Five Days of Thankfulness, Day 2

My sister-in-law tagged me to do the Five Days of Thankfulness thing.  Going to do it each day this week.  I'm not going to tag anyone else - you get to be thankful if you choose, and to express that thankfulness if you choose.  I'm easy-going like that.

1.  My calling as pastor at St. Petri Lutheran Church in Story City, Iowa.  I've been a pastor for 11 years now.  I've had the great privilege to work in three different calls that have each been very rewarding along the way.  Every call is different and every place affords a different opportunity to learn and grow.  Here at St. Petri I find myself surrounded by people who are showing me how to be a better administrative/executive leader, which is really something I've struggled to figure out along the way.  We artistic types don't always value deadlines, efficiencies and other administrative details the way we should.  Here there are people who know the value of such things but have found ways to help me grow that are healthy and helpful.  And we laugh.  A lot.  That's a vital part of any call, IMO.  It's been two good years here and we look forward to seeing where God is taking us in the future.

2.  Our school district.  Tonight I will attend my first Elementary Advisory Committee meeting and I'm kind of excited about it.  We heard nothing but good things about our district when we moved to Story City and we've had great experiences here since Ainsley started kindergarten two years ago.  Good teachers, great administrators, and what seems to be an environment where students are encouraged to grow no matter where they come from or what their talents may be.

3.  Green grass.  It's September and we're still mowing - in fact, the grass grew so thick that I had to bag it last night for the lady I mow for in Ames.  We've had dry Augusts the last few years and it's just great to head out to the golf course and see green fairways stretching away in front of you this year.