1 Thessalonians 5:18: My Thankful Lists

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."


In every thing....hmmm the good AND bad things....so here is my  list of the good things I am thankful for

• The Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• My Salvation, without it I wouldn't have eternal life
• Jason, my husband 
• Amanda, my first born
• Tyler, my middle child
• Madison, my youngest
• Our vehicles
• Jason's job
• My job as mother, wife, cook, taxi driver, etc.
• My Church
• My Pastor and his family
• My sisters
• Today, special day to remind us why we are thankful to God for all we have
• Yesterday, the opportunity to help pass out plates of food to others
• My Parents (Daddy, Mama and Shirley)
• My Aunts and Uncles
• My window to the world, my computer
• Our Military
• Grocery stores, without them I would have to spend all my time processing our food

Now for bad thing I am thankful for:

• Jason's speeding ticket, hopefully it made him pay closer attention to his speed and the entire ordeal of paying the ticket reminded me that some people do care
• Bills, having them reminds me that we have lights, water, tv, computer and phone service
• Difficult people, they remind me of how I don't want to be.
• My childhood, it reminds me to be careful of my children's feelings
• Broken down cars, they remind me that I have a car, a husband who has the ability to fix it, and time spent giggling about what's gonna happen next
• Being angry at God, reminds me where I was and where I am now
• Ex husband, reminds me to be thankful for the gentle, kind, loving man God sent me
• Teenager trials, reminds me that they are independent, strong people and are able to think for themselves
• Preschooler trials, reminds me that she is finding her place in the world, learning and growing right before my eyes
• Money problems, remind me that "we" can make it through anything
• My mother's illness, reminds me that she was a fighter, that she knew where she was going when she died but loved us so much that she didn't want to leave
• My father's accident, reminds me how much he means to me and the changes he made in his life (made him thankful for life)
• Jason's job, reminds me that even though we hate his hours, he cares for us enough to get going back so he can pay for things we need.

I was trying to make both list be at least 20 things each, I couldn't come up with that many on my bad list. I guess maybe that is because I have tried to think about my black cloud moments in an entirely different way, to see the sunny spots and not just the black clouds. It truly changes you as a person when you are able to do that. 

So tonight as Thanksgiving draws to a close and the crazy shopping begins, I am thankful  to God for all things, good and bad...they have made me into the person I am today.