Thanksgiving always reminds me of the all blessings that God pours out on all of us. I wanted to write down a few of them as a small expression of how thankful I feel for the blessings I have received this year. Without saying more, here they are:
- Thankful that God blessed Danielle and I with Tabor, a very welcome and wonderful addition to our family. Just his presence in our lives has changed our thoughts and actions in a positive way that makes us want to be the best people we can be in order to be the best example and parents that we can be for him. We have been entrusted to raise Tabor in the nurture and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4), and it is a responsibility that we feel blessed to have. Also, we feel that Tabor has been a wonderful baby and never fails to bring a smile to our faces.
- Blessed with a beautiful and incredible wife. I am constantly astounded by how much she does and the amazing job she is doing at being a Mom. In such a short time she already knows so much about being a mother and what Tabor needs. People have even complemented her on how she seems to know everything about being a Mom, which makes me feel very proud. On top of just being a mother, she continues to be a loving wife to me and helpful in more ways than I can count. She is truly a gift.
Grateful and humble that Danielle’s parents have let us live with them. They have truly been a blessing to us in ways that go far beyond providing a roof over our head. They have volunteered their time at any time to watch Tabor for us so we can run errands, visit friends on road trips, and go on weekly date nights. They have bought in and been supportive of our parenting methods, though they may have raised us much differently or disagreed with some of them. We know that they have much more experience with parenting than we do, but they still let us try things our way and support that however they can. They are really wonderful with Tabor and have him laughing all the time. Rick is like Tabor’s personal "payaso" (clown). Though we all try to share duties, they cook really wonderful meals for us on a regular basis. Rick did all the work to get me a car when I needed one. Anita is always cleaning up behind all of our messes (even if we just tried to clean it ourselves ). They have agreed to help me learn Spanish and are always patient in helping me with it. Both of them make enough jokes and play around enough to keep everyone laughing all of the time. When we were moving in with them, I was anxious about whether we would be able to invade their lives without causing too much stress and chaos for everyone, but it has turned out to be one of the best decisions Danielle and I have made.
- Thankful that we have been able to see so much of our family this year. Family is such a special gift that we must never take for granted, and after being away from home for so long, it has been wonderful to get to make up for lost time. Since moving back to Texas home we have been able to see just about every member of our family, between family reunions, birthday celebrations, annual traditions (corn, okra, cinnamon rolls), road trips, holidays, and just because we are closer. I have loved every second that we have been able to spend with everyone.
- Thankful to have such wonderful friends. We have been all over the place and met some really incredible people all along the way, from the very beginning until now. In spite of the distance, we still have been able to keep a really fantastic group of friends who we feel blessed to know and to get to be a part of their lives. Our friends are the type of people who drop anything and do anything to help us and be there for us in whatever ways they can. They give us great and sound advice, help us with our moves, help us adjust to new places, give us a place to stay when we need one, include us in sharing special moments in their lives, weddings, birthdays, births…. I am grateful for the blessing that our friends are in our lives and the richness that they add to who we are.
- Most of all, I am thankful for that I can live and worship the God who created all things. Thankful that I know Jesus Christ, who he is, and what that he has done for me. I am thankful that God shapes me, transforms me, and renews me every day. He humbles me and softens my heart so that I may be changed and molded into who he created me to be. He has the power to do all things, but still seeks me and shows me the way that I can seek him. I am thankful that he provides for me in every way, from the every breath to every perfect moment. I am thankful that God has found me, that he blesses me, and that he gives me the wisdom and the knowledge to live life with purpose. I pray that with may live out the purpose he has for me.
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