Thankful Thursday

Before I get into Thankful Thursday, I can't help myself from saying:

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!

I don't know if he reads this blog, but it doesn't matter. I love my dad and am so very thankful to have him in my life.

Okay...back to our regularly scheduled program.

I'm grateful for so much in my life throughout the year and thank God every day, but I don't always get a chance to specifically say it aloud to the world. So in celebration of Thanksgiving, each Thursday in November here on the blog I'll be sharing some things I'm thankful for.

This week I am thankful for the sustenance in my life:

• My two businesses that continue to thrive in this economy, providing income that may not yet be making me rich but has been just enough. This is especially true this past year. Ever since The Man lost his job of 21 years last December and our income was cut in half, I've been the sole provider in my household of five (six if you count the nephew who lived with us for half the year) (and that's three or four teenage boys who eat A LOT!). Even as The Man continues to be unemployed, we continue hanging on. And I haven't had to worry about looking for a job myself, thanks to my businesses.
• Again, my business partner and our employee without whom I wouldn't have these two companies. Well, maybe one, but I'd feel very lonely in it and wouldn't be thriving nearly as well. They are proof that God loves me.
• The ability to work and in many capacities - the mental and physical skills and capabilities that not everyone has. I can sit at a computer for hours on end with little discomfort. I can physically move objects with no pain. I can think critically, identify problems, create solutions and serve others. These are all things I can do for others in exchange for sustenance. Not everyone is blessed with one of these capabilities, let alone all of them. Of course, some are blessed with even more, but I have exactly what I need to provide at least the basics for myself and my family.
• My special talents of writing and creativity that allow me to do what I enjoy and be able to support my family with it.
• Our thousands of clients, past, present and future, who entrust us with their own futures, as well as our ability to deliver on that trust.
• The 50,000+ people who have downloaded Promise on their Kindles and other ereaders. They may not all ever read it, since many of those got it for free, but I appreciate every single one of them because in their own way, they've still contributed to Promise's - and my - success.
• The tens of thousands of readers who invested their precious time in reading Promise and enjoyed it enough to buy and read my other books. In other words, my fans. Managing a family and household and running one business are stressful enough. Writing was and still is my outlet. Adding the second business - the publishing company - however, might have thrown me into the asylum if it weren't for you, my fans. You seriously do keep me going. I appreciate every review, every piece of fan mail and every time you tell a friend about my books. Because of you, I can write and manage the publishing company full time. I appreciate each and every one of you.

It's easy to complain about everything we have to do, having to go to work, dealing with asinine bosses and co-workers and how little we get paid. But, especially in today's economy, we need to be grateful that we have jobs. Or if we don't, that we at least have the ability to work for when the right job does come along. Not everyone in this world is in the situation or has the physical and mental capabilities to work, to support themselves, to contribute to society in this way.

This year hasn't been easy, but it could have been a lot worse for my family if I didn't have all of these blessings. Thank you, God, for providing for us.

What blessings have you received in this area? Sure, we could always use and always seem to want for more, but take a peek at what you do have and tell me: How has God provided for you?