Eleven Eleven Eleven

Here’s what I love: when the date on the calendar is fun and exciting and symetrical. Today is a date that hasn’t been written since November 11, 1911. (Another fun date was my birthday back in 2008. 08/08/08. It was Gr8!)

Several of my friends on FaceBook are using the 30 days in November to write what they are thankful for as their status updates. I’m not doing that—but, not because I’m not thankful for things.

Related to all this thankfulness going around is a quote I heard recently--

What if tomorrow, you woke up and only had the things you thanked God for today.

DUNN-DUNN-DUUUUUNNNN.

Scary thought? That’s why whoever wrote it wrote it: to scare you into being thankful.

Fortunately, God’s not in the business of swiping the things we neglect to thank Him for. But, if He was….IF we took that little convicting quote to heart, what would be sure to thank Him for?

Okay, let’s go with our family members first. We’d probably like to keep them.—(well, most of them anyway). (kidding!) And our health—I’d hate to wake up with a disease or a mental illness. Then, it would probably be good to thank Him for our house/apartment so that we can have a roof over our heads. And, maybe a few pieces of furniture would be helpful. Oh, food! Let’s thank Him for food and water!—gotta have those, right?! Ummm, what else? Clothes? Should we thank Him for our clothes? Well, it’s better than ending up naked tomorrow if everything we didn’t thank God for disappears in the morning, right? Okay, so, we’ve got: family, house, clothes, food and water, a few pieces of furniture. Better be thankful for our cars unless we feel like hiking it to work or the grocery store. I’m sure there is a lot of other STUFF we’d thank Him for so that we could keep it around.

And, I definitely think that we take so much luxury for granted, that we have to contemplate losing it before we actually develop a little gratitude for it. It’s sad, but true. So, it is definitely a good idea to pause and take stock of all the little things in our lives, which provide ease, and thank the Father for them—because they certainly are nice to have. So, think it through. Ask the Lord to show you some things that you’ve been taking for granted and then thank Him for them.

(Ooo-oo—my washer and dryer! Definitely thankful for those—and my dishwasher! I’ve been reading Little House on the Prairie—I know what the alternative is!)

But, even though I think it’s good to be thankful for physical stuff (instead of acting like we are entitled), I also think that there are some non-tangibles that deserve our gratitude.

ELEVEN NON-TANGIBLES I AM THANKFUL FOR:

1. LOVE: God loves me and He shows me He loves me. While I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. I mean, seriously, God’s love for me is the number one thing I am thankful for. The fact that He loved me enough to send His son to die in my place is an astounding thought that I take for granted way too much.

2. LIFE: Eternal life. Because of what Jesus did, I get to live forever. My soul has a destiny of fellowship and community with God. Unbelievable.

3. HOPE: Because God is revealing His character to us and we know He has a plan, we can have hope even in the darkest of times.

4. PEACE: When I stop for a minute and breathe in all this love and life and hope described above, I can’t help but be filled with a peace that surpasses all understanding.

5. WORD: As in the Bible—which is technically tangible, but, I am just so thankful that God chose to reveal His character and speak into our lives. And even though the Bible itself is tangible, it’s words penetrate deep within.

6. FAMILY: This may sound tangible as well, but I am honestly thankful for non-tangible things about them like: My husband’s heart for serving. My mother’s spiritual teachings, my father’s encouragement, my children’s emerging personalities which include Abbey’s thoughtfulness and Alexis’ nurturing heart.

7. EDUCATION: I’m not necessarily talking about school, although, I am thankful for the years of education I received. But, I’m talking more about life lessons I’ve learned. The fact that God reveals things about Himself, and that I can grow to understand these things is definitely a gift to be thankful for.

8. OTHER SOULS: People who the Lord has used in my life—people who have sharpened me, people who have encouraged me, people who have taught me, people who have prayed for me.

9. PRAYER: who can fully comprehend the depths of prayer. But, we can talk to God and He listens. That is definitely something to be thankful for!

10. CREATION: okay, okay, this is tangible too! But, don’t tell me that you have never been spiritually touched by a sunset or a mountain view. When I feel the warm sun on my face, it sinks into my soul. I’ve felt a corner of the vast ocean wash over my feet and simultaneously wash away anxieties. Surely, you’ve looked up at the stars and heard the voice of God—not with your ears, but with your spirit!

11. JOY: what would my life be like without joy? Boring, dismal, dark, dead. God invented joy. Occasionally, we experience joy in it’s purest form—the joy of right relationship to God. The immeasurable joy which is only made possible by His love and sacrifice and which can only be felt by believing.

So, there you have it. Eleven things I am thankful for on eleven/eleven/eleven.

What are you thankful for? Take a minute or two (or eleven) and write it down.