By the time you are reading this, we will have just celebrated Thanksgiving in America. I love this holiday as it is a time when I think about all the many blessings the Lord has given me over the past year. I also love this time of year because Brett and I got married on Thanksgiving weekend. This year will be 20 years of blissful marriage. So in honor of our 20th anniversary I am going to tell you the top 20 blessings I’ve been given by the Lord over this past year. 

1. My Family

I know, saying I’m thankful for my family is so cliché. But truly I am thankful for them. I’m thankful for my husband who encourages me to be and do all that God has called me to do. When I told him I felt like God was leading me to homeschool our kids, he said, “Ok. Let’s do it!” Years later when I told him I felt like God was leading me to start a blog, he said, “You should do it. I don’t care what it costs.”

Then there’s my kids who are always so supportive too. They are always the first to tell me I’ve done a good job teaching at church. I love hanging out with my three teenagers! Then there’s my extended family. I am so thankful for them too! They have spent time and energy pouring into me and teaching me to be a godly woman. I am thankful for their love and guidance. Without my family, I definitely wouldn’t be the person I am today!

2. My Friends who are Like Family

Then there’s all the friends God has placed in my life who choose to be like family to me. They are the ones who are there to rejoice in the good times and listen during the hard times. They encourage me to be who God created me to be and even call me out when needed. Without these friends I would be lonely, and I would miss seeing things in myself that need changing. I am thankful for their love and am proud to call them “family.” 

3. Time to do all the things God has Called me to Do

I am thankful God provides me with time to do all the things he has told me I am supposed to do. I’m thankful for the time to spend writing and researching. I’m thankful for the time he allows me to spend with others in ministry. And I’m thankful for the time he allows me to pour into my family. The older my kids get, the more I realize that spending time with them is time well spent! 

4. Friendship with Jesus

What could be better than friendship with the very one who created you? I am thankful Jesus wants to not only be our Lord (boss), but he wants to be our friend. I’m thankful I can talk to him like I do my other friends. In fact I can be even more transparent with him than I can be with my physical friends. I’m thankful that he loves spending time with me just as much as I love spending time with him. He is truly my best friend, and I look forward to getting to know him more and more through all eternity!

5. Overflow Ministries

I am thankful for the church God called Brett and I to start. We call it Overflow because we want to always live out of the overflow of the Holy Spirit. Other people are touched by our overflow and are then able to overflow into other people’s lives. Living this way allows us to never grow weary because we are giving out of abundance instead of lack. It’s an awesome way to live!

6. Watching the Lord Move in People’s Lives

I love spending time in prayer with someone and then watching as the Lord does miracles in their life. I love seeing the downtrodden turn and become filled with the joy of the Lord. Watching as the Lord gives me just the right words to say to someone, and then they change the way they are thinking about that subject or they get the answer they were asking God for. Allowing God to work through me to better other people’s lives is the most fulfilling and exciting time in my life. 

7. Skiing Trip with my Family

For the past two years we have taken the kids skiing for their Christmas gifts. They love it, and it’s a great time to bond with them. I don’t ski. Instead I usually stay in the cabin and do some writing. Then I make sure they all have something warm to eat and drink when they get back. I sit back and listen to all the fun stories they tell about their day. This past year was definitely a year we won’t soon forget as we were snowed in on the first night. It’s those unexpected “difficulties” that turn into the best memories! 

8. The Ability to Speak to God and Know He Hears Me

I don’t know about you, but I am so thankful that when I pray, my God hears me. I know he hears me because I can see him answering my prayers. A few weeks ago we were at a conference, and I asked the Lord for something. Only a few seconds passed before I saw him answer my request with gusto! I could write forever about all the times I talked to the Lord about something and then saw my prayer answered! I am always thankful I serve a God who listens and interacts with me!

9. Our Annual Trip to Colorado

Every year my husband’s family gets together in Colorado for vacation. They have been doing this tradition for over 60 years. It’s a time to relax and just spend time together. It’s always a nice, peaceful time, and I’m thankful his family makes the time and effort for things like this. 

10. The Hard Times

I know this may sound like a weird thing to be thankful for, but I truly am thankful for the hard times in life. Why? Because it’s in the hard times we get to see God show us he is trustworthy. Furthermore, we get to live out what we say we believe. Besides it’s during the hard times when we get to grow and mature as Christians. While I don’t love going through the hard times, I can appreciate how the Lord promotes growth in me during those times. 

11. Ability to Homeschool my Kids

I am thankful I have the privilege of homeschooling my kids. This is something I never thought I’d do, but I am so thankful I’ve done it. I’m thankful I have a husband who provides for us financially so I can stay home. I love homeschooling because it allows me to disciple my kids every single day. I get to be there for the good times and the bad times. I get to watch as they struggle to understand a concept, and rejoice with them when it finally clicks! I wouldn’t have life any other way!

12. Freedom to Pray and Worship God 

I am thankful for the freedom to worship God without the fear of persecution by my government. Not everyone has this privilege, and I pray they will someday experience the freedom I often take for granted. Our church meets at a park, and I am reminded every week that we are privileged to be able to meet in public and worship the creator. 

13. Time Away

I am thankful for time away. Getting away with just Brett or with the whole family is always a time of refreshment and excitement. I am thankful the Lord provides for us to be about to take trips together. As thankful as I am for time away, I am also always thankful for the ability to come home! 

14. Busy Time

I am thankful for things to do. It’s nice having things to do that further the kingdom of God. The Bible says it’s not good for people to be idle, so I am thankful God has given me assignments to do. I’m thankful for the ministries he has given me to steward. 

15. Springtime in Texas

Twenty years ago when Brett and I got married, my favorite time of the year was the fall. I loved the changing colors of the trees, the smells of fall, and of course the tastes of fall. Now we live in central Texas, and the fall is underwhelming to say the least. Yes, we still have the smells and tastes, but the sight of fall is, well, nothing. As I am writing this at the end of November, it is currently 74 degrees fahrenheit (24 celsius). One day it will freeze and the leaves will all fall off without any change of color.

Then comes the spring. The springtime in central Texas is beautiful! It’s a time when there are dozens of different kinds of wildflowers that bloom all along the streets. There are purple, red, yellow, and pink flowers. It is the most beautiful time in Texas. I never tire of seeing those wildflowers, and it gives me joy whenever we are out and about in the spring. 

16. Health

I am thankful God has given my family great health. I’m thankful he has shown us ways of staying healthy. God has given us tools both in the physical and spiritual to keep our physical bodies healthy. I try to never take this for granted as I know this isn’t the same story for everyone. 

17. Provision

I am thankful God always provides for everything we ever need. Years ago God taught Brett and I that he is our provider, not a job. It was during a difficult time in our lives where we had to trust God to provide for us. Guess what! He did provide everything we needed while teaching us at the same time to always look to him for the things we need. 

18. Freedom to Make Mistakes

I’m thankful for the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. I always tell my kids that making mistakes is a good thing because it’s how we learn. I’m thankful my husband gives me the freedom to make mistakes and is there to gently help me learn from those mistakes. I am thankful the Lord allows me to make mistakes and learn from them too. I’m thankful he is there to help me clean up the messes created from those mistakes. 

19. Sunny Days

I love sunny days! Last week I went to a park and sat in the sun beside a pond and wrote. It was an amazing time. I love feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. It just makes me happy!

20. Salvation

Most of all I am thankful for salvation. I am thankful Jesus chose to give up his status as God and live as a man for 33 years before willingly and joyfully going to the cross to die for me. I’m thankful he rose again, conquering death and hell. I’m thankful he gifts me with salvation. I don’t have to wonder if I will make it to Heaven when I die. There is truly nothing better than the gift of salvation that ONLY comes through the true Jesus!

What about You?

What are you thankful for? In Psalm 100:4, it says that we get to “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” Giving thanks to our Creator is one of the ways we enter into his presence.