Thanksgiving… In July.

Ok, so one of my blood siblings, Meghan, gave me an idea from her blog. At a camp she has worked at for two summers now, they have told the kids to make a list of ten things they’re thankful for, and Meghan also did it, and she challenged everyone who read to “try it some time.” Well, I decided to. I know God has given me so much, and I also know I don’t take the time to realize it and spend time thanking Him. This is kind of my way of bringing things back into focus, also… Here goes.

Ten Things I’m Thankful For:

1. Jesus Christ. My Savior loved me while I turned my back on Him and did nothing but dishonor him and continues to love me as I try (and often mess up) to live the way He calls me to live. I screw up over and over again, yet His mercy never ceases. He died so that I could be forgiven, but He rose again, proving who He is! He changed my life (in a good way, of course). I am so thankful for His love for me and for his dying on the cross for me because I do not deserve it.
2. My family (Biological, Blood, and Lost). I have three sets of family, and I thank God for all of them. My biological family, who has been there for me since the day I was born. They’ve done nothing but support me, and I am so incredibly thankful for their love. My Blood family is entirely made up of Christians, and they have impacted my life more than they’ll ever realize. They’re the ones I count on for everything, and I don’t know what I’d do without them. So- Lindz, Kay, Pordie, Megaddin, Zak, and Oz- you've gotta know: you six mean the freaking WORLD to me; I don't know what I'd do without each of you in my life. I love you guys. And my Lost family, who is also (almost) entirely made up of Christians. They’re all such amazing people, and they’ve opened my eyes to so many things about God; He’s used them in my life to teach me for sure, and I thank God for letting me be part of their family.
3. My other friends. Most of my friends are a part of one of my families, but I have other friends that aren’t like siblings, but they still mean so much to me. They’re the people I actually trust, and they’re awesome people in general. I thank God for letting me get to know them.
4. My body. I know this sounds crazy, but I’ve always been fascinated with the human body, and after reading about all of the things that can go wrong with it, I am so insanely thankful to have two working legs and arms and eyes and ears. I am so insanely blessed.
5. Little Kids. I know this one sounds nuts, but ever since God has shown me the joy of working with kids, I have found a place I feel… Right, I guess. I am so thankful for that and for the joy being around those kids gives me. I’m thankful for their wide-eyed curiosity and their interest and for the fact that the world hasn’t hit them as hard yet, so they get to live in a simpler place, for this short time, in which you can call people “Mr. Armpit” and still get away with it.
6. Life. I’m so thankful to be alive! But I’m not only thankful for my life. I’m thankful that God has preserved the lives of my friends and family up to this point, and I’m thankful for the life all around me. The grass, the trees, the flowers, even the bugs.
7. God’s plan/purpose for me. I used to feel like I had no real reason to be here… I lived, I went to college and lived my life, and someday I retired… That’s all. That was what was going to happen. Then I met Jesus, and I found out that God has a plan for me! I’m here for a reason, not just to piddle away my time until I could quit working. Even when I do get old and get to retire, if I’m meant to live that long, then God will still have something for me to do, because every day I’m alive is a day that is for Him.
8. Technology. I’m thankful because it gives us a faster, easier way to communicate. I mean, in the last two months, I have learned the art of snail mail, and it has made me infinitely more thankful for fast communication through Facebook and texting. We’re one a few key-taps away from a conversation anywhere in the world, and it allows me to stay close to all those I care about. I’m so thankful to get to keep relationships going even when we’re not near each other.
9. I’m thankful for the community I live in. We’re all so blessed. We have enough to eat and supplies for school, and our area has a rather low crime rate. We have a quality school in which we get a good education… And the church I attend has so many devoted followers of Christ, and so many people who truly care. I’m so thankful for the blessings here God has given us, because there are so many people who don’t have that…
10. My home. It’s not perfect, but it’s air conditioned, and it has hot showers and we can wash our clothes here. I know that at the end of the day, I’m going to have some type of dinner waiting. I know those things seem really basic, but coming out of ESL, I realize how blessed I am to have those things, because so many kids don’t.

I thank God for all of these things. We are so incredibly blessed.

Amen.