Giving Thanks in November

Since there are thirty days in November, I decided to give you thirty ways to be thankful. These are not in any particular order. I just wrote them as they came to my mind. Of course, there are more than thirty ways to be thankful, so feel free to be thankful for more than one thing every day.

The first thing I am thankful for every day is waking up because the best part of waking up is waking up. We wake up with new mercies every day, so that is something to be grateful for on a daily basis.
The next thing I am thankful for is the love that God has for me. He loved me and you so much that He sent His only son to die for our sins. Do you love anyone enough to die for them? Many people say they would die for someone, but often, that is not the case when they are actually faced with that decision. I would like to think that I would die for my faith if faced with that decision, especially since dying would mean that I would finally be with my Jesus.
The next thing I am thankful for is my children. God trusted me to give birth to and raise four beautiful children: three girls and one boy. I lost my son when he was eighteen, but I had more than eighteen years to enjoy his life. My daughters are still with me and living nearby. They have grown into beautiful ladies who make me grateful to be their mom.
The next thing I am thankful for is my church family at Faithful and True Christian Ministries. They are my brothers and sisters in Christ and I love them dearly. They have all taught me so much about being righteous and building my relationship with Jesus and His saints. I am very grateful for the growth in God that I have experienced since becoming a member.
The next thing I am thankful for is my parents. They have both been called home to be with Jesus, but I would be remiss if I did not express my gratitude for them deciding to give me the gift of life.
The next thing I am thankful for is my education. The Lord blessed me to earn a master’s degree in information system management in 2007, and another associate’s degree in business management entrepreneurship in 2025.
The next thing I am thankful for is my career. I had a great IT career for more than thirty years. I loved the work I was doing, I was on a lot of meaningful projects, and I met a lot of interesting people. There was a lot of variety, which kept me on my toes.
The next thing I am thankful for is my grandbabies. It has been so much fun watching them grow up and comparing them to their parents. It has also been fun watching my children raise them and seeing the similarities and differences in how they were raised. Most of them are adults now, and one of them actually has a baby.
The next thing I am thankful for is my great-grandson. I am teaching him to call me GG (for great grandma). He is the cutest little boy, and I hope to celebrate with him on his first birthday in September. He and my granddaughter do not live nearby, so it will be a good trip.
The next thing I am thankful for is my health. I was recently categorized as having total and permanent disability. While that was a hard pill to swallow, I am still grateful for it because it enabled me to have nearly $150,000 in student loan debt discharged. I am also able to park closer to buildings when there are spots available.
The next thing I am thankful for is the rain that helps things in nature grow. I am not fond of driving in the rain because other drivers have more issues than when the roads are dry, which is bad enough. However, I love to sit back and watch the rain, as long as there is no thunder or lightning. I get a bit scared when that happens. It is beautiful to see the flowers growing and the trees blooming.
The next thing I am thankful for is the sunshine. I love watching the sunrise and sunset. I love the warmth of the noonday sun. I am not a fan of the cold. I have always preferred heat over cold. Perhaps that is because I was born in the middle of summer.
The next thing I am thankful for is the moonlight. I can remember going for walks with my husband while the moon lit our path. It was quite beautiful. You cannot see it as much in the city, but it is gorgeous where there are not a lot of city lights.
The next thing I am thankful for is sleep. There is nothing like a good night’s sleep to feel refreshed in the morning. A cat nap in the middle of the day is another good thing to get you through the day. I seem to be tired all the time, so I try my best to get a good night’s sleep. However, I find it difficult to take a nap during the day. Perhaps that is why I sleep so well at night. What do you think?
The next thing I am thankful for is healthy food. I am grateful to have access to healthy food, as well as the ability to buy healthy food. While I cannot purchase all of the healthy food I want, I can buy enough to live a healthy life.
The next thing I am thankful for is the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures. I prefer the King James Version (KJV) of the bible. When I first started reading this version, I was very confused. However, as I have attended insightful Sunday School and Bible Study sessions with my Pastor, I can now read it with better understanding. It also helps to listen to an audio version of the KJV bible. Sometimes I refer to the New International Version (NIV) for clarity when I am studying the bible.
The next thing I am thankful for is prayer. Do you know what prayer is? If you think it is just asking God for what you want, then you have missed the point. Think of it this way… Do you have family members, children, or grandchildren who you love dearly, but you don’t see them often because they live far away? How do you feel when they call you out of the blue or stop by for a visit? That is the purpose of prayer. God loves us dearly and wants to hear from us often, especially if we are far away from Him. He wants us to tell Him everything, not because He doesn’t already know, but because He wants us to build a relationship with Him. When you meet someone and you want to build a relationship with that person, do you enjoy the time you spend together talking to each other? Prayer with God is not one-sided. When we talk to Him, He will talk back to us. Maybe not with an audible voice, but with whispers in your ear, with feelings of peace coming over you, with a thought of joy that you cannot explain. He may even speak to you through another person when you least expect it. If we listen for His voice, we can hear what He is saying to us. What if your family members only contact you when they want something from you? Do you look forward to that, or do you dread it when you hear from them because they only want to take something from you? Do you think God would be happy about that? No! Prayer is not about just asking God for something. It should be about building a relationship with Him by talking to Him and listening to His response. The True and Living God is a prayer-answering God who loves you dearly and wants to share your life with you.
The next thing I am thankful for is the armor of God. When we put on the WHOLE armor of God, Satan has no power over us. We can stand up against him and his evil schemes. Put on truth and righteousness. Walk with peace, ready to share the good news of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. When you carry the shield of faith, you understand that the things we cannot see are the things that Satan uses to destroy us. Faith is the recognition and acceptance of reality as it truly is. For example, when a ship encounters an iceberg, the captain only sees the tip sticking out of the water. However, he can have faith in knowing that the danger of it lurks beneath the surface. Put on the helmet of salvation to protect your mind from negative or intrusive thoughts. Carry the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) with you always. Study it until the scriptures are embedded in your heart and mind. Finally, pray often. Talk to God as often as you can. The closer you can get to Him, the better your life will be. Troubles won’t go away completely, but with God, you will be able to manage them better.
The next thing I am thankful for is YOU who are reading this post. You encourage me to keep posting messages to try and help someone. You give me confidence in what I am trying to do. I am very grateful for your support. Please always share any feedback you have. I would love to see comments from you.
The next thing I am thankful for is light: natural light and artificial light. There is a lot of darkness in this world, especially during the winter months where the days are at their shortest. There is internal darkness as well as external darkness. I don’t know about you, but I do not like darkness in any form. I prefer to step into the light. I have experienced internal darkness before, called depression, and it comes back occasionally, but the grace of God brings me back into the light.
The next thing I am thankful for is strength. I used to have a decent amount of strength, especially in my legs. I could leg-press more than 100 pounds. However, these days, the strength in my legs has dissipated. Nevertheless, God keeps me standing because when I am weak, He is strong in me. So, I am grateful that despite the loss of strength in my legs, I can still stand tall by the grace of God.
The next thing I am thankful for is transportation. The Lord has blessed me to purchase a good vehicle with no car payments. Before I had my car, I was using public transportation, which was truly a Godsend. At times, it was difficult to make that long walk to the bus stop, but I was grateful I could still go to places that were needed. I was also blessed with being able to use CareSource transportation when I had no vehicle. There were some bumps in the road, but for the most part, I was able to make it to doctor appointments and get rides home from the hospital when needed. I have also been using a wheeled walker, called a rollator. It has a seat, so if I get tired of walking, I can just sit down wherever I am at. I am truly grateful for it.
The next thing I am thankful for is the trees. With photosynthesis, they absorb carbon dioxide in te air, and release oxygen that we need to breathe. They can block the sun’s rays when we sit in their shade. They can also filter pollution that is found in the city. They are very important to the air we breathe, and they are pretty to look at, especially in the fall when they are changing colors, or in the winter when they are covered with icicles or snow.
The next thing I am thankful for is entertainment. Let’s face it. We all need to be entertained from time to time. Children and babies can be free entertainment, in a matter of speaking. I like free entertainment. I have been to many Christian concerts, and I only paid for one. It was well worth it. The first concert I ever attended was Cameo, and admission was included in my tickets to the Ohio fair. Lord willing, my next concert will probably cost quite a bit of money, so I am saving my pennies. I am looking forward to attending the Stray Kids Run It Tour when they come to North America. I just pray that I do not have to travel very far to get there.
The next thing I am thankful for is having gifts and talents. God has blessed each of us with gifts and talents to achieve our dreams and His will. Stray Kids are gifted and talented young men who write their own music, produce their own music, and help with their choreography. Each one is also the Brand Ambassador for at least one fashion brand. One of them is the brand ambassador for 11 major brands and organizations, including fashion, beauty products, and technology. Only God can bless a person with that kind of talent. They are truly gifted individuals. God has blessed me with gifts and talents as well. I have a way with computers, and I have been a teacher for most of my life. I have a way of teaching people who want to learn. God has also blessed me to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, so I am a part of the Praise Team at my church. I also have the gift of being a helper. I go out of my way to help people, sometimes to my detriment, but I learned a while ago that it is ok to say no.
The next thing I am thankful for is having food on my table. There were times when food was sparce, but God still provided. I am grateful for food pantries and food stamps. I know there are people who have it worse than me. Children are starving. Families are struggling to feed everyone in their house. I am thankful and grateful to have resources available to help me with food and other needs.
The next thing I am thankful for is clothes on my back. When I was raising my children, I rarely purchased clothes for myself. I wore my clothes until they were worn out, and some people noticed and gave me hand-me-downs. Most of my clothes for the past 30 years have been worn by others. Unfortunately, I could not do that most of the time for my children because they needed school uniforms, and they would outgrow their clothes too quickly. My son was the only boy in the family when he was growing up, so I always had to buy his clothes, and boy clothes are more expensive than girl clothes. Recently, I learned about a Community Outreach Center that allowed me to come in and shop for free thrift store clothes. I was very excited and thankful because I had never gone shopping just for myself before, and they had some very beautiful items to choose from.
The next thing I am thankful for is shoes on my feet. Shoes are something else that I cannot purchase very often, so I wear them until they are worn out, and then I buy them out of necessity. I know a lot of women who have a lot of shoes in their closet, but I basically have the bare necessities, which is fine with me. I am thankful to have what I need for casual days, for church, for exercise, for summer months, and for winter months. I know some people walk around barefoot at times because they don’t have any shoes that fit. There are also people who are walking around with severely worn shoes and no way to replace them. I am thankful and grateful to have shoes that fit my flat feet, and I pray for those who do not.
The next thing I am thankful for is a roof over my head. When I lost my last apartment due to a loss of income and disabling medical conditions, I could have easily become homeless. However, the Lord impressed it upon my daughter’s heart to allow me to live with her. While I was not comfortable with the location, I was always thankful and grateful for not living on the streets or in a car. In the last year, the Lord has blessed us all to move to a much better location, with a lot more space and convenience. I am also confident that God will help me move to my own apartment soon. If not, I am still thankful to be living with my daughter, and I pray often for those who are homeless.
The last thing I am thankful for is my ability to help people. When I worked in IT, I was able to help people indirectly with the products and services provided on various projects. When I switched to being a fitness instructor, I was able to help people directly with exercise programs and tutoring sessions. When I became disabled, I thought I would never be able to help anyone again, and I slipped into depression. However, I am very grateful that God has shown me other ways to be helpful, including shifting my business to an online platform that allows people to access helpful content for a reasonable price. As I grow this online business, I anticipate that I will be able to hire staff members to manage in-person tutoring and/or exercise sessions. When I lost the ability to work effectively, God showed me I just needed to shift HOW I work. It has been a difficult transition, but I am thankful and grateful that I can still help people.