Thankfully yours....

Over the course of this past month, I have seen so many wonderful lists, posted by my friends daily, about the many things for which they are thankful. I have been blessed to glimpse their thankful hearts and to know, in my own heart, the Source of their blessings. The definition of thankful, according to Merriam Webster, is pretty straight-forward: 1: conscious of benefit received <for what we are about to receive make us truly thankful> 2: expressive of thanks <thankful service> 3: well pleased : glad <was thankful that it didn't rain>  To me, thanksgiving is an verb, not just an adjective. It is an act that takes  being “conscious of benefit received” and then becomes “expressive of thanks” in a real, tangible way. So here’s my own list, with that in mind.

1.       I am thankful to and for Jesus, a Savior who laid down His life for me. Action: I want to serve Him wholeheartedly, in words and deeds, and make my life wholly HIS. In order to do this, I need to spend time with Him, in His word and in prayer.

2.       I am thankful for my husband. Action: I want to be a better wife, listening to His needs and not trying to shape them into mine. I want him to know he is a priority in my life, and in order to do that, I need to be available to him.

3.       I am thankful for Emily and Eric. Action: I want to let them be themselves and to support them in every appropriate way. I want them to know how much I love them, now and always.

4.       I am thankful for Joseph. Action: I want him to know how proud I am of the young man he has become. I want to get out of the way when he chooses to soar.

5.       I am thankful for Laura. Action: I want to share her joy but not define her goals. I want her to feel love from me that does not limit her but rather frees her to serve God however He calls her.

6.       I am thankful for David. Action: I want him to know how much I respect the growth I have seen in him over the past year. I want spend time getting to know his goals so I can better support him.

7.     I am thankful for my roots, my family of origin: my parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins….You get the idea. Action: I have had grand intentions of taking care of the many photographs I have of our heritage, but in reality, I have not completed the task of managing and distributing those treasures. I want to be a good steward of that responsibility and see it through to the end.

8.       I am thankful for the family I became a part of when I married R.J. Action: I want to make more effort to be a blessing back to them, to focus on what I can do to show God’s love to them in a tangible way.

9.       I am thankful for my church. Action: I want to continue giving of my time and financial resources to support the ministries there. More than that, I want to be the hands and feet and face of Jesus to all I meet, both in that building and outside it. 

10.   I am thankful for my job. Action: I want to build up the children in my classroom, that they may all know without a doubt that they are loved by Jesus and by Mrs. Traff.

11.   I am thankful for the opportunity I had to travel to Cambodia and get a first hand look at what God is doing there. Action: I want to be open to God’s leading in missions and to be courageous enough to take physical and financial steps God asks me to take to serve Him.

12.   I am thankful for the big, beautiful world God gave us. Action: God gave me eyes to see so many minute details of His creation. Through my photography, I can share my love of God and my love of His creation. I want to remember to give God the glory in all the pictures I take.

I am thankful for these and so many other things. I am, indeed, one blessed individual.  Happy Thanksgiving, and may you recognize the blessing God has given you and live your life accordingly!