Musings of a Punk Rock Father

It has been far too easy lately to be negative. With everything going on in our lives, I keep wanting to find what is going wrong and focus on it. But Melanie recently posted on a message board a new thread about being thankful. And I didn't want to wait until Thanksgiving to give this some thought.

Mostly I am thankful for the Lord, and what Jesus did on the cross for me. I don't tell Him enough how thankful I am, and I don't tell others either. I need to do both.

I am thankful for my wonderful wife and friend, Melanie. We share so many wonderful moments together, and I need to spend some time letting her know that I appreciate her.

I am thankful for my beautiful son. I love every minute of every day with him, watching him learn and discover. Yesterday he discovered the simple joy of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and I am thankful I was there to witness it.

I am thankful for our home. As much as I complain about the lack of room, our neighbors, our homeowner's association and the costly repairs and maintenance, I am thankful we have a place for our family to lay their heads. It is a wonderful home, not because of the structure, but because of the precious time we share as a family in it.

I am thankful for my church. Our pastor challenges us week after week, and I love hearing his sermons. Our church recently opened the doors on it's new worship center, and it has already been a blessing. While I sat initially thinking how it was unnecessary to build such a large and hi-tech sanctuary, someone very close to me was able to hear a sermon in its entirety for the first time ever. When I heard this after the service, I thanked God that He had our church leaders invest in the costly sound equipment.

I'm sure I will think of more as the week goes on, and hopefully can add some more.