Gratitude--Day 5

Today I'm thankful for:

1) Attending the temple TWICE.  Craig and I went in the morning with the Stake High Priests, and then again tonight with our family.  The temple is a play of peace and happiness and the Spirit.  It teaches me of Christ and our Father in Heaven and their wonderful plan for us here on the earth.

2) Righteous Youth.  Even though I didn't get to see it (or even have a child participate in it), I was thrilled to watch the excitement of the local youths (on either the news or Facebook) who performed in the Ogden Temple Cultural Celebrations.  The Spirit shone from their happy faces and gave me hope for the future.

3) Reading my scriptures.  I've fallen out of the daily habit of reading scriptures and I miss it!  I need to recommit to finding a set time for reading and doing it regardless. But I am thankful to have read tonight and have been fed by the words of God.  I especially love the Book of Mormon. It is permeated with truth, and I love reading it. 

Gratitude...and life all mixed in!

I started the 5 day gratitude thing, and then life got in the way.  Family visitors; wedding open houses; this, that and the other stuff.  So, I never got the gratitude posts all finished.  I feel that a lot lately...I've got plans, great plans, things to do, and all sorts of other things get in the way.

But, today I saw a Mormon Message that reminds me that at times that might be ok.  I am still accomplishing things, and sometimes they mean more than I think.  Take a look and see:

So, I guess here are some things I'm thankful for today:

1) For making a difference, even if I don't feel like I do at times.
2) For others who are willing to sacrifice to help me.
3) For health (first cold of the season hit hard yesterday, and I had to substitute today...not a good companionship.  So, even though I am not healthy today, I am thankful for mostly being healthy.)

Gratitude, Day 3

Today I'm thankful for...

1) My parents, who made it into town for the weekend's festivities and a nice visit!

2) Yummy Smoked Ribs for Dinner.  If you want the delicious recipe, check it out here.

3) Watching Melanie and Jacob interact together.  I think Jakey really misses having a sibling around!

3 Things I'm thankful for, Day 2

(Or early on Day 3...whatever.  Too busy last night working to write!)

Today (or technically yesterday, as I type this) I am (was) thankful for...

1--Melanie coming for a visit.  I always like to have my kiddos around, and I enjoy spending time with another girl.  I especially like that when she comes we go on walks together in the morning.

2--Serving others.  I made dinner for a neighbor who has a young daughter with cancer.  Although (for some odd reason) fixing dinner for a neighbor seems to take 3 times as long to me as normal dinner to fix, I am always grateful for the chance to serve.

3--Friends who are willing to help me!  In working on getting things ready for the Open House this weekend I have been thankful for others who reach out and ask "What can I do to help?"  (Especially because it's really hard for me personally to ask for help.)

3 Things to be Grateful for, Day 1

Since I have been terrible at blogging this year I'm going to use the Gratitude Challenge as 5 blog posts.  The challenge is to say three things you are thankful for each day for a total of five days.

Each night our family does a gratitude journal, where everyone says one thing they are thankful for.  I love the chance to reflect on the day and the blessings therein.  There is much to be thankful for!

In the April 2014 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a wonderful talk on Gratitude.  He reminds us to be satisfied with our blessings with this humorous story:

 There is an old story of a waiter who asked a customer whether he had enjoyed the meal. The guest replied that everything was fine, but it would have been better if they had served more bread. The next day, when the man returned, the waiter doubled the amount of bread, giving him four slices instead of two, but still the man was not happy. The next day, the waiter doubled the bread again, without success.

On the fourth day, the waiter was really determined to make the man happy. And so he took a nine-foot-long loaf of bread, cut it in half, and with a smile, served that to the customer. The waiter could scarcely wait for the man’s reaction.

 

After the meal, the man looked up and said, “Good as always. But I see you’re back to giving only two slices of bread.”

 

And now, without further ado, here are my 3 things to be thankful for:

 

1)  Beautiful stars in the sky this morning as I went out for my morning walk (yeah, it's dark outside when I go!)  There seemed to be more stars in the sky this morning than I have seen in a long time.  I love star-filled skies, they are beautiful.

 

2) A passionate kiss from my hubby when we came home from running to the grocery store for some after dinner treats. Sigh! :-)

 

3) A letter from my missionary!  Usually we get those on Monday, but this week there was no letter on Monday.  I wasn't sure why we didn't hear from him, but it turns out it was transfer week, and we luckily got a letter today so I didn't have to wait 'til next Monday to hear from him.