Give thanks with a grateful heart; give thanks to the Holy One.

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving on the internet if you weren’t reading about what people are thankful for. It’s kind of impossible to even know where to begin, as my life is full of blessing. I think the easiest way to go about it is a random list, followed by something heartfelt.

Berkeley Bowl
MSNBC
Encinitas
Oreos
Google maps
Harry Potter
Text messages
The Democratic Party
Rain
Theological conversation over beer
Scarves
Turpin Christmas Eve
D Street
Grace
E-mail
Airplanes
Facebook
Hugs
Holden Evening Prayer
Cameras
Turkish tea
The ease with which I slide right back in to life with Tom, Nick, Vean, Allen, Dylan, Nick, and Shaun
Paper
Salt
Twitter
Granny smith apples
The Saloon
Going back to sleep
Mom’s mac and cheese

These are things that make me smile. These are things that, without, my daily life would be less whole. Being in Encinitas always makes me very thankful, nostalgic, emotional, and all sorts of complicated things…but it’s only because life here is so simple and perfect. I got off the plane on Tuesday, Dad picked me up, we had my favorite dinner [mom’s mac and cheese, duh] and then I met up with my boys. It was so easy. We sat around the Millers’ kitchen table like we always do, and just talked and laughed and talked and laughed – that’s what we do here. There was also beer and burritos, our other two staples. But it was glorious. And to wake up tomorrow morning and do it again. And to be with my entire family all day today…[minus some crucial players – Alex and Fletcher] it is a beautiful thing.

I noticed the other day that in all three of my classes, the opening prayer began, “God, we thank you for…” and then an applicable laundry list. It is wonderful to me that the first thing we think of when we speak to our God is that we are grateful. We have noticed everything that God has done in this world, and we are thankful just to be a part of it, and even just to witness it. We live in a beautiful world. [Yeah we do, yeah we do.]