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Tag: thankfulness

What I’m Looking & Listening For

“Give thanks to God no matter what circumstances you find yourself in.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18a)

Can I be completely honest with you? Canadian Thanksgiving is coming on Monday, and while I am relieved and grateful for a long weekend . . . today I’m not feeling it. Holidays are supposed to bring warm fuzzy feelings, but sometimes we’re just too tired or frazzled or upset or sad to get in the spirit.

I’m not all of those things, although I’ve had a busy couple of weeks with frustratingly long hours of homework. My creative soul feels stifled. My to-do list doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter.

But that’s just it–thankfulness is not about feelings. In this social media age where all we see are the highlight reels of people’s lives, it’s easy to think everyone else is so much happier than we are. Yet neither life nor emotions are static; they’re constantly changing like the seasons. And the truth is that if I can find reasons to complain, I can find at least as many reasons to rejoice.

To remind myself, here’s a brief list. (Perhaps it will remind you, too, of the good things in life.)

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I have a wonderful, fun, supportive family who loves me.
I have friends checking in on me and praying for me.
I get to walk to school each day, enjoying the crisp air of autumn mornings.
I can still make money at my job despite going to school full-time.
There’s a stack of good books on my desk almost two feet high, all waiting to be read.
I’ve been in college only six weeks, and already I understand how to make an income statement, what factors change supply and demand, how to write memos, how to calculate equivalent payments of compound interest, all kinds of things that Microsoft Word can do, and how business is all about creating value for customers.
I have an amazing church that makes every Sunday morning feel like coming home.
I’m healthy.
I have opportunities every day to laugh.
Great movies are a thing.
So is good music, such as:
Reckless Love by Cory Asbury (a long one, but so, so good)
Deeper by SVRCINA (thanks to Katie Grace for introducing me to this singer)
Clap Your Hands by Owl City (it’s about golf? but it’s really fun)
Something in the Water by Tim Neufeld (this cover never fails to make me happy)
I Need Thee Every Hour by Anthem Lights (their entire Hymns album is so peaceful)
I haven’t run out of things to write about, and after a week of no writing, Snow White is waiting for me to pen the next part of her adventure.
I get to connect with faraway friends through the internet and snail mail.
The sun rises.
Seeing the full moon shining over the harvested fields makes me want to shut my car headlights off and stare for a while.
Watercolor pencils are magical.
So is pumpkin pie.
Dreams aren’t out of reach–I’m on my way, and you know, the days of small beginnings are actually exciting when I stop and climb to a new vantage point.
It’s sweater weather.
Tea. (What else needs to be said about that?)
The blue jays have returned.
Asking customers at work what their plans are for Thanksgiving transforms mediocre small talk into real conversations and real smiles.
Journaling late at night when my brain is tired and filters are down is relaxing.
God is there. Quietly faithful. The same today as He was yesterday. The same as He will be tomorrow.
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Sometimes we need to stop, breathe, and consciously think of all the things we have to be grateful for. And to be completely honest with you again–after writing this list, I feel a lot lighter. Happy Thanksgiving!


What are you thankful for today?

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“Thank God for Something”

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians! We have so much to be thankful for on this journey: big, life-encompassing things along with the little daily shards of glory we encounter.
Some of the big things I’m thankful for . . .
  • My amazing Savior, whose depth I couldn’t plumb even in a thousand lifetimes. For Him I am grateful.
  • My family. They are Home and Love and a Safe Place to Be. I am grateful for them.
  • My friends. People who ‘get’ me, on whichever level our friendship is–they know me. I know them. I am grateful.
  • Health. I’m grateful.
  • A nation in which I can worship God freely, contribute to how the country is run, and live in relative safety. I’m grateful.
  • Every single church service, message, book, devotional, or Bible study that has given me something to chew on. I’m grateful.
And there are hundreds of little things that bring a smile of thanks to my face. If I tried to list them all, we’d be here for days and I still wouldn’t be done. Lately I’ve been thankful for . . .
  • The sound of a friend’s voice over the phone.
  • Hugs.
  • Yellow leaves whirling down to rest on the front lawn.
  • A bicycle ride.
  • A shared joke.
  • Soft carpet beneath my bare toes.
  • The smell of coffee grounds.
  • Songs that perfectly express how I feel.
  • Blank notebook pages waiting to be written in.
  • Flowers still blooming in mid-October.
  • Happy customers at work.
  • Buttered fresh bread.
  • A favorite scarf.
  • Compliments given and received.
  • The beautiful browns and burgundies and golds and reds of autumn.
  • Sleeping in and lingering over breakfast with my family.
  • A stack of books.
  • Barbecues.
  • My sisters’ giggling across the house.
  • Conversations with my brother.
  • The voice of a cello filling the vehicle as I drive home from work.
  • A movie that instantly becomes one of those happy places, a comfort film you know you’ll watch again whenever you need a pick-me-up.
  • A stunning sunrise.
  • And all of you readers and commenters–I’m thankful for you!
It’s been said that if you wake up in the morning complaining, you’ll have little time to be thankful. But if you wake up and choose to be thankful, you’ll find you have little time for complaining. It’s all about your outlook. You may not be able to change your circumstances or the people around you, but you can control how you see them.
“In everything, give thanks . . .” Not for everything (we aren’t thankful for catastrophe or illness or strife), but in everything. In the midst of the struggle or heartache, we can find something worth being thankful for. And when we do, we’ll find the hard times much easier to bear.
What big or small things are you grateful for today?