When I was in college I took Principles and Practices of Prayer with Roger Peugh. If you don’t know him, I wish you could. He’s the kind of man who you can tell genuine cares about every person he meets, and when he prays, you know he’s really communicating with God. As a part of his class, we had to keep a thankfulness list: every week we added things we were thankful for. He didn’t care what we wrote – from the mundane to the profound – he just wanted us to get in the habit of expressing our thanks to God.
It’s a habit I wish I was better at keeping up with, because that list is pretty awesome to look back on. However, in the spirit of Thanksgiving week, I figured now’s a good a time as any to start up again:
- Not having to work on Thanksgiving day. I’m so glad I got to spend the day sleeping and eating and being with friends.
- the Siders family. They have adopted me as their own out here, and are seriously part of my “Columbus family”. I had Thanksgiving with them this year and it was a blast. And delicious.
- My 6 girls: I disciple 6 girls this year, 3 in Columbus and 3 scattered at colleges across the country. This week they are all home. And I get to see them all. They make me laugh and they refresh my heart. They love Jesus so much and they want to honor him with their lives. They are living examples of 1 Timothy 4.12, and my heart bleeds 3 John 4 (‘I have no greater joy then to hear that my children are walking in the truth.’) when I spend time with them. Morgan, Leah, Zoe, Holli, Emma, and Meghan. I love you.
- the Artrips: another part of my Columbus family. I don’t think I could have guessed when we were planning homecoming together 9 years ago that Mark and Kristin would be 2 of my dearest friends. I am constantly learning from and being challenged by their lives and their faith, and their boys are 2 of my favorite kids in the world. For real. You guys are the best.
- coffee. Seriously.
- God’s faithfulness. I’ve been thinking about this one a lot lately. The Lord has been faithful to provide for and care for me every step of the way. My life has taken some crazy turns, but He is always leading. It’s such a safe feeling.
- My roommate! You wouldn’t think that it would be so easy and so fun to live with someone you only met once before you moved in, but it really really is. Megan is the best. We laugh a lot, and I have learned about more reality TV shows in the last 4 months than I even thought possible. Also, we have sweet decorations, because she is a pintrest addict. :)
- My family, of course. The older that we all get, the greater it is when we’re all together. I could go on about you all forever. Thankful for your love, your patience, your hilariousness, and the way you love Jesus. AND that you are coming out to see me this weekend :)
- Federal loans. So that I can go back to school.
- the Dodge Stratus. It has 236,400+ miles. And still runs. The Lord is behind that, I am sure.
- singing. What a good idea, God.
- Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Andy Stanley, Steven Furtick…. I have learned so much from these guys. Thankful for the way that God can sovereignly use sermons from people in all corners of the country to hit me right where I’m at.
- Christmas music. Duh.
- a washer and dryer. I’m literally just so thankful for how easy it is to get my clothes clean. And that I have them in my very own apartment.
- Bunkbeds. Come on, who WOULDN’T want bunkbeds?
- ice cream. Again, duh.
And more importantly, Jesus. (I know, some of you are rolling your eyes and thinking this is cliche.) But genuinely, none of the rest of this stuff matters at all apart from Jesus and the way that he lived and died in my place, so that I can stand confidently and righteously before God. Without Jesus, the rest of this stuff is temporary and hollow and meaningless. With Jesus, they are blessing that make me want to thank God for his outrageous goodness in every area of my life.
