Books

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 6: I'm thankful for books.

One of my favorite activities is reading. Over the years, I don't know how many hundreds (or thousands) of books I've read. I go through phases where I just plow through them reading everything I can get my hands on. Then there are phases where other things take precedence and I don't get to read as much as I would like. (Lately it seems that when I settle in to read at night, I fall asleep more often than not!)

I enjoy many types of books, but read non-fiction almost exclusively. Most of the books I read are Christian writings, although I also enjoy reading books about finances (Dave Ramsey and David Bach being two of my favorites in that category). It's not at all uncommon for me to be reading several books at once (right now I'm reading 6 books).

My favorite book to read is the bible. I have several different versions as well as concordances and dictionaries. 

Health

2012: A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

Day 5: I'm thankful for health.

There is nothing like not having something to really appreciate it when you do have it. For the majority of my life I have been "as healthy as a horse", as the old saying goes. I was raised in one of those families that just didn't get sick. We didn't miss work or school due to illness, because we just weren't ever ill.

Sure, we would get an occasional case of the sniffles, but nothing ever kept us down.

Time

2012 A Year of Thanksgiving and Praise. 

Day 4: I'm thankful for time.

We look at time as something that's limited. And, in a way, I suppose it is. But many people complain that they don't have enough time. Actually, we all have exactly the same number of hours in a day. It's really boils down to how we spend them.

I can fritter away my time, or I can use my time wisely.

In fact, time is an incredibly valuable asset because of it's limited nature. You can't get more time. When you spend time, it's gone forever. If I spend money, I can always make more. Time isn't that way.

Touch

On this third day of the new year, I'm thankful for touch -- in all of its aspects. (I actually wrote this yesterday, but didn't get it posted until today, January 4th. I will post another article for Day 5 tonight.)

There is the sense of touch. We are able to take in so much through our fingertips; the rich softness of velvet, the cool dampness of earth, the soft fur of my dog Spot, the roughness of sand paper... So many textures.

Our fingertips sometimes act like eyes. We can identify a lot of objects by feel. You can put common (and sometimes not so common) objects into a sack and know what they are by simply touching them.

Our touch can comfort others with a hug congratulate someone with a pat, or greet someone with a shake of the hand.

Light

Day 2: Today I am thankful for Light.  

Of course, this can have a whole variety of meanings... Thankful for the light of day. As I often do, especially on mornings when I don't have to get up at a particular time to go somewhere (work, church, etc.), I hit the snooze button when the alarm goes off at 5:00 am, and allow the light to wake me up (usually around 7:00 am). It's a wonderful, peaceful way to start the day. At some point, I would love to have my life and work reach the point where this can just be my normal routine.

2012: a Year of Thanksgiving and Praise

The first day of the new year. I must say I'm glad to have 2011 behind me, and looking forward to 2012.


One of my Facebook friends posted their declaration for the new year and thought I would make my own. I have decided to declare 2012 a Year of Thanksgiving and Praise. 


So, on Day One of the new year, I'm thankful for new beginnings. I'm thankful that I have a New Year in which I can imagine and create what I want for my life. I'm thankful that I have the promises of God's Word to back up my desires, and there is no better guarantee than that possible anywhere, anytime.

Tebowing

Tim Tebow, starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. That's him over there to the right on his knee.

Controversial, to be sure. This guy has caused quite a ruckus in the sports world.

In 2010, a new rule was instituted for the next NCAA football season prohibiting messages on eye black. One of Tebow's trademarks was to show scriptures in his eye black, such as John 3:16.  The media labeled this a "The Tebow Rule" since it would directly affect him.

What's amazing is how effective this simple method of spreading the gospel was. It has been reported that when he displayed John 3:16 in his eye black during the 2009 BCS Championship Game, that 92 million people Googled the verse during or immediately following the game.