While at the Indianapolis Training Center, a challenge to the staff one year was to list one hundred things we were thankful for. I have sought to continue that tradition each year. This is my list for Thanksgiving 2009. This list is meant for me. It’s my list…somewhat edited for public view, but not fully. It’s a journal, of sorts, of what has happened during the past year. As I wrote one thing, sometimes it led to the next thing. Nothing is in any particular order of importance, nor is anything aimed at any person(s). There are places where I elaborate on some of my thoughts. The list is does not all inclusive – a simple list of 100 things could not possibly hold all I am thankful for.  Neither is the list meant to be my doctrinal statement. This is my list between me and God. I share it because others have been blessed in the past and have requested that I share again. However, if you choose to read, please don’t get offended by what is or is not here.

1.       Looking back over the year, I am thankful for the hard – some of them, very hard things that God has allowed – because they have driven me closer to the Lord and have clearly made known to me His will. Never despise the hard things!

2.       I am thankful for a living, growing, deeper relationship with Jesus.

3.       I am thankful that God has called me by His name and has rescued me from darkness and from myself.

4.       I am thankful for the progress I have made in my battle against anorexia.

5.       I am thankful for the power of the Holy Spirit in that battle.

6.       I am thankful for God’s reminder to me often that it is not by my might, nor by my power, but by His Spirit.

7.       This year I have a special thanksgiving in my heart for God bringing David’s and my life in touch with each other. I am thankful for the gift and for the Giver.

8.       There are many more things I would like to list about my thankfulness for David – I could probably fill the rest of the list, but I can share those things with him separately. :)

9.       I am thankful for the many friends that God has given me.

10.   Specifically, I am thankful for Lila, Kimberly, and Carman as friends who have gone through much with me during the past years and have been God’s faithful counselors and comforters to me, as well as making many good, happy memories together.

11.   I am thankful for new friends that will be made.

12.   I am thankful for so many ways to stay in touch – email, cell phone, Facebook, text messaging, instant messaging, letters, visiting face to face.

13.   I am thankful for God very miraculously reconnecting me with my childhood best friend, Jamie.

14.   I am thankful for fun trips I have been privileged to take with friends this year – with Kimberly camping; with Kimberly and Kendra to Iowa; with Josh, Daniel, Paula, and Rachel to Wisconsin.

15.   I am thankful for the cleansing power of the Word of God; also its healing power and the nourishment that comes from it.

16.   I am thankful for a beautiful place to live.

17.   I am thankful for my job at EBM.

18.   I am thankful for the missionaries I have met and/or corresponded with.

19.   I am thankful for the week I had at the EBM Family Enrichment Conference with missionaries who serve all around the world. I am thankful to have heard the work that God is doing through them.

20.   I am thankful for the invitation to join the Shipley family for the Fourth of July concert at Conner Prairie – for the good time we had listening to the symphony and watching the fireworks and catching up with each other.

21.   I am thankful for Tom & Sarah’s invitation to join them for the youth weekend at their church and for the sophomore and junior girls on my team.

22.   I am thankful for the service project we did as a team – for whoever’s idea it was for us to go serve the fire department. What an awesome time!

23.   I am thankful for my roommate, Christina.

24.   I am thankful for the flowers Christina brought home last night to cheer me while I’ve been sick.

25.   I am thankful for the abundance I enjoy each and every day – too often and shamefully without even giving it a thought.

26.   I am thankful for my prayer partners – for their faithfulness to pray and that I can give them information to pray about that I can’t necessarily give anyone else.

27.   I am thankful to have a boss who is considerate and looks out for my welfare.

28.   I am thankful for the wealth of information so easily available to me through the internet or the library.

29.   I am thankful for the internet.

30.   I am thankful that I got out of debt this year! What freedom!

31.   I am thankful to have been part of ladies’ Bible study this fall. I look forward to joining again for the winter semester.

32.   I am thankful for airplanes to transport us rather quickly to far away places.

33.   I am thankful for warm winter clothes and for heated homes.

34.   I am thankful to have a home, rather than a cardboard box or a space under a bridge.

35.   I am thankful for my laptop computer.

36.   I am thankful for my space heater – both here at home and in my office.

37.   I am thankful for my recipe collection.

38.   I am thankful for the electric tea pot that Ms. Jones gave me a few years ago while still at the ITC. I use it nearly every day.

39.   I am thankful for the tea cups in my collection that have come from various friends. Each one reminds me of the blessings that person has been and reminds me to pray for her/him.

40.   I am thankful for the very fun weekend I had with the Swartz clan over Labor Day – especially the night we stayed up and played mafia. :)

41.   I am thankful to be part of a local church where I can be involved on a regular basis and for the preaching that leads me closer to Jesus.

42.   I am thankful to see a young lady that Christina has been laboring with starting to make some very positive changes. It’s so exciting to see God working in her life!

43.   I am thankful for our neighborhood pool during the summer time. It’s nice having a place to go relax, exercise, and cool off.

44.   I am thankful that Jamie (Williams) Duke housed with Christina and me for a few months before her wedding. I am honored that Jamie found us suitable company. :)

45.   I am thankful for the wonderful birthday party Mrs. Goodwin and the rest of the family planned for me this year with the very appropriate theme “The Lower the Latitude, the Better the Attitude.” The Hawaiian theme was very welcome in February!

46.   I am thankful for hot water and cold water. Both sure are nice when taking a bath or a shower!

47.   I am thankful for Damien who cut my hair last week and rescued it from previous disaster.

48.   I am still thankful for how God provided the place where I live, the household furnishings, and the job at EBM. It never grows old to remember and to thank God for it!

49.   I am thankful that God cares about the small details of my life.

50.   I am thankful that I am going to be an aunt next April. I am rejoicing with my sister.

51.   I am thankful for all the people who surrounded me during my dad’s hospitalization and his death in April of this year. It meant a lot to have people come stand with me.

52.   I am thankful for Lila. Yes, I know I already mentioned her, but she went beyond the call of any friend to stand by me when my dad was in the hospital and when he died. She rearranged her internship for school to be there for me. And she went into some pretty cold, unwelcoming waters with my family in order to be a support for me.

53.   I am thankful for Steve & April and for Jesse, Bethany, and Neddie who have welcomed me into their family. I am thankful that though my family has rejected them and their kindnesses, that they continue to pray and reach out to them whenever they can. I am thankful for April making a basket of food to send to the hospital and a meal to take to my family after my dad died. I am thankful for the items that Bethany included in the basket for my sister Ruth, who is near Bethany’s age – for Bethany trying to reach out to Ruth and let her know that she wanted to empathize with her during the time of grief.

54.   I am thankful for Steve & April, Jesse, Dennis & Shaunna, Bethany, and Neddie attending my dad’s funeral with me and supporting me in my grief even though my family called them ahead of time and told them they were not welcome to come. I am thankful that they have endured tough times with me (more than on just this occasion!).

55.   I am also thankful for Kimberly and Stephanie who drove a few hours after work one night to come to the funeral home for only an hour or two just to show that they cared.

56.   I am thankful for members of Bowne Church who were right there immediately in prayer and encouragement as soon as they heard that my dad was ill – even though I haven’t been an active part of Bowne for over six years because I moved away

57.    I am thankful for Jim & Mary and for Faye & Juanita who came to the funeral home/funeral.

58.   I am thankful for many other people who have played an important part in my life who came to the funeral home and/or the funeral. I am thankful for the sacrifice people made to be there.

59.   I am thankful for the visit that my dad made to visit me in Indianapolis with the entire family in January and then just by himself in March. I am thankful that our last visit together was a time of both of us reaching out toward each other and an enjoyable few hours of fellowship. I often wonder if the family realizes that Dad and I spent a few hours conversing about spiritual things without any contention or that we laughed together. We even talked about football, news stories, my church, my friends, and more - and, no, Dad not was rebuking me. I sincerely believe that God was changing Dad’s heart, and that God didn’t take his life in order to keep him from slipping back to former behavior, as some have dared state. The God I serve doesn’t have to take lives in order to keep us. Did that all really belong on my thankful list? YES!....

60.   I am thankful to serve a glorious and compassionate and gracious God that allows me to enjoy life as a gift from Him.

61.   I am thankful to serve a powerful God who can and does keep me.

62.   I am thankful to serve a faithful and trustworthy God who will gently lead me and correct me. I am thankful that I don’t have to fear being deceived by false doctrine/teachers and that I don’t have to fear that God is sitting somewhere just waiting for me to mess up so He can really let me have it and maybe even cast me into hell.

63.   I am thankful that all of that does not give me a license to sin or just live any old way I please. I am thankful that because of who God is, it inspires me and fills me with a desire to be like Him and to bring delight to Him. Serving such a wonderfully merciful God, why in the world would I want to sin??!?

64.   I am thankful that when I do sin, God has provided reconciliation through Jesus – an Advocate. But certainly not to be abused! I am thankful for grace.

65.   I am thankful for my cousin, Eric, and for his wife, Kim. I am thankful that they are serving the Lord. I am thankful for the way they are raising their children. And I am thankful for the encouragement they have been to me when I have visited Grand Rapids.

66.   I am thankful for a rainbow of colors to make the world very interesting and beautiful.

67.   I am thankful for four seasons. Oh my goodness! Did I just say that?!? I am truly thankful for more than just summer??? Yes. I am. (Though I will confess that it would be nice if summer were the longest. Maybe someday I will be “mature enough” to recant on that.)

68.   I am thankful to be able to watch a good football game.

69.   I am thankful for clothing that makes me feel good (and look good, too, I hope).

70.   I am thankful for music. For a variety of music. For the way it draws me to worship.

71.   I am thankful to know the Truth.

72.   I am thankful for the privilege to be an ambassador for the Truth.

73.   I am thankful for ice cream. Lol. Where would I be without it??? A few pounds lighter, perhaps.

74.   I am thankful for this day to reflect on the goodness of God in my life during the past year.

75.   I am thankful for the difference God made in men and women. Those differences can cause conflict, but they can also produce incredible beauty if accepted and lived out as they are meant to be.

76.   I am thankful for my upbringing. It hasn’t been always easy. It hasn’t always been what it optimally should have been. But it was God’s course for me, and it is rich with wonderful things from Him.

77.   I am thankful for the firm foundation established by my dad to know the Scriptures, to obey God, to reach out with the Gospel of Christ to the lost, and to disciple Christians.

78.   I am thankful for all the places my dad took us and for his fearlessness in evangelism.

79.   I am thankful for the future – whatever it holds. I look forward to it with anticipation of what God will do. I go into it, knowing that God has already gone ahead of me and has chartered the way.

80.   I am thankful for our government leaders. Oh no, I am NOT thankful for all that they do. And I did NOT vote many of them into office. But I am thankful for them none-the-less. I know that God can use even the wicked to fulfill His purposes, as seen many times throughout history.

81.   I am thankful for the years we had under the Bush Administration, and for the years of evil that they reclaimed from the Clinton Administration.

82.   I am thankful for our armed forces that serve overseas and here to protect us as a nation and to seek to protect freedom globally.

83.   I am thankful for the various forms of exercise I’ve participated in throughout the past year.

84.   I am thankful for quiet times to sit and read or study or reflect.

85.   I am thankful for times of activity and business to keep me busy and engaged in life.

86.   I am thankful for hot baths to soak and relax away stress.

87.   I am thankful for holidays.

88.   I am thankful for friends of friends who contribute to special events  – specifically thinking of Julie who helped David select candles and who loaned him her tea set and candle holders for last weekend.

89.   I am also thankful for friends of friends – specifically David’s friends – who pray for us and keep abreast of what is happening in our relationship. :) Of course, I am thankful for my friends who rejoice and keep up-to-date on it all, too! :):)

90.   I am thankful to have all five senses.

91.   I am thankful for a variety of foods and all the utensils to prepare them so I can enjoy them.

92.   I am thankful for transportation and refrigeration to bring foods to me that are not grown in my area of the country/world.

93.   I am thankful for reasons to get dressed up. I am also thankful for time to go casual.

94.   I am thankful for my digital camera to capture treasured moments.

95.   I am thankful for candles – for LOTS of candles.

96.   I am thankful for scrapbooking and journaling – ways to remember important events and lessons learned.

97.   I am thankful for being able to sleep in and get some extra rest for a few days.

98.   I am thankful for those who have not caved to pressure and threats by ungodly people, but still say Merry Christmas instead of happy holidays. I am also thankful to see manger scenes in public places.

99.   I am thankful for smiles and the things that cause me to smile.

100.                        This year I have a new appreciation for the beautiful music that comes from skilled fingers on the violin. :)

• “Hello, world!” – I received a reply to an email that I sent someone and saw my name and contact info boldly proclaimed in font size 72! It sure didn’t look like that on my screen BEFORE  I sent it!!!
• And I thought I had it tough connecting with friends – Two furloughing missys dialoguing with each other on FB:

“We’re going to be in [Michigan] on [the 6^th]. You guys going to be anywhere in the area?”

“We’ve got a meeting the 6^th – up in the UP….”

“…We’re going to be in [xx, Ohio] [in November]. Is that anywhere near y’all?”

“Only an hour away, but we’ll be in WV that weekend.”

• Old friends pop up – I received a text message late in the afternoon, “I haven’t seen you for a long time. Did you move or something?” The return number was unfamiliar, so I replied, “Who is this?” Someone I would’ve never guessed brought a big smile to my day!
• To make one more – Facebook brings together people from the past that sometimes is, well….happy. Someone I met years ago while checking the person in for a conference at the ITC sent me a message on FB and brought me current on life today. This was the last person I would’ve ever expected to hear from – I don’t think we even hit it off very well during our first acquaintance, and we didn’t ever have any conversations beyond check in/check out for conferences. But, smile! One just never knows just who we’ll meet again many miles down the road at the very least expected times and places!
• The gift of friends – My roommate shared as we were getting ready for work that she is praying about something that she knows will be very difficult for me.
• Extra motivation – Someone at work gave me a nudge to follow through on something that I had purposed to do a while ago but had not actually started – enlisting prayer warriors to pray for me each day. (I had vaguely mentioned this in my previous post. If you haven’t been contacted (Mr. J) it’s because I don’t have your email addy (Mr. J, I will get yours this weekend), or I don’t know that you read my blog and would like to be involved in that way. My email addy is livingsacrifice2@gmail.com. If you would like me to send you brief updates two or three times a week with specific needs for prayer, send me an email. I’ll joyfully add you to the list.
• The gift of movement – Oh yeah, I have a new exercise DVD. :)

Yes, I know...I need to update, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what to write. There are so many things to write about as they happen; then they pass, and well....

My mom and step-dad are coming this weekend. They're bringing down my grandmother's grandfather clock and a Victorian chair. I'm not sure yet where to put either one, but it's kinda nice to be acquiring some furniture that belongs to me - and has some family value. :)