I have to admit, I’m feeling pretty bummed that today’s Bloom (incourage) video on One Thousand Gifts is our last one for this book…
It has been a blast to spend time with many of you during the course of reading this book, and we so hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did. Ann’s words are so heartfelt, lyrical, and profound.
This book is certain to be filed in the same folder as Christian classics and we are honored to have been a part of it right from the beginning. Last I checked, it was still hanging out in the top 10 on the New York Times Bestseller list. We take this to mean that Jesus is using her gifts to carry His great name to many others, and we praise Him for it.
As we close this chapter of Bloom (pun completely intended:)), on behalf of all of us who have been behind the scenes on this one, we want to say thank you to Ann for sharing her amazing thoughts in book form. Remember, friends…this is the wife of a pig farmer; a homeschooling mom to six. I am filled with such enormous pride to see the name of a fellow sister in Christ alongside those other huge NYT authors. This book is her offering to the Lord, and I for one am so grateful she chose to humble herself to His will in writing it. The fruit of her obedience is that lives are genuinely being changed, and hearts are bowing in gratitude to Jesus.
I have the privilege of knowing her in real life, and I can tell you with confidence that she doesn’t want anything more than to know that she is honoring God… So yes, we close the book…but not the lessons in gratitude and real joy that will long continue to shape our walk…thank you, Ann with no “e.” We love you tenderly, dearly, and enough to shake an elevator.
We hope that if you didn’t participate in this particular study, that you will pop over there today and explore Bloom a bit.
You will find an extension of this rich community, lots of videos and so much more. Just because we are ending a book’s discussion today, this is not the end.
{with baskets of love falling from heaven…:)}
Angie, Jess, and the (in)courage girls
P.S. We can’t wait to tell you more about what’s next for Bloom! Stay tuned…:)
Leave a Comment
Robin Dance says
🙂 I remember your and Jessica’s inaugural video for Bloom–y’all were so stinkin’ CUTE!–and it’s pure joy to have watched its evolution and move to (in)courage. It’s further joy to celebrate the Ancient and New words from Ann in Thousand Gifts.
Can you believe THIS is where your initial idea has traveled?!?
To God be the glory!!
xo
p.s. I love cliffhangers ;).
Patricia says
So beautifully said!!
Many heartfelt thanks to ALL of you who worked to put this together & to Ann, yes, FULL OF GRACE!, for sharing your deepest thoughts in such a poetic & profound way!
May God bless all of you, always!
Kristi says
I am sad also! I know I will go back and rewatch many of the chapters because to hear you all SPEAK it helped bring the book to life for me. Thank you so much for doing this. I will try to be grateful for what I received and not be greedy and want MORE of Ann and her beautiful words! 🙂
Be blessed~
Meg says
Thanks for sharing this wonderful book with us. I really enjoyed it!
Jan says
Hi,
I am planning to take all that you have shared and Ann’s book back to Haliburton with me in April. We are snowbirds at the moment.
I have offered to share with the women in our church all that I have learned in a Bible Study based on Ann’s book, One Thousand Gifts.
Pray with me as I walk in new territory that God will empower me to speak The Word of Truth to my friends.
Blessings,
Jan
emily freeman says
Oh, I’m sad that it’s ending! But I’m actually behind and not completely done with the book yet – I think I’m procrastinating finishing it without realizing it – because once I’m done, there’s no more.
I love what y’all have done/are doing here. So happy for Ann (and for us).
Ellen S says
One Thousand Gifts has been a wonderful read-a life changing experience. Thank you for enriching the experience even more with the Bloom videos and conversation. I’ve felt so blessed to be a part of the virtual group. Looking forward to the next book choice, but I have to warn you, this one will be hard one to top. Thank you!
~Bambi says
I enjoyed what the first commenter said…it is exactly how I felt when I watched the announcement of the book club. I found myself smiling big!
Just the name of the web site, ‘Incourage’ and the name of the book club, ‘Bloom’ and the name of the first book introduced, ‘One Thousand Gifts’…is so good and so inspiring and so uplifting!
Thank you Ann, ‘without the fanciful e’, ( by the way, I miss that being on your website as it looks like it was changed to Ann without an e. But…to me, some things should NOT be changed and that is one original thing I think should have stayed the same). 🙂 Anyway, thanks so much for much inspiration and I look forward to many more books written by you as I know there are more. I have shared the book with total strangers plus others who aren’t. Can’t help it. When I find something good, I love to share it! Thank you for your humble, sweet spirit that is so evident!
Angie, I had not read your book but have read your blog and have always bought Selah music through the years! Didn’t know you were connected till reading your blog. Anyway, enjoy your sweet spirit and insight! Will be ordering your book as well now!
Jess, thank you also. I see an eagerness in you for God that is inspiring and is fresh. Thanks for all the ideas and the inspiration for the book club that you and Ang have put together. It is such a GREAT idea! Just think of all the people who have been touched!
Looking forward to the next thing you ladies have coming!
God bless you three and know that the blessings from you have been many. By the way, before closing…I never did hear if there was a workbook or what that I saw you using during the videos. If it is a workbook and available, I’d love to know and I am sure others would too!
~Thanks!
sandee says
This is a bittersweet. What is awesome, is I am behind in the chapters, so have not watched all the videos…I am waiting until I get to that chapter..so it is not quite over yet for me. 🙂 So blessed that you have posted the videos and are keeping them up. Thanks so much!
Jennifer says
I have been a reader of Ann’s blog over the last few years and was so excited to find out she had written this book and that inCourage was reading it together as a community. I just finished the book and the final video and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed Ann’s style of writing, her amazing insights and hearing what God impressed on her heart about gratitude and joy and communion with Him. I’m on my way to capturing 1000 gifts and I look forward to the journey ahead. Thank you to each of you who made this possible. The pace of this book club is perfect and the videos really added to the experience.
Kristen@Chasing Blue Skies says
I am also behind in the chapters…mostly because I find myself soaking up her good words through small bites I savor most while chewing slowly. I am relishing this leisurely meal that tastes oh so delicious! It has blessed not just me tremendously, but my whole family! Count me as one more who is so grateful Ann followed God’s prompting to write this. We are all the better for having tasted it!
christina parker brown says
Thank you so much for allowing us to meet Ann. I have been so blessed by this book and the Bloom book club! I pray God would rain down blessings on you! I am on 600 blessings and counting!