Things I'm Thankful For

I realize Thanksgiving was a few days ago, but I need to do this post this morning to keep my heart in a place of gratitude instead of a place of griping about how I had to wake up early and come back to work today after 4 days off. So here is what I'm most thankful for this year:

~My job. As much as I don't want to be here this morning, I'm so grateful to have a job that provides some financial stability and some personal fulfillment.
~My home and my material possessions. I know they are just things, but I am blessed that God has shared them with me, and I pray that I would neither take them for granted nor put too much value on them since my real treasure is in heaven.
~Church. I am grateful for the opporunity to connect and grow with other believers and to have people with similar hearts to walk the journey with.
~My education. I sometimes take for granted how valuable eduation and intellect are because I've never really known life without either. But when I encounter people who haven't had the same opportunities, I remember how lucky I am.
~My dog, for her carefree personality and unconditional love. She makes me smile when I need to the most.
~My family, both biological and in-law. I grew up with such close ties to my family, and I am thankful for knowing that kind of love. I am also blessed to really enjoy my in-laws.
~My friends. Even as our relationships have changed over the years with moves and marriages and new jobs and churches, I'm thankful for the bond that holds us together through the changes.
~My mother who has taught me so much about beauty, grace, and strength, and how these are all sharpened through pain. Some people are afraid to become their mothers, I think I would be lucky to do so.
~My incredible husband. I am truly blessed to have married my best friend, someone I can share everything with and who loves me as I am. We make each other better people.
~Most of all, Jesus. Because of His blood, I can come before God with a clean heart and I no longer have to be a prisoner to my own sinful ways. He changed my life by sacrificing His. I'm so grateful to serve a God who wants a relationship with me and pursues my heart with such fervor. He has overflowed my cup, and these ten things are only part of what He's blessed me with.