100 Things I'm Thankful For

reviving an old tradition

1. A loving, supportive wife

2. How a Carolina sunset one day looks like a lightbulb melting into cotton candy, then the next day like horizontal orange and yellow flames

3. A two-dollar slice of pizza at Costco

4. A pair of well-worn slippers on cold mornings

5. Running

6. Studying Hebrews with our small group in the spring

7. The smell of my wife baking sourdough bread

8. A trusty ink pen

9. The sometimes frustrating nuances of writing a book

10. Eero, which has made WiFi connection in my house so much more reliable

11. The Grand Tetons

12. Tracking my daily fitness goals on my Apple Watch

13. Our generous neighbor who gifted me my Apple Watch

14. My mom's cooking

15. Fixing something in the house without having to call a repairman

16. Chocolate-Banana-Peanut Butter protein smoothies

17. How my daughters run upstairs Tuesdays and Thursdays to tell me about their school day as soon as they get home

18. Running into old high school friends

19. A solid pair of ripoff air pods

20. Our local used bookstore Pages On Pine

21. Fantasy football
    
    

22. Learning to cook new things

23. Getting a great parking spot at Walmart on a busy Saturday

24. How diligent my wife is with her nursing classes

25. My eyeglasses

26. That Donald Trump was not assassinated

27. The privilege to vote

28. That the election is over

29. That Donald Trump can never run for president again

30. Rewatching The West Wing for the fifth time

31. Zach Bryan's music

32. Staying hydrated

33. Walking my dog

34. Hiking with my dog

35. Playing with my dog

36. My dog.

37. How our bedroom smells when my wife sprays her perfume

38. A new, blank journal

39. Inside The NBA (Ernie, Chuck, Shaq, and Kenny)

40. Finishing a book on Goodreads

41. The first feel of fall in the air

42. "Turn The Lights Back On" by Billy Joel

43. All the memories of our family trip to Yellowstone
    

    

    
    

44. A good night of sleep

45. A 19-year-old truck that still runs

46. The freckles on my oldest daughter's nose

47. How my youngest daughter occasionally mispronounces a word when she's mad

48. Waking up without regrets

49. Writing about things I want to write about, mostly on Substack

50. Becoming a great uncle for the 2nd and 3rd time

51. A good-smelling bar of soap

52. The immediate encouragement I find in friends from college

53. Nearly reading through the entire Bible in a year for the first time ever

54. The TV series I Know This Much Is True

55. Discovering the author Dennis Lehane

56. Watching my wife interact with children

57. Walking in a cool stream with Chacos on

58. Old work friends that ask how I'm doing

59. Bach's Suite No. 1 in G Major

60. Shaving my head (yes hair will grow if I let it just not much of it)

61. Rap beef that leads to great art (Drake vs Kendrick Lamar)

62. Beth Moore's autobiography

63. Trips to the library with my daughters

64. Trips to anywhere with my wife

65. Trips to a bookstore by myself

66. Working a job with kind, collaborative people

67. Band of Brothers

68. Getting an entire column of clues correct while watching Jeopardy

69. A deep kiss from my wife

70. The feeling that comes when a good poem hits you

71. How peanut butter and chocolate make for an amazing treat

72. Watching Clemson’s basketball team make the Elite 8

73. Campfires

74. Pizza and movie nights with the family

75. The chance to do some fly fishing

76. Hugs from my parents

77. Strangers on LinkedIn who give encouragement

78. "In Your Atmosphere" by John Mayer

79. Watching the Summer Olympics with my family

80. Teddy Wayne's books

81. The life of Dallas Willard

82. The clear duct tape holding a broken window in place until we get a new one

83. The mystery of God

84. "These Are The Days" by Cory Asbury

85. Losing a little bit of weight

86. Full moons on cloudless nights

87. The tradition of my daughters catching fireflies in June

88. The sheepish joy on my wife's face when she's gotten a good grade

89. Long talks on the back deck

90. "Dirt Cheap" by Cody Johnson

91. My oldest daughter playing hymns and Christmas songs on the piano

92. My youngest daughter learning the guitar all on her own

93. The kindness my mother-in-law shows us

94. Tax refunds

95. The Braves winning in a 9th-inning comeback

96. The Crown

97. Little reminders of God's grace

98. Randomly hearing an old Dru Hill song

99. Texting friends random lines from Seinfeld and them knowing exactly what I mean

100. Anyone who spends even a fraction of a minute reading something I've written

I used to do this every year on Facebook. It’s been about a decade or so. I find when we sit and think about things we’re thankful for, no matter how big or small, we realize things aren’t so bad after all. In fact, we’ve got it pretty good.