Thankful

Since it's the month of Thanksgiving, I'm listing a few blessings for which I'm thankful today. I've been thinking about how much God has changed my life in the last 20 years in ways that I would not have imagined...but in ways for which I'm deeply thankful.

I'm thankful for my great wife. Janet and I have been married for 17 years. She has been my greatest encourager. She has been my best friend. She has been a wonderful partner in the joys and pains of life. No one could ask for a better wife.

I'm thankful for my outstanding son. Christopher is my 7-year old son. Before we were married, Janet and I talked about our dreams of adopting a child someday. We did not know that Christopher would be our only child, but we could not have asked for a more enjoyable little boy. It has been one of the honors of my life that God has entrusted me with the responsibilities and blessings of being Christopher's father.

I'm thankful for being a part of the Contact Church. Janet and I have been participants in the Tulsa urban ministry for 10 years. Eight years ago, the Contact Church was formed as a result of the urban ministry. Many people dream of being able to be a part of a church that reaches the urban poor. We have been blessed to experience it. We have been able to be a part of something very special.

I'm thankful for opportunities to share my faith. Nearly every day, I am asked by a co-worker, a friend, or an acquaintance about my faith in Jesus Christ. That was not happening until recent years. I have never had such opportunities fall into my lap so frequently. I can see God moving in the lives of others in my life every day. Also, I could not have imagined 20 years ago the opportunities that God has given me to share my faith through the internet. In addition to being able to reconnect through Facebook with friends and classmates from 25 years ago, I've been able to share my faith on this blog with people on every continent (except Antarctica). (I've been blown away when I have seen some of the countries from which I've seen visitors to this blog--especially those from closed Communist and Islamic nations.) It's hard to believe that God has entrusted me with such opportunities.

God has been very, very good to me.

"Make a joyful noise to the LORD,
all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

"Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of
his pasture.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

"For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations" (Psalm 100).