Thankful Times 33

I take Bella on a 20-30 minute walk every day before work -- at least on the days when I have my act together. The past week, in the spirit of the season, I started thanking God for stuff while on my walk. It started as a Top 10 type of thing, but once I got to 10, I easily thought of 10 more things. Then once I got to 20, I tried to get to 30. It was way easier than I thought it would be. Now I do 33 things, because of the Biblical significance of the number 33, since that is how old Jesus was when He was crucified. I Googled some more info on the number 33, and here are some interesting tid bits:

“The number 33 is connected to a promise or the promises of God.”

“The divine name of God, Elohim, is initially mentioned in the very first verse of Genesis 1. Elohim appears 33 times in Genesis' story of creation. Thirty-three is also the numeric equivalent of the word AMEN.”

“Thirty-three also is a numerical representation of the Star of David.”

“The significance of thirty-three is also seen at Jesus' death at the age of 33. His sacrifice, made in 30 A.D., was the fulfillment of countless prophecies and promises concerning the Savior of man.”

Anyway, you get the picture. You can make your own rules for the game. The rules don’t really matter. I just thank God for whatever pops into my heart and mind at that moment. Thinking about what I’m thankful for helps me cope with Joe not being here. So here’s today’s list. Some contain double or triple or even more things, but again, I make up my own rules!

1. I’m thankful I have the time and the Keurig for a 3-cup-of-coffee day. Maybe even four. I’m thankful for Cinnamon Dolce Starbuck’s coffee pods and for Coffee-mate Marshmallow Hot Cocoa creamer.
2. I’m thankful for the ugly but warm, but not too warm, camouflage print gloves I’m wearing on my walk. They warmed Joe’s hands too.
3. I’m thankful for Bella and her silly zoomies. The zoomies are when she all the sudden starts running full force for no reason, and then just as suddenly as she starts, she stops. It’s like she has a burst of “life is good!” energy, and she can’t contain herself. The zoomies make me laugh. May we all get the zoomies from time to time.
4. I’m thankful I can feel the cold wind on my face, smell the pine trees and hear the peaceful little stream on my walk with Bella every day.
5. I’m thankful for Joe, and I’m thankful for who he was and that he loved me for who I am. I’m thankful for what he taught me, and I’m thankful that through the power of Jesus Christ, I can choose to apply those lessons to my own life. I’m thankful I’ll see Joe in Heaven.
6. I’m thankful for Jesus, because He is who He says He is.
7. I’m thankful for my family and friends. (Sometimes I thank God for each person individually, sometimes as a whole. Depends on how quickly I want to get to 33! God doesn’t care, He knows who they are.)
8. I’m thankful for the house (and the home) that Joe and I built.
9. I’m thankful that God led me to Colorado, such a perfect fit. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
10. I’m thankful for how strangely comforting it is to have conversations with Bella -- and even to sing to her. I might even dance with her every so often. Shh, don't tell. I might be going crazy…..
11. I’m thankful for my job. It’s a little bit weird and a little bit wacky (in a profoundly good way), but so am I (the weird and wacky part - see #10).
12. I’m thankful for the devotionals I get every day by email that contain nuggets of Truth that make me think.
13. I’m thankful that I can play tennis, ski and hike in the same day. Colorado rocks!
14. I’m thankful for Advil (see #13).
15. I’m thankful for Reese’s and wine. I guess that counts as two. But maybe not, since it’s best when you have them together.
16. I’m thankful I had loving parents, a kind brother and for the advantages I had growing up.
17. I’m thankful for friends I’ve had since I was 5 years old and for friends I just met and for all the friends I don’t even know yet.
18. I’m thankful for the opportunity to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in late January. Yes, really!
19. I’m thankful for the $4 Walmart Poinsettia that adds Christmas cheer to my house.
20. I’m thankful for my hairdryer. Anyone that has seen my hair air-dried is thankful for my hairdryer too.
21. I’m thankful to have the finances to live comfortably.
22. I’m thankful for memories, even though they make me cry sometimes.
23. I’m thankful that God created me in His image. I can walk and talk, smile and cry, see, smell and hear, think and act.
24. I’m thankful that there is always sun in the middle of rain, and I’m thankful I can make the choice to see it.
25. I’m thankful for digital cameras.
26. I’m thankful for my neighbors.
27. I’m thankful for life.
28. I’m thankful for second chances.
29. I’m thankful for all the kind gestures friends and family have shown me over the past year. I have been blessed beyond measure with so much.
30. I’m thankful for weekends and for days when I don’t have to drive into town, but I love my car and am thankful for it to get me safely from Point A to Point B.
31. I’m thankful for Sirius satellite radio, because my drive into town is kinda long. And Bella's conversational skills are compromised because she is, after all, a dog.
32. I’m thankful that to Joe’s side of the family, I’m not an “in-law,” I’m family. The feeling is mutual.
33. I’m thankful for Wolferman’s English muffins and Land ‘o Lakes light butter, which means I can have twice as much butter.
34. BONUS! I’m thankful for the Christmas season. Joe isn’t here to decorate the tree while we listen to cheesy holiday music and drink eggnog with too much rum, and that makes me sad. But Christmas is about Jesus' gift of salvation and redemption. It’s about His sacrifice and His love. It’s about His birth and His re-birth for us. It's about Hope. And for that, I’m thankful.

E'en for the dead I will not bind my soul to grief;

Death cannot long divide.

For is it not as though the rose that climbed my garden wall

Has blossomed on the other side?

Death doth hide,

But not divide;

Thou art but on Christ's other side!

Thou art with Christ, and Christ with me;

In Christ united still are we. 

-- L.B. Cowman

I'm thankful for this song too!

"Heroes don't look like they used to,
They look like you do."

--Nothing More, Alternate Routes