21 Days is NOT ENOUGH!

I finished my 21 days of thanksgiving today, but I am not finished with expressing my thanks.  It was a great exercise, but honestly 21 days is not enough to show how much God has blessed me.  

More importantly, I have a confession to make. In sharing my 21 daily statements of thanks (and honestly it was less than 21 days because I got a late start), I wanted to be sure that what I shared was profound and meaningful.  Quite frankly, I have to admit a bit of arrogance and pride in that regard.  What can I say that everyone will say – “Oh that was great”? There were many things that I wanted to say I was thankful for, but I didn’t want to sound petty or silly or ridiculous.  I wanted to be all spiritual about the whole thing.  For that I beg your forgiveness… and God’s, because somehow I think I stole from Him.

How can that really be thankful when, deep down, it was all about what others would think about what I said?  Rather than being about God’s blessings; rather than being a praise to God; it was about me.  But that is always the case with us isn’t it?  Even when we are trying to do the best we can to honor God, somehow it is always about us.

I need to fix this.  First of all, I need to always remember to humble myself before my God so that I am not prideful.  But in addition, I need to give praise to my Heaven Father for all that he has done for me, with no expectation of accolade, or praise, in return.  So here is what I would like to do.  I want to mention some things that I am thankful for.  Some are profound. Some are petty.  Some are selfish. Some are just ridiculous.  I don’t want anyone to “like” this.  I don’t want anyone to tell me how much they liked what I said here.  I don’t want any accolades. In fact, the best way you can respond to this blog is simply to reply or comment about all the silly, ridiculous, selfish things that you are thankful for as well.  Let’s all give God the glory for what he has done in our lives.  Thanksgiving should be about him. Not us.

In no particular order…

• I am thankful for this computer I am writing on.
• I am thankful that I have lost 55 pounds.
• I am thankful that my wife loves me enough to spoil me.
• I am thankful for my job – even when I hate it.
• I am thankful for my Santa Clause collection.
• I am thankful for that stupid, ragged out, car I drive to work (it beats walking).
• I am thankful for Milo’s hamburgers – and fries.
• I am thankful for the colors of fall.
• I am thankful for my flat screen TV.
• I am thankful for my Ipad.
• I am thankful for Sasha, my dog.
• I am thankful that I don’t have to worry about what I will eat today.
• I am thankful that my friend had breast reconstruction surgery yesterday and everything went well.
• I am thankful for a great church to serve in and can’t wait to see what God will do there.
• I am thankful for my health and the health of my family.
• I am thankful that even though I have no idea how it gets done, my kids college tuition always gets paid.
• I am thankful for my kids girlfriends.
• I am thankful for Alabama football (let’s not worship Nick, people – but we can be thankful for him).
• I am thankful for this cat that I absolutely hate.
• I am thankful for a Christian boss who understands the importance of my bi-vocational ministries.
• I am thankful for Splenda, which allows me to have “sweet tea” without the calories (if you are not from the deep south, you just cannot possibly understand).
• I am thankful for the technology of electricity (working with Designs for Hope has reminded me of that).
• I am thankful that my wife loves the Lord.
• I am thankful for Cross Point Publishing.
• I am thankful that Jesus Christ loved me enough to humble himself and come to this earth in the form of a servant and be obedient to death.
• I am thankful that I was raised in Christian home.
• I am thankful that I came to a point in my life that I understood the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• I am thankful that despite my pride, arrogance, stubbornness, and rebellion, I somehow managed to surrender my life and accept the free gift of salvation.
• I am thankful that God has never given up on me – and never will.

I could go on ad infinitum. 

Praise be to our God and Father who gives to us so willingly.