
Everday, I lose my way and the steps back to the Way can be counted, one blessing at a time. Gratitude glues us to God.
And then, after counting 100 blessing, I couldn’t stop, can’t stop, won’t stop. God’s fingerprints mesmerize. Counting 100 gifts, became 1000, will become 10,000, and when you realize all you want is all you have, joy intoxicates because it’s His love whispering in countless languages, rain drumming tin, sun juicing tomatoes, wind playing leaves, and your life serenades a chorus you can’t stop singing.
In an instantaneous world where I can’t help but roll eyes over claims of shedding ten pounds of tummy fat in less than a week, or earning a fortune working less than an hour a day, who knew authentic joy could be had in less than five minutes a day? It’s possible.
If I've got the guts to embrace my messy life, as is, and mouth heavenward: thanks.
“I’m over 100 now.” She grins.
A Child Learning to See Grace
snippets from my ten-year-old Hope-girl's list:
:::
sound of rain
smell of oatmeal cookies
little sister's curly hair
candle-lit meal
growth of watermelon
the way Kai and Shalom run together
waking to rising sun
feel of dirt between my toes
mom telling us stories
bees buzzing over flowers
Shalom nudging me to wake up
squeak of the the rocking chairs
Malakai playing with his train track
friend's tinkling laugh
squeal of pigs
yawning puppy
swishing of broom
peep of chicks
warm eggs in my pocket
Care to change your life in five minutes a day? Consider joining the Gratitude Community!
How to begin your own 1000 Gift List ::: How Gratitude Can Change your Life
( Drop me a line if choose to begin giving intentional thanks and gather fresh joy... I'm behind right now, but I'll get caught up here soon and happily add either your name or a web link to the Gratitude Community )
If you'd like to share your counting of the gifts with us, consider adding the URL to your specific 1000 gift list post...
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