Thankful Day 29 & 30

November 29: Cell Phones
This is so obvious that I almost decided not to include it. Can we all just agree that we need cell phones!? WE NEED THEM LIKE WE NEED OXYGEN. I mean we are the most impatient lunatics that have ever graced this earth and can you imagine our life now without our smart phones with GPS and texting and picture capabilities?! I, for one, cannot. It’s a dark world that I personally don’t want to be a part of.

One guy explained it like this: “Without cell phones, we would just wander aimlessly to strangers’ doorsteps and knock. Someone would answer and look at us blankly. Unsure of what to do, we would “HOO” at them like an owl, before malfunctioning like a robot and dissolving into a puddle of burnt wires.” BINGO. I mean seriously…do you guys have Siri?! We are getting dangerously close to cyborgs taking over the world with that shiZ.

We are known for not having the money to pay rent, but spending like…five hundred dollars on an updated phone. Apple has got us all in a death grip. They own us. Seriously, Apple has more money than the US Government. This is not a joke. Maybe we should ask Siri how we can make money and get out of debt to avoid eating Ramen Noodles for the rest of our lives. She’ll respond probably with, “IDK LOL.”

In my defense, I do not have Siri. I just have the regular old iPhone3G. But I want her. I want a personal assistant that talks to me and answers all of my questions. And damnit, I deserve her! *Side Note: While we are agreeing on a few things, let’s take the time and acknowledge that the iPhone is sitting at the popular table and if you don’t have one, you aren’t in the cool club. You probably sit at the loser table eating cafeteria food. Anything other than an iPhone is unforgivably lame, and no one will take you seriously.

One time I tried giving up technology, including my cell phone, on Sundays. Half of me loved this idea and then the other half of me screamed “I CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH!!” because I just twiddled my thumbs until I fell asleep for my second nap of the day. At this point, upon waking, I remember yelling “WHAT NOW?” and shaking my fist at the sky. That was when I decided that giving up my phone was just not going to happen. I mean what is this, 1993?

We were born into this culture of the Internet and instant gratification and it has only intensified with the advances in technology. So it’s not completely our fault. I say we just indulge in the craziness of it all and be thankful that everyone in our lives is one fingertip touch away. (Unless you are wearing gloves, which is infuriating because it is then that you have to decide between texting and hypothermia.)


November 30: The Real Stuff
I have lasted 29 days being thankful for things as random as hair ties, and for things as shallow as the Twilight Saga. All of which were 100% true. But on the last day of November, on day 30 of being thankful I would like to make a quick list of the things that I am REALLY thankful for.

1. The Lord 3 in 1. God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit – the whole gang. I am so thankful that this all knowing, all loving God who created me loves me in spite of me. He never gives up on me. He wants to talk to me. He is wholly different than me, and infinitely bigger, but wants to meet me where I am at, and cares immensely about the things that matter to me. I am thankful for the salvation that assures my eternal security with Him. And I am thankful that God is God and I am not. I am thankful that he chose me, loves me, cares for me, forgives me, and reveals himself to me. I am thankful that my purpose in life is to bring glory to him which results in my own joy. I am thankful that he orchestrates His will and that he doesn’t smite me when I step outside of the umbrella of his protection but that he cradles me and sometimes just has to let me cry. I am thankful that when I am hurting he hurts with me and is faithful to pick me up and dust me off. I am thankful that Jesus can relate to me. I am thankful that the Holy Spirit speaks and moves through me. I am thankful for His provision and for his timing. I am thankful that over all, I am His and He is mine.

2. My family. It shouldn’t be shocking to you that I have a phenomenal family. I talk about them often. I am thankful for my mom, who has loved and supported me through my crazy. I am thankful that she stuck around even when she took me to the girl doctor when I was 14 and I told her I hated her. I am thankful that she allows me to be myself even though I am nothing like she expected a daughter to be, and she loves that I am me. I am thankful that I look just like her and that she genuinely wants the best for me, and will stop at nothing to facilitate that. And I am thankful that even though we are so very different, we are finding avenues back to one another, that we laugh together and that she is the most selfless person alive.

3. Then, I am thankful for my second parent, my aunt Trudy. I am thankful that Trudy is honest, real, and speaks so clearly into my life. I am thankful that I have a phenomenal role model to follow if everything in my life gets turned upside down. I am thankful that she is funny and that she loves me even when she thinks I am being a total idiot. I am thankful that she is perfectly blunt and that she would do anything for me.

4. I am thankful for my littlest sister who is my partner in life, and who is so obviously following the Lord with reckless abandon. I am thankful that she is the perfect sidekick and thankful that she and I are so much alike. I am thankful that she makes me laugh harder than anyone I know and affirms me so well. I am thankful that (only she) laughs when I tell my mom that her decorative-sparkly-winter-sticks kick ass! Because they do. I am so thankful that she is following the Lord’s direction and no one else’s. And that she is black and white. I am thankful that she listens to my stories over and over and always gives good, solid advice. I am thankful that she is funny and really wise and the best friend I will ever know. I am thankful that God made us sisters, because He knew I would need her.

5. I am thankful for my little broskie, Carson - my cloned personality in male format. I am thankful for the fact that he is my protégé. I am thankful that he is funny and outgoing and perfectly handsome. I am thankful to have a boy in my life who I think of as my hero, who will walk me down the aisle and who is going to do big things in the Kingdom…right after he grows out of his teenage idiocy that I know all too well. I am thankful that he is mine, because I love him like I cannot explain in words.

6. I am thankful for my Brown broskies, Kaleb and Roman. I am thankful for their comradery and their ability to step up when things go wrong. I am thankful that Kaleb is compassionate and an amazing servant who is growing in the Lord so much and I am thankful for Roman who is quietly the most hilarious person in our family (even though some of his best comments go unnoticed.) I am so thankful for the both of them and for the example and standard they are setting for the next generation of men in our family who we are praying will break the trends set before them.

7. I am thankful for Grandmommy. Who loves me harder than anyone in the world and who cooks the best and sets such high standards for each of us. I am thankful that everyone knows her and she loves everyone, including all of our friends. I am thankful that she puts up with all of us being so absolutely insane. And I am thankful for her emoticon filled texts that are usually at least 3 pages long.

8. My friends. I’m not going to name each of them but you know who you are. The girls and guys that God has so outrageously and gloriously ordained to speak into my life and to walk beside me as I am being progressively sanctified. My fristers, soulmates, BFFs, and even just my normal friends. They love me well, call me out on my crap, and encourage me towards the cross of Christ. They are from all over this country and some of them live overseas. I am so very thankful for the whole lot of them and am so unbelievably thankful for their love and presence in my life.

9. America, Texas, Colorado. I am so thankful to live in America. 1. Because it’s the greatest country ever, and 2. Because we are free to worship, free to speak, free to do whatever. It’s the biggest blessing that I so often take advantage of. We live comfortably, secure, and with plenty. I am thankful to be a Texan at heart, and I will never be anything else. I am thankful to call the Lone Star State my home and thankful to have a southern twang (when I am not actively controlling it). I am thankful for Colorado and for Denver and for my home for the time being, and the mountains and the camping and the snowboarding and sometimes even the snow. I am thankful that God has placed me in each of these places for a time. For a purpose.

10. Health. I take the ability to move, walk, breath for granted. I have no serious ailments and I am not in chronic pain. So many people are hurting and sick and I am thankful that God has lavished grace on me and has granted me health. It is so unbelievably merciful.

So thanks for sticking with me for 30 days of being thankful. I hope November has treated you as well as it has treated me. It did a pretty bang up job on following October. Onward to December!

See you guys there! Bundle up!