2019 Thankful List
Every year, I make a list of 50 things I'm thankful for, and I publish it on Thanksgiving Day.
However, this year Thanksgiving week was a rough week and I did not get my list finished.
I thought about just deleting the draft, but several of you have asked about my list.
Aaand just the other day one of my brothers texted me and mentioned how helpful a gratitude list can be.
So, I figured that this might be a message telling me that I needed to dust off this draft and finish it. I wrote the first fourteen in November and finished the rest up in December.
I am thankful:
One
That I am held in God's hands, and that He is working everything in my life for my good. Not for my ease, but for my good.
That is the bedrock that is there to hold me up when life feels like a freefall.
Two
For the gift of writing. I don't love talking nearly as much as I love getting my words out while typing. Somehow, a keyboard opens the floodgates!
Three
For my little group of good friends who are there, no matter what.
Four
For the fact that even though this world is full of hard things, there are also bright spots, and places to find joy.
Five
For the really, really good sermons that my pastor preaches each week.
Six
For a good physical therapist, who has worked on Sonia, Zoe, and me all in this year (mostly knee issues!)
Seven
For EMTs. We used their services three times in a week recently, and it reminded me how grateful I am for people who help people in dire straits.
Eight
For coffee, chai, and other lovely hot drinks.
Nine
For books. My life would be so much less rich without them.
Ten
Related: the library. My life would literally be much less rich without the library. Ha.
I'm grateful I don't have to buy all the books we read.
Eleven
For the opportunities my church gives us to practically serve local people in need.
Twelve
For changing seasons throughout the year. There are upsides and downsides to all of the seasons, and I'm glad things switch up so I can experience a different set of good and "bad" things all year long.
Thirteen
For air conditioning. Because I really, really do not like to be hot and sweaty.
And because humidity makes me crazy.
Fourteen
For encouragement from other people.
The idea of going through life without encouragement feels almost as daunting as going without food. So I am grateful for people who encourage me!
Fifteen
For older people. The older I get, the more I really, really appreciate hearing wisdom from people who have been around the sun more times than me.
Sixteen
For Amazon Prime. I know there are issues with shopping at Amazon, but right now, I am just really grateful for fast delivery of presents.
Seventeen
For hugs.There's nothing quite like a reassuring hug.
Eighteen
For my children. They are all a gift from God.
Nineteen
For our funny tree.
Clay the Christmas tree has made a lovely addition to our living room this year. 😉
Twenty
For you all, my readers. I love how responsive you are (not many blogs still have active comment sections these days) and what a lovely community you all are.
Twenty-One
For blogging. I love combining words and pictures, which means blogging is the perfect thing for me.
Twenty-Two
That the shortest day of the year is almost here.
The days are going to get longer again soon, people!
(Well, for those of us here in the northern hemisphere, at least.)
Twenty-Three
That there's been a nice long break from teaching a new driver. Lisey got her license almost two years ago, and how it's just about time for Sonia to get her learner's permit.
Twenty-Four
That my problematic mole was not cancerous.
Twenty-Five
For my older brother. We were not very close when we were kids, but now that we are adults, I really find it helpful when he shares his perspective on life.
Twenty-Six
That a string of sunny days is in the forecast.
I can handle the cold a lot better when it is accompanied by some happy sunshine.
Twenty-Seven
For a reliable car. Other than preventative maintenance (and squirrel damage!), my van hasn't had any issues so far (it's a 2012).
And the Sienna I had before this one was also fabulously reliable.
Yay, Toyota!
Twenty-Eight
For music with encouraging lyrics that remind me of truth. Lately, I've been really appreciating the lyrics of some of Lauren Daigle's songs from her Look Up, Child album.
Twenty-Nine
For our cat. I didn't think I was a cat person, but apparently I kind of am.
At least, I am into this particular cat.
I am particularly thankful for the joy that the cat brings to our kids.
Thirty
For the funny filters on Snapchat.
We downloaded this app recently, and all we use it for is to send ridiculous selfies to each other.
Thirty-One
That I live in a day and age where medical care is good.
My life would be so much worse if I lived 1000 years ago.
Thirty-Two
Speaking of which, I am grateful for vision correction.
Left to myself, I can only see clearly for about five inches from my eyes. I am so grateful for the way contacts and glasses allow me to function!
Thirty-Three
Also speaking of living 1000 years ago...I'm grateful I live now because as a woman, I have so many more choices, opportunities, and rights than I would have had then.
(Is everything perfect at present? No. But I'd sure choose now over 1000 years ago.)
Thirty-Four
For my height.
I'm 5'8" tall and I just really like being this height.
Tall enough to reach things, not so tall that it's hard to buy clothes.
Thirty-Five
For the available funds to keep our house warm.
We used to keep it pretty chilly in our leaner days, and I am grateful to not be freezing now when I hop into bed at night.
Thirty-Six
For Aldi.
Probably my favorite thing about Aldi is that it makes higher-end foods so much more affordable.
Smoked gouda on my crackers?
YES PLEASE.
Thirty-Seven
For texting.
⅔ of my closest friends live multiple states away from me now, and I am thankful that texting allows me to stay in touch with them so easily.
Thirty-Eight
This is a bit of a weird one, but I'm grateful for the ability to talk to myself instead of just listening to myself.
Basically, I'm grateful that although feelings seem a little out of our hands, we are designed to be able to change the direction of our thoughts.
For instance, if I feel ungrateful, I can decide to hunt for things to be grateful for, and that hunt can change my feelings.
I can say, "Ok, Kristen. I know you think things are tough, and they are, but there are also good things. Remember this? See this? It's not all bad. There are mercies here."
And that is much better than just listening to the not-so-thankful words my mind wants to focus on.
Thirty-Nine
For the hilarious times we have at dinner.
They especially happen when Lisey is home to eat with us. 🙂
Forty
That we chose no-deductible windshield coverage on our car insurance.
It was a good decision because this crack makes the fourth windshield we've replaced on our cars in the last two years!
Forty-One
For a safe, comfortable home.
Perfect? Ideal? No. But it's good.
Forty-Two
For parents who love, pray for, and support me and my family.
Forty-Four
For so much readily available information. The internet has its downsides, but boy, I really love being able to learn things and find answers to questions so easily.
Forty-Five
For the good education my parents gave me.
Forty-Six
Related to the prior item: the can-do attitude that I think I maybe picked up by osmosis.
I don't really remember my parents talking about this a lot, but somehow, I came out of my childhood thinking I could do almost anything I wanted to as long as I was willing to put in the work.
And maybe that's part of it...my parents consistently expected hard work out of us. I did not love it at the time, but I appreciate it now. 🙂
Forty-Seven
For 41+ years of life.
Not everyone gets as many years as I've had, and I'm grateful for each one of them.
Forty-Eight
For a mostly healthy body.
Nothing is perfect, of course, but overall, my body works pretty well most of the time!
Forty-Nine
For the good things happening in the world, amidst the bad news.
For instance, according to this article, The Global Burden of Disease Report said that between 1990 and 2017, the number of kids and teenagers dying around the world decreased by more than half, from 13.77 million to 6.64 million.
Fifty
For optimism.
I keep thinking I should get a t-shirt that says, "Relentlessly Optimistic" because even when I am down in the dumps, I do still always kind of have a sense that things are going to get better in the future.
Maybe I'm crazy; maybe I'm wrong. But regardless of what actually happens in the future, optimism brings me joy now. 🙂
Thank you for both this post and the previous one. Both posts gave me a lot to think about and challenged me to change my perspective. I need to do a thankful list myself and having access to great blogs like yours and the wonderful community it comes with are definitely something I am thankful for. Happy Holidays!
This is a fantastic list. Thanks for being an inspiration to us all.
Like you, my words are far more entertaining when they come through my fingers than y mouth! I, amongst so many others, am grateful for YOU! I’m so many ways we are so very different and yet you have been an almost daily part of my life for over a decade! Thank you Kristen for being you! xo
I feel the same! Even though we've never met in person, I feel like I "know" you and your sweet family, Kristen. Looking forward to meeting you and giving you a big hug in heaven someday! Merry Christmas!
Aww, what a lovely thought that is. I'll be glad to hug you in heaven too. 🙂
Thank-you for this. I too feel grateful for you and how you inspire me to be more frugal with my grocery shopping and trying to make sure I use up the food that I have at home.
You truly are an inspiration to a lot of people
Thanks for what you do and I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas.
Okay I especially love #15. And I may steal this idea for next year.
I think when we are younger, we tend to undervalue the input of older people. At least, I think I maybe did.
But now...gosh, I just find their wisdom to be very reassuring and helpful, partly because as I get older, I realize just how very little I know, and just how much I need help.
Great list and great reminder. I found myself nodding along with each item.
I love this post each year! It makes me reflect on all the things in my own life. Also can we PLEASE talk about how cute you were as a kiddo?! Great post - as always!!
Aww, thank you!
I got glasses shortly after this and so then I have a looooong period of embarrassing photos until I mercifully got contacts. Heh.
Thank you for this list! have you heard of the Life Is Good company? I too am a relentless optimist, or Pollyanna. 🙂 life is good makes these delightful t shirts and they are great quality AND they donate 10% to kiddos in need. If I had a million dollars I’d send you one of their shirts. I just love them so much. Merry Christmas!
Haha, I will have to google that now!
2019 has been a really, really bad year for me. Really bad. But God has brought me through it and I feel stronger in my faith and in my self. I am so looking forward to next year. But because I know that life itself is a gift, I wanted to go through my calendar for this past year and pick at least 1 thing that was good or something good that happened in that month. And I wrote it all out in my prayer journal. And it ended up being a fun trip down memory lane. Most months had more than one thing. What I did was put the 'good thing' on the line under the month, then wrote a little blurb about why it was good. It really shifted my perspective and made me see how far I've come this year, how much I've grown and how much my attitude has changed.
Aww, Kris. I am so sorry about it being a terrible year for you. But I am so glad you were able to find a small bit of joy in the midst of all the pain.
Hey Kris, I feel a bit the same; had a very tough year but God has been faithful & I have grown heaps too
I am thankful for my exercise class twice a week ...the people I have met there...our little get togethers to eat and drink. Also thankful for community chorus I joined and our wonderful concert for christmas and our chorus xmas dinner. Glad to have neighbors to pot luck with at thanksgiving and christmas
Thank you for rescuing this post! It reached me on a particularly challenging day. It really helped me put things into perspective and move forward with a positive attitude.
I am thankful for your thankful list every year to remind me that blessings abound, even in rough times.
I am thankful for my Savior above all else.
Thankful that He gave me family and friends that love me. I am so loved.
Thankful for humor! Being serious all the time isn't nearly as much fun.
Such a lovely photo of you!
Some of the things I could add to be thankful for:
1. 25 years of marriage to my husband, in which we have both been able to grow and stay together despite being married at a ridiculously young age.
2. Our children cause us no end of worry, but our oldest child successfully launched himself into the world this year, and even moved overseas! (Just like what I did at the age of 19.)
3. My husband passed his cancer screening despite some red flags. His father and grandmother passed away from this type of cancer at a young age.
4. Being able to work from home increases our quality of life so much, not having to spend the time commuting and being available for our children when they need us.
5. Music! It lifts my spirits every day.
6. Art. In the last year, I finally picked up the brush again, and I love the feeling.
There are many more, but here are few. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season.
Thank you so much for sharing your list with us. I have been caught up in a "woe is me" cycle for a bit now. You have encouraged me to make my list. I have so much to be grateful for and I just lose sight of it all. Tears in my eyes...much appreciation.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Hugs to you! I'm so glad this post helped you.
And I teared up so many times while I was writing it over the course of many days.
I got SnapChat a few months ago when my older son went to college. Both my boys had pestered me about getting it before, but I didn't think I wanted one more social media commitment. I finally signed up when I watched my younger boy receive a picture of my older guy as we all talked on speaker phone. I wanted in on that! It has been such a fun, silly way to keep in touch with my kids.
Also, I like to use the term "maniacal optimism" to describe my work life. As an author it takes approximately a thousand years to write a book and another thousand for it to sell. But somehow I keep at it!
Kristen, it's time to tell you how I appreciate knowing you and your family. Being a part of the ups and downs. The way you share your love of life. Even frugality is fun with you steering the boat.
It is a pleasure for this 89 year old to share your family with you. We readers kinda know each one and you tell their stories with great love, and you share your OWN issues: it's all good. I am thankful, I REALLY am, whenever I see that Kristen has posted today. Be encouraged, you have a host of people supporting you, enjoying you, sharing life with you. Yes, another year will bring more challenges AND more excitement. And, is it possible? more love. Jesus shines through your words, Kristen. We need you.
Your comment made me tear up with happy tears. Thank you for your encouragement...I am so grateful for it!
I'm especially thankful for great healthcare. I badly broke all three ankle bones this year, and was super happy to have access and funds for quality surgery. All through rehab, I kept thinking how much harder this would have been even 50 years ago. I suppose instead of plates and pins, I would have just had to sit on the couch and let it heal how it may. Today, 7 months post-break, I can walk with barely a limp.
I'm not going to try for 50 but I want to acknowledge that my number one is my husband of nearly 53 years now. He supports me in every way possible and I am grateful for that.
Congrats on 50+ years of marriage. What a wonderful thing to experience.
I’m glad you posted your list. I missed it.
I am thankful for religious freedom in the US, and for the economic opportunities we enjoy. Although I have never lived in any other country, I have traveled to a few and I feel it is a privilege to live here. I am thankful to know about God, for a faithful husband of 34 years, 3 healthy and independent adult children and 4 beautiful grandchildren.
OH yes, do I ever hear you on gratefulness for being born in the modern age. Just today I was thinking how glad I am that I live in a time of electric lights. Being able to flip a switch and have bright lights in a room, especially at such a dark time of year, is an amazing luxury. Also, Christmas lights. I recently re-read "My Antonia" and one passage jumped out at me about how the townspeople used to huddle near the church in winter in the hopes of seeing the stained glass lit up with lamps while the choir practiced. Multi-colored Christmas lights are a great emotional boost in the dark days of winter.
I mean, I'm grateful for my health and children and all that too, but I'll just leave it with the lights. 🙂
Funny- I took MyAntonia to San Francisco for Thanksgiving when I visited two of my kids. It’s one of my favorite books! I have to say at age 73 I am most thankful for good health and a paid up house and car. I still work and don’t plan to retire as long as I can walk and drive. The money I make allows me to be generous with family and friends.
Ha, well, in the dark of winter, lights can be right up there with health and children. 🙂
So enjoyed reading this post - I love opening my email & seeing a frugal girl post. I have had a very tough year but have been feeling so hugely blessed the past week or so for a number of reasons but mainly experiencing God's faithfulness & learning to trust him more, I too love Christmas lights, hugs with friends, family, hot chocolate, tea, and music - I love carols
oh Lauren Daigle...we saw her in Dallas last year (I didn't know anything about her, but my sister didn't want to go alone) and WOW. Just WOW. If you haven't heard of her, just google "Rescue" youtube and experience a life altering experience. I sent her Look Up Child CD to my 23 yo niece, as inspiration, hope...LD is so amazing in person too - so amazing that I just bought tix to her March Dallas show. On stage she IS her music...incredible and so inspiring.
Thank you for you - you are also so very important to my faith journey.
I too am grateful for my adult relationships with my siblings. I love that my brother is local! I am grateful for FaceTime. It enables me to talk face to face to my not local siblings and niece and nephew every day!
Thank you for sharing . It’s good for our Father’s children to share His goodness.
Thanks, Kristen, for this list today! I'm generally conscious of the many blessings I have, and thankful for all of them but lately I've been dogged with more than usual of the small and medium daily annoyances that can bog you down. Your list was the reminder I needed today of how fortunate I am - thanks!!
You do encourage by your thankful list! It's nice to hear thankfulness! This is coming to you from a now 76 year old (young) great grandmother. Blessings to you as your family celebrates Christmas.
Aww, I just love that my blog readership includes not just people my own age, but people who are grandmas (and great-grandmas!). Thank you for taking the time to encourage me.
I am grateful to people like you who help lift others up. Your blogs always bring me joy.
Also thank you for not hiding your faith !
Thanks for Lauren Daigle's name, like her music very much.
I'm grateful for friends who understand that sometimes sitting in silence and drinking coffee together is good for the soul.
I'm grateful for friends and family that understand the toll raising three special needs kids takes and offer to take those kids or alternatively, take me out to recharge my batteries.
I'm grateful for most of the experiences I've had in my life because they have prepared me for dealing with most everything that comes my way.
I'm grateful for my wonderful husband who helps me with everything I can't do by myself.
I'm grateful for a dishwasher and washing machine, because life would be so much more difficult if I had to do these by hand.
I am grateful for a warm, safe home to live in.
I am grateful for our minivan that has been great with the exception of a couple of large fixes recently.
I am grateful for the visits I got to have with my out-of-town grandma before she passed away last week.
I am grateful for the grandma who is still living.
I am grateful for small, unexpected embraces (attack hugs from my youngest) from all my family members - hugs really are the best!!
I am grateful for a fridge and pantry full of food.
I am grateful for working plumbing.
I am grateful for the therapies that help my children grow and learn - and the team that goes with those therapies.
I am grateful for cats to cuddle on cold winter nights.
I am grateful for the internet - it helped me find other parents of special needs kids to share ideas and support each other through trying times.
I am grateful for so much more than this list but that is all I can think of in this moment.
I love reading your list, and al of your blogs for that matter. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Beautiful list. Thank you for sharing!
Wow! I had that same haircut almost twenty years before you did.
Thank you for sharing yourself, especially for the hope that lovingly underlies all of what you write.
I'm thankful for the little kicks I feel inside me that say life is growing. I've had moments of uncertainty and overwhelm and worry. But those kicks spark moments of joy.
I for one, love #50 from you. Because even though we get down in the dumps some times, you are very optimistic. And to piggy back on your last post, it's not always, but you do bring a lot of optimism to people and the world does need that. So even though we live in an imperfect world, happiness makes it a little better.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
I am thankful for this blog. The frugality is a bonus. The optimism and faith are what keep me coming back and help me feel connected to something bigger than myself. Reading your list has given me a glimmer of hope when it all feels hopeless. Thank you, Kristen, and a very Merry Christmas to you and your family and all of your lovely readers!
I'm thankful to see a thankful list! That's a wonderful list, Kristen.
Life keeps throwing me curve balls, but I always have things for which to be thankful. I take so much for granted, but I am really blessed, even when life gets hard, like it is now. I have family and friends that I love and who love me, I have a decent house, a working car, a job, electricity, clean running water, and heat and a/c. I have food in my house in multiple places. I have clothing to wear and can go without repeating an outfit for at least two weeks. I have good holiday memories - some people don't. I have good memories of my relatives who are now gone. Again, not everyone has that. I can read and write, walk, run and drive. I have a husband, loving grown kids, their wonderful spouses, and our beloved grandchildren. I have God, who has supported me and upheld me through all of my life's ups and downs, even when my faith was weak and superficial, and I have a great church. I even have a much better job than I did two years ago.
Christmas is a good time to be thankful! I'm glad you decided to go ahead and publish this post.
A lovely list. My list is pretty short, but the older I get, the more thankful I feel I become. It's important for me right now to block out so much of the negativity & things that worry me. Not because I don't want to be an educated person who works for change, but it cannot consume me. And, if I spend too much time on it, sometimes it can.
1) My family. Both extended and immediate. I am incredibly grateful to have a marriage with someone I enjoy, two kids I adore, and parents & a sister that I legitimately want to spend time with. When I hear about how other people dread the holidays, I reminded of how much I enjoy time with my family.
2) Good jobs, and enough money to pay for all that we need, plenty that we want, and enough to help others.
3) My best friend, who has been in my life now for 25 years!
4) My health. I have a chronic disease, but it's been mostly "in remission" for years, and I'm incredibly grateful.
5) My own optimism, spirit, & capabilities. Much was gifted to me genetically & by my parents, and much of it I work at all the time. Every day.
PS. You & I are also very different. Our families our different. But, you are one of the reasons I've been blogging for close to a decade & I adore your blog, your optimism & your approach to life. So, I'm grateful to you, for putting out content that I always look forward to reading.
Thank you for sharing your list. I had wondered about it this year. Sounds like you are going through some difficult times. I hope things are better/get better soon.
I should really sit down and make a list of 50 sometime. For now I will just do just 3:
1. My family is not perfect (whose is?) but I sure am glad I got the folks I did for family members. Despite our differences and distances, I never feel I am really alone out there. Same goes for my friends.
2. A veterinarian who is open on Sundays and could see my sick kitty yesterday so there is one less thing to stress about over the holiday.
3. My tiny house. It may be 70 years old but it is well-built and snug and has a good roof! And because it is small, it keeps me from wanting/collecting too much stuff.
So much for which to be thankful this year. Some highlights:
1. Marco Polo to continue relationships with friends who have moved away (or when I have moved away). One of my richest friendships is through Marco Polo.
2. My church who has supported my family through deployment, surgeries and other medical challenges, and living very far from family.
3. The luxury of staying at home with my 3 littles. Because of of medical exceptionalities in now 2 of our children, shuttling to and from therapies, appointments, and school in addition to talking to supply companies, insurance and 7 medical providers is literally a 30 hr/week repsonisbility, and there is no way I could do that without my husband having a stable and well-paying job. Spending time in the exam room or waiting area isn't my idea of fun, but I get to do it with my children rather than being distracted by work that I'm missing or trying to get done. I know this is a luxury, and I am so tremendously thankful for it.
4. Extended family that live only a day's drive away. Grandparents are far away and our kids don't get to have those special times with them nearly as much as I'd prefer, but we have a few people locally and an extremely large and generous family just a day's drive away that loves to love on our kids as if they are their own.
5. My kids. My oldest is 21 months older than my youngest, and the 3 of them have no memory of a day without the other as a result. They hold hands in the car as they sleep because they can't hug each other in carseats. They have so much fun with each other, and I wouldn't wish it any other way.
6. God's healing hand. THis year my son had his trach removed and breathes through his mouth and nose like God designed us to do. And since then he's handled flu and pneumonia without needing oxygen support or a hospital stay. 2 years ago a mild case of pneumonia (so mild that it took a while for the doctors to decide that it was in fact pneumonia) landed him in the hospital for 2 weeks, and at one point he went critical enough I wasn't sure he was going to make it. But no more. He's not medically fragile anymore. He doesn't have to see a pulmonologist anymore.
7. Hugs.
8. so many gluten free products on the market that allow for a decent sandwich or pizza when I want one.
9. The ability to run. I ran a 1/2 marathon last month and I remembered how much I enjoy running.
10. The all gracious God who invites us to rest from our work every week, who gives us freedom from the evil in our hearts that seeks to destroy us.
Thank you and may your 2020 be blessed.
I am thankful for your thankful list! Just what I needed to read today. 🙂