I am thankful for....

Maybe God is reminding me of all the wonderful things I have to be thankful for because I keep counting them in my head. It's about 4:30 am and I woke up thinking about the crazy things that I am thankful to have in my life. I would like to share them with you.

1. I am thankful for being saved. Just to be introduced to the saving Grace of Jesus is a blessing. How different my life would be without the guidance of the Bible and how terrible death would be without the assurance of salvation.

2. I am thankful that I am still completely in love with my husband. It's a gamble when you marry at 23 that you will still be in love 20+ years later. He still makes my heart jump a little when I see him and I can't imagine life without him. Don't think that I don't ever get angry with him -- you know that I want to hit him with a stick sometimes! However, I imagine he has those same feelings toward me at times. We are normal.

3. I am thankful for garage door openers. I know this is silly compared to my first two on the list, but that garage door opener has saved me from the rain many times and I think it's a great invention. I wish I could program the garage door opener that is part of the fancy stuff in my car. Can't make it happen.

4. I am thankful for people who send me hand-written notes and call to check on me for no reason. Tony, Mom, Lora, Carol, Connie, Jackie, and Cathy -- Thanks for sweet notes, texts, and phone calls. If you are reading this and you don't send me hand-written notes, texts, or phone calls you should. I need you.

5. I am thankful that I have a baby sister. I was almost six when she was born. Mom told me and my younger brother that she was our baby and we should help take care of her. No jealously, she was ours. I still call her "baby" and she turned 39 in January. She will always be the baby and is the closest I will come to having a kid of my own. Call me if you need something baby!

6. I am thankful for a job that I love and for the people I am honored to work with. To have a job at all is a blessing in this economy, but to have one you love is an added blessing. You can be sure that I have had many jobs that I did NOT love. I definitely have some point of reference to compare my current job. I have worked continuously since I was 15 years old -- long before that if you count working at home in the huge garden every summer. Lots of character building over the years. Thanks to all my great co-workers who make our college so great.

7. I am thankful for my health. My neck hurts, I have to wear glasses to see, my back hurts, and I can't wear high heels anymore because my knees hurt. Those are just things that happen when you keep living. My church's prayer list has so many people who are sick and dealing with awful diseases. My aches are minor. Thank you God for my health.

8. I am thankful for a plentiful supply of safe food. I struggle all the time with my weight and I often think about what a blessing I have to be surrounded by food. Many parts of the world never have enough food and people are dying at this moment from malnutrition and tainted food. I know that there are many health problems associated with being overweight and that we must eat in moderation. But, I am thankful to have the necessity of "watching what I eat" in order to stay healthy. I hope to never know the horror of real hunger. I once worked with a lady whose husband had been a POW. He was severely abused and starved at the hands of his captors. She said that they had stray cats everywhere at their house because her husband always fed every stray that came on the property. His explanation was that once you really know what it's like to be at the point of almost starving to death, you could never let another creature go hungry if you could help it. She told me this story 20 years ago. I will never forget it.

9. I am thankful for my dachshund Stretch. He is a genius. It's now 5:15 am and he has gotten out of bed to sit near me while I type. He is snoring. I had never had a dog of my own until Stretchy. I have two other dogs who are wonderful, but Stretchy and I are best buds. He really is amazing. He loves two things -- food and me. He is too fat and I should cut back on his snacks. I don't think I will. Sometimes he cries to go outside so that he can run right back in for a snack. He is a genius. He does not like men -- except for Tony and he will bite you if you come to my house. He loves me, Tony, my sister, my mom, my step-dad, Joshua, and my friend Connie. That's it. When I first got him, I left the house to go to Macon and that baby ran for almost a mile following me screaming "mama, please let me go with you!" No one has ever run after me screaming "I just want to be near you, please let me go with you!" He can have anything he wants. Just ask Dr. Marty, he will tell you that Stretchy is a spoiled dog. He and I have the same birthday. He is a genius and I love him.

10. I am thankful for my Bible - The Book. It's written in a modern language that I can understand and apply to my life. I love the KJV also for its wonderful language, but I find it hard to extrapolate the meaning of some of the passages. I read my Bible every night and usually find something that I have never read before or realize a new, deeper meaning for something that I have read many times. I am amazed that there is almost no aspect of life that is not addressed in the Bible. Of course, I need to go much deeper and study many more years to understand the wonder of the messages of the Bible. I am amazed that we can hold the Word of God in our hands. Sometimes I expect that something so holy might even burn my hand when I touch it. Thank God it doesn't burn my hand and I can keep studying.

Stopping this blog with 10 items. I will write more soon. I know that I have much, much more to be thankful for and I AM thankful for so much in my life. Sometimes the most simple blessings are the greatest. Sometimes our blessings are very complex and come to light more clearly through pain. Please tell me some of your blessings. I am very interested. Thanks for reading.