Giving Thanks

It is the season to be grateful, and I have so many things to be thankful for! Remember on Thanksgiving that you have been blessed with so many things that you take for granted. Don’t let anything slip by you unnoticed! Recognize every blessing and give thanks for it.

Five Things I am Thankful for:

1. My Faith
You have no idea how much my Lord Jesus means to me! Without Him, I would be lost and sad most of the time. Jesus is my Savior, and He guides me every step of the way. Without His forgiveness and purpose, I would be a meaningless mess, but because He has a divine purpose for my life, I am no longer afraid.

2. My Family
Without my family, I would be so very lonely! Dad: Thank you for working so hard to fulfill my needs, and for being an example of Godly love! Mom: Thank you for always being ready to listen. Whether I need advice or just to vent, I am so grateful for you! Noah: Thank you for being such a fun brother. I love you so much, and want to be your best friend forever! Lexi: I have so much fun playing dress up and dolls with you. Let’s keep our relationship strong!

3. Dance
There are so many things that could prevent me from dancing, but God has allowed me to keep worshiping Him through dance. I love all my teachers and thank them for helping me grow in my technique and strength. May I always dance for God, and not let my focus be shifted from Him!

4. My job
I love my job, even if it is sometimes hard. The values and lessons I have learned through it have taught me so much. I have learned how to be a gracious, smiling server, even when the grumpiest of people comes my way. Thank you, Lord, for my job!

5. Being Homeschooled
What a blessing it is to be able to escape all the influences and distractions that teens face at public school. Not only can I go my own pace and learn everything well, but I can use curricula that gives God credit for being the Creator of the universe. Thank you, Jesus, for this opportunity!

I give God the glory for all of my blessings, and want to love and serve Him all of my days. What are you thankful for?

What We Take For Granted

This post probably won’t make sense to you unless you have ever been so sick you just wanted to die, so I’m sorry if it doesn’t apply, or grosses you out!

This week, I was sick. I don’t mean just a little cold that is more annoying than debilitating, I mean REALLY sick. I had Influenza B, and I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to go to heaven as much as I did on Monday. This type of Influenza basically starts out with the worst stomach flu imaginable, and then progresses into a really bad cold. All day Monday, I couldn’t keep even a sip of water down. I have never been so thirsty in all of my life! All I wanted was a drink of water, but I didn’t want to risk it.

It occurred to me in my semi-conscious state that I take water for granted WAY too often. If you’ve ever gone an entire day without a sip of liquid, you know what I mean. How many times a day do I go get a glass of water, take one sip, and dump the rest out? A little too often, apparently.

This got me thinking about what else I take for granted. There are so many things that I do not appreciate for their true value.

It is only when you are deprived of something that you begin to see its true importance.

How true is that statement? Sometimes we don’t care about something until it is taken away from us. This applies to people, possessions, and many other things. Not long ago, a family moved away from my church. I had babysat for them a couple of times, and really loved their kids. I did not realize what a part of our church body they were until they left. It was not until I wasn’t able to hug the kids that I realized how important they were to me.

And what about Jesus? It was only when he was hung on the cross that people came to see Him as the Messiah. Imagine how guilty you would feel if your whole life you had scorned Him, and then you come to find He is truly the Messiah! Jesus was taken for granted in possibly the worst way ever. His pain was immense at the hands of those who did not believe.

This week, I had to read the Diary of Anne Frank and write several essays about it. I love this book, and was glad to read something so interesting. Anne also took many things for granted and did not realize it until she went into hiding. She was deprived of so many things, and only realized their importance after they were taken from her. Her worst struggle was loneliness, because she could only see the eight people in hiding with her every day. How horrible would it be to be deprived of people?! I am not much of a people person, but I could not live without any interaction with people.

Think about it this week, and make a list of all the things you take for granted. I promise you that it will make you feel tremendously blessed. Isn’t it amazing how much we have that we don’t even know about?