Alphabetic Gratitude Blog continues... with EEEEEEE!!!

DAY FIVE continues with the letter E...

Elections... Every time I read the front page and see someone like Kim Jong-il there, I am grateful for a country with free elections, without concern for my own rights, or those of my family being violated because I vote for a different party, or a different candidate. Remember the purple thumbs in Iraq's election? Yeah. I'm grateful.

Electricity... when I did a short-term stint in Nigeria, we called twisted the acronym for the power company to "Never Expect Power, American!" It meant I never knew when I would have water pumped to my faucet, lights for my apartment, or heat for my stove. At four a.m. the lights overhead would pop on, and I would stagger around, filling pots and buckets with water, before crawling back in bed. Rarely do we have a power outage that lasts more than 12 hours. Really. I need to stop complaining!!!

Education... By choice we use the "free" public schools (which aren't) and by choice we are using private institutions for college and grad school. But we (a) have a choice and (b) are getting an education for our daughters. It's a privilege many females do not receive around the world.

Examples... (good ones, that is.) SO many, I can't possibly name them all. Pastors, teachers, writers, leaders, gentle citizens all. Thanks.

Energy... compared to this time last week, I am awake at 3 in the afternoon. Physically I am on the mend, and generally, God has gifted me with lots of energy and stick-to-it-tive-ness for the tasks in my life. It's great to feel a little more energy today.

On my way thinking about E words... how about you...

Deb

P.S. someone asked me, "what will you do when you get to X? Improvise?" I said, "X-ACTLY!!!" :)