THANKFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another thanksgiving has come and gone.

So much anticipation & preparation.

Time spent with friends and family!

I am one blessed person!

We are one blessed family!

We are one blessed nation!

I truly am thankful, for SOOOOOO MUCH!

It seems a bit redundant to post about thanksgiving, but then again is it really possible to too many times give thanks and shout praises to the GIVER of all of our good gifts!

When you've had the privilege like I have to walk life with so many from so many different walks of life, I as a result have a deeper level of thankfulness that really hits to the core of my soul.  That might sound over dramatic, but I actually mean it completely genuinely and humbly.

I have been reading a book given to me by a dear friend called "One Thousand Gifts".  It is a book that is for some reason taking me a long time to read, I think I just have had too many books on the go for so long, and lately (well for many months now) I don't get too much reading done aside from my Bible (which sometimes even that is a squeeze and a bit of a marathon to fit in).  A quote from the book that has really challenged me is, " The only real fall of man is his nonecuharistic life in a non-eucharistic world.  That was the fall.  Non-echoristeo, ingratitude, was the fall - humanity's discontent with all that God freely gives.  That is what has scraped me raw, ungratefulness.  Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives.  Thanksgiving is the manifestation of our YES! to His grace.  Thanksgiving is necessary to live the well, whole, fullest life."  The author then challenges us to take EVERYTHING (the good and seemingly bad/hard/difficult/unwanted) in our lives and returning to Jesus, falling at His feet with a heart of thankfulness.  There is nothing quite like the words of Paul in Philipplians 4 where he says, "I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.  I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything.  I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little."

My reality is that I have SEEN people fully live this out.  The people that immediately come to mind are fellow sisters and brothers living in the Northern part of Ghana whose basic survival dependends desparately on the land which too many times does not cooperate.  When I say basic survival I mean basic, one meal a day on a good day.  Also comes to mind all of the families who I have had the privilege of walking along side through my jobs who have had to navigate all sorts of abuse and evils that are difficult for the average heart to even begin to comprehend.

So on this (American) thanksgiving weekend I thought I would try to come up with a list of 100 things that I'm thankful for.  The book challenges us to come up with a 1000 things ... which I think is an AWESOME challenge for all of us.  So here is my list in no particular order of a 100 somewhat random things that I want to THANK my Creator and Father for, shouting to Him all the PRAISES for the good gifts He gives us and entrusts us with.

1.  Okay so number one is first and foremost that I'm thankful for my Creator and Father, who adores me and pursues me with a relentless and unconditional full of mercy and grace love, who loves me so much that He sent His own son to bear my sins so that I could spend eternity with Him.

2.  This one is in sequential order too ... I am so thankful for my husband, my best friend & life partner, who I adore and who adores me right back.  I truly never thought marriage could be as rich and blessed as mine is (notice I didn't say it was perfect, I said it was awesome).

3.  Isabella, our oldest and overnight gift (literally) given by our Creator who God w hispered about months before we even knew about her.

4.  Matteus, our oldest son who our Creator gave to us via my tummy.

5.  Faith, our first internationally adopted jewel who God entrusted to us from China, Him so clearly calling us to adopt her.

6.  Kody, our 4th child who God did a literal saving Kody's life miracle right in front of our eyes, God using our Bella to tell us about Kody.

7.  Ella, our 5th child who God brought into our life when we were in Ghana adopting Kody.

8.  Jase, our 6th child who God planted a seed in our hearts almost  3 years ago, and then 1.5 year ago pursued my heart with pictures to adopt

9.  Lillyana, our second birth child who God spoke to me about before she was even conceived.

10.  My Bible

11.  Hugs from our jewels

12.  Coffee

13.  Sushi

14.  Clean and running water

15.  Heat in our house

16.  A comfortable bed to sleep in

17.  Cute clothes to wear

18.  Cameras

19.  Treadmills

20.  Mountains

21.  The ocean

22.  Trees

23.  Good running shoes

24.  Double & triple strollers

25.  My adoption group, oh WOW, I don't know what I would do without these amazing women!

26.  Our church

27.  Our senior pastor who has a burning passion for the God of the Universe

28.  An amazing children's program at our church

29.  My mom & Jerome

30.  My dad

31.  My brother

32.  Bikes

33.  The paved trails that run through our town

34.  My in-laws

35.  Get away weekends with my husband

36.  Apples

37.  Black licorice candy

38.  My dear girlfriend Amanda who I live life with, and who loves me so tangibly & no matter what

39.  My dear girlfriend Abbey who I live life with, who loves me so tangibly & no matter what

40.  My dear girlfriend Melissa who I live life with, who loves me so tangibly & no matter what

41.  Carm & Kristy, my still ...  best friends from TWU

42.  The whole entire DeAndrea family who we so completely adore, their friendship meaning more than words could describe

43.  Carrie B.  who I adore and lean on in so many ways

44.  Carrie C.  who I miss so much

45.  Freedom

46.  A safe country

47.  Airplanes

48.  Amazing schools for my kids to go to (Fisher & Vosbeck)

49.  A great boss who shares my faith

50.  My sister Rebekka who always says exactly what I need to hear

51.  My sister Esther who is able to put a postive spin on almost anything I face

52.  My sister Isabelle whose persevernece inspires me

53.  My sister Beinta who loves to hang with me

54.  My husband's job

55.  Our amazing pedatrician

56.  Children's Hosptial

57.  Faith's hand surgeon

58.  Jase's surgeon

59.  Wood floors

60.  My children's teachers, past & current

61.  Oatmeal

62.  BBQ chicken

63.  My computer

64.  Our 5 bedroom house

65.  Our yard

66.  Birds that play in our pond & trees

67.  Isabella's beautiful pictures made with an enormous amount of love and consideration

68.  Faith's smile that lights up her whole face and any room

69.  Ella's laugh that could end world peace

70.  Matteus' endless amount of kisses

71. Kody's endless amount of thank yous and words of encouragement

72.  Jase's squeal of joy that will steal your heart

73.  Lillyana's sweet and tender cuddles

74.  My health & that of Sam and all of the kids

76.  Our OBGYN

77.  Romana & Bernard and all of their relentless and self-less acts that resulted in us becoming the proud parents of Kody & Ella

78.  Kody's foster family who adore so much who God used to heal and restore Kody's life, and who not only loved Kody so well but us as well

79.  Beacon House

80.  Sunshine

81.  Vaccinations and medications that we take that keep us safe when we travel to third world countries 

82.  Our China agencies, AAI & CHI

83.  A functional and great kitchen

84.  Francis Chan's books

85.  Chris Tomlin's music

86.  Meredith Andrew's music

87.  The ministry of the Chapman family

88.  Parks

89.  The religious freedom I have to worship my Creator

90.  My work friends

91.  Blogs

92.  Our 9 seater suburban

93.  Bike racks

94.  Northwest WA & BC ... I love it here!

95.  My growing up years in the Faroe Islands

96.  All of my extended family in so many places

96.  My middle school & high school years in Ontario, and all of the dear school, church & camp friends that so blessed my life

97.  Great speech therapists

98.  Hearing aids

99.  The gift and miracle of life that grows inside our tummies

100. The gift and miracle of adoption

That is my 100 random praise list which honestly was easy to make up ... I could easily have kept going and going!

"To whom much is given, much is required."  Those words of Jesus in Matthew are ringing in my ear right now ... I have been given MUCH and with much comes much responsibility!

THANK YOU JESUS for all of the good gifts you give me on a daily basis, gifts that thankfully are not dependent on my attitude, feelings, or behavior. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from one blessed mamma of SEVEN (can you believe it) precious jewels!