30 Days of Giving Thanks Outside the Box

Usually in November, you'll see an influx of Giving Thanks types of posts on Facebook. People spend the entire month, daily posting things for which they are thankful.

I'm no different.

But I did tweak mine a bit this year.

But, instead of doing the usual list I always seem to repeat year after year...

I decided to try and think outside the box a bit this year. 

So what made my list?

Days 1-6

1. I'm thankful for Education Professors who taught me that being flexible is sometimes the key to running a successful classroom. 

2. I'm thankful for laughter.

3. I'm thankful for a school that values "play time" as much as educational learning time.

4. I'm thankful for wifi at home.

5. I'm thankful for the person who invented ceiling fans, especially since I live in such a hot place and the electricity to run an A/C is ridiculously expensive.

6. I'm thankful for a borrowed desk when I can't work at my own.

Days 7-12 

7. I'm thankful that I work in a Christian school, especially on days when I can teach a kid from a Musl*m home the meaning of grace and the love of Jesus.

8. I'm thankful for random acts of kindness.

9. I'm thankful for a good teacher bag.

10. I'm thankful for mail. Shameless Plug - Want to send me a card or letter? It only costs about 3 stamps from the US. And it's such a bright spot in my days :)

11. I'm thankful for friends (and friends that share their delicious food).

12. I'm thankful for technology, especially when it keeps me connected to my family and supporters too back in the States.

Days 13-18

13. I'm thankful for surprises.

14. I'm thankful for the help of others.

15. I'm thankful for grace - even if that means giving myself a bit of grace on those hard days.

16. I'm thankful I live on campus, especially on nights when I have to work so late that it's dark when I leave school.

17. I'm thankful for the end of Hot Season in Dakar.

18. I'm thankful for my life here in Senegal. I'm thankful that God saw fit to call me here to do this incredible work.

Days 19-24

19. I'm thankful for educational resources online. Having no set curriculum requires me to put in a lot of extra work. But I seriously Praise the Lord over the wealth of resources online.

20. I'm thankful for weekly dinners with our AG MK's.

21. I'm thankful for relationship building, especially with our non-Christian families. I love being able to share the love of Jesus in this way :)

22. I'm thankful for school breaks and long weekends, because as much as I love my students, it's still nice to have a break every now and then :)

23. I'm thankful for my AG family here in Dakar

24. I'm thankful for rest. 

Days 25-30 Collage

25. I'm thankful for neighbors.

26. I'm thankful for missionaries and the work they (we) do around the world.

27. I'm thankful for the fresh fruits/veggies we can get here in Dakar.

28. I'm thankful for memories. I miss my dad a lot. But I'm thankful for all the memories I have of him. I was blessed to have him for just shy of 30 years. 

29. I'm thankful for my students. 

30. I'm thankful for my family.

And since I'm talking about giving thanks, I must share a big thank you to those who read my #givingtuesday post earlier in the week, those who shared it with others, those who have sacrificially given, and those who are continuing to sacrificially give, all to partner with me to help further God's Kingdom through education. I still have quite a bit of money to raise. But we serve a big, big God, and I know He's still got big plans for me here. So I will continue to be thankful in advance for how He'll help me raise these funds.

Not sure what I'm talking about? Want to read the post I referred to? Click HERE. 

Want to give to support my ministry here in Senegal? Click HERE. 

Want more info about my ministry? Send me an email at enichols85@gmail.com.

Now, what about you? 

Think outside the box. 

What are you thankful for?