I’m Thankful For… 

“I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 9:1 (ESV)

I had anticipated sharing some of the things that I’m thankful for this year in last week’s post, but it didn’t seem to fit in very well with 6 Ways to Stay Thankful Year Round.  So this week, I thought I’d share some of those things with you.  This has been a pretty big year for me with lots of changes and scary new opportunities.  I’ve experienced a whole lot of new ways to be brave this year.  Maybe you have too?

Here are just a handful of the things I’m thankful for this year:

I’m thankful for the usual 🙂 …my husband, my children, my family, my church, my job, my strong friends, my volunteer work and for God’s faithfulness (He ALWAYS comes through).

I’m thankful for being able to cultivate some relationships this year and to make some new friends.

I’m thankful for God always bringing me through some hard and seemingly impossible situations this year (financial, career, and relational).

I’m thankful for new abilities, new courage, new opportunities, and teachable moments (both for me to be taught and for me to teach others).

I’m thankful for the strength and abilities that God has enabled me with this year.  I’ve had the chance to do things I never thought I would or could ever do.  God has also presented me with several opportunities that I never dreamed of having and along with that the courage and boldness to take advantage of them.  I’ve stepped outside of my comfort zone more times than I can count just this year alone.   It’s funny the amount of conversations that I have with Eric or my sister now that start with “You won’t believe what I did today…” or “Guess what just happened…”.  Of course, the typical reply is “huh-uh!” or “no way!” or “no you didn’t!”.

I’m thankful for the opportunity and courage to pray some pretty fearless and crazy prayers for other people—WITH THEM, not silently for them.  I would have laughed in your face if you told me a couple of years ago that I would be doing that.

I’m thankful for learning new technology and attending a large number of classes, workshops, seminars and webinars.  That’s kind of a big deal for this very non-tech savvy girl!

I’m thankful for the fact that I’ve played the role of momma bear in some pretty touchy confrontational issues, both in school and on a personal level.  This can be pretty uncomfortable and scary, even for me (I don’t usually have trouble with confrontation).

I’m thankful for answered prayers for teachable moments with my kids.  It happens almost daily now.  We rarely have sit-down devotional time because our teachable moments are so many.  It’s like an ongoing devotion all day.  I even took the step of talking about sex with my kids this past year.  Talk about anticlimactic.  I got myself all worked up, and it really wasn’t that big a deal.  Don’t get me wrong—I’m thankful for that!  However, I was very over-prepared…I prayed, read a number of books, prayed, devoured the resources on the Focus on the Family website, prayed, read blogs, prayed, and talked with family and friends.  Did I mentioned that I prayed about it a lot too? 🙂  Anyhow, this was a big deal for me and my husband, and it turned out that God gave me an idea and analogy to discuss it with them at their comprehension level.  It turned out to be a great conversation—not scary at all.  Honestly, it’s continued to be an ongoing conversation with ongoing teachable moments.  I’m very thankful for that.

I’m thankful for experiencing some pretty unexplainable moments that I hesitate to even share for fear of people thinking I’m crazy!  Sometimes, I think I’m crazy myself!  Basically, I have “seen” things (visions, dreams, daydreams…whatever you want to call it) that actually came to pass.  Talk about creepy.  I was honestly FREAKED OUT on a few occasions (I’m talking literal shaking in my boots and sweaty palms freaked out).  I’m telling you, I’ve seen some wild stuff this year.  It’s made me feel very unworthy but at the same time very thankful that God trusts me enough to tell me and show me some pretty amazing things.  Maybe someday I’ll be brave enough to share some of them with you. 🙂

I’m thankful for the opportunity to witness changes (some little, some big) in some of the people I love.  Some are the answers to years of prayer.  I love that little by little God is working on the hearts of those I love, myself included.

I’m thankful for opportunities to teach more and reach more people this year than I ever have before.

Lastly, I’m thankful for you.  Thank you for the opportunity to speak into your life.  Thank you for taking time out of your day to read my blog.  Thank you for letting God use me to talk to you.

Take a Practical Step:

I hope you take the time to think beyond the usual things that you might be thankful for.  Take a moment (if you haven’t done so recently), and think about and write down:

• How you’ve changed this year
• The new opportunities you’ve had this year
• What God has brought you through or brought you to this year
• The changes or growth you’ve experienced in your relationships this year
• New courage you’ve had this year (I have a feeling God was on a mission this year to make people brave!)
• Your personal growth this year
• The weird “coincidences” this year
• Answered prayers

Let us continue in a spirit of thanksgiving throughout this Christmas holiday season and be sure to “recount all the wonderful deeds” (Psalm 9:1)!

Share some of your “I’m thankful for” moments!  Leave a comment below (or click on the post link to join the conversation if you’re viewing through e-mail). 

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If you have benefited from this post or if you know anyone that could benefit from this, please pay it forward and share this post with them via the sharing links below! “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 1 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)