Thanks

Thanks, God…

• For loving me unconditionally, just because I’m me
• For teaching me so much in the last year, especially the last few months, about that love
• For forgiving me when I screw up and think I know better than You, or go for days at a time without really listening to You; thanks for still being there
• For being the happiest being in the universe, not the manipulative tyrant in Heaven that so many people believe you to be, including me for so long
• For a warm house on a 22 degree evening in upstate NY
• For a job that more than adequately pays the bills, even if it’s not what I necessarily love doing all the time
• For the gift of music, both inside me and in the world around me.  May it always be used to glorify You, the giver of the gift
• For bringing me to a church that understands what love, truth, war, worship, and the gospel is all about
• For great friends at that church that love me for who I am, not just what I do
• For the heart that beats in my chest, that, at it’s core, beats only for You
• For Krispy Kreme doughnuts, fresh off the line when the HOT sign is on
• For Spector basses and Hartke speakers
• For paintball – the best way to shoot things at your friends, have fun, and have them still be your friends at the end of the day
• For every member in the Armed Forces who either did or didn’t make it home from Iraq or Afghanistan today, and for the freedom to go outside my home and walk around without fear
• For college football, even though the Tide is in a “rebuilding” year (Roll Tide!  Beat Auburn! – 8 pm, ESPN Saturday)
• For continuing to show me what being a man of God is REALLY about
• For Steven Curtis Chapman’s new album, and the lyrics that have already touched my heart
• For InsideOut, Chris Haun’s writing ability, and all the beautiful music we will make for You in the coming year
• For Pizza Hut Meat Lover’s pizza on a cold evening in upstate NY
• For blogs and my fellow blogging buddies that encourage me when I need it
• For the courage to witness to folks who sit next to me on airplanes when I travel
• For continuing to break me of the habit of trying to suppress emotions all the time, instead of just feeling them and figuring them out later
• For…just…being…You!

Thanks.