Thankful, Day Seven

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands.

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us and not we ourselves.

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

and into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

and His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

I want to deviate slightly from my progression through this Psalm and offer thanks for some things while they are on my mind.

I'm thankful tonight for a sense of humor. It is laughter, the Bible says, that does good like a medicine, and tonight I enjoyed laughing with a group of my peers (other preachers, in case you're wondering). Let me tell you something, there is nothing funnier in the world than a bunch of preachers letting their hair down around each other. I'd love to tell you all about it, but "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

I'm thankful for a father and grandfather who collected lots of tools. My grandfather was a mechanic on big engines in natural gas plants. My Dad was a welder and an electrician. They both did lots of other things with their hands. And now I have a garage full of tools, many that I don't even know what they're for, much less how to use them. But this afternoon I was performing a minor household repair job and thought to myself how useful a certain item would be, then realized I had one. I think, if I begin to undertake some household jobs, I'm going to find myself better equipped then I could have imagined.

I'm thankful for the abundance with which I have been blessed. All it takes to put some things in perspective is to meet someone who has little or nothing. And an even greater blessing than having stuff is being able to share it with someone else. So I'm also thankful for the new friendship I made today, the new housemate I'm getting, and the blessings that God has in store for both of us.

I'm thankful for lots of things, big and small.