Today, I thought that I would focus on some things that I am thankful for. I think it is important that we give thanks for all things and all situations, and so I'd just like to share a few things here:
1. I am thankful for laughter. I love to laugh and I love to hear other's laugh, especially children and mostly my little two year old nephew. He's got such a cute laugh and it is highly contagious! Today for example, he jumped up in my rocking chair and slung his little leg over the arm. I pretended to be annoyed at this and told him not to do that, then came over and put his leg back on the seat where it should be. He would laugh and as I turned around, back his leg goes over the arm. I'm telling you we played this little 'game' for about five minutes and he was laughing so hard over it.
If you want a laugh, I highly recommend Bonnie's recent post about public bathrooms and women over at http://bonniescalhoun.blogspot.com . Trust me, I was laughing so hard at this one...it's a clean story, so no worries. Ladies will probably find it a thousand times more funny than the men, but I'm sure the men will laugh too!
2. I am thankful for my sight. I don't have the best vision, but with the help of my contacts and glasses (I don't wear my glasses in public anymore though, just at home) I am able to see. I know there are people out there with worse vision than mine, as well as no vision at all. I am thankful that glasses and contacts have been invented to help me be able to see a whole lot better than if I didn't have them. God has provided a means for me (and countless number of others) to be able to see with glasses and/or contact lenses. Someday I will not need them ever again and my vision will be restored, but until that time, I am thankful for being able to see with optical help.
3. I am thankful that I live in a free country and that I can worship and praise my Lord and Saviour Jesus the Christ openly and freely. I am thankful that I do not have to do this in hiding or in an underground church. I am thankful that I do not get thrown in jail, tortured or even killed for my faith and belief. I can walk into my church without worry or fear that someone is going to come in and kill us or drag us off to jail. This, to me, is something to truly be thankful for since there are a lot in the world who suffer through this sort of thing every day.
4. I am thankful for my family and friends. God has gifted me with wonderful loving parents and two great brothers (though we've had our fair share of fights and arguments like all brothers and sisters do). Added to this is a sister-in-law and future sister-in-law as well as my sweet little nephew. God has gifted me with friends who love Jesus so much, care about others and band together when one of us is hurting or in trouble of sorts. There are strong Christians in my church who are great examples, men and women not ashamed of Jesus, not afraid to help or offer a suggestion or advice when needed. I am thankful that God directed me to the church I attend. He has me there for a reason, what that is I have no idea, but I do know this was the church He wanted me to attend.
5. I am thankful for living in an area of the world that experiences four distinct seasons. Fall is coming and the leaves are already changing colour. I love the look of the trees with the reds, yellows, oranges of fall...simply a work of art our Lord has created! Sure, I complain about winter and don't care all that much for it, but when I look out the window and see snow falling at night, or see the snow resting on the boughs of the evergreen trees, it is simply such a peaceful sight; so beautiful. Spring is so new and fresh...the new birth of the trees, well at least the leaves and blossoms, flowers start to grow, grass starts to turn from the dead brown from winter and snow to green...you get the picture. It's like the world starts waking up after hibernating all winter. And summer, I love going barefoot around the house, not having to wear socks, and just slipping my feet into sandles and not tying up laces...one thing though, I do NOT go barefoot in the grass. It's a phobia or something I have...there are bugs in grass and I don't want to step on any...I used to go all the time barefoot in grass when I was young but somewhere along the line I developed this phobia or whatever it is. I don't ever recall stepping on any bugs in the grass...oh well, I guess I just wouldn't be me if I didn't have this fear.
Well, I will stop here at five. I challenge all who read this to stop and think about five things they are truly thankful for, and list them...either in the comments section or on your own blog page. Go for it...be thankful for something today!
5 comments:
Ooops! I was with you until the seasons thing.
We have four distinct seasons in Southwest Florida: Hot, Hot and muggy , Hottest and muggy, Hot but not quite so muggy.
Do you know how rare it is for someone to be so thankful for all these things that we take for granted?
For one thing, being grateful for having faith in Jesus is such a huge thing! It's so important (in my belief) that it is top priority above all for which I am thankful.
I relate to the eye sight topic. I was legally blind in both eyes. I wore contact lenses, and on top of that, had to wear eye glasses to correct what the contact lenses couldn't do. Then I had lasik eye surgery. I was such a high risk due to my corneas being so thin, that they said it was a 50/50 chance that I could go blind during the surgery. I had faith in God, and I went ahead and did it.
I now see 20/20--because of God---and his miracle working through the hands of my surgeon, who is the same surgeon that worked on Tiger Woods. He went through the same dilemma I did, and he was a high risk candidate as well. I am SO grateful that God has given me vision, and was there for my surgery. I no longer wear contact lenses or eye glasses anymore.
Family & friends....SO grateful for that- a lot of people take family & friends for granted, and you seem like you have a lot of gratitude towards that aspect of your life. Family & friends aren't here forever, so we might as well enjoy them while we're on this earth.
It's refreshing to see someone with so much faith and so much gratitude in life.
Keep up the faith! Great blog!
That's so true about the contacts for me too. The seasons, we do have some delineation, mostly seems like a very long summer and then an abrupt winter. SC's weird that way.
I was saying, "yes, yes, yes" to all of the same things. Laughter. Voices in general. I think I could go blind before going deaf. I would miss the sound of the human voice so much. Seasons. I love 'em here in Maryland, especially the fall. My reddish golden retriever standing on our ruddy deck in front of the tapestry of sienna reds, mustard golds, and cranberry reds of our woods--this is a favorite fall scene of mine. Thanks for the inspiration to post our gratitude.
That was a blessing to read! Lets see, 5 things quickly...hmmmm, my Saviour....my family.....home,(is it cheating to include under the home category, my books, cello, needlework, everything under the roof?)....my precious church family...and to live in the United States of America and have the freedoms we do.
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