weekly gratitude

thank you indian summer for a reason to wear sandals in september

Today of all days seems to be made for giving thanks for all of life's blessings. When our lives, our country, our world changed ten years ago today there was anger, yes; a thirst for revenge, sure. But beyond all of that, there was Love. Camaraderie. Brotherhood. A sense of community that brought together a nation of people otherwise divided into the camps of "you" and "me". "Us" and "them". And while the weeks to come would in some ways deepen a spirit of "us" and "them", we as Americans were united in a stand to not let this end our way of life. End our hope. End our love.

So today, with so much to be grateful for, let us quiet our minds and be thankful...

1. Thank you for this day, in all the pain of remembrance, and for letting us not forget but certainly, letting us forgive. 


2. Thank you for bringing my best friend home safely, letting us all be together and for taking him back out again to continue living his dream.

3. Thank you for summer which has finally descended on Portland the past week (and thank you for letting it be brief so we can get our bums in gear and headed toward AUTUMN)!

4. Thank you for my amazing church, for a place I look forward to being a part of every week. A place where I am no longer sitting in church thinking of the mountains, but rather in the "mountains" thinking of God. Thank you Solid Rock for being my mountain. Things are still kind of rough, but I'm learning not to fret. You're helping immensely.

5. Thank you for this book. Thank you Ray Bradbury for reminding me why I write; for reminding me that this was not something I chose for myself but rather something that was chosen for me. Something that chose me.

Cheers to a beautiful week wherever you are! Are the seasons changing elsewhere? What does it look like in your city?