thoughts from a grateful heart.

Sometimes it's good to just remind yourself of how blessed you've been in your journey of life.  Not just because it's Thanksgiving week, but because my life is good, the Lord is good, and I am so fortunate.  Have there been hard times?  Absolutely.  Have I wanted to throw in the towel?  More times than I can count.  But, when I look things over, I am just so thankful for how much I've experienced, been blessed, been favored and all of the people who make my life as full as it is.  In thinking of what I'm most thankful for, here's a list of a few of those things:

1. I am thankful to serve a God who relentlessly loves, forgives, gives grace, provides, answers, consoles, makes a way out of no way and has the best listening skills.
2. I am thankful for a family who, while they are not perfect (and neither am I), have provided a path of life that I am fortunate to have been able to walk down.  I'm thankful for a mom who cares and has always done the best that she knows how to make our lives enjoyable.  I am thankful for a dad who is so smart, knows the answers, is wise, knows how to fix broken things, can build anything and never fails to make me laugh.  I am thankful for a brother who is sweet, will break his back to do anything for me, is one of the funniest people in my life and works hard to go after his dreams.
3. I am thankful for Cornerstone Summit.   I serve in the best, most encouraging church body anywhere around and I count it a huge blessing to be surrounded with the most selfless volunteers and by people who are always always servants first. 
4. I am also thankful to serve under the most selfless and encouraging and loving Pastor in Boone.  Even in transition, his faith and certainty in the Lord is amazing.  His sacrifice is unreal and it is truly an honor to be under someone who cares so much about his people.
5. I am thankful for the concept of discipleship and for a leader who has more grace, love and wisdom than I could even think about having. 
6. I am thankful to be in Boone, pursuing my dreams (literally) and for a house to live in with the most wonderful and encouraging roommate ever.
7. I am thankful for a job that I absolutely love, and I'm so thankful for the patience of those who have helped to shape and develop me professionally.  I'm also thankful to be a part of a ministry that is literally and tangibly making a difference in the world daily.
8. I am thankful for the close friends in my life.  The girls who never let me be upset for long.  The girls who give a lot of themselves to do life with me.  I'm thankful for so many memories, so much laughter, and long and meaningful conversations that will never be forgotten.
9. I am thankful for my sweet, loving and Godly husband.  He'll be here one day.
10. I am thankful that my needs are met, my bills are paid, my car is running, my house is functional, my pantry is full, my sickness is healed, my body is whole, my dreams are peaceful, my mind is at ease, my heart is happy and my life is complete. 
11. I am thankful that there is none like Jesus and that He trusts me to do His work.  I am also thankful that there's grace for when I fail more than I succeed and forgiveness for when I'm disobedient.
12. I am thankful for the "extras" in life, the things that are blessings above and beyond what I could ever need or deserve.
13. I am thankful for the nations and for all of the beautiful people all over the world.  I work in a place where I get to see those faces often and send doctors to help bring medical answers to them and that is the biggest blessing.
14. I am thankful for laughter.  Truly laughing can make any circumstance not as heavy as it once was.  I'm thankful for the people who know how to make me laugh.
15. I am thankful for the talents and gifts that the Lord has placed within me.  I don't deserve them at all, but I am thankful that the Lord gave them anyway.
16. I am thankful for life.  I'm thankful for the ability to love.  I'm thankful to be where I am doing what I'm doing and being able to say it's only because of the redemptive power of Jesus Christ that I am where I am. 

You see, this life is just blessing after blessing.  Even as the storms rise up, the good always makes the bad seem insignificant.  I challenge you to bring to mind just how thankful you are today.  Writing those things down helps to remind us that gratitude is truly the biggest gift, but also the biggest challenge.  Times might be rough, but we can still be thankful.  When we say "thank you", the problems that were once too big to conquer are suddenly not so big.  So, thank you, Lord, for blessing me beyond all my imaginable desires.