Thankful Challenge Day 1

10 minute walk from Angel Lake, Spoiler Alert, it was frozen.

Here we go! Challenge number three, I'm totally pumped, let's do this! As I stated before being a man of faith I feel December to be an excellent month to be thankful. I'll spend the next 30 days posting each and every day about at least one thing I am thankful for. I'll also be doing my very best to not use things like pizza and indoor plumbing for this challenge, now I'll have you know I love plumbing and I also love me some good pizza (Find Uncle Benito on Boulder Highway in Vegas and you'll never eat pizza the same way again) but I just feel like there is so much to be grateful for I can do better than that. Now, a week from now when I start talking about ice cube trays or something feel free to call me on it.

I figure that I'll start this off with a bang and talk about the one thing I'm most thankful for and one of the few things I can definitely place in my pantheon of thanks. First, a story, The picture that goes with this post is of me at the top of a 'mountain' in Wells, Nevada. I made the climb on one of my off days with my missionary companion while I was serving a mission for my church. We had foolishly decided to forgo the beaten path making the hike infinitely harder as there was a foot and a half or so of crusted icy snow to trudge through. As we sat at the top resting, I remember looking over the valley and really being in awe at how grand and detailed the land before me was, I remember it as one of my more powerful 'wow' moments. I define a wow moment as one where it becomes very clear that there is a God.

I am most thankful for my God and the faith that I have in Him. Everything good in my life is because of Heavenly Father, even the very breath of life. I attribute every job I've ever had to Him, I've got all of them in a nearly miraculous fashion. Prior to my wife and I meeting our lives were full of impressions and council that lead us to the same school and to take classes that had nothing to do with either of our majors. His timing is flawless and He has always looked out for me. I've learned to always trust Heavenly Father, he has guided me places I never would have gone on my own and I've always been blessed when I am obedient. I was lead to my strange little dog who is perfect for our family, I was lead from a well paying job and a nearly finished degree in Utah to Arizona where I found a better job and brand new opportunities. I've been blessed with great friends and an amazing family, both blood and by marriage. Most of these things you'll hear about again in later posts, but I want to recognize they have all come from my Heavenly Father. People, possessions, and talents everything I have I owe to God.