I'm thankful for my health, and the good health of my children.  God has blessed us immensely with bodies that function well.  We have only a few aches and pains to groan about.

I'm thankful for rain.  I love that "rainy day" feeling of wanting to curl up under a blanket with a good book.  I love summer showers, and the smell that lingers in the air for the moments before and afterward.  I love the emotions that it arouses in my heart and mind.  And I'm especially thankful for the benefits that it brings to our lovely world.

I'm thankful for toothbrushes.  I just hate the feeling of a grimy, dirty mouth.  Toothbrushes are a fabulous invention, and I'm extremely thankful for them.

I love music.  I love how diverse it can be.  I love how it can cause me to feel, or better communicate what I'm feeling.  I especially love music in worship.  It seems as though I praise God more fully when I'm singing.  Music, in my book, is a beautiful blessing.

I consider photos a blessing.  I adore how they capture moments in time.  The remind me of feelings and smells and sounds.  They can also tell a story.  (I especially marvel at photographers who can tell stories with their photos.)  So, I'm thankful for my photos.

I'm thankful for my salvation.  It is such a tremendous blessing that I cannot possibly define it in one small blog post.  But I'm thankful that God loves me enough to provide a way for me to spend eternity with Him.  And oh how I long for that day.

I'm thankful for the ability to read.  Reading educates.  Reading helps your imagination.  Reading grows your mind.  I'm thankful that I can read.

I'm thankful for the blessing of modern kitchens.  By modern, I do not mean the latest styling trends or most expensive appliances, granite countertops or Italian marble floors.  I don't have to grind my own flour or corn.  I don't have to cook over an open flame, or even in a clay oven.  My kitchen may be modest and small, but it is modern, and I'm thankful for this blessing.

I was going to say today that I'm thankful for jeans.  Instead, I'll say that I'm thankful that I and my family have clothing.  I heard a story last week from a man from Africa who said he didn't have a stitch of clothing until he was about ten years old.  He didn't know an existence without nakedness.  And then, when he was about ten, UNICEF came in and gave each child in his village one pair of underwear.  He said that was what they wore to school.  And when he got home, he had to wash it each night so he could wear it again the next day.

I'm thankful that my children have clothing.  That they have not only undergarments, but also multiple pairs of socks and shoes, jeans, shorts, dress clothes, tee shirts, casual shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, coats, jackets, hats and gloves.  My family is extremely blessed.

I count my freedom as a blessing.  I am free to work where I want to work; to live where I want to live; to have as many--or as few--children as I want; to stay out on the town past the midnight hour, if I want; I can vote--or abstain from voting--for those in our government; and I can worship freely and frequently any God I choose.