I'm thankful for the substitutionary atonement.

My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness
by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who bore my pain;
Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace
And gave me life again;
Who crushed my curse of sinfulness
And clothed me in His light
And wrote His law of righteousness
With pow'r upon my heart.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside;
Who floods my weaknesses with strength
And causes fears to fly;
Whose ev'ry promise is enough
For ev'ry step I take,
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To him who reigns above,
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace,
Whose ev'ry thought is love.
For ev'ry day I have on earth
Is given by the King;
So I will give my life, my all,
To love and follow him.

I'm spending Thanksgiving this year with the Stam family in Kentucky. After the feast, we gathered to sing some thanksgiving hymns (I got to lead on the piano!) including this one by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend. Chip said they wrote it in response to their observation that expressions of thankfulness overwhelmingly tend to be about temporal things.

I'm thankful that since the very beginning of freshman year I've been a member of a body of believers where the truth of the gospel is preached faithfully. I am reminded in church, in Bible study, in small group, with friends, to be filled with thankfulness that Jesus Christ took my sins on the cross and gave me His perfect righteousness. My God is a prodigal God - a reckless spendthrift extending grace and love. (Tim Keller)

I'm thankful for more temporal things too (such as but not limited to) . . .
Telly's graduation
Wheaton College
dogs, specifically Digby, Barnabas, and Paton
the families of those dogs
tea
mechanical pencils
J.S. Bach
ipods
mittens
seasons
dark chocolate
my roommates who love me in spite of my foibles
friends that help me with computer troubles without complaint
professors that write me into full classes
that my Grandpa married Jane Stam
family
skype
gmail
blogger
the red Trinity hymnal
I'm thankful that I accidentally left my Bible at church last year at Thanksgiving so that I had to buy a little one that slips really easily into my backpack.

And I'm thankful that this list can never be complete.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
They are new every morning;
Great is your faithfulness.
"The Lord is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in Him."
Lamentations 3:22-24