November 2022

9 Blessings I Am Thankful For

It is Thanksgiving weekend in the United States and, as usual, it is time to reflect on the blessings in our lives for which we are thankful.

In this post I will share my thoughts on 9 things I am thankful for. But this is not a complete list of the many blessings in my life. To recount all of them would require many more words. Also, only the first three are in priority order, but the first blessing on the list influences the other 8.

Blessing #1: The gift of salvation and eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV)

Blessing #2: Marsha Szarejko, my wife of 54 years.

We were married when Marsha had just turned 20 and I was 19. Many thought our marriage wouldn’t last, but by the grace of God, we have grown to love one another more each day.

At the time of our marriage, we were nominal Christians. We were baptized and raised the Roman Catholic church, but our faith was only a secondary thing in our lives.

According to God’s plan for us, we experienced what I like to call our “Own personal Reformation,” as we read the Bible and came to grasp the truth of Ephesians 2:8-9 quoted above.

I am convinced that our mutual faith journey solidified and made our marriage bond stronger.

Blessing #3: Family from grandparents to grandchildren

My grandparents were loving, generous, and caring. They were all faithful Christians, and I always felt loved and comfortable with them.

Since we lived close to them (we lived just down the street and later in a duplex with the Pocus grandparents) I saw them often. What I remember best about my grandparents is their obvious love for me.

I didn’t realize it until I was much older, but my parents sacrificed much to make a better life for me. From my earliest years, I always had what I needed. Later, they would incur an enormous debt to allow me to attend Villanova University.

As Marsha and I were married while I was attending Villanova, my parents also provided additional financial support to us until I finished my graduate studies at Penn State.

From my Mom I learned to love reading, and that is the source of my habit of reading over 100 books every year.

From my Dad I learned about the value of hard work. He also taught me to value and care for everyone I met. Not to be judgmental but look for ways to bless them.

Blessing #4: Children & Grandchildren

God has blessed us with 3 children and 6 grandchildren. Despite having lived in many places, we have all migrated to the same area, living only a few minutes away from one another. That speaks volumes about how close we are as a family.

Children

Our children are each different and we love them equally and are proud of them.

Tammy is the oldest. When Tammy was 9 years old, doctors diagnosed her with a brain tumor. Surgery and radiation treatments killed the cancer. But Tammy is now blind and suffers from other disabilities. Tammy is a woman of strong faith.

I believe Tammy is part of the glue that holds our family together.

Kathee is the middle child. She is a master degreed registered nurse who has been delivering babies for most of her career. She is the mother of our first two grandchildren and married to Shawn. I couldn’t have a better son-in-law. In fact, Shawn and I became good friends even before they were engaged. We golfed, bowled, and played racquetball together.

John, the youngest, is a scientist doing research on Children’s cancer. He is married to Julia and the father of our two youngest grandchildren. We quickly adopted Julia and her two daughters by a previous marriage into our family.

Grandchildren

Our 6 grandchildren came to us in three waves.

Logan (21) and Haley (19) are the children of Kathee and Shawn. We’ve known them from within minutes of their births and have been blessed to watch them grow up into fine young adults. Along the way, we’ve spoiled them with multiple trips to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and a Disney cruise.

Alyssa (22) and Kayla (21) are our step-granddaughters, courtesy of Julia. They have been part of our family for over 10 years, and we have included them on trips with Haley and Logan to Disney World, Memphis, and Omaha. We love them as much as our natural grandchildren.

The latest two blessings in our lives are Alexa (5) and Stasi (4), children of Julia and John. We’ve known them since moments after their births and are enjoying watching them grow up. They’ve already been to Disney World once and are going again with us in January.

In-Laws

Richard and Sarah are the parents of our son-in-law, Shawn. They moved to Kansas City from North Dakota a few years ago to be near their only child and his family. Their presence blesses us, especially in that Logan and Haley get to spend time with all four of their grandparents.

This Thanksgiving, we are especially thankful for Sarah’s miraculous healing! About two years ago, she was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and her life expectancy was less than one year. Today, Sarah is with us to celebrate the holiday. Just last week, her oncologist declared her cancer free! This is a testimony of God working through medicine and prayer.

Blessing #5: A Bible-believing church with Godly Pastors

We are members of a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) congregation in Kansas City. Our pastors are men of God who steadfastly preach Law & Gospel and adhere to the Lutheran Confessions, as found in The Book of Concord. In everything they do, their love for the members of our church shines clearly.

Our youth are well-served by an experienced and devoted Director of Christian Education.

Our growing membership is committed to the gospel and ministries ranging from youth to seniors and homebound persons. The large number of young families in our congregation is clear every Sunday when children fill the area around the author to hear the Children’s Sermon.

But our paid staff can’t do it all. That’s why so many of our congregants step up to volunteer in a myriad of roles, from mowing the grass to preparing meals for those in need.

I’ve served as a Bible class teacher, Elder and am currently the congregation’s president. In the presidential role, I am surrounded by fellow believers committed to serving God at our church.

Blessing #6: Living in the United States of America

If you’ve read some of my other posts, you know I am disturbed by the culture war raging in our nation. Yet, I do not despair and am thankful for the freedoms I have protected by the Constitution, especially freedom of religion, and freedom of speech, though these too are under attack by the Left.

Blessing #7: My Friends & Coworkers

I am an extrovert and need to be around other people. I’ve already noted how close our family is. Most of my close friends belong to my church, where we are part of a Christian community.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked with many good people and have always enjoyed my coworkers.

I’ve interviewed between 2,000 to 3,000 prospective employees for positions in government and business. From them, I’ve learned just how many people dislike their jobs and at least some of their coworkers. Knowing this, I realize how blessed I am to have worked and continue to work with good people.

Blessing #8: My Education

My dad was a blue-collar factory worker, and my mom was an office manager. Both had high school educations and desired more for their only child, me. Though they had limited income, they bore most of the cost associated with my B.A. from Villanova University, and my M.P.A. from Penn State University. I had some loans, but nothing like young people have today, thanks to the sacrifice of my parents. Their loving selflessness made possible the financially comfortable life my family enjoys. Thankfully, I could help them financially later in life, but I can never repay them for their sacrifice.

In 2006, at age 57 and while working full time in a high-pressure leadership role, I received my M.A. in Christian Apologetics from Biola University. I did this both online and with two residencies. As with any intense master’s program, this involved a great deal of reading, research, and writing time. All of which took me away from my family. Also, we paid the full cost of the program.

I could only do this with the support of my wife, Marsha, and the financial blessings God provided to our family.

Blessing #9: Teachers & Mentors

I would not be who I am today without the influence of many teachers and mentors. Most on my list were close to me. But at least some were mostly through their writings (though I ultimately got to meet them).

My Early Years

First, I must include my parents, grandparents, and, to a lesser degree, some uncles, and aunts.

Next, Gus Koch, my high school football, baseball, and track coach. Coach Koch taught me how to work hard, how to be disciplined, and how to learn from my mistakes. As I look back on my early life, I am convinced he had the most influence in shaping my character than anyone other than family.

Again, in my high school years, Frank Dekalb was also a positive influence. The father of one of my friends and a neighbor, he was also my boss for three summers while I worked in a tannery. He once caught me trying to improvise a piece-work job that harmed the product. He could have fired me on the spot. Instead, he showed me why I was wrong, correctly docked my pay, and gave me another chance to do it correctly. I’ve employed Mr. Dekalb’s approach to correcting an erring employee many times in my management career.

Austin, Texas

I met Cotton Rivers at an ecumenical prayer meeting in Austin, Texas. We soon became good friends and more. I like to call Cotton “my big brother in Christ.” Cotton is the man who truly discipled me and taught me what it means to live a godly, pleasing life.

When our daughter Tammy was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Cotton was there for our family from the beginning. Just minutes after talking with the neurologist, I called Cotton in tears. He was at our house in minutes. He and his wife, Ann, were there for us throughout this difficult time.

I began working for the City of Austin in 1972 after completing my M.P.A. degree. I began as a budget analyst in the Model Cities Department, soon became a division director in the same department, and at the ripe age of 24 became the acting director of a multi-million dollar, federally funded city agency. After one year as acting director, I had the opportunity to take a division head position in the City of Austin Engineering Department, headed by Charlie Graves.

While I knew nothing about civil engineering, I took on a major administrative role in the department to support Charlie.

At that time, I was a somewhat agnostic Roman Catholic. Charlie was an elder at Hyde Park Baptist Church, the largest Baptist church in Austin.

Charlie could sense that Christ was missing in my life, and he gently began witnessing to me, mostly by sharing books, because he knew I was an avid reader.

One Monday, Charlie invited me to accompany him to his church for lunch and to listen to an evangelist. I was so impressed by Angel Martinez (the evangelist) that I had Marsha get a babysitter so we could attend the evening service. We did, and both answered the altar call.

Thanks to Charlie Graves, our walk with Christ had begun.

Kansas City, MO

When we first moved to the Kansas City area, we belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a denomination that has become more and more liberal and is an apostate church.

Once we realized what was happening in the ELCA, we moved to the LCMS. While living on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metro area, we belonged to two LCMS congregations, but 16 years ago, we move to the Missouri side and joined our current church.

The pastor was Paul Schult, now retired, and Pastor Emeritus. No other Lutheran pastor has taught me more about what it means to be a Lutheran. We’ve become good friends and often discuss theology and apologetics.

Mentors Through the Written Word

Even before doing my M.A. studies at Biola, I was familiar with the writings and ministries of J. P. Moreland, William Lane Craig, and Greg Koukl. It was through reading their books and listening to their talks that I became interested in apologetics. During my time at Biola, I met all of them.

The Bible Answer Man, Hank Hanegraaff, has also influenced me. First through his radio broadcast and then through his books.

Without the ministries of these men and others, I would not have grown as much in my understanding of the Christian faith.

Your Turn

Please comment and let me know what blessings you are thankful for this holiday season.

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¹ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! ² Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! ³ Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! ⁵ For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100 ESV)