Grateful for Newness of Life

I am thankful for the transformed and flowered cross that proclaimed, "Christ is Risen!" from our front steps to our community this week. 

I am grateful for the children and college students who play and laugh together on our church's front lawn each weekday afternoon.

I am thankful for our church family who plays in the dirt and helps make our campus beautiful with flowers too many to name. 

I am thankful for efforts to support the United Christian Ministries, Homebase at WCU, and literacy among the children in our After School Ministry. 

I am thankful for our church sanctuary's simple beauty and rich history. 

I am grateful for men who build ramps for those who would otherwise have difficulty getting in and out of their homes. 

I am thankful for the long-distance views of forested mountainsides and tucked-away coves.

I am grateful for the wisdom of parents, grandparents, seniors, and elders as they have seen and experienced more life than I have.

I am grateful for those who want to share their lives and are willing to be on the path of transformation. 

I am thankful for those who manage the technical elements involved in our church worship offerings. 

I am thankful for the Pastoral Care Team and their countless notes, text messages, phone calls, and visits to our church and community. 

I am grateful for our recent trip to Holguin, Cuba, and our partnership with Pastor Ernesto and Kerygma Baptist Church. 

I am thankful for church leaders who serve and volunteer in unseen ways to improve and strengthen our church and community.

I am grateful for the friendly faces and the warmth of familiar strangers on Main Street and Bridge Park.

I am thankful for growing Sunday School Classes. 

I am grateful for the men who will host our upcoming Men's Breakfast. 

I am thankful for the rain, tumbling creeks, and waterfalls in our mountains. 

I am thankful for the melody of fellowship when we pass the peace of Christ in our worship service. 

I am thankful for individuals who are generous with their time, energy, and resources.

I am grateful for a church that gives others the benefit of the doubt. 

I am thankful for the warmth of holding the hand of someone experiencing a season of grief in their life. 

I am grateful for a church that practices forgiveness, patience, mercy, and grace. 

I am thankful for coffee. 

I am grateful for youth retreats, egg hunts, and children who visit our church's homebound families.  

I am thankful to learn how our church members are forming new friendships with one another over lunch, at the movies, and local conferences. 

I am grateful when guests report how they experienced hospitality, kindness, and love when worshipping with us. 

I am thankful for technology that has enabled us to broaden our reach.  

I am thankful for our servant leaders who work tirelessly behind the scenes to fix commodes, manage finances, decorate the church sanctuary, hold weighty questions, prepare meals for baseball teams, and ask: "How can I help?" 

I am grateful for the passion and energy I see among our church family to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God daily.

I am thankful for the old courthouse--now a library, presiding on a hill set against a glorious blue sky.

I am grateful for a church staff who serves and leads with faithfulness and good cheer.


These are but a few of the things I am grateful for today. What does your list look like?