Thankful

rockwell-thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am currently traveling. The kids and I drove 500 miles yesterday to spend the holiday with Gregg’s dad and family. We are so happy to see them. It’s not an easy drive with two kids age 3 and under, but it is well worth it. His stepmother always makes a delicious dinner, then we pull out some fun game like dominoes or Clue and spend hours and hours playing games. Last year, we went for Christmas instead and it wasn’t the same. I really missed it and hope that’s the last Thanksgiving I miss with them for a long time.

Ephesians 5:20 says:

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Even during the times I’ve found myself in a valley, I’ve always tried to remember this verse and even use it as a stronghold (and don’t think I didn’t just think of ten different blog posts I could use as THAT as my base!) But today is not for valleys.

Today is for love and friendship and family and good food and realizing everything for which we have to be Thankful.

So, here’s my list. I’ve not set a number in mind, and I’ve been working on it for a few days. I’ll know when it’s complete. (Insert, “I am thankful for…” in front of each sentence.)

Salvation by faith through grace.
The love of our amazing and awesome and powerful God.
The abiding and amazing love of my husband. After more than seven years of marriage, we are closer than ever before. Our love is stronger and more stable. We’ve discovered a new-found appreciation for who we are separately and together, and I look forward to the next forever as his wife.
The health of my children. Because both boys had such shaky starts, I appreciate their health so much more than I did when my daughter was born healthy and strong.
My daughter’s amazing, inspiring faith. She teaches me things about God every day just in her behavior and reaction to life. I am so thankful for her salvation and look forward to her future. She is going to be an AWESOME woman of God.
I am thankful that all 3 of my children are fantastic travelers. Gregg and I LOVE to travel and think nothing of loading the truck down and driving 500 miles, or buying a couple of plane tickets and dashing off across the country. Our kids just go with the flow, entertain themselves, entertain each other, and sleep as well in hotel room beds as they do in their own beds. It’s awesome.
My family. My parents are wonderful, loving, supportive people. They love God and pray for us. My brothers and their wives, and my sister and her husband, are all awesome individuals. I enjoy spending time or communicating with each one of them. My nieces and my nephews are true gems and I love living close enough to them to see them often and to watch them grow up.
My husband’s family. I’ve grown very close with his older sister this year and love that we have this strong relationship. I enjoy spending time with his father and his youngest brother. They are brilliant individuals and know so much about history and politics and military – three of my favorite subjects. His youngest sister and her husband are so much fun and such a loving couple and I wish we lived closer to them to see them more often. His nieces and nephew are precious and wonderful and I love them as if they were my own blood.
Our awesome military. You folks rock, and I thank you and I love you. May God bless each one of you – whether you’re spending this holiday with your family or if the trials of war or duty have separated you. Know that you are appreciated.
The honor of being a homemaker.
I don’t have to walk 2 miles to read the Bible or 25 miles to purchase a Bible that took me 6 years to save up and buy.
God’s provision of a good-paying job for my husband at the onset of a massive recession.
and on that note…I am thankful for email, webcams, VOIP technology…anything that allows me such instant communication over an 8,000 miles distance.
and one THAT note…the ability to be able to communicate with writing. I know that not everyone can, and this separation would be interminable if neither one of us could express how we feel and what we’re thinking through the written word.
Our amazing church. We walked in the doors and felt like we’d come home.
Conviction to change my writing from secular to Christian. I am so proud of my books now and look forward to the day that I see them published.
Conviction to start this blog. I know God has a purpose for it and as far as I know, that purpose may have already been met. But I have fallen in love with the experience and hope that it continues with the initial success we’ve seen.
The gift of hospitality.
The ability to cook.
The perfection of God’s creation in giving us tastebuds. How dull life would be without them.
Good friends. I have the most amazing group of friends. Some of whom I interact mainly in person, some of whom I interact mainly electronically, some are a good mixture of both — I have an AMAZING group of friends and a solid support base whatever may occur.
Good coffee.
Facebook.
All of my kitchen gadgets. :) More on that to come later.

Gregg’s somewhat shorter list:

I am thankful for my health; for two good eyes, for at least one good ear, for strong hands and a straight back, for legs that help me fight gravity each and every morning.
I am thankful for good strong teeth and lungs that I can fill with sweet smells.
I am thankful for a rich voice and a keen mind.
I am thankful for challenges and puzzles and meaningful questions.
I am thankful for trusted friends and confidences.
I am thankful for my beautiful bride in whom I take such pride. I am thankful for her love and for her respect. I am thankful that she is an open vessel into whom I can pour my love out each day. I am thankful for the joy her skills and her mind and her sense of humor brings to me. I am thankful for her strength and that she leans on me whenever rarely her strength wanes.
I am thankful for my children; my beautiful Kaylee who is such a lovely young lady, my little paratroopers Scott and Johnathan who are so very much what boys ought to be.
I am thankful for my father who provided in my youth.
I am thankful for my mother who blessed my life so.
I am thankful for my brothers and sisters who are so worthy of respect and admiration.
I am thankful for my in-laws and my extended family who I cherish in my very heart.
I am thankful for adversaries who taught me the importance of fighting for what is just and right.
I am thankful for loved ones, for dear friends, for those who have passed on who took the time to share moments of their lives when they walked beside me here on earth.
I am thankful for every member of my heavenly family, my brothers and sisters in Christ.
I am thankful for the dignity of work, and for the fact that I am able to provide for my own without compromising my principles.
I am thankful for music both heard and sung.
I am thankful for good books and the written word.
I am thankful for times of peace.

Ps 100:3-5 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Gregg

What are you Thankful for?