The ABC's of Gratitude

This week I listened to Max Lucado's final sermon of his series on prayer in which he focused on saying thank you to God.  One of the exercises that he shared during the sermon was using the alphabet to help count your blessings.  I have decided to do this to focus on my blessings instead of shortfalls or gripes.

• A is for Anna - I am thankful for Anna, my wife, for her support and everything she does for our family.
• B is for Blog - I am thankful for this blog that allows me to share my thoughts and keep myself accountable to what I know is right.
• C is for Church - I praise God that our family belongs to a church that does so much for people in our community.
• D is for Dates - I am thankful for opportunities to take my wife on dates, even though the opportunities are too far apart. 
• E is for Erasers - I am grateful for the ability to erase mistakes and seek forgiveness when I am in the wrong. 
• F is for Friends- I am grateful to have a friends that support me and my family in various areas of my life. 
• G is for Grace - I am thankful for God's grace which allows me to have hope for the future.
• H is for Hope - I am thankful for being able to have hope in the future and feeling content.
• I is for In-laws - I am thank for my wife's parents who have given us a great example of a strong Christian couple and how to live a generous fruitful life.
• J is for Jesus - I am grateful for a relationship with Jesus Christ. 
• K is for Kindness - I am thankful for being able to see acts of kindness everyday of my life from strangers and people I know. 
• L is for Love - I am thankful for the opportunity to love others and be loved.
  
• M is for Mom - I am thankful for my mom who has showed me countless times how to be strong and do what is right even when things are going on.
• N for Nieces - I am thankful for two beautiful nieces that I am looking forward to watching grow in the coming years. 
• O is for Organization - I am thankful when things are organized.  It helps me be less stressed, be more productive and enjoy myself. 
• P is for Podcasts - I am thankful for everything I am able to learn from podcasts I listen to.  
• Q is for Questions - I am thankful for the ability to ask questions.  I also love hearing all of the questions that my son and my students ask. 
• R is for Riding - I am thankful for being able to ride my bike again and looking forward to particpating in RAGBRAI. 
• S is for Students - I thankful for the opportunity to impact the lives of hundreds of students every year as a teacher. 
• T is for Teachers - I am thankful for people who have taught me and are teaching my son.
• U is for Union - I am thankful for my teacher's union that stands up for our members and our students everyday.
• V is for Vacations - I am thankful for opportunities to relax and recharge on vacation.
• W is for William - I am thankful for my son who reminds me to be grateful for the little things.
  
• X is for X-Ray - I am thankful my last X-Ray has given me the green light to be physically active again.
• Y is for Yesterday - I am thankful for the many wonderful memories I have of all my yesterdays. 
• Z is for Zero - I am thankful that the date that our family will have zero debt is coming in just 38 months.

So what are you thankful for?