Blessings

I haven't posted for a bit, I broke my computer. Not great, but we are managing.


As I thought about what to write today, gratitude came to mind. We are very blessed and sometimes I guess I forget it. Both my husband and I have jobs. We have a place to live, food on the table, vehicles to drive, gas money, insurance, electricity, I could go on and on and on.


Sometimes it gets easy to focus on whats missing and forget to see what's good about life. I know that I need to spend a bit more time being thankful.

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a
present and not giving it."~William Arthur Ward

Gratitude

As I was pondering this morning I realized that there were many years of my life when I was very ungrateful. I wanted something more, which is OK really, but I wanted these things to the point that I would forget about all the blessings I had in my life.'

I realized today that I still want things. I could probably list 15 or 20 things off the top of my head, but I am very grateful for what I have right now. That list might take me a little longer to come up with, but I bet it would be longer than my list of wants.

God has truly blessed me in this life and while I want to do better and have more, I know that I need to stop and remember and be thankful for all that he has given me. Right now, today.

Poor Me

Some days I just want to have a pity party. I don't know why but I'm just feeling sorry for myself today.

When I get this way I've found that the best way to get past it is to count my blessings. It seems like when I focus on all the good things in my life, I tend to be less focused on what I think is lacking or not exactly the way I want it.

So, today I am grateful for my family; my husband and kids, my home, my job, my health, my opportunities to learn, my challenges (more chances to learn), my seminary class, my cars, my clothes, my freedom, my friends, and my faith

How can I feel sorry for myself when I have so much. I am blessed with so much I have no reason to complain.

Blessings

"Count your Blessings name them one by one,

and it will surprise you what the Lord has done."

I have a journal that I bought several years ago, and off and on I would write in it. Things that were going on, struggles, etc. There were maybe eight entries each year. I haven't been very good at keeping up on it.

At the beginning of 2009 I decided to try something different. I have been writing down the blessings I have in my life and why I am thankful for them. At first it was really easy; family, friends, job, health. The first few weeks I had no trouble filling the pages. Lately, I've had to work a little harder at it. But, I still have things to write about. Some days, it's the weather. "I'm thankful for not having snow." Other times, I've gone back to my family and looked deeper at my blessings.

As I spend a few minutes each day being thankful for what I have been given, it opens my eyes to all the things the Lord has put in my life that I take for granted. I have been blessed with so much and I know that I need to remember to take the time to be thankful for all that I have been blessed with

In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy. ~Albert Clarke