Moving On

I thought it was only fair, in this instance, that I give myself the same assignment I have given to my kindergarten class. Today was our Thanksgiving feast, so naturally we have been talking about the first Thanksgiving and the many topics that go along with it. We listed a number of things that the Pilgrims were most likely grateful for as they were sitting down to their Thanksgiving table. We did have to exclude many electronic items such as televisions and Game Boys, for obvious reasons, but they ended up getting the jist of it—I think. Then I asked them to think about what they were thankful for, since Thanksgiving is already next week. We’ll reconvene on Monday and see what they came up with. Reviewing this past year, I found much to be thankful for, which was no surprise. It’s always nice to see how much we have when our society tends to focus on what we don’t have.

thanksgiving - the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, an expression of thanks, esp. to God; a public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor or kindness (dictionary.com)

I’ve divided my thankfulness into two categories:

Things I’m really thankful for:
God and His offer of salvation and outpouring of grace and mercy
my once-in-a-lifetime husband
an extraordinary family
fantastic friends
our church
an income that covers more than our needs
even my kindergarteners
reliable transportation
freedom
safe traveling
Dave getting into medical school
Dave doing so well in med school
our time here in Philly
holidays with family
random acts of kindness
our apartment
spring, summer, fall

Things that I’m thankful for, but could get by without:
family cell phone plans
green tea
Dougie
my two-minute commute
dinners out
the Internet
libraries
jazz radio (which was recently reinstated here in Philly!)
winter

I know these lists can be much, much longer. And, well, I am thankful for that!

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20