What are YOU thankful for today?

It's Thankful Thursday and I have a question for you today...What are YOU thankful for today?  Everyone of us have SOMETHING that we can and should be thankful for.  If you wake up in the morning...you can be thankful.  If you have a warm bed, a roof over your head, food on your table...you have something to be thankful for. 

At the beginning of every year and at Thanksgiving, many people 'count their blessings' on their blogs or on FaceBook or whatever.  Inspired by Ann VosKamp, who wrote the book One Thousand Gifts, I have decided that I am going to finish out the 2012 Thankful Thursdays with a 'counting' of my many blessings.  I am in hopes that you will read each Thursday and that you will count your blessings along with me. 


Perhaps you can list a few of your 'blessings' in your comments.  I think it is so important to put this in the forefront of our minds.  The world we live in today is so me, me, me!  There is little common courtesy.  There is little if no respect...for life or for others.  Today, people do not put others before themselves.  It saddens me greatly.  I can't help but think that if we would consciously 'count our blessings' it would help us to begin to think of others. 

If we think about it...God put US before Himself or His Son!  Jesus put US first...before Himself.  And since we are supposed to be LIKE Christ...then we should be putting others before ourselves.  What does putting others before us have to do with counting our blessings?  Well, as we begin to take a long look at EVERY thing that God has blessed us with...from the smallest of the small things to the largest of the large...it should cause us to begin to think about how we might be able to be a blessing to someone else.  If God has blessed you with food in your home...perhaps you could bless someone you know or see that doesn't have any food.  It's very simple...count the ways that you are blessed and then think about those less fortunate than you and how you can bless them the way you have been blessed.

So...Today I start:

1.  I am thankful for my salvation.

2.  I am thankful for the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit.

3.  I am thankful that God sees past my flaws and loves me anyway.

4.  I am thankful for a man of God that tolerates my neediness and loves me unconditionally.

5.  I am thankful for parents that love God and for the example that they set for me.

6.  I am thankful for the 4 blessings God gave me & my husband:  Jenifer, Kendil, Brian & Brooke.

7.  I am thankful for my pets.  They truly bring joy to my life.

8.  I am thankful for a hot shower.

9.  I am thankful for the friends who support me and lift me up when I'm down.

10.  I am thankful for the opportunity to share my thoughts with my bloggy friends.

Ok, I'll stop at 10 blessings today, but next week I may go longer...you just never know.  Please take a moment today...and every day...to count your blessings!  



Giveaway:
Author, Ann Voskamp, in her book One Thousand Gifts, dares us to "live fully right where we are"  and encourages us to see the blessings in everything.  Ann has a beautiful, poetic style of writing that reaches right to your heart.  Today I am pleased to be giving away a copy of One Thousand Gifts.  To win, simply comment on the blog post each day.  For additional entries, share the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter, then come back and leave separate comments telling me you shared.  I will announce the winner next Thankful Thursday (2/16) so be sure to check back.

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God bless,