I'm-Thankful-For-You

Of all the things I am, the one I probably take the most for granted is that I am BLESSED.  And I mean really BLESSED.  I have a job that challenges every part of me, is never boring, and provides for my family.  I have a family who daily demonstrates a long-suffering that you only see in lifetime movies and continues to take me just as I am and sits patiently as the Holy Spirit makes me something more.  And I serve a God who pursued me in the midst of my rebellion and sin, who has never - and will never - forsake me, and who loves me beyond what I could ever earn or deserve.  Yup.. BLESSED.

Of all the things I am not, the one I am clearly without excuse for is - THANKFUL.  I am often amazed by my own sense of entitlement, especially dealing with people.  While I am well versed in the correct vernacular "I love God's people", "I'm so happy God is using people to change me", "God is just so creative"  I don't know if that regularly translates into actual THANKFULness for people - individual people - on a regular basis.  I may be situationally appreciative but that is certainly me centered and inconsistent.  For someone as BLESSED as I am, especially by people, I need a lot more practice at being THANKFUL so I've decided to spend the rest of the year on a self-titled I'm-Thankful-For-You project.

I've seen these online before but since I'm - truthfully - to lazy to do any further research on the subject after spending the last 20 minutes scourging the house for every last thank you card so that I can get started [longest sentence ever] I'm going to make up my own.  We've got 84 days left in the year.  Thats an unfortunately awkward number so I'm going to round UP to 90.  90 days.  90 cards.  90 people.

Each day the goal is to find one person to be thankful for - and actually take the time to tell them.  Cards are nice and nearly obsolete - so I'll throw Hallmark a bone - and require myself to actually write  thankfulness down.  I'm sure some [a lot] of these will be the "i'm happy you contributed positively to my surroundings" type of thankfulness - but when possible I want to try and actually be thankful for some characteristic in a person that didn't directly benefit me.  And when I'm finished hopefully I'll have 90 unique people to pray for and consider as I enter 2013.

So if you got a card - I'll be praying for you - and Thank You.