1,000 Gifts Continued

The crowds scream. They can taste the upset. My team is choking hard. It is ugly. I turn away to write this post.

I love college basketball and I love watching the Jayhawks, but my identity is not wrapped up in whether they win or lose. I’ll be honest, I get really into these games. At times I shout at the TV, my blood pressure rises, I even get nauseated. Yes I love basketball. Yes I don’t like it when the team I love loses, but bottom line? My identity, my mood, my outlook needs not be be based on the capricious wins or losses of a basketball team.

I am glad that my heart is held safe. My hope is not in championships or last minute buzzer beaters. No my hope is in Jesus. My hope is in something that lasts. My identity is in Him. He wins…He is coming back. He has won the victory over sin and death. In Him, I am an heir of heaven. A daughter of the King.

Thus starts my list of things I thank God for…

201.     I am an heir of heaven through Jesus
202.     I have victory over sin and death through Jesus
203.     I am loved by a crazy loving God
204.     35 wonderful years (my b-day was Wednesday)
205.     My sweet E gave me fifty cents for my b-day present
206.     Wonderful babysitters who love my kids and they love them
207.     Saturday shopping and lunch just me and my man
208.     Time chatting with sweet friends late into the night
209.     Getting an article accepted by a small publication
210.     Snow on my birthday. Real SNOW!
211.     Shoveling snow (yes we don’t get enough for me to hate it)
212.     Making a snow fort outside while my kids watched a movie inside
213.     Teaching my girls to sew (and the drama that goes with it)
214.     My little man walking instead of begging to be carried
215.     Watching my girls play with an 11 month old friend (they were so sweet to her)
216.     A warm house on cold nights
217.     A reminder that pride comes before a fall (that I could watch and not have to experience)
218.     The smell of little boys (almost like a wet puppy)
219.     How a haircut makes my boy look like a shorn sheep
220.     Hearing good things about my husband
221.     Smell of homemade bread
222.     Chocolate
223.     God’s guiding hand each step of the way
224.     Freedom in Christ
225.     It is by grace I am saved through faith and that not of myself, it is a gift of God!

What are you thankful for?