Thankful Lists

Gratitude is a tremendous tool in counseling individuals with a variety of problems. Even those outside of Biblical Counseling have seen the value of prescribing exercises in thankfulness. Often, in counseling, I give people a regular assignment to set a timer for 3 minutes and use that time to write out as many things as they can think of for which to be thankful. In an effort to help myself keep a right perspective I have thought of my own gratitude list, not set for the three-minute timer, but still valuable. Here are just some of the things I am thankful for:

My wife – Krista has been a real trooper this year as she has had an unbelievably difficult pregnancy and put up with a lot of absences and meetings and long days from me. I am so grateful for her and all she does and how persistent she has been.
My soon-to-arrive little girl – We are adding to our family in just a few weeks and I am super excited about our new daughter and can’t hardly wait to meet her.
Time with family – The Holidays can be hectic and chaotic and exhausting, but they are worth it for the people we love. This year will be difference for us. Since we have a baby arriving around Christmas we can’t travel in December, and we made the Thanksgiving holiday our extended time with family. We will miss a few folks, but the time we have spent has been sweet and meaningful.
Cornerstone Baptist Church – I am so blessed to work at CBC and with the church family I have there. We are by no means a perfect church, but we are a healthy church with a passion for God, His Word, and others. I am regularly blessed to by our people, our pastors, and our ministries.
Counseling Colleagues – This year it has been a joy to expand my network of fellow counseling pastors, both in my state and across the country. I am super grateful for the other godly men I have met with, emailed, exchanged ideas, and been encouraged by.
Music – My life would not be the same without music, and I am immensely grateful to God for the joy of it. We love music in our house. We either listen to it or create it. Krista and I still love to sing together and we love now to get the kids involved. Right now I am especially enjoying holiday music and the sounds of Christmas. I am immensely grateful for music.
Our Home – Krista has worked hard this year to really make our house a home. She’s done lots of painting, redecorating, and even oversaw the remodel of our kitchen. It looks great. It has really made the house warm, inviting, and ours.
Friends – We have more friends than I can possibly list here. I am so grateful for all the people God has brought into our lives. I am grateful for the friends who have stayed important to us despite time and distance, those folks who we see a couple of times a year but still love dearly. I am grateful for the new friends we have made in Michigan who care for us and invest in us and love us. I am thankful for individuals who give of their time to help me, and who look to our family for meaningful connection. We have great friends.
Transformation – I am super excited for all the people who God has seen fit to change through counseling this year. It has been a joy to watch our counseling ministry grow and the number of people we helped expand. I have seen couples marriages rebuilt, individuals overcome personal addictions, discouraged people find hope, and lost people get saved. It has been awesome. I’ve experienced my own change and growth through it all and seen my counseling team grow as well. I look forward to all that God is going to continue to do in years to come.
Coffee – Those who know me knew it was coming. Coffee is amazing! I am grateful for the delicious beverage that starts my day, restarts my day, and caps it off.

That’s my simple thankfulness list this year. Try a gratitude exercise out for yourself and see what all you can come up with. Gratitude is good for the soul, friends.