Recommendations

I am always nervous when I hear from tons of people about a certain book to read, movie to see, album to listen to. I think sometimes there is so much hype around something that when it comes time for me to experience it on my own the beauty others have experienced is clouded by my expectation. 

With that being said, I love it when the very opposite happens. A handful of close friends of mine recommended the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It is wonderful. Ann is a beautiful writer that puts words to what communion with God is like. 

The book really has challenged me to be more aware of what's happening around me. Just a week or two ago I was driving to meet a friend for dinner and noticed how beautiful the sky looked. Instead of just passing by I decided dinner could wait 3 extra minutes and pulled over, got out of my car, and took the picture above. It was so gorgeous. There are invitations all around us to be invited into something more, sometimes it's just whether or not we're able to see them. 
I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the book: 
"We want something else which can hardly be put into words- to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it..." 
I don't want to give too much of my opinion about it except that it's worth a read. You can find it here.