I'm THANKFUL!

I heard a message on expressing our thankfulness to God (and others) at church yesterday. It was very powerful! The passage for this message can be found in Luke 17:11-19. One leper came back to Jesus, threw himself at the feet of Jesus, and thanked him for his healing. How awesome is that! How often do we forget to say thank you or don't even consider thanking God or someone else for something they've done for us? Thankful (according to my favorite 1828 dictionary) means "Grateful; impressed with a sense of kindness received, and ready to acknowledge it." Is gratefulness lost in our society? Have we forgotten the power of acknowledging God's blessings in our lives and the gifts (of friendship, time, etc.) that others have given to us as well? Is it harder to say "thank you" or "I'm sorry?" For many, I've often believed that "I'm sorry" was harder to say, but maybe it can be harder for some to say two simple words in gratitude to another. As I sat thinking over the words from the message yesterday, I decided that I was going to write a list of 100 things that I'm thankful for. 100 may seem ambitious, but I would challenge you to take ten minutes today and think of twenty things that you are thankful for. Just twenty things in ten minutes - 30 seconds per item. When you have another ten minutes try to come up with twenty more items. I will share my list of 100 (or as close as I get) below. I would love to see a list of the first ten things that you come up with (not necessarily in order of importance, just in the order you think of them); please share them in the comments section. Instead of thinking that thankfulness is only for November, because of Thanksgiving, let's start thinking of what we're thankful for each and every day!

Here's my list (listed in no particular order and by no means complete):

100 Things I'm Thankful For
1. My Savior
2. My Salvation
3. My husband










4. My daughter - Shannon, who died before she could be born
5. My daughter - Sasha










6. My son - Tobias, who died before he could be born
7. My son - Sawyer










8. My daughter - Hope












9. My son - Victor










10. My mom










11. My dad










12. My brother

Photo from February, 1984










13. My home
14. God's protection on December 20, 1989, when I was hit by a car while crossing the street in front of my school.
15. The restoration of my marriage in 2006 (after 2 separations equaling about 1 year).
16. God's provision
17. My mother-in-law - Nancy
18. My sisters-in-law - Michelle, April, and Ashley
19. My nieces and nephews
20. My friend - Samantha (and her family)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21. Every breath I breathe
22. My friend - Elizabeth S.
23. My friend - Amy Jestus
24. The Gullickson family
25. Food
26. Clothing
27. My bed
28. The ability to read
29. The ability to write
30. God's Word
31. Two vehicles that work well
32. A driveway
33. Two arms
34. Two legs
35. God's healing power
36. My grandmother - Joyce
37. The freedom to homeschool my children
38. Snow
39. Flowers
40. Trees
41. Grass
42. Grandpa Jim - He died in September, 1997.
43. My former next-door-neighbor - Claribel - She was born on May 14, 1903, and died in January, 2007. An amazing and special lady!
44. Those who founded the United States on sound principals.
45. Heat
46. God's giftings
47. God's protection over Sawyer when I was pregnant with him and bled in May, 2010.
48. God's protection over Hope when I was pregnant with her (and didn't know yet) and had gallbladder surgery in February, 2011.
49. God's protection over my family (my parents, my brother, and me) when we rolled over in a Chevette in June, 1983.
50. God's love for me!
 
I've hit the halfway mark!  Check back later for the other 50!

51. Books to read
52. Mountains
53. Neuchatel Swiss Chocolates
54. The Holy Spirit
55. Those that have the gift of being Prayer Warriors and that pray over my life
56. Freedom to travel
57. Music
58. Robin Jones Gunn's books
59. Hearts at Home
60. Thriving Family
61. People that not only have a heart for orphans but also open their arms/homes to them
62. Rainbows
63. Rain
64. Oxygen
65. The love of my family (including their hugs and kisses)!
66. My five senses
67. Shoes
68. Photographs
69. My memory (and the memories it houses)
70. My driver's license
71. Simply Charlotte Mason and Sonya Shafer
72. HSLDA
73. Friends and family that sow sweetly into my life
74. Rochester College
75. The people that sowed into my father's life and helped him find Salvation in Christ

I've hit the 3/4 mark!  Check back later for the last 25!

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