Thanksgiving has always made us feel so warm on the inside. Sharing our gratitude to God and to each other. Giving thanks is much more than doing this on Thanksgiving. This is a daily, continual practice that can be done within a few minutes of slowing down, taking in the day that is unfolding before you, and thanking God in the middle of it all.

A month into our marriage, as newlyweds, we each made a gratitude list of things we are thankful for to keep ourselves in check. It is a simple way to remind ourselves of what we do have versus what we do not have.

Lianna’s Thanksgiving List

1. First of all, it is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

He has always been there for me even when I have turned away from Him. He has led me every step of the way of my life even when I did not know this. Jesus saved me from myself. I do not have to live buried in my past and what I have done.

I do not have to stay stuck in guilt or shame forever. I get to live in freedom, His freedom, because of the price He paid dying on the cross for me. I never ever want to stop thanking, worshiping, and honoring Jesus.

I never want a day to come by that I do not celebrate God’s goodness, mercy, and everlasting love. Living for God is what gives me purpose, a fire to live out His mission for me. This is why I have true joy because I am living for Him.

2. My family.

I have a big family. That’s usually how the Hispanics are. I have my parents, my sister, grandmother, grandfather, 12 cousins, 5 aunts, and 5 uncles. This year, I was so blessed to be added into my new family after marrying David. Even though Either we are apart during times during the year, when we get together, it’s like we have never left one another. I love every single one of them.

3. Getting married to David Bond on June 22, 2019.

Of course, I am beyond thankful that God has blessed me with David, that I have the privilege of being his wife. Our marriage has taught us how to become one in everyday life.

I feel like I have grown so much exponentially within the last five months that I’ve been married than in my entire life. David has been nothing but wonderful to me as we both adjusted to married life and living with each other.

4. The sweet friends we have in our lives.

Even though our circle of friends has grown smaller in recent years, the friends we have are intentional, uplifting, loving, and always praying for one another. Our church friends, we call them, family, because we are just living for God and living life together, and that creates such a special bond in our community. Friends, you know who you are.

5. Last but not least, The Simple Mission.

I am thankful that God showed us the vision to start The Simple Mission despite how afraid we were to try something new. But, I also thank God so much for pushing me past my fears and do the things He wanted me to do for the longest time.

I am thankful for how God has enabled us to be able to work together in business and have the blessing to dream together.

I recently listened to a podcast episode by She Podcast, and the episode specifically talked about how she and her husband dream together of how to work together as business partners and as a married couple.

This is something that we both listened and loved hearing about because God has placed in our hearts to work together for His glory and share His Word.

Let us know what you are thankful for in the comments!

Did you know we also shared our favorite Thanksgiving family traditions? Just go here & read more about it!

David’s Thanksgiving List

1. I am thankful for our freedom so that we can spend time with family and to be able to have an open relationship with the Lord.

Our freedom as US citizens I feel is often overlooked and goes unnoticed because we are so used to having freedom without oppression. I will always be thankful for the freedom to worship freely.

That is such a huge blessing to not have the gov’t knocking down our doors if we are praying or worshiping.

2. Marrying my beautiful wife and best friend.

Marriage is such a beautiful act that is shared between two people who are crazy in love for one another. I am crazy in love with my wife, Lianna and I am thankful that we got married and are living our lives together. I am very thankful and blessed to have met her in the way that we did and have started working together for The Simple Mission.

I am also thankful that we waited to have sex till after we got married. The Lord has blessed up tremendously because we were honoring Him by waiting until after we got married. I feel like that topic in itself, Lianna and I will write a blog post about or talk about it on our podcast….(little sneak peek) in the near future.

3. My family.

I love my crazy big family. Each and every one of them I have built a special bond and relationship with. Even if we are all spread out and in different phases of life, we all love each other dearly. When we are all able to get together, we have a blast; laughing, talking and spending quality time with one another. I have recently added family members on Lianna’s side. It has been a joy to be able to build a relationship with each and every one of them.

4. Bread and Butter

I am super thankful for my career in sales, business ownership, co-founder, and an author (very soon). The opportunities that I have been blessed with, fuels our lives right now bringing home the bread and butter.

Also, it enables us to make possible the dreams and aspirations that Lianna and I have as a couple and as individuals.

5. The Simple Mission

I am beyond thankful for the God given dream and vision to create The Simple Mission from scratch given the direction from the Lord. The Simple Mission has challenged and helped to open my eyes into creating something beautiful to help others discover their mission all while working alongside my beautiful wife.

It has been and will continue to be an amazing experience that will grow and challenge me and Lianna to new heights and new levels in our marriage and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Let us know what you are thankful for in the comments!

Thank you for reading,

David & Lianna Bond

Co-founders of The Simple Mission