God With Us: A Debt of Gratitude

 

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name!”

~ Psalm 100:4 ~

*I mentioned in the previous post that it has been a long time since I’ve written or updated the blog, and it has. Part of the reason is that life is just plain busy and I juggle quite a few responsibilities, but it also happened that my YouTube account got deleted over the summer and along with it, every last blog video we had. I thought the majority were gone for good and didn’t want to address the volume of work it would take just to get what we already had back, so I kept putting everything off. Over the holidays, I realized I was now a full year behind in writing about our travels (wow- who zapped 2024 off the timeline that quick?), and I missed getting feedback from family on things when I did post. So, I tackled the growing elephant in the room, and yes, it was quite a project. We’re not all the way back and running yet like we were (Justin will have to carve out precious time to make new videos from our old, scattered content), but after several hours of work over several days, I’m happy to say we’ve got a little coal on the fire and are beginning to chug along the tracks of recorded-memory lane once more. 

All that said, I wanted to create a post to express the immense amount of gratitude I’ve felt over the past few weeks as we continue to roam the country. There is SO much to be grateful for, and without being too list-y, I’m going to rattle off a number of things that have crossed my mind as we drive or hike or just ponder life in the many places we go. 

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First and foremost, all my thanks goes to Jesus Christ, my personal Lord and Savior, and my Heavenly Father. None of this would be possible without Him, and everything I have to be thankful for - even every thought of thanks - is because He gave it to me. I could write that sentence every day for the rest of my life and it wouldn’t be enough, but with every fiber of my being, God I thank You!

On that note, I am grateful for my fellow Christians; how they have been an encouragement to me and my family over the years. How no matter where we are in the country, I can almost always manage to find a church for us to attend on Sunday where we are welcomed and treated kindly. I’m thankful for all Christians - since the first apostles - and most especially for those who ensured the faith was passed down to the next generations. 

I’m so thankful for this beautiful country we get to live in. Thankful for the history, for our incredible founding and forefathers, for all the ideals we stand or once stood for. I’m thankful for freedom, for our veterans and military, for all those who left a legacy for people they would never meet. For those who sacrificed life and limb for a greater cause. 

I’m thankful for the beautiful nature we get to commune with; for the various terrain, foliage, and wildlife we get to encounter. For mountains, hills, plains, rivers, oceans, lakes, beaches, deserts, swamps, forests, sunrises and sunsets, full moons and eclipses, for different seasons and for the stars at night. I’m thankful for every road, park and playground, every bridge, trail and map, everything that echos of human touch but often remains overlooked or undervalued. Every tree planted, every tunnel dug, every pipe and wire fixed, fitted and strung, everything we use and enjoy. I’m thankful for all who came before and took the time to test things out and write reviews that make finding places to stay so much easier. For Google Earth and Maps and an internet with occasional answers. For all who invented, built, served and sacrificed so that our lives would be just that much easier and more comfortable. 

I’m grateful for a beautiful home and the ability to travel. For a handy husband and incredible kids. For a great family and good friends. For a flexible job than can be done from anywhere, for coworkers that care and leadership that leads well. I’m thankful for a new year and another birthday. (I’m officially older than earthly Jesus now.. a strange thought.) I’m thankful for homeschooling and the fact that resources for it are so readily available and accessible. I’m thankful for all this time I get to spend with my favorite people. Also for bikes, skis, movies, games, books, sports, motorcycles, and everything else that make it all extra fun. 

I’m thankful for my physical ability and good health (and that of my family). Thankful we’ve been protected from any major loss or accident (I heard that knock on wood). I’m thankful for hard times and learning opportunities, for shared knowledge and shared interests, for adversity, adventure, disappointment, doubt, faith, failure, success, suffering, reconciliation, healing, answers and questions. I’m thankful there’s THIS MUCH to be thankful for! Really - how many families get to or even want to re-live so much of their daily, mundane lives. Pick any week of this past year and I have something to gush about!! 

I’m thankful to all the people and friends that we’ve been blessed to experience life with along the way. The countless kids that have played with mine that we may or may never see again: Jaden, River, Lilly, Bella, Grady, Gavin, Noah, Emma, May, Freya, Zander, Tatiana, Pharrell, Olivia, Gage, Emma, David, Grace, Mika, Adam, Anna, Erik, Isabella, Mason, Aryeh, Deena, Dovey, Benjamin, Uzziel, Gabriel, Valeria, Valor, Haven, Hallelujah, Noble, Adriyanna, Hayden, Sawyer, Addison, Zoe, Jayvah, Ari, Lola, Bodee, Sy, Carver, Maggie, Eleanor, Judah, Makenna, Brynlee, Raeleigh, Beau, Brynlee 2.0, that weird kid at that one park in Iowa, that other guy we nicknamed Mowgli, and numerous others whose names we didn’t learn or have since forgotten. (And they say homeschoolers aren’t well-socialized…) If we only knew you for a week, a day, or an hour, your companionship has meant the world, even if we were unaware of the impact at the time. 

Finally, I’m thankful that I found every last blog video. We didn’t lose ANY! And thank you random Starlink connection for providing the continual Wifi access we needed to upload that volume of content. What timing. Those videos are such a fun way to revisit the memories we’ve created, and we’re thankful to have them stored. Thank you to any and all who watched, read, liked, followed, subscribed, emailed, called, texted, commented, or otherwise observed or engaged with our stuff. We love you guys and appreciate the continued support!!!