"I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds." NIV
Every year, I think this will be the year, I write about my blessings and what I am thankful for every day of November. My idea is I will post about my gratitude on Facebook or some other means of making my thanks public.
And I never do. Life gets in the way--there's always so much to do, right?
But, wait, I have a blog.
November 1: I am thankful, first, for my Savior Jesus. Praising him and worshipping him should be my top priority in life even if I don't always live up to that goal. Glory be to God in the highest.
November 2: I am thankful, next, for my husband. I am so grateful to be one year shy of forty years with this good man in my life. To me, he is my rock (after the Lord, of course).
November 3: My children, Scott and Lindsey. God gave you to me to love and cherish, and I am so humbled by who you are.
November 4: Oh, how difficult--the order means nothing, (other than Jesus), but I am so grateful that my mother is one of my best friends. She has always been my biggest cheerleader and I rely on her humor and support.
November 5: My sisters are miles away, but always close to my heart.
November 6: My friends and neighbors--from childhood, from college, from every step of my life, the Lord has blessed me with people who are sounding boards and fun--Susan and the other Susan, Diane and Dianne, Kieran, Sandy, Lynda, I appreciate everyone and pray for good things in their lives.
November 7: My church--I am so grateful for a place that doesn't rely on anything I do or am, but loves me as Christ on earth.
November 8: My work--I am happy to teach at a Christian college where every meeting starts with prayer and I get to talk about my faith without isolating a part of me and keeping it shut away for Sundays.
November 9: My writing--I absolutely love my writing, so remember, the order isn't perfect. I love the gift of words when I need to express what I'm feeling as in this blog. I love the way stories just flow when God's giving me the words.
November 10: My readers--thank you for reading and sharing with me on this blog! Thank you so much for reading my books, leaving reviews, and everything you do to support me on this journey. :)
November 11: Washing machines--told you the order isn't perfect. But I'm also doing laundry at the same time I'm writing this--how grateful I am for modern conveniences.
November 12: The LowCountry ACFW, definitely should be higher--these men and women are so wonderful. Every time we get together, I learn so much and leave feeling so uplifted.
November 13: Main Street Reads and Main Street Writes--my other writer's group. I don't always share a lot, but I'm always learning!
November 14: Beautiful autumn days like this one. I'm going to go sit on my porch for awhile.
November 15: My porch, and connected, my home. I am so grateful for all the memories in these four walls.
November 16: God's creation. By the way, if you read this month's newsletter, you saw a sunrise from my neighborhood dock--a pink extravaganza. Above, the photo is taken from the same spot--another sunrise--golden and glorious. Our God is so awesome.
November 17: My health. This should definitely be higher (there should be a number of ties). But when I think of the sunrise, I think of myself walking around the neighborhood early in the morning--I am so grateful that I can walk and that I can see.
November 18: God's gifts. I am so grateful for who God made me to be. I hope you are, too. He made you a special, unique person. You are wonderful because He made you and He loves you.
Zephaniah 3:17: "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
November 19: God's Word. I am so grateful I am able to turn to the Lord and feel his presence through His word.
November 20: Pie.
November 21: Chocolate.
November 22: Popcorn. I could go on and on--God gave us a lot of amazing tastes to enjoy. Popcorn is an interesting example and, hopefully, shows my growing spiritual maturity, because it is one of my favorite foods--which I can no longer eat because doing so causes me pain. I know Jesus says we won't need food in heaven, but I'm counting on chowing down on some popcorn.
November 23: Memories--God gave us these wonderful brains which remember special moments--like my wedding day, my son's first Christmas, shopping with my daughter for her prom dress. If you've had a relative with Alzheimer's, oh, how precious are those memories.
November 24: All Saints Day ( a little off, but close)--I want to always remember those who have gone on before. My in-laws (my mother-in-law was one of the sweetest people I've ever known until dementia) were such a blessing to me and I don't ever want to forget them.
November 25: Thanksgiving. Yes, we should be thankful every day, but it never hurts to have a little reminder.
November 26: Today. I am grateful for every minute that God gives me here---and I'll be even more grateful for...
November 27: Tomorrow. God has promised us He will always be with us, and I need to trust Him with all my tomorrows.
November 28: Eternity. I am so grateful for what I've been given here, but I get chill bumps when I think about heaven. I can only imagine.
November 29: Everything I've forgotten! The Lord knows I'm flawed, so I'm sure I've forgotten some amazing things He's given me--I appreciate them all.
November 30: Whatever you're going to add below. Readers, what are you thankful for? Please feel free to add and repeat. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and please know I am always praying for you!
