30 days of Thanks

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. Psalm 136:1 (ESV)

Some people have said that Facebook is triggering an end to blogging. With the ability to write quick, instant posts to document all the details of your life with little thought or preparation, Facebook is convenient, but does not give the opportunity to reflect and journal like blogging does. Through the month of November, I used Facebook to make a list of 30 reasons to be thankful. But, they are scattered randomly through the whole month, and I would rather have them all in one place. Though today is the first day of Advent and time to begin preparing for Christmas, before leaving the season of Thanksgiving, I wanted to reprint my reasons to be thankful here. Please note that they are in no particular order so if it appears I love my dogs more than my husband and all of them more than God, I don’t! Some of the thigns are related to what was going on in my life that day and others are things that I am thankful for all year long. We are very blessed and here are some reasons why:

Day 1: I am thankful for my friend, Jeanette Williams Lethers who will take a gift to my boy, Bili, and that he is healthy enough to be home.

Day 2: I am thankful for Jennifer L. Sweat whose birthday was yesterday, but we will celebrate today.

Day 3: I am thankful for Christina, daughter of my heart, and Andrew, who got engaged yesterday

Day 4: I am thankful for our parents, Robert Bayless, Emily Bayless, Tom Slusser and Betty Slusser. Great role models and loving and kind! We are blessed!

Day 5: I am thankful for dogs that make me laugh and give me unconditional love!

Day 6: I am thankful for my husband. His love for me is sure, he provides for his family, works hard, and speaks the love language of service. I am grateful he stuck with me through some hard times

Day 7: I am thankful for our children, Rob Slusser, Tim Slusserand his lovely and very smart wife, Miranda McMillan Slusser

Day 8: I am thankful for toilets and Charmin toilet paper. Think about it, aren’t you grateful we don’t live in the days of outhouses and leaves?

Day 9: I am grateful to be part of the living, breathing body of Christ. Watching everyone use their gifts and abilities to put together the Awesome Auction is like watching a well oiled machine. The oil is the grace and mercy of God motivating His people to do what they can to help others, then, stepping back to see how God’s power infuses our human efforts to make something amazing happen!

Day 10: I am thankful for my sister Stephanie Lenart and her family Bob Lenart, Robert Lenart and Emily Lenart. I am glad to be your sister!

Day 11: November 11. Veteran’s Day. I am thankful for all the Veteran’s who traded their life or were willing to trade their life so I could live in freedom. Praying our country becomes unified instead of divisive and full of hatred. They did not die so we could be selfish and greedy. They died so we also could serve in love.

Day 12: I am grateful for a good job that provides steady pay and lets me exercise my God given creativity and leadership skills.

Day 13: I am thankful for a job that provides access to excellent health care.

Day 14: I am thankful that my job allows me to work with some outstanding young people that are willing to let me mentor them and share my experience with them. Whenever I retire, I am confident I will leave my life’s work in very capable hands.

Days 15 and 16: I am thankful for a group of young women who have gone back to the basics and are creatively making things with their hands to help support their families and raise their kids in a way that our current society would say us no longer financially viable. And doing it very successfully! And I am thankful that those young women held an outstanding craft show yesterday that allowed me to sell 47 books not only boosting my ego, but confirming that I am on the right track with this ministry of storytelling. Not to mention dollars raised for Orphans Heart.

Day 17: I am thankful and VERY excited because Miranda McMillan Slusser is going to Guatemala with me on March 22, 2014!

Day 18: I am grateful for my church family!

Day 19: I am thankful that one of the most important historic buildings in our community was saved and is now opened to the public.

Day 20: I am thankful to live in a country where I have access to all kinds of books and can read and study without fear of persecution or censorship. On my current reading list are books like The Christian Atheist and Chazown by Craig Groeschel, Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman, Simply Christian by N.T. Wright, True Spirituality by Chip Ingram. I would recommend them all. I am also reading The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken and realizes what a privilege we have in America to study, read and worship in freedom

Day 21: I am thankful for Jan Rumbergerwho has agreed to lead the March mission team to Guatemala. I am grateful for her organization skills, her willingness to serve and her ability to discern the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Day 22: I am thankful for Olivia Natali Juarez And Alejandra Búrbano For the outstanding work they do for the children and families of Guatemala and for the way they help open the eyes and hearts of Americans to the needs of their country. They are extraordinary young women with a heart for Christ and His work.

Day 23: I am thankful for my grandparents three of whom lived long enough to know my children. My Grandma Bayless gave me her love of cooking. I still use some of her recipes today, and they are among my family’s favorites. My Grandpa Bayless was a shrewd businessman and astute investor. I wish I had his ability to save money. He gave us a financial leg up and enabled us to build the house we still live in. He supervised its construction, much to the builder’s chagrin! My Grandmother Pace is the one I am most like. She gave me a love for crafts, reading, public speaking, missions and teaching. My Grandfather Pace died when I was in High School, but he is the one besides my parents who first showed me unconditional love. Even though I was only two, I remember walking hand in hand with him to go and see the bay. I am blessed to have such a legacy from my grandparents.

Day 24: I am thankful for our house. It is well used, worn and a little creaky like its owners, but there has been a lot if love and laughter within its walls these last 28 years!

Day 25: I am thankful for a reliable car that gets me where I need to go and also where I want to go

Day 26: I am thankful for all of Eliza’s Story’s readers, particularly the ones who send notes of encouragement and appreciation when they finish the book. Their comments help keep me going when the writing is difficult.

Day 27: today, I am thankful that as a family we decided to simplify the Thanksgiving meal so I have time to visit with company instead of rushing around like a maniac

Day 28: I am thankful for our dining room table and all it represents. A table that seats more people than it was designed to hold. A table covered with reminders of friends and family near and far. For your contributions to the centerpiece. The little wooden pumpkin is from Guatemala and brings my Guatemalan friends as well as my boy, Bili, to the table.) Soon, the table will surrounded by family bringing love and laughter. We are grateful for all that will be here and those that cannot and an abundance of food that many do not have. We are very blessed and grateful.

Day 29: I am grateful to live in Florida and in Manatee County. I love the way Bradenton is marketing itself for its arts, culture and heritage and investing in the things that make our community unique like the Manatee River Hotel and the Riverwalk.

Day 30: I am thankful for the most important reason in my life. All the other things I have written about, family, friends, things, dogs, circumstances are nothing compared to what I am thankful for today. It is fitting that I saved this gratitude for last because of this great impact on my life. Today and every day, I am thankful for God, His Son and the Holy Spirit. I am thankful for God, the Creator, who holds the world in the palm of His Hand but still knows me and wants a relationship with me. I am thankful that He sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to show me in the flesh how God wants me to live and Who died in my place, the Rescuer and Redeemer. I am thankful that God gave the Holy Spirit to guide me in how to navigate this sometimes difficult but always joyful life on earth. I have much to be thankful for as we leave Thankful November and move into the Season of Christ’s birth.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply