What I'm Thankful For

During this Thanksgiving Season we often (and should) take time to reflect on what we are thankful for. I want to take this opportunity to mention a few of the many things I am thankful for.

1. God - Thank You God for sending Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die for my sins. Thank You for choosing me to be Your daughter. Thank You for writing the Bible so I can learn about You and what You want me to do. Thank You for caring about me as an individual person and for being very patient with me when I fall down. Thank You for all of the other things I am thankful for below...I only have them because of You.

2. Parents - Thank you Dad and Mom for being the best parents in the world. I know you aren't perfect, and neither am I, so we make a great combination. Thank you for raising me up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Thank you for helping me to understand that I need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and that it is not something passed down from you or anyone else. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for teaching me that material things are not important, but spiritual things are. Thank you for teaching me that a sense of humor can cover a multitude of problems. Thank you for teaching me that we are all equal before God. Thank you for teaching me the importance of actions and attitudes. And thank you for giving me brothers and a sister. I'm so glad you didn't stop with me.

3. Siblings -
a. Thank you R&W for being my big brothers. Even though we are not close in age, I love you very much. Thank you for the great nephews and niece!
b. Thank you J for being such a great little brother. We grow closer the older we get, and I look up to you in more than one way. :-) I am so happy that you found your R! May God bless you and give you many years together serving Him.
c. Thank you E for being the best sister in the world! You are so wonderful that my only regret is that we don't have more sisters to enjoy all the fun we have together. You are my dearest friend and confidant. I don't know what I would do without you.

4. United States of America - Thanks to all of those who worked and gave their lives to raise-up the best country in the world. I realize that if it was not for the sacrifices of many others, both in the past and present, I would not enjoy the freedoms we have in this great country. May God bless America and draw her back to Himself.

Friends (in no particular order):
> CMR - You taught me what it means to be a friend.
> RH - You have encourage me by your willingness to obey God and wait for His leading.
> KD - You are the sweetest young lady I know. Your love for the Lord is an example to me.
> LH - You taught me what it means to listen to others. You also taught me lots about cooking!
> DE - Your learner's spirit and love for learning about God has challenged me in ways you can't imagine.
> CV - You have shown me how to endure tribulations and come away smiling.

Misc. Blessings:
> Health - Generally excellent PTL!
> Job - Meaningful, great co-workers, close to home, challenging, etc. What a blessing!
> Safety - By God's grace I have been protected from many hazardous situations. May I never take this for granted and always ask for and thank God for each day's protection.
> Sense of Humor - I feel so sorry for people who are perpetually sad. The world is a beautiful place and there are numberless things to laugh about. I only have to look at myself in the mirror in the morning to get a good laugh to start off my day.

I could go on...believe me! But this seems like a good place to stop for now.

I hope you have lots of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Season.