Ann Voskamp

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Ann Morton Voskamp (born August 10, 1973 in Listowel , Ontario , Canada ) is a Canadian psychologist, farmer, family woman and spiritual writer with a Mennonite background. Her first book One thousand gifts (German: thousands of gifts ), which appeared in 2011, was 60 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has sold over a million copies and been translated into 20 languages.

Live and act

Voskamp grew up in a farming family in Listowel in the North Perth community in southern Ontario. When she was a four-year-old girl, her younger sister Aimee was hit by a van in front of her own house and died there, traumatizing the whole family. At the age of 17 she began to cut her arms in order to supposedly let her pain and self-hatred drain away. At the age of 20 she had her first panic attack, which showed up in claustrophobia. She studied psychology in Toronto .

On her blog www.aholyexperience.com she writes and reflects on life experiences and everyday experiences, which attracts worldwide attention. She has a great social concern and is an ambassador for the Christian aid organization Compassion International .

Private

Voskamp is married to Darryl and has six own children and one adopted child. She lives and works with her family on a farm in North Perth in southwestern Ontario. She has homeschooled her children.

A thousand gifts

In her 272-page book, published in 2011, Voskamp explains and illustrates important New Testament Greek terms. The word eucharisteo , which means gratitude and communion , takes up a lot of space. It shows that Christian faith consists primarily of gratitude and trust in God, from which a lot of joy in life can grow. That's why she made a list of a thousand gifts, things and situations that she was aware of and grateful for. That was also a good exercise in dealing with her children, so that she herself remained a learner in relationships. Because relationships also thrive on trust in advance, openness and spontaneity; fixed ideas and expectations on the other hand have a destructive effect on them. Our ideas as a whole are not fulfilled and our personality has to be “broken” in order to receive and pass on blessings from God. This corresponds to the image of the grain of wheat that falls into the earth and "dies" and only then grows and brings new fruit.

Your light shines through my cracks

In the second, 320-page book, published in 2016, Voskamp also gives definitions and examples of Greek terms such as chara , koinonia and stegos . They all stand for deep community and fulfilled life. The little-known word stegos means roof, refuge and endure. Under such circumstances empathy and mourning grow so that human wounds and scars can be shown. People loved by God are no longer impressed by human achievements, but rather moved by the needs of people. They become trailblazers, peacemakers and freedom fighters. From his own, sometimes bitter experience, Voskamp knows that negative feelings can also really be lived through, not denied and repressed before they can be given to God. Hence, tears that water prayer or express praise are always legitimate. Pouring out his lamenting heart to God has unfortunately become an underestimated and even forgotten art of living. The world was created by God out of love and for love and therefore be so vulnerable, fragile and full of suffering. Because a deep inner saturation of life can only happen if I am "broken" first, if I myself experience breakup and surrender. A community unfolds its healing effect not through our strength, but through our breakdown. If we do not allow other people access to our suffering, no close community can develop. Koinonia (German: community) grows where one suffers together and brokenness loses its power as a result. Therefore, Voskamp recommends compassion, compassion and devotion as practical, concrete answers to the suffering in the world.

Fonts (in American English)

  • A Childs Geography Explore His Earth , Knowledge Quest, 2008
  • One Thousand Gifts , Zondervan, Grand Rapids 2011
  • Selections from One Thousand Gifts , Zondervan, Grand Rapids 2012
  • The Greatest Gifts , Tyndale, 2013
  • Unwrapping the Greatest Gift - A Family Celebration of Christmas , Tyndale, 2014
  • The Broken Way - Daring Path into the Abundant Life , Zondervan, Grand Rapids 2016

German translations

  • A thousand gifts. An invitation to receive the fullness of life with open arms , Gerth Asslar 2014, ISBN 978-3-86591-795-9 (Original: One thousand gifts )
  • Your light shines through my cracks. Finding a fulfilled life in the midst of brokenness , Gerth, Asslar 2018, ISBN 978-3-95734-248-5 (Original: The Broken Way: A Daring Path into the Abundant Life )
  • with Davis Majors: Katie - Hope doesn't give up , Gerth Asslar 2018

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ann Voskamp: A thousand presents. An invitation to receive the fullness of life with open arms , Gerth Asslar 2014, ISBN 978-3-86591-795-9 , p. 125
  2. ↑ Katelyn Beaty: How Gratitude Made Ann Voskamp an Activist , on Christianity Today , October 21, 2016
  3. ^ Ann Voskamp at Gerth Medien
  4. ↑ Ann Voskamp: A thousand presents. An invitation to receive the fullness of life with open arms , Gerth Asslar 2014, ISBN 978-3-86591795-9
  5. ↑ Ann Voskamp: Your light shines through my cracks. Finding a fulfilled life in the midst of brokenness , Gerth, Asslar 2018, ISBN 978-3-95734-248-5
personal data
SURNAME Voskamp, ​​Ann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Voskamp, ​​Ann Morton (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian psychologist, farmer, family woman and best-selling author
DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Listowel , Ontario , Canada