I know the title is totally un-original. But, I couldn’t come up with anything better because I am not really all that "original" or creative for that matter.
Today is a day that we celebrate a day of thanks. What a special day. A day to mentally list out all of the things we are thankful for. Normally I would just stop with the mental list, but today I feel like I should make a written list of all the things I am so grateful for and all the awesome blessings in my life. The following list is really in no particular order, so please don’t read into them as if they are. I am just going to type the things that pop into my head.
The things I am thankful for in 2009:
- Jesus Christ - He died on the cross to set me free from my sin (past, present, and future). Who wouldn’t want to serve that kind of unconditionally loving Savior?! Today I am going to stay in awe of that fact and recognize that the rest of this list is because of HIM.
- My amazing parents. A father who is a real life example of my heavenly father. A mother who is and always will be an incredible role model for me as a mother.
- Dan - An amazing husband, friend, and father. I’m so grateful for him!
- Kylie - My firstborn. She is such a kind and gentle spirit.
- Kennedy - God protected her in my womb and ever since the day she was born she has kept us on our toes. She’s a stinker, but we love her to pieces.
- Emma - Again, God protected her in my womb and she is my baby. My last child and I’m enjoying watching her grow into an amazing little toddler.
- My In-Laws. From parents to siblings to nieces and nephews. Dan’s family is not as large as mine, but they are close and a lot of fun. His dysfunctional family has added to their numbers and has brought some really cool people into my life. His dad & mom and step-dad have played some really important roles in our life and for that I am extremely grateful.
- My Family - I have such a close family and I love it. I’m so glad that we spend lots of time together and that we can pass down our value that family is meant to stay in close relationship. God is the one who orchestrated families and I think that it pleases Him when we are intentional about our relationships and make it a priority to stay close.
- My Home - We are so blessed to have a nice house to call our own. We have turned this house into a home and we LOVE it. It’s nothing particularly special or grand, but it’s the place where we can build relationships within our family and with our friends.
- My Job - I have one of the greatest jobs. I love the people I work for and work with. I know that it is rare to have a job that is almost always a pleasure to go to and gives me a feeling of purpose.
- AES - Dan’s business. When we started this venture, we did not know how it would work out. God has sustained us and the business and we have been incredibly blessed financially as well as professionally with this venture.
- The basics - food, clothing, transportation. So many things that I take for granted, even though I really don’t intend to.
- Friends - I have some of the greatest friends. It is so hard to squeeze in time for them all the time, but they understand and we always have a great time when we are together. They are the greatest, because time apart doesn’t change our relationships.
I’m sure that I could go on forever and ever, but I just wanted to highlight a few of the things that pop into my mind. As you can see, God has blessed us with all the necessities in life and then some. My prayer/wish is that I never forget that every good and perfect gift comes from Him. And today is a day that I wanted to put it in writing. I pray that all of you have or had a great Thanksgiving Day and I encourage you to write the things that you are thankful for today. There is something therapeutic about writing or verbalizing the reasons we are thankful. So often we get caught up in the negative or the things that are not going the way we want them to go in life. Today we need to focus on the positive and all the blessings in our lives.
Happy Thanksgiving!