You Should be Thankful Every Day

I usually always try to write what I am thankful for every year, but I never did on Thanksgiving day. Of course, each day I don't write what I am thankful for makes it harder for me to really make it look like I waited on purpose to prove a point: That there is never just one day to count what you are thankful for, there is never just one time of year to reflect and be grateful. Quite honestly, you should be thankful every day of every year. You should find time each day to say, "Thank you," and realize how grateful you are for something. Even when the world is crashing down around you, you should find time to realized what you are grateful for. So, here's my three days after Thanksgiving list (in no order in particular at all):

1. I'm thankful for my mother. I once told her that she didn't have a job, and clearly, she took great offense. I shouldn't even admit that I ever said that, because I really can't think of anything more rude that you could say. But me saying something so completely stupid made me realize that my mom is a hard worker than a lot of people I know. She did have a job a majority of her life, but now her job is raising me (which I am sure isn't easy). Really, though a job doesn't describe you at all. My mother loves me, my mother is always there for me. My mother will always be there for me.

2. My brother. Now that he is in college, I find more value in family time. Whenever he comes home, I usually try to be in the living room whenever I'm home, spending time with my family. One time Kyle and I were killing time in Wal-Mart while Mom and we found a poster with a list of text abbreviations and we got a total kick out of it. Even to the point where Mom said, "Let's do this," and Kyle and I responded by saying, "SLAP." Kyle is a good brother, and I'm not sure if he knows it yet, but he is going to be the one who will walk me down the aisle when I get married, because he has been there for me.

3. My friends. There are really there for me. They take my Lucky Charms and understand that I wouldn't give up my Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I use plural, but I usually will just mean one person but I will leave that up for debate. Even when times are good and talking is scarce, I know that they will always be there for me and will always be my friend. They can tell when things are going alright and ask if things are alright. They help put slips of paper in church mailboxes just to help out. They try to be a gentlemen even when I am perfectly okay holding my bible and putting on my coat. They make me laugh and understand my crazy Relient K references. They give me great advice that I save in my text message inbox on my phone. They correct me when I am talking ungrammarical. They are my friends.

4. I'm thankful that Thanksgiving hasn't been as commercialized as Christmas. Christmas decorations, sales and all the material stuff of Christmas would be out in July if stores would allow that. I'm glad that I can just enjoy Thanksgiving without people wanting me to sale me Turkey lights or something.

5. I'm thankful for the bowling alley. I haven't been there in a while, but I love the feel of that place. It's like my home away from my home away from home.

6. It may sound weird, but I am thankful for my singleness. This is the only time in my life where I can be single. Better than that, I am slowly learning that I need to wait on God's timing. I have made some mistakes, thought it might be okay to see how something go, and I'm sorry for everytime I was hurt and everytime I hurt somebody else. I am slowly becoming content with my singleness. I'm thankful for this. This is the time in my life where God can use me and I can just go where ever He leads.

7. I'm thankful that I have a youth pastor and his wife in my life. They are encouraging and Godly examples in my life.

8. I'm thankful for stuffing and pumpkin pie.

9. I'm also thankful that I have adorable pets. And one of the cats only jumped on the table once during dinner.

10. I'm thankful for how much I have grown in the past year. I'm thankful that I have learned more about myself, even if everything I have learned I didn't like. I'm thankful that I am who I am. I am thankful that I posess the talents that I do. Even though most of the time, I don't feel very talented and I don't feel all too special, I know that God created me and I should be grateful every day I wake up with life. I complain about certain things but I am so blessed that I have all my fingers and toes and I have air to breathe and life to live.

11. I'm thankful for my ability to be free. I'm thankful that I am an American. But way more importantly, I am thankful that I can have freedom. I'm really thankful that I belong to Christ and in Him I get all the freedom I could ever need. I'm thankful that I am a Christian and follow the best leader ever. My thankfulness could never be expressed in words. I could never even understand how much I should be thankful.

There's so much that I could write about and I could go on and on about just how many things I enjoy and how many things that make life happy and how many things I am thankful for.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. --Psalm 100:4-5