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Monday, April 18, 2011

One Thousand Gifts (135-145)

I have been reading A Holy Experience (Ann Voskamp's blog) for a year. Every Monday Ann adds to her list of One Thousand Gifts and today I'm adding to my list too.



In 2004, I saw the movie "The Passion of The Christ" and was deeply affected by the visual reenactment of Jesus' journey throughout Holy Week. The biggest change for me is that each time I say The Lord's Prayer "he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried," that the words are now more moving/realistic than just mere memorized words.

In the same way, while reading One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, where Ann wrote about Jesus taking the bread, giving thanks, breaking it, and giving it to his disciples, is that during communion at my church the words have taken on a deeper meaning for me too.

I am more fully attentive and present while worshiping. Whether I am at church or not and I am thankful.

Holy Week began on Sunday and I have posted what I'm reading this week.

#135 - #145 on my list of One Thousand Gifts. I'm thankful for:

135. for God leading me toward a more mature faith

136. Holy Week

137. Wonderful Husband, our daughter and me going to Virginia to visit our son/her brother

138. safe travel to and from Virginia

139. watching Wonderful Husband hang pictures and put together a bookcase for our son

140. new shoes for walking on the treadmill
 
141. reading The One Year Chronological Bible and being so caught up that I read into the next day's reading! God's Word is alive, active, thrilling and inspiring!
 
142. Wonderful Husband catching stinkbugs in baggies...then disposing of them. He is my hero!
 
143. the hyacinths in bloom


 
144. a squirrel running out of our garage

145. the joy of celebrating Easter next Sunday

Turn on your speakers. Read, enjoy, and thank God for His blessings.

5 comments:

  1. Holy week... the best gift! Your husband is so sweet. Love the pretty blooms. Glad the squirrel was running OUT! lol Wonderful list of gifts. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. Cindy -- I'm so happy to find your blog today (from Ann's). I have been debating watching the Passion of the Christ -- would you recommend it? I 'want' to see, with my eyes.. with my heart, but I don't know if I can take watching it... What did you think?

    By the way, I have some free Easter / "He Is Risen" blog buttons if you would like one to display on your blog! They are on my blog and free to anyone who would like one. :-)

    Celebrating His resurrection,
    Melanie

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  3. You're so right about having an appreciation for the sacrifice after watching Passion! It's one of the hardest movies there is to watch, but it's not the type of movie you watch for entertainment value.

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  4. You had asked if I would recommend watching the movie. I have to tell you that I am not into scary movies of any kind but went to the movie theater to watch it back in 2004. Alone.

    OK, there were people in the theater too.

    I left the theater aware for the first time of Jesus' suffering. It was like I finally understood his sacrifice, his pain, and God so loving the world that He gave His only son.

    All words that I grew up hearing but until seeing it all, I had a glossed over not gritty view of it all.

    My heart had been broken and also filled realizing God's love, so it really changed my faith.

    Back then (and maybe today) the film was controversial. I approached it by focusing on the story, not on the controversy.

    Would I recommend The Passion of The Christ?
    Yes. For adults.
    But it is not for the faint of heart.

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  5. This is a book not to be read, but to be experienced. Mrs. Voskamp wrote the book in present tense as though it were happening right now. The result was that it seemed as though I was reading her thoughts as they were happening even as I read her words. It was not an easy to read book. It's heavy reading. There is a lot of heart baring and heart sharing in this book.

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