sunday gratitude.

Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

1. Freedom to worship God publicly.

2. Installing 3 new elders and 3 new deacons this morning. Men and families who are enthusiastic about serving.

3. Seeing friends get plugged into other forms of serving the church, knowing serving will bless them even as they bless others.

4. New faces and very, very familiar faces.

5. Watching people step outside their friend groups and their comfort zones to greet guests and make them feel welcome.

6. The buzz of excitement over sign-ups for our fall retreat.

7. The reminder from Ephesians 1 today that the single defining characteristic of who I am is my union with Christ, and His work of salvation in history. May I learn to live in this reality.

8. The honor and responsibility, as a pastor’s wife, of getting to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice, in private ways.

9. Seeing people take a risk and share their stories with others at church. Seeing them grow to feel safe and feel blessed by doing it.

10. Hearing of husbands who are excited to go to Life Group.

11. Two new Life Groups are starting this fall

12. My son has been looking forward to tonight’s youth pizza movie night all week. Youth group is a place where he feels accepted, like he can be himself.

13. A friend who came to know Christ this summer.

14. This morning a medical resident I hardly know told me about the way he and his wife’s life have been changed by being loved and discipled by people in our church.

15. A new baby boy born to our church family on Thursday.

16. People making friends across ages and stages of life.

17. A life of full-time church ministry involves a lot of hard work, and costs more than I ever imagined. But it has shaped me and grown me more than I thought possible. This gives me so much hope for the unknowns of my future.

18. Feeling poured into — by so many people — this summer.

19. An older mom who gave me bold advice this morning, “You know what the biggest thing your new homeschool year needs, right? Prayer. I mean that.”

20. Conflict and personality differences and hurt feelings and the awkwardness of living in community, and working them out together. Feeling somehow closer as a result of it.

21. The story of our church is not a story about my husband, or our family. It’s a story about God, and the kingdom He is building. May we decrease and may He increase.

22. This immense privilege of living a common life with other Christians.