“Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I’ve ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing…. Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away.” -One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp
My sister is a book lover,i if I had to guess I would say she owns maybe 1000 books(maybe more), and I am certain that she has read all of them. Before I left for the race, I remember her talking about the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Everyone that i know who has read it said that it was an amazing book and encouraged me to read it. At the time I was living with my sister and her books but I never got around to reading it, every time I picked it up it seemed like something else got in the way…BUT God’s timing is perfect. One of my dear squadmates had a copy of it and in Haiti(month 2) she encouraged me to read it. After my perspective of life had been changed I decided to do what Ann Voskamp had done; write down all the gifts God has given me. I was far from consistent with my list but when I remembered or had my journal at hand I would write it down. As I look back I know that are things that I didn’t write down. Up until the flight home I wrote out 75 gifts throughout my World Race.
I read this book at the perfect time because it allowed me to slow down…to not miss out on the blessing if I was rushing from one thing to the next…and the race is full of those little blessings.
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Fresh fruit for breakfast.
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conversations in broken spanish and english
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truth that hurts at first to hear but the joy that follows
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BENADRYL-to take away swelling from bug bites
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Costa Rican coffee for every meal
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peanut butter
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babies right after a bath. gotta love that smile and smell
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baking preparation for Easter
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afternoon alone time(if you’re a racer you know how rare this is)
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Beauty out of ashes. 04/13/2015-Ashley Slaughter
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late night baby snuggles
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heart to heart conversations with new friends
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early morning workouts
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sleepy baby yawns
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online sermons and podcast
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safety for my family
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new pens to write with
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never being the same
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steady heart beat
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change
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peace in confusion
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squad leaders
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team sista fierce
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Psalm 16:5-6 inheritance
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Psalm 13:1 unity
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Edwin’s smile. Antigua, Guatemala 2015
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rice and beans
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Spanish!
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how contagious love is
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a day of rest and alone time
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Awesome Hostel Owners. Christian and Iris. Antigua 2015
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my story doesn’t fall to deaf ears
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making new friends over mcflurrys
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constructive feedback
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team devo and worship sessions
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names
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good out of hurt
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Marisa Leal 5.9.2015
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stories
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it’s a relationship
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people who go out of their way to bless you
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book studies
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physical labor
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being able to stay with ministres for basically free
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I get to walk with Jesus. 5.19.2015 Kiersten saw me leaving the room hand in hand with Jesus
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serving
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sweet bread
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basketball with Xela girls
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declaring truth over myself
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hot drinks
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oofa and jose luis
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making my own coffee
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AMG Guatemala
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guest house
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being in Thailand
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airconditioning
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cold water
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wax earplugs
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physical healing
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feeling rich when I’m really broke
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got slapped by an elephant…who gets to say that?
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books
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Hosea’s Heart
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Month 10
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being seen
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Lion and Lamb(Mama Kate, Swaziland)
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Bible
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chocolate
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being forgiven
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music
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Ashley Abelson
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Indian ocean
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my family is real
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airplanes
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rest
You guys, this doesn’t even begin to cover all of blessings that i have encountered in these past 11 months. I have been blessed beyond belief. I am planning on getting to 1000 gifts, it might take a year…it might take 10.
Since I have been home there has been numerous blessing that I could add to this list because Jesus is just that good! Again, thank you everybody for you love and support.
