Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

For most, it’s a wonderful time of getting together with family and eating delicious home-cooked meals, maybe watch a football game. It’s also a great time to think about…what are you thankful for?

Here are the top 10 things that I am thankful for.

1. God. I am still amazed, after nearly 18 years of being a Christian, that God still loves me and has stuck with me.

I know some may say, “of course He loves you. He’s God.” But I know my own failings, my own sins all too well. And God knows more. I don’t deserve His mercy, but rather His punishment for my sins. And yet, amazingly, through Jesus Christ, He has thrown my sins into the sea of forgetfulness, cast them as far as the east is from the west, sealed them up in a bag, cleansed them and made them whiter that snow.

I continue to find new promises of God’s love and mercy all the time within the pages of my Bible, and more circumstances in life that He has walked with me through.

 

Not long ago, someone urged me to give up on my trust in Jesus.

“How can I?” I replied. “I’ve walked with Him, and I’ve talked with Him. He has been with me all this time.”

If you count yourself a Christian, it’s not just that you get a ticket punched for heaven.

No.

You get God.

And that is the best of all. As author John Piper puts it, “God is the Gospel.”

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2. My wife. I owe so much of who I am as a full time artist today, to my beautiful wife of fifteen years.

She has put up with all of my idiosyncrasies as an artist–my ramblings about my latest art idea, and lofty views on life. She has fed me well, so that I have fuel to move my brush on the canvas. 🙂 She has endured several occasions of barely making rent. She has prompted me to pray, trust God, and see provision flow in miraculously. She has encouraged me to keep on painting and not give up on what God has created me to do.

My wife is an amazing mother too. When I see how she cares for her children–the sacrifice and love she pours into them, I am still amazed!

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3. My children and family. It’s so wonderful to tuck your children to bed at night, kiss them on the cheek after reading a Bible story and praying with them. They have the best questions and their simple faith in God can amaze you. The Bible says “Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.” (Psalm 127:3)

I am thankful for my family: my dad, my mom, my three brothers and sisters. A lot of who I am as an artist and Christian, I owe to them. My mom encouraged me to do artwork as a child, when she asked me to draw pictures for her newsletter at age 9. When I was 14, she brought a friend over to our house and I did my first paid commissioned portrait for her.

My mother-in-law encouraged me to do art full time as an adult. At age 32, I had a dead-end job that took me away from my family for days on end. Her “tough love” words shocked me into life, and set me on a course to finally pursue my dream of being a full time artist.

My brothers and sister (and her husband) encouraged me to draw and also built me up in my new faith as a Christian.

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4. My church. I remember how, after my dad had passed away the pastor of my church took up a collection for us to be able to go down to his funeral. They collected over $500 in one day, from a church with only 50-75 people! Then the pastor let us borrow his Cadillac to make the drive from Wisconsin to southern Iowa. This is just one example of how my church has been a blessing to me and my family.

Not only that, through many great sermons (messages) my life has been impacted. I’ve been given encouragement and direction to navigate through the uncertain, murky waters of life. It is in the context of a local church, that you can grow in your faith, encourage others, help people in need, be compelled to forgive others who have hurt you, and prepare yourself for the next life.

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5. My health. I am blessed to be in good health, even though I’m 41. (That may seem old or young depending on your age) I thank God that I can wake up every day without much pain (I have headaches from time to time) and paint for a living.

I have had some injuries and minor health problems. But there are a few rock-solid promises in the Bible: “Bless the Lord, O My soul and forget not all of His benefits, who forgives all your sins, and heals all your diseases.” (Psalm 103:2-3) “Surely he (Jesus) took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”(Isaiah 53:4-5)

Through the power of Jesus, I have been healed of several things: laryngitis, emaciation (I supernaturally put on weight when I was 140 lbs at 6’3) a foot injury when a stove dropped on my foot, a neck and spine injury, shoulder injury and other things I can’t remember. Miracles still happen today!

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6. My art career. I am thankful that I can paint full time. There has been a cost for it, to be sure. I’ve had several months where I didn’t know how we would make rent. Income has been sporadic at times, we’ve had to tighten our financial belts to make it through. But it has increased my faith and drawn me closer to the Lord, out of necessity. And that is a good thing. Although I give up the stability of having a weekly paycheck, it’s nice to be able to leave my work when my wife calls to spend a couple hours with her and the family at the park. Or watch my daughter’s school play without having to ask off. It’s even better to wake up working on a job I love, even though it is work. Yes, painting is work! 🙂

 

 

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7. Food, clothing and shelter. The Bible says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” (I Timothy 6:6-8) On a daily basis, I thank God for food, clothing, and shelter. I may not be living in a dream home (yet) but at least I am not living under a bridge. I may not be eating filet mignon, but I have three square meals a day and purified water to drink. I am blessed!

 

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8. Transportation. My wife and I own two cars. She has the van, I have the SUV. Which is perfect for moving art and art supplies around. Until a couple years ago, we had only one vehicle to save money. At that time I was working at a recycling center part time, and I rode my bicycle to work–about 3 miles–every day. It didn’t matter whether it was raining or snowing, 90 degrees, or -20 degrees. That’s how I got to work. I had studded tires, by the way, and dressed in several layers. It wasn’t always easy, but it kept me in good shape!

 

 

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9. Freedoms. It’s cliche to say, but I am thankful for the freedoms I have in America. I’m not sure where you live, but chances are you live in a country that also grants you a lot freedoms as well: freedom of speech, freedom to worship according to the dictates of your conscience, freedom to move and live where you want.

“Walking in His Footsteps”, 11 x 14, pencil on paper, by artist Matt PhilleoNot everyone in the world has these freedoms. And in previous centuries, most people were tied down to a piece of land their whole life, with no chance of changing their circumstances. So, we need to count our blessings, even when we may be tempted to complain about taxes, and politicians we don’t like. Most of us have it way better than our ancestors five hundred years ago!

 

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10. You. I wanted to finish this off, by saying, I am thankful for…you!

You are the one reading this article, sharing it with your friends, writing me back with kind words that have really encouraged me as an artist. You have shared your stories with me, prayer requests, art that you’re working on, ideas that you have. It means a lot. My greatest desire in life is to be able to share the joy of how good God has been to me with other people, and to encourage you in that pursuit as well. You have encouraged me in turn to pursue God more in my life. Painting, and teaching others how to paint, is an expression of that. Every time you have written back, it’s confirmed that what I am doing is making a difference, and it’s not in vain.

Somehow I long to meet you, if not in this life, then in the next. You have prayed for me and encouraged me too, when I’ve been down.

Thank you for all the support and kind words over the months and years!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving,