OPEN YOUR EYES...

I'm a broken record with this one... but, my life was deeply impacted when I opened & read Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts. More than anything, the book validated something I felt had been belittled over the years by so many of my respected peers, friends & mentors. What Ann wrote gave a voice to what I'd felt my entire life... the best things in life are in the moments -- no matter how small those things may be.

• Laying on the grass in the summer looking for cloud animals
• A mother & baby deer drinking from a small creek at the wood's edge
• The daily changing colors of winter wheat in June & July
• Smelling chili cooking in the crockpot when you get home on a cold day
• The sound of snow crunching under your feet during a winter walkabout
• Belly laughs from a little one
• The reflection of white lights on the snow way after the rest of your neighbors have turned their lights off