In All Things, Give Thanks

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name." - Psalm 100:4 (NKJV)

There is so much I have to be thankful for this year, that I cannot even begin to count all of the blessings. I've always been thankful for many things in my life, but this year I look at it with a different heart. A heart transformed by Christ. First and foremost, I am thankful to Him for my salvation this year. For while I was in the darkest hours of my life, He plucked me from the path of destruction I was on and set me on the straight and narrow. This doesn't mean that I'm perfect now or that I won't have to face earthly consequences for my sins. I falter every day, but through the grace and mercy of God, I am able to get back on the path that He laid out for me.

I am thankful to him for my family. He has blessed me with a beautiful (and very patient) wife. Kristin is indeed my rock on this earth, and God definitely new what He was doing when her and I had a course collision on Halloween night in 1998. I'm thankful for the beautiful daughter that He blessed us with in Katrina. She was my little angel that kept me sane at time when I was dealing with the death of my father and a force move from the house we were living in at the time. I'm thankful to Him for baby Jason that is growing inside Kristin. I'm thankful that God melted down the heart of stone I had, and allowed me to reconnect with my brothers this year after almost 2 years of no contact. Having them back in my life has been a huge blessing.

I'm thankful for the friends that God has put in my life to help me along on this journey. My friend Jason, who has been with me through many ups and downs for almost a decade now. I love him like a brother. I'm thankful for Chad and Jes. We met them through mutual friends, but then our friendship took on a life of it's own. I'm thankful that God used them to find us a church home. I'm thankful for my brothers in Christ: Matt, Mack, Dan and Darren. They have been instrumental in my life as a baby Christian. I thank God everyday for the opportunity to bare my soul to them and grow with them.

Above all, I'm thankful that no matter what may happen in my life, I know that Christ walks beside me and my family.

Please take the time to remember my brothers and sisters in uniform who are serving in harms way today. May God bless all of you on this day of thanksgiving.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.