Thankful...

Sorry it's been so long since an update on my life. Not a whole lot has been going on. Just working and what-not. I don't have a lot of wisdom to impart this evening, but I would like to take time to enjoy this season... no, not the Christmas season (check out my last post to see my opinions on that), but the Thanksgiving season. I really do love Thanksgiving. It has all the great aspects of Christmas, without all the things I hate about the Christmas season. Feel free to take time to read my cliche-ness--things for which I am thankful.

- My family. Yes, they are crazy. Yes, I want to kill them on occasion. Yes, they embarrass me. But I still love them. My family has always been there for me. They've loved me and taken care of me, even when I've screwed up and let them down. I'm so excited to get to sit down with them and each 29874 types of pie and casserole, watch football, and pester the heck out of each other. It's what we do!

- My friends. Words cannot express how thankful and blessed I am by the non-blood family the Lord has placed in my life. They truly are an extension of my family. My best friends are always there for me. They're there to encourage the heck out of me, but also there to call me out when I'm being dumb and irrational (both of the latter happen more often than I would like. Some of them have seen me at my worst. They've let me cry and tell them my hurts, and they've been there to love on me and pray for me. The thing I love and am thankful for most, though, is how they constantly point me towards Christ. My sisters in Christ are always directing me towards that Gospel, and for that I am ever thankful.

- My job. I love my job. I work at a place where I feel comfortable to be me. I enjoy (most of) the work I do, and I love the people I work with.

- The Gospel. I am thankful most for this. I'm thankful for the Gospel because without it, none of the above things in my life would matter. I was reminded on Sunday of the intense power and necessity of the Gospel. This song is a great picture of it in its entirety...

In Christ Alone

In Christ Alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, My All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ Alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.