Choosing the Eucharisto... Inspired by Ann Voskamp 1000 Gifts

Eyes fly open as the alarm goes off at 5am... Why do I have to get up so early?

Standing in the middle of the closet staring at clothes... I don't want to iron, that's too small... I really should get rid of that but maybe I'll eventually wear it again, that's to casual... Ugh I don't know what to wear.

Breakfast... Its cereal again kids. Mom didn't get up and make breakfast yet again.

Dishes in the sink, laundry on the floor, unmade beds, tooth paste squeezed out, lights left on, I have no idea what is for dinner...

One thing after another dragging me down before I even leave my house by 7am. I am annoyed with my life and flirting with depressing thoughts, that this is my new normal, as I head out the door. Normal? How can this be normal? How can this be the way life just has to be? Where is the "joy in the morning?" I fear it got drowned in the disposal I as frantically threw dishes in the dishwasher before walking out the door late-- again. What is this new epidemic of constant stress, emotions constantly teetering on the brink of complete loss of control-- with the fear of never recovering. There has to be a better plan!

I picked up 1000 Gifts, skimmed pages, enjoyed the pleasant blue of the cover, it was soothing... Paid for it and laid it on my night stand...

Finally I pick it up and begin reading, reading, reading, getting more and more drawn in to this new word Eucharisto. The word is strange feeling on my tongue as I try to pronounce it, as it comes out-- slowly, incorrectly, but still the sound of it pierces my thoughts. Eucharisto... "he gave thanks" Can this simple idea really be the key to this joy journey I have been on? Was I seeking eucharisto without even know what it was? Yes, because that is the Jesus way, the God way, to lead us where we never thought we would go and find what we never thought we would... Truth... Grace.

While this whole book is page after page of beauty through words and sincere honesty of Mrs. Voskamp's raw perception, tonight this is what I am drawn to...

"The only way to fight a feeling is with a feeling. Feel thanks and it's absolutely impossible to feel angry. We can only experience one emotion at a time. And we get to choose-- which emotion do we want?"

I read this and think, hmmm, really?? But after reading the source it is derived from I find it hard to argue... After all I am no emotion specialist... mine are all over the MAP most days!! But I do see this epidemic of unbridled emotions and we all too often simply shrug our shoulders and say "I can't help the way I feel... " This repulsive saying just never settles well with me, especially when it is my own emotions! I HATE when I feel like my emotions are running my life, that I have no choice but to let my anger rage when my pride is pricked, my hurt feelings swell in a flood of tears behind closed doors, or my annoyance with the human race make me want to stay in bed under the covers.

"Although most people definitively claim that they love, care, appreciate, it might shock many to realize the large degree to which these feelings are merely assumed or acknowledged cognitively, far more than they are actually experienced in their feeling world. In the absence of conscious efforts to engage, build, and sustain positive perceptions and emotions, we all automatically fall prey to feelings such as irritation, anxiety, worry, frustration, self-doubt, and blame" (Rollin McCraty, "The Grateful Heart," The Psychology of Gratitude)

Life changing knowledge... our default is "irritation, anxiety, worry, frustration, self-doubt, and blame" when we are not consciously making "efforts to engage, build, and sustain positive perceptions and emotions." Paradigm shift... Eucharisto must take over, must shift my default to thanks... For "the miracle always precedes the thanks." I must change everything...

"And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them..." (Luke 22:19 NIV emphasis added)

It begins with one...  Thank you Jesus... An alarm to help me wake to your gift of a new day... Only 999 more to go. Challenge yes, Lord thank you for a desire for something more than what my default as to offer... 998...