Day 13 of 25 Days of Thanks

We are halfway there in our 25 Day of Thanks Campaign! I just want to say what a blessing it is to read all the posts on facebook and the comments from friends regarding what they are thankful for.

Today I am thankful for a Godly heritage. I was one of those kids who was blessed to have been raised in a home where God's Word was taught and lived out by my parents. Sure, they made their mistakes, just like I am, but there was never a moment I questioned how they felt about God, a relationship with Him, our church or how we should treat others. If I do half as good a job as they did, I feel like I will have accomplished something.

I am thankful that they didn't take the easy way out. They really could have cared less what the Jones' were doing. They were unconventional....things like limited TV, no spending money on Sundays, fasting on Wednesdays with our church family, homeschooling (before it was cool :)), volunteering us 3 kids to serve at Senior Citizens luncheons when we were very young, teaching us how to treat those who can do nothing for us, allowing us to work on a bus ministry in one of the roughest suburbs of Atlanta, going to homeless shelters and playing the piano...and the list could go on and on and on.... of the hands on things our family experienced growing up. I remember one time winning a coloring contest at a local grocery store. I was probably 8 or 9. It was Christmas and I remember my mom saying, why don't we donate your prize (a new toy) to a child who won't get anything for Christmas. It was the first time I can remember having to make a decision like that all by myself. She left it up to me...and in presenting me with that option she planted a seed of giving. I caught the lesson that day.

I am thankful they weren't lazy. I'm thankful that they instilled in me God's Word. That it was valued and used as a guidebook for family living. What a heritage they've given me!