My thankful list

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's twenty things I'm celebrating today:

1: I am thankful for the best and oldest friends I have, and for the exceptionally strong relationship I still have with each of them. Even if we don't see each other, or even talk to each other, often, they know. They know.
2: I'm thankful for every bad day I've ever had. I live life more confident, more capable, and more fully because of those hardships.
3: I am so thankful for my ability to work. Bringing income to help support my family, taking care of my home, raising my kids, helping others - all of it is possible because of this oft-forgotten faculty. I pray I never take it for granted.
4: I am grateful that I have been valued throughout my life. I am humbled that I have so many people that have loved me with their protection, provision, mentorship, and sacrifice.
5: I am continually astonished at the privilege of being a mother to two of the most beautiful, intelligent, gentle, loving, funny and wonderful human beings --- ever.
6: I'm thankful for nearly 30 years of watching the seasons change, particularly this month, when I am enjoying my favorite season in my favorite place on the planet. There's nothing like a North Carolina autumn.
7: I'm thankful that I have always had more than enough.
8: I'm thankful for a job that I truly love, learning new things every day, being around people who are a pleasure to work with. After a long and unpleasant job hunt, going to the office every day is a pleasure.
9: There ain't nothing better than being married to Jason Thomas Binkley
10: I am grateful for a healthy body, and a seek to honor God's creation by treating it well (despite my occasional splurge on fried foods)
11: I am thankful for the "cloud of witnesses," the saints, who paved the way for good Christian men and women with impeccable examples of life in Christ. I am grateful for the lives they lived and the intercession they offer.
12: I am grateful for my freedom, particularly of freedom of speech and religion, and thankful to those who sacrificed to make it possible.
13: I'm thankful that I live in a safe place. I sleep deeply, but many can not. This is not lost on me.
14: Honestly, I am thankful every single time my car starts. This has been true even when I drove very reliable vehicles. The stuff under my hood is a great mystery to me, and I just want it to work, ok?
15: I'm thankful that I haven't ever broken the screen of my iphone.  Dumb, but true.
16: I am thankful for those I have lost - every minute with each of you was precious, and I cherish them all.
17: I'm thankful that a group of Irish monks in France worked tirelessly through the middle ages to keep the art of cheesemaking alive. Well done, friends.
18: I'm thankful for my Godchildren. I love watching them grow and praying for them.
19: I'm thankful for a good education, and for the work my parents did to make sure I had it.
20: The cross.