giving thanks

i love thanksgiving.

i love that we set a side a full day, every year, to be thankful.

i know that gratitude and thankfulness should be a daily practice

and most days, for me, it is.

i love that my in-laws have the tradition that before we sit down to eat

[and there are about 50 of us there]

we hold hands in a circle, and say what we're thankful for.

it's a big family and we're very blessed. we have a lot to be thankful for

and i love hearing what everyone is thinking about each year.

of course there are a few here and there that are always late,

so they miss this part...

and i have to admit, i hate speaking in front of people, even if they're my family!

i will always inevitably cry. i've just gotten used to it now and it doesn't bother me

it used to make me want to be late [so i missed this part]

this year, i am thankful for about a million things, but i'll try to be concise.

immediately, i'm thankful for my new [to me] piano:

it was graciously given to us [including delivery] last night by a wonderful friend from church

i will never be able to properly express my thanks to them. seriously.

i am thankful for a God who knows me and loves me unconditionally

who loves my husband unconditionally

who fights for our marriage and our family

who is for us even when it seems like everything and everyone else is against us

i am thankful for a God whose mercies are new every morning

and i mean every morning [and i really mean every hour]

a God who ordained every one of my days, before the foundations of the earth.

i am thankful for His grace and His love.

for His Son and His Spirit.

i am thankful for my God.

i am thankful for the blessing of being a mother

to the most beautiful, sweet, intelligent

18-month old there ever was.

oh, how i am blessed by her.

i am thankful for the freedoms that we have in this country

to write publicly about our God

and about His goodness to us.

that we are free to gather and praise Him as we please.

that we are free to worship Him as often and as openly as we wish.

i am thankful that i woke up in a warm [and comfortable] bed this morning.

that i was able to make a nice big healthy breakfast for my daughter and me

that my husband had the privilege of working today.

that he has a job. that he has a car to get him there.

that i'm typing on this computer, drinking hot coffee, and getting ready to see my family

who is alive, healthy, not persecuted, not imprisoned...

there are a million things to be thankful for. i could go on and on

thank you Jesus for loving us enough to save us,

to refine us and bless us, to try us and test us,

and to teach us and grow us.

we could not be more blessed

we could not be more undeserving

thank you Jesus.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends :)