Thankfulness - Part Duto (2 in Bengali...I think)

"...every real Christian, however practical, is in some degree a mystic, his mysticism lying on the upper side of his life. He prays, meditates on spiritual things and communes with God and the invisible world. Also, every Christian, however he may be dedicated to the holy art of prayer and worship, must of necessity descend to work and eat and sleep and pay his taxes and get on somehow with the hard world around him. And if he follows on to know the Lord he must serve in every useful way outlined for him in the Scriptures of truth. To be a Christian it is necessary that he serve his generation as well as his God." A.W. Tozer

I love Tozer's words. I love how for him, effectively living for Jesus means loving and serving the world. And I am grateful that as I live with God, I am a part of His work here on earth. It is a gift to be included in His plan of redeeming the whole world. A gift to be part of God's redemption of McDowell County, W.V. For that I am thankful.

A few other thanks...

• The faithful love of my family. There have been countless times where my family met a need in my life this past year, where they've spoken truth into me, and where they've just shown that they're with me in the journey.
• Authentic friendship. I cherish the path on I am with friends from across the states, and across the globe. Soccer buddies from IWU days have been faithful and good to me, as well as people I didn't even know until recently that have become close to my heart. New life has been breathed into me recently through their love, words, letters, stories, and faces.
• Visible (and invisible) Hope. Can we ever know the fullness of God's loving hope for the world? I have seen it in the expressions of children I work with, in the determination of my young entrepreneur students, and in the small changes of people living in McDowell County. What is unseen is powerful, and it is changing the world...This is My Father's World!