joy dare

1000 gifts...

its the name of the book I'm reading by Ann Voskamp

and the dare she's set forth for her readers.

To find 1000 gifts in 2012.

At least three every day.

The author gives daily ideas of joy to actively seek.

Some of my favorites have been:

• January 12 - a gift above you, a gift below you, a gift beside you
• January 27 - 3 gifts that might never have been
•  February 15 - a gift found in losing something, finding something, making something
• February 19 - 3 gifts that were "plan Bs"
• March 2nd - 3 gifts at 3:00
• March 4th - 3 gifts difficult to give thanks for

And some that I'm looking forward to:

• March 14th - 3 gifts that came with laughter
• March 20th - 3 gifts found in silence

I read the day's dare over breakfast and then J and I spend our whole days looking...searching for the joy.

matching sister jammies just happens to be at the very top of my list of intoxicating happiness

then, at supper, in between feeding littles and wiping down everything within a 15 foot radius, we share the joys discovered

and I write them down in a little journal that sits on our kitchen table...because finding the joy is one thing

but sharing it

remembering it

counting it

these are the things that multiply the joy a thousand fold.

"peek-a-boo" wiggled its way into our hearts and onto the pages of our gratitude journal several times this week

other joyful discoveries included....

cupcakes in hair

loose strands...their very own gold

Santa socks in March...the way she dug all the way to the back of the drawer to find them and the look on her face when she emerged with the prize, proudly waving them as if these Christmas socks were the winning lottery ticket she'd been waiting her whole life for.

the way that polka dots and stripes look on baby girl

no hands...

and the tottering that occurs right before she sinks down onto the carpet.

saving walking for another day

one more day a baby

chubby fingers

laundry baskets

cozy moments

story time

being home

learning to look for joy has convicted me of how easily i have overlooked the good and often focused on the negative in life.

thanks has a way of breathing new life into the shadowy places of our hearts

and if being joyful brings sunshine into our lives, december 31st is going to be a brilliant day.

on the last day of 2012, we will have each counted 1000 gifts.

Together, 2000 ways to be thankful.

2000 things that are good about where we are and who we are with.

until then, there are hundreds of gifts to be felt, heard, seen, counted.

what joy is hiding around me today?