It’s the season of the year where time slows down, we create space to reflect and look back on the past months, and the most important aspects of life come into crystal clear focus.
The fruit of gratitude is that it brings us into God-space. Psalm 100 says that we enter His courts with thanksgiving. This Biblical truth reminds us that giving thanks is not simply a quick quip that we enact once a year around the dinner table with our loved ones. Rather, it is a powerful practice that brings us into the presence of the King where we experience darkness illuminated and our mindsets, attitudes, and circumstances transformed!
With this in mind, I wanted to take today to celebrate the practice of gratitude with you! My family and I have so much to be thankful for this year.
Kathy is the love of my life and the angel on my shoulder. She is my greatest encourager, counselor and best friend. This year, we celebrated 44 years of marriage. I am so thankful for my wife and it’s an honor to grow old together!
Last week, Kathy embarked upon one of the greatest adventures of her life — she signed a contract to write her first book!
I’m grateful to everyone at Chosen Publishers and simply can’t wait for you to glean from her life experience, wisdom, and depth that I have no doubt will flow from the pages of her book.
Another exciting announcement we want to celebrate with you is that after 8 years of trying, my son, Jason, and his wife, Lauren, are expecting a baby girl
this February! To say the age gap between their oldest (who is 20 years old) and the new baby is exciting would be an understatement! We are celebrating this miracle gift from God and want to release this testimony over any of you who are in the process of waiting for a child of your own!
One thing we didn’t see coming this year is the amount of time we spent without electricity.
Because of high winds and fire threats in our area, we experienced many power outages which were another lesson in gratitude. It’s amazing to me the appreciation we now have for little things in life that we previously took for granted. I’d propose that Kathy is now one of the most thankful people on the planet for a working hairdryer! I myself have never been so grateful in my life for a flushing toilet!
These small challenges pale in comparison to the joy I have as I look back on 2019. We initiated Sunday family dinners this year, two of my grandsons are attending Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry
, and I had the privilege of traveling the world and meeting many of you. These are but a few highlights from my year and my heart is full as I reflect on God’s goodness that is radically displayed in my life! Is life always easy or perfect? Of course not. But it is always wrapped in God’s faithfulness, redemption, and glistening hope!
Thank you for being a part of my community here on the blog. I’m always amazed and humbled by people from all around the world who find themselves here.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below! Tell me what you’re grateful to God for this year!
