50 Blessings To Go With 50 Candles

Having fun - blessing #47 with blessing #2
this past Saturday

In lieu of 50 candles for my 50th birthday today, I'd thought I'd count 50 blessings.  By the way, the further I go down the list, the more it is in the order I think of things, not necessarily an any order:

1. God who created and saved me in the person and work of Jesus.
2. My Darling Bride, my greatest blessing here on earth.
3. Our three wonderful kids, growing up fast.
4. My Mom (and Joey), also celebrating milestone birthdays this year.
5. My brother Greg and friend Patty, proof that loved ones with very different world views are an asset to anyone's life.
6. My brother Derek and his family, I'm enjoying watching them grow a family of their own.
7. Jennifer's parents, especially thankful that they don't invoice me for all the life coaching they provide.
8. My Dad (and Glenda), involved in our family's life.
9. My high school friends, one of the very few reasons I'm on Facebook (especially friends from the Aylesworth Junior High era).
10. My college friends, proof of the old saying, "friends are those who know everything about you but like you anyway."
11. My extended family - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, both my side and Jennifer's side.
12. My accounting career, allowing me to serve others, provide for my family, give to others in need, create wealth for my employer, and participate in society outside my doors.
13. My current employer, even though we've only been together a short while, it has been a great month full of promise and optimism for the future.
14. Speaking of doors, my home, a place of safety and security.
15. Our local church, College Park Church, all healthy well-balanced churches are a gift to us until Jesus returns.  It is easy to forget that good churches are hard to find.
16. My College Park Church friends, you motivate me to right living and pursuing Christ-likeness.
17. My Bible - not God's letter to us if He were here, but God's letter to us because He is here.
18. Our cats - past, present, and future - an opportunity to be stewards of God's creatures.
19. Indiana State Parks - a glimpse of God's creative glory.
20. National Parks - ditto.
21. The Great Lakes, especially Lake Michigan, beautiful and displays God's power.
22. Good books - the world's greatest minds, past and present, at my fingertips.  And electronic books are not quite the same.
23. Bicycles - exercise that's so much fun, I forget I'm exercising.
24. Disc golf - golf on a budget.
25. Regular golf - I'll get back to you someday, I promise!
26. Baseball - the greatest game ever invented.
27. Chicago Cubs - my favorite baseball team.
28. Chicago White Sox - a special place in baseball favorite-ness because in 1977 my first baseball game in person was a Sox game, courtesy of my grandparents (so a tribute to them).
29. Basketball - the second greatest game ever invented, with all due respect to Dr. Naismith.
30. Hockey - something to keep us busy while waiting for baseball season to come back.
31. Chicago Blackhawks - one of the greatest hockey teams ever, and perhaps the most awesome uniform of all sports teams.
32. Strawberries - my favorite food ever.
33. Cheesecake - my favorite dessert.
34. Or is cherry pie my favorite dessert?
35. Yogurt - my favorite breakfast, especially Darling Bride's homemade yogurt. (really!)
36. A well grilled steak - my favorite dinner.
37. Boneless chicken wings - my favorite lunch.
38. Ice cream - no explanation necessary.
39. Coffee - not that I like coffee per se, but I like the intentional break coffee affords, especially when enjoying a quiet moment with Darling Bride.
40. Pepsi - despite the fact that it is perhaps the biggest obstacle between me and my ideal health and fitness level.
41. Donuts - obstacle #2.
42. Sunny warm days, because I still love to play outside.  Snow will never be on this list.
43. Christmas as a Christian Holiday - celebrating the birth of our Savior.
44. Easter - celebrating the resurrection of our Savior.  Also makes Christmas relevant.
45. Christmas as an American Holiday - a time when most of my world stops, and opportunity to celebrate family.
46. Music on vinyl LPs because there's something timeless about vintage jazz played on a vintage medium.
47. Antique malls - free museums and the whole display is also a gift shop!
48. Our pair of Dodge Grand Caravans - reliable transportation is so easy to take for granted.
49. Our country and American way of life, despite the ever-growing threat of liberalism, still the greatest place to live in the world.
50. The anticipation of Heaven - as real as this life on earth, and a reminder that I have dual citizenship.