Hello and hope you are having a nice Sunday! Today I wanted to share some excerpts from a book I read a few months ago–Be the Gift by Ann Voskamp. This is a shorter version of her book The Broken Way, which I’ve also read. I’ve been a fan of Ann ever since I read her first book, One Thousand Gifts. She has a beautiful writing style but her books are not quick reads for me. I read them slowly and sometimes re-read parts of her chapters because there are so many nuggets of wisdom and truth in her writings. If you haven’t heard about or read this book, here are a few thoughts and interesting points Ann makes about being the gift:

Acts of kindness, gifts of grace, they start a cascade of grace to fill a multitude of canyons in a hurting world….I would read later that those who perform five acts of giving over six weeks are happier than those who don’t, that when you give, you get reduced stress hormone levels, lowered blood pressure, and increased endorphins, and that acts of kindness reduce anxiety and strengthens the immune system. Five random acts of kindness in a week can increase happiness for up to three months later. “He gives by cartloads to those who give by bushels,” wrote Spurgeon.

Before you blink and your one life’s a tendril of smoke, a memory, a vapor, gone, know this: you are where you are for such a time as this–not to make an impression, but to make a difference. 

Give It Forward Today–give numerous small gifts forward today, and you get the miraculous gift of less stress. Abandon yourself to the givenness of God, and you abandon a bit of the fears and the stress. Busy is a choice. Stress is a choice. Giving yourself to joy is a choice. Choose well.

There is always more because God is always enough, and He makes all brokenness into abundance. Never be afraid of broken things because Christ is redeeming everything.

Luke 6:38 is a scripture Ann Voskamp includes in her book which pretty much sums it all up: “Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back–given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way.” (The Message)

Have you read this book? Were there special passages that stood out to you?

Sharing at Inspire Me Monday.