Unfortunately, I can’t be thankful for being well.  I went to the doctor yesterday and he said I should stay home the rest of the week.  I slept most of the day today.  Your prayers for me, dear reader, are much appreciated — and for my dear wife, who has caught the cold from me and feels worse than I do.

Between naps I have been reading The Edge of Evolution:  The Search for the Limits of Darwinism by Michael J. Behe, which is Behe’s sequel to his now decade-old book, Darwin’s Black Box. Behe could use your prayers, too, because those who are convinced that the wide diversity of life arose entirely by natural selection operating on random mutations will surely respond — and their responses have not always been gracious.

I am thankful for Behe’s bravery, intelligence and ability to communicate complex scientific concepts clearly without losing the complexity.  It’s hard not to be swayed by the constant affirmations of Darwinism, so I’m especially thankful for this well-reasoned and well-supported rebuttal.

I am thankful for milk.

I still have the cold I referred to in #11.  It has taken the usual leisurely journey around my head, spending a few days as a sore throat and general fatigue, moving up to congest my sinuses, then back down as a classic post-nasal-drip cough and finally settling in as a dry, irritated throat cough.  The cough medicine my doctor recommended hasn’t been much help, but a glass of cold milk this afternoon has provided enough of a moist coating to bring me some relief.

Aaaaaahhhhh.

Hopefully next week I can be thankful that this cold is finally gone!

The weather turned autumnal rather quickly this month, and this week the trees and bushes suddenly turned “slap-you-down gorgeous” (as my dear wife put it) with oranges and reds that almost hurt your eyes.  We don’t get that every year, so I’m especially thankful for this unusual beauty.

I have been fighting a cold since Monday evening, and am missing my third day of work.  Because I started my job barely six weeks ago, I have earned only two sick days, and am off today without pay.  We have two tickets to see Waterdeep tomorrow, but I don’t think I will be well enough to go.  I would like to see James Bryan Smith at Wheatland on Saturday, and go see my Dad for his birthday on Sunday, but I may not be able to.  And today is Thursday, so it’s time for me to write about being thankful.  I am reminded of this passage:

Then Satan left the LORD’s presence and made sores break out all over Job’s body.  Job went and sat by the garbage dump and took a piece of broken pottery to scrape his sores.  His wife said to him, “You are still as faithful as ever, aren’t you?  Why don’t you curse God and die?”

Job answered, “You are talking nonsense!  When God sends us something good, we welcome it.  How can we complain when he sends us trouble?”  Even in all this suffering, Job said nothing against God.

Job 2:7-10, TEV

Job believed that circumstances should be viewed through the lens of God’s praiseworthiness, rather than God’s praiseworthiness being viewed through the lens of circumstances.  So I should praise God within my circumstances, even if they are not what I would choose.

Perhaps He means for me to learn to trust in Him rather than in my job.

I am thankful for a wife who is not like Job’s!  I am also thankful that I have a job, and that I am not likely to be fired for missing a few days of work.  I am thankful for what paid sick leave I had.  I am thankful that I only have a cold, and not something much more serious.  I am thankful that I have a doctor.  I am thankful for cough drops and cold medicine.  I am thankful for all the ways God has provided for me in the past, and that I can trust Him to provide for me today as well — even if what I get is not always what I would choose.

Over the past few months, my wife and I have been meeting with a group from our church to read and discuss a book called The Good and Beautiful God. The book’s aim is to help people get to know God better, and it suggests some practices that are meant to allow them to see and hear Him more clearly.  One of these practices is “counting your blessings,” and I have employed this weekly blog post to help me pursue this discipline.  This weekend the group met to discuss the final chapter and share a celebratory brunch.  I am thankful for the fellowship I have shared with this group and I am thankful for the opportunity to know God better.

I know, today is Friday.  I had a busy Thursday this week.

Big things get all the press, but little things are more effective.  I am thankful for two effective little things this week.

First, this week I came home from work to a wife who had dinner already made.

Second, after a fast-paced day of hard work yesterday, my boss said to me with a smile, “Thank you for the work you did today.”

Neither of these acts required unusual effort, planning, or talent.  Both were amazingly effective in making me feel valuable.  I am thankful for these two people and these little things they did.

I am thankful to have health insurance.  Since I changed jobs, I have had the promise of coverage but no card to show.  My cards came this week.  And I feel better.

I am thankful for radio.  It’s nice to have a variety of music to listen to on a long drive.  And my new job is 30 miles away, so I get to drive quite a bit.  The best part is, radio is still free!

I am thankful for sleep.

I learned from a TV show last week that researchers believe sleep improves memory and helps us solve problems we encountered while awake.   I know I feel a lot sharper when I’ve had a good night’s sleep.

Sleep is a gift from God.  I’ve always loved this verse:

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat — for he [the LORD] grants sleep to those he loves.  (Ps. 127:2, NIV)

The past few days I have slept through the night (mostly), and after months of awakening in the middle of the night or not sleeping at all, I am especially thankful!

I am thankful for parsley.  Some years ago, I decided to buy fresh parsley for a recipe instead of using the tasteless dried variety in my spice rack, and discovered to my delight that it has flavor — a nice flavor!  So, when my dear wife proposed starting a container garden this summer, I insisted on including parsley.  It has grown heartily, surviving caterpillars and some kind of fungus to enrich several of our meals this season.  Since it’s in a container, I plan to bring it indoors for the winter and hope I can keep it growing.  But I’ll plant it again in the spring if not.