stuff i think

Post Thanksgiving thanks giving

I think I like Thanksgiving better than Christmas. That's probably highly pilgrim-centric of me, but I have my reasons...among them the fact that we've probably got the date for Christs' birth off by a few months, and that we've yet to figure out how to exploit the consumer end of Thanksgiving like we did Christmas. (I'm not even sure if you can buy a Pilgrim hat at WallyWorld yet, but the day will come.)


My appreciation for Thanksgiving goes back to 1990, when Kelsey and I were newly married. We were also newcomers to a community and church.

In the church was a fellow who lost his job - he literally got the phone call as he was walking out the door to close on the purchase of a home for his family. We didn't know them well - just a fellow in his late thirties or early forties, his wife, and their two adopted children. At Thanksgiving weekend of 1990, he had been out of a job for months. The job market was incredibly tight, and not much was available - surely not anything to raise a family one. Nevertheless, that weekend when the church we were a part of had a Thanksgiving service, he was the first to jump to his feet and talk about all that God had given their family. He was genuinely thankful. His heart had a big impact on me that day, and I've been thankful since.

So...what am I thankful for as we race towards 2004?

I'm thankful for my family. I know that probably sounds like a stock answer, but it's for real. I have an amazing wife and three wonderful boys. I am rich in this area. My wife is a wonderful blend of analytical dreamer. I do not know another like her. At 10, Jackson is at once sensative and rediculously funny. Grayson's heart burns with the needs of the poor and is 6 year old man of action. Zion, 2 1/2, is emerging from his baby-shell to be one who commands the stage of life...not in a demanding way, but in a way that draws others to watch.

I'm thankful for experiences. By the hand of God on our lives, we've wandered in and out of a number of situations and relationships that we could never have orchestrated. My hands are caked with two parts loam, one part playa dust, and sprinkled with the waters of many baptisms. The people that God as woven into our tapestry still fascinate me.

I'm thankful for instant oatmeal. It saves me twenty minutes a week.

Well, there's more, but that'll have to do for now. I'd love to know - what are YOU thankful for?