A Week of Thankfuls...Jan 1, 2013

It seems like there could be no better way to start the new year than by being thankful.  And there are a lot of things I am thankful for.  So I thought i might just be thankful every day this first week. (Let's hope it doesn't end there!)  A different category for every day.  Since we just saw a WHOLE BUNCH of our Young Life friends...I'm gonna start there.  I'm thankful:

-that we got to host 21 (22?, 23?...I lost count somewhere along the way) students at the Malibu Work Crew reunion this past week, right here in Canon City (12 boys in our home).  These students are truly some of the most wonderful people on the planet and I enjoyed every minute of it. Having a work crew reunion is a blessing that is almost too sweet to take in.  That these students, from all over the country, love each other and want to stay connected is an amazing thing to see. 

-for high school boys who love Jesus and sit around talking about him and encouraging each other. For boys sitting in our sun room reading scripture in the morning.  For boys who sit around singing worship songs.  For boys who give us thank you cards and gift cards and hugs.  For boys who understand that they were designed to desire the company of other believers.  For boys who give me hope that one day my daughters can be loved by men who will love Jesus more than they love anything else.

-I'm thankful that, although God has blessed us with a house big enough to host 12 boys, my little family can all fit quite snuggly in one room for as long as we want to.  It's a good reminder that we don't need it...and that this place was given to us to share.

-I'm thankful that my kids can sleep through almost anything, including 21 high school students in the next room playing games and laughing great big belly laughs.

-I'm thankful for great big belly laughs filling up this house.

-I'm thankful that my little girls get to be around big kids who love Jesus. Who show them what it looks like to love Jesus as a teenager.  I think they are gonna need that example in their lives.

-I'm thankful that we get to be a part of this ministry and all that it brings to our lives.  We have, over the years, received far more than we have given.

-And I'm thankful that the message we get to share in Young Life, the Gospel, is way more enticing and inviting and appealing than any creative way we could find to share it. And that when it takes root, it produces such abundant blessings. (See picture below!)

Join me, won't you?  Let's be thankful all week!