Thanksgiving Leftovers

You can call me lazy. You can call me holiday challenged. You can call me Al. But we’ll just get it out there that I didn’t get around do doing my “I’m thankful for…” list in time for Thanksgiving. Which is fine by me because if I can’t be thankful for this stuff 3 days after Thanksgiving, then I probably can’t be thankful for them at all. So here we go; stuff I’m thankfu for…not necessarily in order of importance.

My Girls
My two daughters, Katie and Robyn are great. They’re such fun to have around and keep life interesting. I learn a lot from them, and I enjoy trying to embarrass them by pretending to be a lot hipper than I really am.

My Wife
Denise and I are coming up on 18 years in a few weeks. Which seems amazing when I stop and think about it. She’s been a lot more patient with me than she perhaps should have been. And she was fully supportive of moving the whole family across the country to the frozen tundra we now call home so that I could follow my dream and calling. I think that says a lot.

The Upper Room Staff
I get to work with some amazing people. Everyone says that (well, OK, not everyone, but a lot of people do). What I find so special about our team is the way we embrace brokenness in such a unique way. Rather than run from it, cover it up or push it aside, they lean into it and work through it. I think that makes us richer as people and as Christ-followers.

Twitter
I admit it. I really like Twitter. I didn’t get it at first, but after 6 months, it’s become a big part of my life. I really feel like I’ve been blessed by following a few dozen people scattered all over the country. As I’ve caught a glimpse into their lives, and they into mine, I feel we like the world has gotten a little smaller.  

My Mac(s) & iPod Touch
I admit it; I’m a geek. I really dig being able to keep in touch with people via technology, and these two tools make that easier and more fun. It really amazes me how much technology has changed since my first Mac SE/30 twenty years ago. That had 2 Megs of RAM and a 10 Meg hard drive. Still, it was a blast then, and it is still today. I love being able to grab the MacBook Pro and write out all the thoughts swirling around in my mind wherever I am. And being able to check my e-mail before I get out of bed is just plain cool.

You…
the readers of this blog. You have enriched my life in so many ways. Eighteen months and 200 posts ago I never would have guessed so many people would be reading it, commenting and entering into conversations around the thoughts I spill out here. It’s pretty humbling, really.

The Trinity
Maybe it goes without saying, but I really am thankful for the work God has done in my life. I would not be where I am today were it not for His intervention. Were it not for His grace, I doubt I would still be married, I would likely be heavily in debt, and my career would not be nearly as fulfilling. I’m still learning to understand that grace, and learning to understand what it means to really have God as my Father, but I’m glad I’m in process.

So there you go. For me, leftovers are the best part of Thanksgiving. I love turkey sandwiches, and I can’t wait until next week when I will be making my turkey/barley soup. So this list is like that. The same as Thanksgiving…only better!