Accepting Thanks

I have a dear friend that has a hard time taking a compliment. When I tell her 'thank you,' she always says, "I don't know about that." And then I always say, "I know about it, and you're wonderful." She just laughs.

Consider the lilies. . .  God made us all. We are not perfect, but we are wonderful. Let others tell you about your goodness, and take it in. It will help you smile inside.

Connection with Family

I am grateful for my connection with my family. What fun they are. I cherish my time with them.

“In family relationships LOVE is really spelled T-I-M-E.” Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Connection with God

I am grateful for my connection with God. I love to spend time with Him each day, talking things over with Him, listening to His promptings.

“Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.  And I will be found of you, saith the LORD.”  Jeremiah 29:12 – 14

Roses

I picked my last boquet of roses today. What a wonderful blessing they are in my life. I love their fragrance and their beauty. From now until spring, they will exist only in my memory.  I am thankful for times of remembering. Through the long cold winter, memories will keep me warm. I will take time to let the reflections of summer echo in my mind.

Gratitude

“We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude.” Thomas S. Monson

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Gratitude and positive thinking go together. See if you can separate them. I've tried, but can't. They work as one.

Gratitude

“Gratitude is the twin sister of humility.”  James E. Talmage

At this time of Thanksgiving may we remember that these two great attributes go together. One is not truely part of us without the other. I will work to keep these two principles before me all year long.

Listen

Listen, gems of knowledge may come from others.
Listen, fortune may knock softly at your door.
Listen, discernment will come from your inner wisdom.
Listen, inspiration will come from God.

Train up a child . . .

When our children were home for the summer, we took them to the Draper temple open house. Our little three-year-old grandson loved being in the temple. At his young age, he could already feel the peace there. Later in the year, I visited them at their home in Phoenix. I dropped our daughter and son-in-law off at the Mesa temple to do some family sealings. Our grandson had a full-blown temper tantrum when we let them out. I couldn't figure out what the matter was, and he couldn't tell me until it dawned on me that he wanted to go into the temple. He had been in one temple and wanted to go into another. When I explained to him that when he was a little older he could go in to do baptisms, he was satisfied.

Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Gratitude

As thankfulness grows in one's heart, gratitude becomes part of one's actions.

When I think of all those who have made my life as good as it is, I feel overwhelmed. I am thankful for the baker who makes my good bread, the farmer who grows my delicious produce, the builder who make my strong house, the machinist who put together my furnace, my family who loves and supports me, my religion that gives me faith to go on.

May my actions connote my gratitude.

Thoughts

If you change your thoughts, you change your world.

A young boy picked a bouquet of roses for his mother.
His neighbor thought the boy destroyed the beauty of nature.
His younger sister thought her brother was trying to get out of his chores.
His father was jealous that he didn't think of roses for his wife.
His grandfather thought his grandson would become a great diplomat.
His grandmother knew the young boy loved his mother.

Thoughts

We are shaped by our thoughts. We become what we think. Buddha

My thoughts are my constant companions. Do they make me a better person? Are they in control of my life or do I direct them? Like an errant child, they need gentle guidance at times. I will direct them for good.

Sometimes I'm successful in guiding them and sometimes not. But I continue to counsel and educate them to be the bests that they can be because they belong to me.

Love

"I will encircle thee in the arms of my love," the Savior tells us.

When I feel discouraged, I remember this promise. Through prayer I connect with my Savior, and I feel His love. Our greatest task while here on this earth is to learn to love, and the Savior set a perfect example for us.

Love One Another

Love one another; as I hve loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if he have love one to another. John 13:34-35.

Every day I begin with this thought in my heart. Sometimes I am successful. Sometimes not. Then I start over again and again and again. But I will keep trying. I am a disciple, an imperfect one, but still a disciple.

God's Love for Us

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field . . .shall he not much more clothe you. Matthew 6:28-30.

Heavenly Father knows us, each one, and loves us.

A Higher Purpose

Have you ever had a failure and felt all was lost? Well, I have. But look to the higher purpose. Many times there is a gift in failure. What could it be? A refiners fire? A learning experience? A polishing of who you are? A cementing of relationships?

There is a higher purpose in all we do. Grieve your loss, your sadness and then move on, looking for the deeper meaning of your life. Your purpose here on earth is to bless the lives of others.

Find your way.

Abundance

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38

Love is all around us in abundance. Give of it and it shall be returned an hundred fold.

Freedom

Yesterday we exercised our freedom by voting for those who would govern us. I am grateful to live in a land of freedom. I respect those who have given their lives for our freedom. I will honor them by living the best life that I know how.

It is our freedom to progress that makes us all want to live and to go on. EleanorRoosevelt

A Sense of Place

The places I am from are many.  They are the places where my ancestors lived.  These places live in my bones and my blood. 

I stand on the seashore.  The wind blows my hair just like it did when my great grandmother stood there.  I feel the sand beneath my feet, molding to my foot just like it did for her. 

I climb the rocky hillsides where my great great grandfather worked the soil.  I feel his love for the land.

My flower garden grows roses like those of my grandmother. 

Hear the quiet of your past.  Let it fill you with life.

Teaching Children

Some family visited our home yesterday. I was struck by the difference in two little boys about the same age. One spent his time climbing, throwing balls and running around. The other one was fascinated with puzzles, putting them together over and over. Both are darling children, and they will have the blessing of choosing their own way in life because their mothers allow them to grow in the direction their interests take them.

"I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn." Albert Einstein