AUTHOR: Robin Dugall DATE: 4:35:00 PM ----- BODY:

Oh, by the way, "Happy Thanksgiving"! I'm thankful to my God for my wife and lifemate, Vicky...my wonderful children...Aaron (the racer mech), Chay-dawg, Shadow and Biff...my awesome "in-laws" (just more kids to love!)...Megster, Markie the fire-eater, and Brian the red-headed stud. And thank God for my cute and perfect grandbaby girls, Abigail, Anna Banana, and the newest kid on the block, the incomparable, Mya! And praise God that there is an "unknown" grandbaby still in the oven...who and what will it be? Will it be shaken or stirred? I'm thankful for my Community Group...my pal, Claude...my dog, Lexy...my little bro, Mikey...my tough guy friend, Troy...the two churches that I love, SCU and RH...the students who put up with me in my classes at APU...my partners in ministry, Sal and J.O. I'm thankful for 10 spot and that woman he lives with who has a hard time NOT talking...I'm thankful for my YLI kids over the past two years (too many to mention by name)...I'm thankful that I have a big a** TV...I'm thankful that I have dear friends, Marius, Dorina and Victor in Romania and a family (the Bullards) that we love and pray for in Poland. I'm thankful for my pal in the great white north, Nate the Canuck...oh, and Benjamin too. I'm thankful for my pops and my sisters in Colorado. I'm thankful for the many youth pastors and men/women in ministry that kick my butt and inspire me with their passions...people like Don, Kara, Steve, Dennis, BJ, Gordon, Bill, Jon,Mitch, Rick, Peter, Doug, Tom, Eric, Namra, Kenny, Bo, Keith, Mike, Todd, and the incomparable Rob Murray. I'm thankful for my pal Burnsie and his mentoring in my life through a multitude of life's circumstances. I'm thankful that I have lived in the wake of CS Lewis' life (so that I can read about him and his journey) but I'm NOT thankful that I have lived long enough to see reality television, Friends, and Anna Nicole Smith. I'm thankful for some of the books that have shaped my life with wisdom...some movies that make me laugh ("solid"!)...the tv shows that make me think ('doh!"), and the music that stirs my soul and makes me still want to be a rock star. I'm thankful for IPODS, the Mac Revolution, Marshall amps and Taylor Guitars. I'm thankful for the house I live in...the food that God provides and the fact that my underwear is clean today. I'm thankful that I woke up this morning but I'm also thankful that even if I didn't, I know where I'd be going next. I'm glad that they haven't proved that diet coke can kill you and that pizza makes you fat if you eat too much. I'm thankful that I have a car to drive and that it holds all the stinking equipment that I need to use when I play music. I'm thankful for my pals in Utah, Jan and Teddy and the fact that they are some of the few people who accept me for who I am without strings attached...I'm thankful that I live in California and not in Kansas. I'm thankful that I have a blog and even if noone reads it, it makes me smile. Adios!

-------- COMMENT-AUTHOR: H. West COMMENT-DATE:10:27 PM COMMENT-BODY:Hey Robin-
I think this is really great. I just started reading Blue Like Jazz (which is really good, as they all say) and it has continued my thinking about following Christ becuase it is sipmly what we were created for at our deepest levels. Kids sunday school curiculum has become so frustrating to me; its like religious people make up all these theological concepts to check off on until we get to the point that we miss that this God thing isn't something we have to prove, but is really just reality. Its been so amazing to see how God has really opened my eyes to this stuff since TEAM (although so life-chaging, oftentimes it is painful). Every day i keep coming back to that thing you said about being transformed on the very frist day of the conferene-- its really true, my journey has been totally transformed. Thanks for answering the call. You have been a huge instrument in my life, whether you know it or not. Thanks a million-- i'm thankful for you this thanksgiving. oh, and btw, I just sent off my APU application, so if you want to run over to your friends in the addmissions dept. and put in a good word for me, that'd be great. Thanks, love ya, Heidi --------