title: ThanksLiving: Gaining a Perspective to Enrich Your Life (Volume 1)
author:  D. Thomas Owsley 
description: Dr. D. Thomas Owsley is an author, counselor, life coach, educator, leader, and public speaker. He earned his several degrees in biology, history, social sciences, theology, biblical counseling, and pastoral ministry. Don served in the U.S. Army, after which he became involved in a number of business pursuits. With some key people, he founded a private school where he was both administrator and teacher. For nearly twenty years after graduating from seminary, Don served as church planter and then lead pastor. He now coaches, counsels, teaches at a university and a seminary, brings messages to various churches, speaks at conferences, and blogs. His first book, The Perfect Pastor? was published in 2007. His favorite hobbies are blogging, reading, and photography. His passion is to use his gifts, skills, and talents to mentor, serve, and bring value to others to help them flourish in life. Don started Relavate to do just that. Relavate exists to serve people like you who have a desire to enrich their own lives and elevate relationships. Don is available as a life coach and conference speaker. You can contact him through Relavate.org. He and his family live in beautiful Colorado.
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  # Acknowledgments
  
  
  I am thankful to have had the opportunity to live in West Africa, for the
  friendships I forged while there and the discovery that we are a global
  village, connected in more ways than one. To the Talibé boys in Senegal who
  bravely forge ahead each day, unwilling to give up hope for a world that will
  allow them to be children, and see them for the beautiful deserving beings
  that they are.
  
  
  I am forever indebted to John Reed, who saw the potential in this story in its
  very rough first draft, and who helped me realize my own potential as a
  novelist. You are my hero. To Luis Jaramillo, who has been there for me over
  the years with kindness, understanding, good advice, and patience. To John
  Freeman, who has been that person I can always turn to, regardless of where he
  is in the world. I want to send a special thank you to my agent, Ryan Harbage,
  who allows me to be myself and who believes in me without waver—we make a
  great team and I would not be here without y