Reflections... Reasons for Thanksgiving

 Psalm 52:8-9

"But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the loving kindness of God forever and ever. I will give Thee thanks forever, because Thou hast done it. And I will wait on Thy name, for it is good, in the presence of Thy godly ones." 

For the past few years I have participated with the daily giving of thanks on Facebook. However, this year, The Lord has me "considering my ways", which is something The Lord has spoken to me from the study of His Word, from the book of Haggai. In considering my ways, the way I spend my time and what my priorities are, I have been led to significantly reduce my time on FB. So, rather than the daily thankful statuses, I am going to list here 42 things I am thankful for... 42 because that is how many years The Lord has blessed with me so far.


 I thank my Heavenly Father, my Lord, my Savior, and My Redeemer for the following: 

 1. The free gift of salvation from my Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ. Thank you Jesus, for taking every single one of my sins upon yourself and receiving in full the punishment for every one of my sins so that I could have eternal life and be set free from the bondage of sin. 
2. The riches of the depths of His grace. My husband and I were so blessed to take a class this fall on "Understanding Your Salvation." We studied in detail every aspect of salvation... We have been elected, called, chosen, redeemed, justified, adopted, and regenerated. We are being sanctified, preserved, and we will be glorified. If I had nothing else to be thankful for this is enough! 
3. I am thankful for my husband... He takes his role as husband, father, and spiritual leader of our family seriously. It blesses my heart immensely to see him reading the Word in the mornings, to hear him listening to sound biblical teaching online as he works on the computer, and to pray with him each morning before he leaves for work. 
4. The privilege of participating in a Moms in Prayer group. What a joy and a blessing to pray with other moms for our children according to scripture. It has been a blessing to labor together with these moms in prayer for our children and our families, and it has been a joy to witness answered prayer. Praying together creates a bond of friendship that is deep, meaningful and priceless. 
5. For the quiet early morning hours, and time spent in prayer and in the study and reading of God's Word. 
6. For the multiple copies of the Bible that we own, and the fact that we can carry them with us wherever and read them anywhere. 
7. For the privilege of homeschooling my children, and the empowerment and equipping of the Holy Spirit to do so. It is a joy and pleasure to teach them and to see and watch them learn, although it is the hardest and most trying task I have ever attempted! 
8. For our home... For shelter from the weather, for cozy beds, for screened in porches, for back yards with cool forts, for a garage to park in, for a place where we all are wanted and belong. 
9. For our sweet Bootsie... We had to say goodbye to our kitty this year. She was a blessing I had for 20 years, she was the boys 1st pet, and she had my husband catering to her every need and desire... She is dearly missed. 
10. For occasional nights out... The breaks from constantly being needed and constantly being bombarded with questions were often needed, and my husband graciously provided me time for those without a complaint. 
11. For my health! It feels absolutely wonderful to be healthy! 
12. For my husband's handiness... From fixing things around the house, to working on our vehicles, to creating cool stuff for our boys... He can do almost anything! 
13. For my parents and my sister... 
14. For a closet full of clothes and shoes... I have way more than I need... 
15. That we always have plenty of food to eat... 
16. That my husband likes and enjoys my cooking, even if my kids don't... 
17. For all we have learned about healthy eating and how much healthier we are as a result... 
18. For vacations and trips to the beach... 
19. For neighborhood swimming pools... 
20. For journals and the blessing of looking back... For the ability to remember... How horrible it would be to not be able to remember. 
21. For good morning hugs from my boys and my husband. 
22. For a van to drive and money to put gas in it. 
23. For warm cups of coffee on cold, rainy mornings... 
24. For snuggles on the couch while reading with the boys... 
25. Finding David curled up on the couch amidst all the pillows, absorbed in a book... This is a daily occurrence. 
26. For the masterful, detailed, and creative creations Paul builds with Legos... It is his passion and he is great at it! 
27. For the joy of watching the boys play soccer! They are passionate about the game and put their whole heart in the game. I love to watch my David fly down the field with the ball, he has some speed! I love watching Paul make his calculated and thought out moves! And I really shout for joy and they work together to score a goal, they are a dynamic duo!! 
28. For our homeschool group... We are blessed with a group of wonderful families to go through the adventure of homeschooling with. I am so thankful for the good friends the boys have made, and I am blessed more than I can say by the friendship of some godly moms! 
29. For good friends... I am blessed with wonderful friends from all seasons of my life. A true, loyal and faithful friend is a wonderful blessing! 
30. Modern conveniences! I am thankful for the many household helpers I have, the dishwasher, the clothes washer and dryer, my vacuum cleaner, my iron, stove, oven, refrigerator... The list really can go on and on!
31. For our new church family... The Lord has led us to Hunter Street and what a blessing it has been for each member of our family. Their desire to have the gospel preached in all that they do, the fact that everything is done with the purpose and intent to point to Jesus, and that all is done in excellence because we serve an excellent God brings us great joy and excitement. We look forward to serving our Lord with them. 
32. For godly mentors... We have been blessed with the friendship of a sweet and dear couple who love The Lord and have been married 50 years. We are so excited that our Lord has brought us together and we eagerly look forward to growing our friendship. 
33. For music... 
34. For the ability to run... And the desire and motivation to do so. 
35. For roses and hydrangeas in our backyard... And sweet little boys who cut them for surprises for me! 
36. For good books to read that inspire me in my walk with Christ. My favorites this year are all from Lamplighter Publishing. I highly recommend them.... Excellent, excellent books! 
37. The giggles and laughter of my boys... It is a much nicer sound than their fighting and arguing! 
38. For time to rest... For bathtubs and my homemade "calgon"... 
39. For my husband's willingness to help those in need, even if it is inconvenient... 
40. For ears to hear with, eyes to see with, arms to hug and hold with, legs to run with, a mouth to talk with...
 41. For this life my Lord has blessed me with... I am humbled by what He has done for me... 
42. For my Heavenly Father, who is the giver of all good gifts... And for His Son, Jesus, who has given me the greatest gift of all. 


It has been such a blessing to sit and compile this list. I would encourage you to take some time to be still, and sit and reflect on the many blessings in your own life. We all have more blessings than we could ever number...