Some Things I'm Thankful For
Here are some things I'm thankful for. Some of them are sort of "stereotypical" and others are clearly not. Here they are in no particular order:
* God's grace in Christ Jesus, without which I'm a miserable, lost sinner. There's nothing I could have done to merit this, and I continually must lean on this as my only hope. God is incredibly merciful in this matter.
* For my family. For my wonderful mom, my brother, and sister! And all 6 of my nephews/nieces, who are amazing! I've been blessed to be an Uncle for a pretty good chunk of my life, and watching the nephews/nieces grow and mature is excellent! And for my extended family, a great bunch of cousins, uncles, aunts, etc.
* For friends and even casual people passing by who in some way helped me, spoke with me, etc. Especially people who've taken initiative to help me out or perhaps straighten me out sometimes :)
* That winter only lasts a few short months.
* That a bit over a year ago I found a wonderful, solid church and I can gather with wonderful believers there! This includes the delight of observing the Lord's day, taking the Lord's supper every week, singing hymns, listening to sermons, fellowship, prayer meetings, etc.
* Specifically for all of the wonderful brothers and sisters at my church whose support and friendship I benefit from so much!
* For food and drink. Whether it is nice tasty lamb, pizza, a good burger, different ethnic foods, shrimp, fresh fish, barbeques, garlic milkshake (mainly for making everything else taste better), wonderful desserts, salads, pasta, trinidad style hot sauce, hot papers, beer, wine, water, juice, etc. Isn't it just great? Especially when made well and eaten in good company! And trying new restaurants is great too!
* That God has promised His good-will towards me (Rom 8:28), and that everything He sends me works together for my good! In specific, for the several things in my past that might seem to be classified as "worst" but I'm actually seeing how they in some ways may even be truly the best things that ever happened to me!
* For the Bible and the easy access we have to it in our times
* For my particular gifts and talents, and also unique quirks which make us all unique.
* For the measure to which I've been able to enjoy the good life.
* For having a job and living in a prosperous country. I guess I must be thankful for computer technology, which I've almost always made my living off of!
* My health, and the specific ways that I've recovered well in my past.
* That I'm single rather than with a Pro 21:19 or Pro 27:15 woman (look up those verses if you aren't sure what I mean). And conversely, that I haven't signed any Bachelor For Life covenant yet :)
* For women! I could only imagine what the world would be like if there were no women, who are in so many ways a blessing to the world and are complementary to men. There are so many Biblical and modern day examples of women of virtue and what I call "gentle fortitude". Their lives are so inspiring! My hats off to the fairer gender!
* Music (in many different forms) and the way it speaks so powerfully! I'm thinking particularly of musicians whose soulful and genuine work have touched me in deep and meaningful ways. And especially the amazing flexibility and skill with which people can use musical instruments and their voices.
* The Christians around the world who stand strong in the face of persecution, ridicule , and other injustice (and often put me to shame in the process, with my lukewarmness).
* The ease of obtaining Information (the Internet, podcasts, etc.)
* For laughter, jokes, and joviality that so heals the soul from perpetual gloom and seriousness.
* For being Canadian (it ain't all that bad!)
* Animals, plants, and all other forms of beauty found outside! And the ability to walk, bike, and generally enjoy the world around us! And specifically for the Cardinals that grace my yard with their presence every year.
* Warm beaches, oceans, Caribbean getaways in the middle of winter, beach volleyball, and all that goes along with that!
* For being born in an exciting and unprecedentedly strange age of history, and all the excitement and uncertainty that goes with it!
* For fun mind games like chess, scrabble, etc.
* Eschatology (not the study of it, but I mean the anticipation of the realization of it!)
* For the deep, deep honor of being able to bring my requests before the creator of the Universe.
* Books! Books! Eyes to Read! Literature! Good poetry! Fiction! Theology! Philiosophy! Puritans! Non Fiction! Science Fiction! Geeky Stuff! Devotional Stuff! History! Weird and Obscure Books! Library Thing! I'm thankful for it all and how the written word has been so helpful.
I'm probably missing some stuff, but I think this is a pretty good list! I got hyped up just writing it! The sum total of all of this is: God is good. Each item on here, even if it doesn't explicitly mentioned God or "religious" aspects, ultimately is a gracious gift of God that I'm thanking Him for.
* God's grace in Christ Jesus, without which I'm a miserable, lost sinner. There's nothing I could have done to merit this, and I continually must lean on this as my only hope. God is incredibly merciful in this matter.
* For my family. For my wonderful mom, my brother, and sister! And all 6 of my nephews/nieces, who are amazing! I've been blessed to be an Uncle for a pretty good chunk of my life, and watching the nephews/nieces grow and mature is excellent! And for my extended family, a great bunch of cousins, uncles, aunts, etc.
* For friends and even casual people passing by who in some way helped me, spoke with me, etc. Especially people who've taken initiative to help me out or perhaps straighten me out sometimes :)
* That winter only lasts a few short months.
* That a bit over a year ago I found a wonderful, solid church and I can gather with wonderful believers there! This includes the delight of observing the Lord's day, taking the Lord's supper every week, singing hymns, listening to sermons, fellowship, prayer meetings, etc.
* Specifically for all of the wonderful brothers and sisters at my church whose support and friendship I benefit from so much!
* For food and drink. Whether it is nice tasty lamb, pizza, a good burger, different ethnic foods, shrimp, fresh fish, barbeques, garlic milkshake (mainly for making everything else taste better), wonderful desserts, salads, pasta, trinidad style hot sauce, hot papers, beer, wine, water, juice, etc. Isn't it just great? Especially when made well and eaten in good company! And trying new restaurants is great too!
* That God has promised His good-will towards me (Rom 8:28), and that everything He sends me works together for my good! In specific, for the several things in my past that might seem to be classified as "worst" but I'm actually seeing how they in some ways may even be truly the best things that ever happened to me!
* For the Bible and the easy access we have to it in our times
* For my particular gifts and talents, and also unique quirks which make us all unique.
* For the measure to which I've been able to enjoy the good life.
* For having a job and living in a prosperous country. I guess I must be thankful for computer technology, which I've almost always made my living off of!
* My health, and the specific ways that I've recovered well in my past.
* That I'm single rather than with a Pro 21:19 or Pro 27:15 woman (look up those verses if you aren't sure what I mean). And conversely, that I haven't signed any Bachelor For Life covenant yet :)
* For women! I could only imagine what the world would be like if there were no women, who are in so many ways a blessing to the world and are complementary to men. There are so many Biblical and modern day examples of women of virtue and what I call "gentle fortitude". Their lives are so inspiring! My hats off to the fairer gender!
* Music (in many different forms) and the way it speaks so powerfully! I'm thinking particularly of musicians whose soulful and genuine work have touched me in deep and meaningful ways. And especially the amazing flexibility and skill with which people can use musical instruments and their voices.
* The Christians around the world who stand strong in the face of persecution, ridicule , and other injustice (and often put me to shame in the process, with my lukewarmness).
* The ease of obtaining Information (the Internet, podcasts, etc.)
* For laughter, jokes, and joviality that so heals the soul from perpetual gloom and seriousness.
* For being Canadian (it ain't all that bad!)
* Animals, plants, and all other forms of beauty found outside! And the ability to walk, bike, and generally enjoy the world around us! And specifically for the Cardinals that grace my yard with their presence every year.
* Warm beaches, oceans, Caribbean getaways in the middle of winter, beach volleyball, and all that goes along with that!
* For being born in an exciting and unprecedentedly strange age of history, and all the excitement and uncertainty that goes with it!
* For fun mind games like chess, scrabble, etc.
* Eschatology (not the study of it, but I mean the anticipation of the realization of it!)
* For the deep, deep honor of being able to bring my requests before the creator of the Universe.
* Books! Books! Eyes to Read! Literature! Good poetry! Fiction! Theology! Philiosophy! Puritans! Non Fiction! Science Fiction! Geeky Stuff! Devotional Stuff! History! Weird and Obscure Books! Library Thing! I'm thankful for it all and how the written word has been so helpful.
I'm probably missing some stuff, but I think this is a pretty good list! I got hyped up just writing it! The sum total of all of this is: God is good. Each item on here, even if it doesn't explicitly mentioned God or "religious" aspects, ultimately is a gracious gift of God that I'm thanking Him for.
Labels: thanksgiving
posted by Mark Nenadov at 9:54 PM
4 Comments:
This is a good list; the winters in the Adirondacks are sometimes 6 months long, which sounds odd, but I'm thankful for it.
Thanks for taking the time to write this, it makes me think about what I should be thankful for.
Brrr.. The Adirondacks make me cold just thinking about them!
Good thing I live somewhere known for its warmth: Canada. And I live quite far south of the Adirondacks too!
We play hockey outside for at least three months a year. It's great as long as we have ice, after it melts I'm pretty much done with winter.
South? I guess that makes sense if you're near Toronto. I've always thought of Canada: The Great White North. (-:
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