35 Thanks

Today, the numerical designation of my years of existence flips over to a new number. I won't specify which one, but you can probably figure it out from context clues. I thought I would list a few things that I'm thankful for.

Two Disclaimers:

First, I always hesitate to post lists such as this because it was written in about 5 minutes, which means someone(s) and something(s) extremely significant are bound to have been left off.

Second, you will notice that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and all mentions of salvation, sanctification, and redemption are missing from this list. That's because that relationship and those blessings in my life are inherently tied to every thing on this list (well, with the possible exception of the Star Wars Trilogy...) and it's to Him I give thanks.

With that said, here's an imperfect and partial list of some of the things I'm thankful for today:

1. Ryan Zempel (who isn’t thankful for Ryan Zempel?!)
2. Mom, Dad, Laura, Casey, and Baby Ruthie- my immediate family, who are awesome and have loved me and encourage me through Mechanical Engineering 3133, shocking job transitions, puberty, and other moments of life insanity. (Luckily for Casey and Baby Ruthie, they missed out on most of those!)
3. Granddaddy, GranBerry, Maw Maw, Paw Paw and all who came before to leave me with a rich family and spiritual heritage.
4. GranBerry’s pecan pie, cherry pie, chocolate pie, carrot cake, lasagna, …
5. The Thompson and Zempel sides of the family who have opened their arms and brought me in as one of their own.
6. The Hungry Mothers
7. The Playhouse in the Park- and all the long hours Mom worked on box office, costuming, etc.
8. Mims Park t-ball/softball—and Dad coaching my teams and enduring the dance recitals
9. The Star Wars Trilogy
10. Cottage Hill Baptist School/Church
11. Dauphin Way Baptist Church
12. The preaching of Fred Wolfe
13. National Community Church
14. The Zone Leaders at National Community Church
15. All the staff, team leaders, ministry leaders, and small group leaders at National Community Church.
16. John Wesley
17. Murphy High School
18. Louisiana State University (except for Mechanical Engineering 3133), particularly LSU football, the biological engineering labs, and Destiny Campus Ministry
    
19. Disneyworld- especially the 1987 trip to EPCOT Center
20. SEC Football
21. The Matthews, the Plashes, the Fishers, and all those who have invested in me throughout my life
22. Mrs. Harris, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Waite, Mrs. Dubose, Coach Murphy, Mrs. Tucker, Mrs. Barber, and all the others that helped me to love science, history, reading, and God.
23. Five years in the U.S. Senate working for the best Senator in Congress
24. MLB Baseball, particularly the NY Yankees and Atlanta Braves…and the freedom to be such a bipolar fan.
25. Stephen Sondheim
26. The Batterson Family- for being so awesome to do life and ministry with, and for giving me so many opportunities
27. The National Park System
28. Letters, pictures, and phone calls from Baby Ruthie
29. Coca-Cola, BBQ, fried catfish, fried dill pickles, Chickfila, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and all other foods Southern
30. The 2005 pilgrimage to Jerusalem
31. Thomas Cole and the Hudson River School
32. Christmas and Thanksgiving
33. Dad and Mom taking us to the beach—even though Dad hated the sand and Mom was convinced one of us would be swept away by the undertow
34. The invention of the printing press
35. Lifeway Threads and the opportunity to publish my first curriculum, Wineskins for Discipleship

...and with that said...I need to start writing...