I'm Thankful

I begin my long list today with the most recent and move back in time.

I am thankful for the following...

• I got to watch our granddaughter Molly make cookies with her Grammy yesterday.

• Trying to take an afternoon nap yesterday, I was constantly interrupted by the sound of contagious laughter. Cathy and our daughter Becki were in stitches as they visited Cake Wrecks.
• Our son Sean took a huge step of faith and took a full load of college science courses (he already has a degree in Theatre) because he wants to get into medical school. He still maintains a full-time job. All this, while his wife Betsy is in a tough PhD program in psychology AND she works, too. We are proud of them and thankful for their hard work.
• Our daughter Beth, whom most of you know through her blog brings us great joy. We are thankful for her husband, The Engineer, and our grandkids you know as Chickie and Zoodle.
• Beth's twin sister Becki balances life as a busy mommy to Molly, wife to Donal, and middle/high school science teacher.
  
• I am grateful particularly that each of our children married wonderful mates who care for them and show them unconditional love. It would be hard for a dad to want more for his kids.
• I am blessed with a wonderful family history, having been taught love, respect and hard work from parents who lived their faith daily. Dad went to heaven in 1990, but mom is now 82 and still quite healthy. She inspires me.
• Cathy's folks, Bob and Joyce, are like another set of parents to me. I am forever grateful that I got to meet, love and marry a daughter they raised. I wish you all could know them.
• My church family, Stone Ridge Church, of Yuma, Arizona, is vibrant, alive and real. Walking the faith journey with them is one of life's highest privileges.
• My extended church family, made up of scores of churches and thousands of believers in the Dominican Republic, keep teaching me by example what it means to Love Jesus Passionately.
  
• Our nation, with all its faults, is a place made free through the blood of many thousands who saw a cause worth living for. Those who died did so, not at the whim of a raging despot, but with a choice to protect our freedom.

I have saved the best for last. This is the 37th Thanksgiving I have shared with my bride. In so many ways, it seems like yesterday that we were just starting out. I have been blessed with God's very best by being able to marry Cathy. Thank you, darlin', for being you.

Next spring marks 49 years since the day I went forward in a church service and said to Brother Stirling, "I want to dedicate my life to the Lord." There's no way an eight-year-old boy can understand those words. However, by His grace, He began to change me from the inside out. He must receive the ultimate thanks from me this day for my entire life is the result of His blessing. His abiding presence, His constant forgiveness paid for by the sacrifice of His Son, and His unconditional love mean more to me each year. Thank You, Abba!

To you, who have joined me on this journey, thank you for your encouragement and sharpening. I will not meet many of you in person, but I am grateful for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!