Reasons for thankfulness

It hasn't been an easy year for me--for that matter for a lot of people--but it still pays to be thankful.

I'm personally thankful that we get to worry about diseases of overeating instead of starvation.

I'm glad that I get to worry about cancer instead of cholera.

I'm grateful that as wrongheaded as many churches' theology is, we've got the right to worship according to our own conscience.

I'm grateful that as poor as I think our leaders are, we still have the right to vote them out of office in a few years.

I'm grateful for the Scriptures.

I'm grateful for long days at work instead of no days at work.

I'm grateful for plane tickets to say good bye in person.

I'm grateful for sometimes mischievous children when many have none.

And I'm grateful for the wife who still looks great after carrying and nursing all of them.