On being grateful . . .

 

“And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more.” ~ D&C 78:19

I try to spend some time each day, several times a day, looking up to the heavens and thanking my Heavenly Father for all the many blessings I have in my life. I do this both by myself, and together with my Todd. It’s so good to be together as a family, no matter how small, and to hear daily expressions of gratitude to our Heavenly Father that are shared by the both of us. It’s at once a very humbling and a very inspiring experience. There is something very special about sharing one’s faith and life with a man who shares the same connection. It was something that I prayed to have, for many, many years. Prayers do get answered, and not always in the way we expect them to be either! 

The Lord intended His children to enjoy the good things in life. "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:25). With all that we have, we must also have grateful hearts, and we must teach our children not to take all their many blessings for granted. I wake up each day and I look around me and I pinch myself, just to make sure I’m not dreaming, and then I say a silent thanks to my Heavenly Father for all that He has given me and seen fit to bless me with.

Thank you. Two simple words that can convey all the depths of your heart to it’s recipient. Two simple words that say it all. Two simple words that should never be left unsaid. Thank you is a wonderful phrase. Use it. It will add stature to your soul and heart. Never let a day go by without saying thank you to someone, at least once, for something . . . and most especially to your Heavenly Father.

Even in the darkest of corners and experiences in life, there is something to be grateful for, some little spark of light. That’s how I try to live my life, even though it’s not always easy to do so. But how can you find what you are not seeking . . . look always for the light and you will find it, and when you do . . . be grateful and give thanks. Know, always, that it is there waiting for you to discover it, even though at the time it may be obscured by our own self doubt and self pity.

When I look back on my life, and see all the experiences that I have had, that I had thought to be really bad experiences at the time, as well as times of sorrow and disappointment, (and there have been many) I have discovered that they were really times of great growth and enlargement, mind and heart expanding. I am able then to give thanks for these disasters, however large or small they might have been. Each setback has brought with it a little gift, a lesson to be learned, a pearl of wisdom, some blessing to be enjoyed, if not right at the time, then later . . . when my mind has cleared and my heart has settled. 

 

 We each one of us have that power within us, that special gift, the opportunity to be able to turn our sorrows into joy, our defeats into triumphs, our darkness into light . . . it only takes two little words . . . Thank you . . .

There is something to be thankful for each day of our lives . . . even on what we think are the worst of days . . .

“Stop looking for the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight.”
~Gordon B Hinckley 

  

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday was beautiful, warm and sunny and today it is quite cold, windy and raining. We  need the rain too, so that's okay. If every day was beautiful, warm and sunny, we might not appreciate them for the gift that they are!

We had a lovely time last evening with the Senior Missionary Couple who are serving here in our Ward at the moment. They are such nice people. Mind you, I think all of the missionaries are nice as you know, so nothing new there!  I had started off  making soup in the slow cooker, but I changed my mind and froze the soup for another time. It ended up being such a warm day that I felt soup was too hot to serve, and so we dined on potato salad, coleslaw, sliced ham and my mothers baking powder biscuits. A much better choice.

I was woke up by some really bright flashed of light last night about 11 pm, not once but twice.
So bright that they lit up all of the stairs which I could see from the open bedroom door. I went downstairs to see what was up, but could find nothing amiss at all.  I must have been dreaming. Afterwards I thought, that was pretty brave of me to go downstairs like I did. There could have been anythng going on, robbers, or whatever.  I was thinking that Todd had left the TV on, or something like that, or maybe there was a fire.  All sorts was going through my mind I suppose.  Thankfully nothing was amiss and I did not see the light/flashing again.  Maybe it was my imagination.

They say that the mind and your imagination are a powerful thing!

A thought to carry with you . . .

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *.˛.Shine brightly, see beauty.
Speak kindly, love truly.
Give freely, create joyfully.
Live thankfully.
~Mary Davis° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 

Spiritual Enlightenment 

 

In the kitchen today  . . .  Curry Chicken Fried Rice.  I so love fried rice suppers.  They are a great way of using up what you have going and so tasty. This smelled amazing when it was cooking. 

Have a beautiful day, whether the sun shines or the rain falls. Don't forget . . .

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And I do too!