50 Things I Am Thankful For

As I turn 50 years old, it seems appropriate to count some of my blessings, so I offer this list of 50 people and things I am thankful for. Do not infer favouritism in the order of the list (I intentionally randomized the list and then put God at the top). I'm sure the list would change if I thought more about it, but I've got the next 50 years to think about!

1) I am thankful to God for bringing me into this world, watching over my life and leading me. To God Be The Glory!

2) I am thankful for the couple that challenged and opened up my spiritual life, Dan & Margarita Trautmann.

3) I am thankful for darkness and silence - the best ingredients for prayer and contemplation.

4) I am thankful for central heating & air conditioning (remember Texas and Minnesota).

5) I am thankful for personal, global communications like cell phones, satellites and the Internet. Nothing else has the hope of uniting the world like the possibility of ubitiquous communication. Imagine ditching the ambassadors and have citizen negotiating with citizen.

6) I am thankful for gadgets and technology. Somethimes goofy and useless, I marvel at the vision that someone had and the expectation that a gadget would actually be useful. After all, who would ever WANT to watch a full-length movie on a cell phone screen?!?! :-)

7) I am thankful to have lived in many different places. Oklahoma, Oregon, Kansas, Virginia, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania and now Minnesota... how interesting!

8) I am thankful for my best friend, Kevin Parker. He gave me the gift of service in love and loyalty. He sought me out and demonstrated what it means to be a Christian man.

9) I am thankful for those who serve in the United States Military, including everyone else from my immediate family.

10) I am thankful for my younger daughter, Julia Pearson. Got her looks and personality from her mom's side of the family. Thoughtful, beautiful and independent... she knows what she wants and goes for it.

11) I am thankful for my friend Karen Hildreth. In spite of myself, she still cared enough to be a true friend.

12) I am thankful that I was born in the United States. God Bless America!

13) I am thankful for my younger brother, Jim Pearson. Conflict sometimes marked our childhood, but we are close these days. Jim is someone I can just sit around and chat with - a totally comfortable person.

14) I am thankful for the man who believed in my ability and future in IT technology, Joe Peichel.

15) I am thankful for peace. Though it seems there's always something to argue about or fight over, the fragile security of a prosperous peace encourages benevolence.

16) I am thankful for my step kids, Alyson, Stacey and Andy Mack. They have taught me to aspire to be like the ultimate step-dad, Joseph (Jesus' earthy father).

17) I am thankful for my iconic, generous and mentor father. He took a number of major risks in his life and always adored my mother. Dad adds peace to our lives.

18) I am thankful for the first minister I've ever known who demonstrated true grace and love, Bob Gregg.

19) I am thankful for my first, real, best friend, Milford Schaeffer. He taught me how to bend the world around me to fit my needs and to simplify everything.

20) I am thankful for my youngest brother, John Pearson. My mom once asked me in frustration, "Why can't you be like your youngest brother?" (my grades weren't very good) I don't know, but I know I should learn more from him. He inspires me.

21) I am thankful for clean water. Think about it, you can go anywhere in the USA and get a drink without getting sick. This is not true for the entire continent of Africa!

22) I am thankful for my career(s) and especially my current employer, Seagate. Seagate has given me stability, opportunity and most of all variety in my work.

23) I am thankful for electricity. Power makes all this possible. The next big "thing" will be the battery that runs a laptop for 24 hours and the battery that runs a car for 300 miles!

24) I am thankful for my older daughter, Jessica Anderson (Pearson). Got her looks and personality from my side of the family. Driven, beautiful and alive... she is self assured and positive!

25) I am thankful that my life changes from time to time. Along with this is the fact that I can't anticipate the changes.

26) I am thankful for my 6th and 7th grade science teachers, Mrs. Phagen & Mrs. Hereford. Though I never pursued the math that would enable it, they inspired me to know how and why things work.

27) I am thankful for my hobbies and amateur pursuits. Amateur is based on the Latin word "amator" or lover... doing something just because you love to do it!

28) I am thankful for my wife, DeAnna Pearson who accepts me as I am - "warts" and all. Unappreciated too often but never ignored, she restores my life. A daily inspiration for me to be better for someone else.

29) I am thankful that I was raised by Christian parents. Without doing anything else, I already know the value of fairness, honesty and sacrifice.

30) I am thankful for the person who first invited me to church in Lawton, Oklahoma: Ann Pettit.

31) I am thankful for ex-wife, Debbie Pearson, the mother of my children. I regret our divorce for many reasons, chief among them the hurt and damage I have done to her. I pray that she lives a joyous and secure life.

32) I am thankful for Science Fiction - especially the positive vision of the future from Star Trek. I'm ready to beam up!

33) I am thankful for my loving, goofy, high-spirited mother. She eloped with my dad and she's been running the house ever since. Mom adds passion to our lives.

34) I am thankful for Radio and Television and the cultural influence they have had. That may not be a politically correct thing to say, but I think they have done vastly more good than harm. Where's my remote?

35) I am thankful for the hot and cold and changes of seasons. I love Summer when it's Winter and vice versa. The grass is always greener on the other side of Spring.

36) I am thankful for computers... 'nuff said, huh?

37) I am thankful for imagination and imaginative solutions for unimportant needs or problems that are complex and beneficial.

38) I am thankful for people who give us clear examples of the dark side of humanity like Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein. I need people like this to make me look good.

39) I am thankful for people who love to do things that I hate to do. I just wish I could get to know more of these people!

40) I am thankful for the two men who fought to keep me employed at Seagate and gave me the chance to extend my expertise in computers, John Cahill and Alan Parks.

41) I am thankful for my liberal arts education in Mass Communications and my technology education in Telecommunications Management.

42) I am thankful for the most accommodating and encouraging manager I've ever known, Dan Shields.

43) I am thankful for the first manager I ever had that cared to push me to be better, Herman Runnels. He made me make decisions and stand by them in the face of criticism.

44) I am thankful that God's church is changing and becoming more spiritual. There's more to God's word than just the word!

45) I am thankful for air and space travel. Orvill, Wilbur, Amelia, Neil, Jim and Bruce still inspire me (Ask me if you can't figure out who these people are).

46) I am thankful for the guy most responsible for teaching me the grace of losing, Jeff Dix (He always beat me at the ridiculously simple game of Sticks in high school).

47) I am thankful for the gift of singing and the expression of music. This one item could fill a page with me, but I'll just leave it to Do, Ra, Me Fa, So, La, Ti, Do!

48) I am thankful that I can decide between right and wrong. Choosing wrong leads me to better choose right the next time, but I wouldn't care about right from wrong if I couldn't choose the mistaken wrong.

49) I am thankful for the creative, caring and energetic professor at OCC, Gary Rayburn... I know about his unspoken personal curse, but he taught me that creative showmanship can be memorable inspiration.

50) I am thankful for a willingly offered, unencumbered service. Whether it is a door opened or a gift without expectations, to serve is to impart kindness and life.