Seeing the e"X"traordinary God in "Y"our everyday life

I'm learning to change the way I view things. I'm learning to see God's grace and blessing in everything. Even in the most simple things like hearing a bird chirp, listening to the dog lapping up water, seeing a smile on my son's face, dirty dishes, clean laundry, dust, an unmade bed, a ripening tomato on the window sill, the feel of the sun on my face....it's all Grace from God...it's all Joy...how will you look at your world around you? Even in the darkest of moments, there is Grace from God... "Everything in this world has Christ's fingerprints on it. In the tough moments, pray with your eyes open, seeing God's grace and blessings in that very moment." -Ann Voskamp

A few years ago, while we lived in Savannah, I participated in the study 1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  It was an amazing book that reminded me to look beyond myself and see the extraordinary God moments around me.  The goal was to be able to write 1,000 gifts, 1,000 blessings we see over the course of the study.  I remember just sitting on our back deck with my eyes closed and listening.  You can see a lot when you aren't "looking" for it.

God reminds us in the Book of John, I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)  God's gifts are all around us and available to each of us.  We are free to accept them, or not.  God allows us to choose but there are always consequences to our choices.  Hannah Whitall Smith once said, "God is the giver, and we are the receivers.  And His richest gifts are bestowed not upon those who do the greatest things, but upon those who accept His abundance and His grace".

God gives us so many blessings each and everyday.  He abundantly blesses His children through the smallest of gifts.  It doesn't have to be a big God moment to be a gift from God.

Pause right now, close your eyes and listen?
What do you hear?  Go on, do it....I'll wait right here for you....


What did you hear?  Did you hear children laughing, crying?  Did you hear a dog barking?  Sirens passing by?  What did you smell?  Coffee brewing?  Fresh cut grass?  Fresh rain?  What do you feel?  The morning sun on your face?  A wet nose kissing you?  Children's hands grasping at your shirt tails?

Open your eyes?  Do you realize that God is in each of these?  Each of these is part of your everyday life and each of these is a blessing from our extraordinary God.  God is woven into the very fabric of our day.  The only way to be able to truly grasp the extraordinary blessings from God is to slow down and pause for a moment.  Allow yourself to be still and soak in the world around you.  God is in every detail.  It's extraordinary.  When we pause long enough, we are able to see the grace of God all around us.

If I've learned one thing over the course of this challenge in my blogging, it's to pause and take a moment to soak in the blessings from God.  Each time I've sat here at the computer to write, God has been there with me.  How remarkable to step back and see God in everything.  Even more remarkable is how God uses our hurts to further the blessings.  Don't miss out on the blessings by speeding by them.  Don't miss out on the extraordinary moments God has lined up.  Slow down, surrender and see the thousands of gifts God has given us each and everyday.   Imagine your perspective if you took time to notice the abundant gifts everyday?

Here's a few of my gifts I wrote down that reveal to me how extraordinary God is.  How personal He is.  How He provides me grace and gifts abundantly in my life....


~ my marriage
~ my son
~ dirty laundry because I am blessed to be able to clothe my family
~dirty dishes because we have an abundance of food to eat
~running water
~ the cat meowing
~the dog's wet kisses
~ birds chirping
~road signs because I am blessed with a car to drive
~the sound of the lawn mower because grass is growing
~the smell of fresh coffee
~curtains blowing in the breeze
~the swirl in the front of my son's hair, it's personal, unique
~an I love you from my husband, it's meant for me and tells me his heart
~technology that allows me to see family across the miles at any given moment


Stand with arms open wide, hands open to receive and your eyes lifted to God.  Blessings flow down from God every moment of every day.  Be still, look for the blessings.  I challenge you, start your own list and see what God shows you.  Do it.  Change your perspective on today.  Look for the extraordinary God in your everyday life.  He's there and He desires you to see it!

 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  Philippians 4:11-12