.give thanks.

"Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the, mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. "

Psalm 95:1-7

while i almost didn't want to post a "thanksgiving" post to avoid being cliche, i decided that i have a whole heck of a lot to be thankful for & i should be sharing that with my friends in blogland - no matter how many other posts you've read just like it.

-----first of all i am SO incredibly thankful to have a sovereign Lord who loves me lavishly & unconditionally. i am unbelievably blessed by the gift of grace & know that i have the undeserved honor of being called a daughter of the Most High God. if that isn't enough to fill you with thanksgiving i don't know what is.

-----secondly, i am have the most wonderful family. i know that there are a lot of people out there who either feel pretty lonely or have a life filled with many broken relationships. i recognize that what i'm blessed with is really special. i am so thankful for all the amazing family members in my life that encourage & support me, laugh with me, cry with me, celebrate & dance with me.

-----my family also now includes my wonderful husband benny. no thanksgiving list would be complete without mentioning my hubby. marriage is so interesting because it really does give you the opportunity to grow in ways that you never would have to / get to if you weren't. i am so thankful for the partnership i have in the gospel & in ministry with ben. i love that we get to sharpen one another & push one another on toward the prize. i am so thankful to have a husband that is very different than me, that will balance me out, teach me alot & care for me deeply.

-----next, my friends & community. gosh - how awesome that i can depend on so many solid & faithful people. i am continually spurred on & amazed by the hearts & lives of the guys & girls that i spend time with. the Lord has most certainly blessed me with a fantastic community of believers.

------i am thankful for the mission we've been given in matthew 28 to "make disciples of all nations." i am thankful that the Lord wants to use those who follow Him to reach out to other people. i love that he has called ben & i to lafayette & that we actually get to see lives change, for the present & for eternity. what a privilege!

-----i am thankful for a roof over my head & shoes on my feet. i am thankful for warm showers & for coats. i am thankful for food {even though i'm picky about what i eat}. i am thankful to have a job {even though i don't really like to work that much}. i am thankful that we are provided for. i am thankful that we live in a country where we are free to believe what we want & where people are daily fighting to protect our freedom.

i pray that i will give thanks daily & in all circumstances. may we all rejoice with thanksgiving!

if you'd like to share some thing that you are thankful for, whether big or small, i'd love to hear it!

.image provided by flickr & linked to it's owner.