Alphabetical Thanksgiving

Sometimes, while riding the bike or jogging, I just run through the alphabet thanking the Lord for things or people…surely not a sanctified thing, but just an exercise that helps me to “in everything give thanks…” Thought I’d close out the thanksgiving holiday by typing:

A – Aaron Dolan; an old-school Youth For Christ club sponsor and bus driver who has been used of God to introduce hundreds to the Savior. Aaron now resides in the Cameron, Mo Veteran’s home

B – My brother, Bob, who is still outside the family of God, but being prayed for!

C – Chinese food!

D – Duty. A simple, but loaded word. Sometimes I do things out of duty, and that is okay.

E – Enthusiasm. Or, better, enthusiastic people that are contagious.

F – Faith. I’ll let wise theologians argue about faith; I’m simply thankful the Lord has given me a measure.

G – God in His Triune Being; truly awe – some

H – Howard Hendricks; an author who continues to impact me

I – Ice, to crunch.

J – Jesus, Jane, Josiah, Joel, Janelle, Jacob

K – Knowledge…though I have not much, I desire to “grow in the grace AND knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”

L – Love…in both noun and verb form

M – Marsupials

N – Non-negotiables. Thankful God has given me some…and that they are so few in comparison to most people

O – Oxymorons

P – Priorities, and the desire to discern proper, Biblical priorities as opposed to trendy “Christian” priorities; both in positive and negative sense

Q – Quizzing, as in Bible quizzing. After three decades of watching teenagers participate, still incredibly impressed by both the competition and the ministry

R – Reading, the ability and desire to so do in a wide variety of subjects

S – Salvation, and the increasingly firm conviction that, in its entirety, “salvation is of the Lord”

T – Truth…that, contrary to cultural “thinking,” there is such a thing; and that it trumps trendy “Christianity”

U – Utility infielders…and the reminder that I desire to be a “utility Christian”

V – Vision. Even when it’s cloudy; physically (since my July eye injury) or cloudy as related to the future (as in now)

W – The opportunity to “Wait on the Lord,” both as in “waiting” for a period of time, and “waiting” as in serving

X – X-rays; and the reminder that only God knows the intentions of the hearts

Y – youthful thinking, and that it is not only for young people

Z – Zoos – just to be reminded at the awesome work of the Creator