Thanksgiving

I am blessed much more than I deserve. I am a mormon (go here), and I am thankful today, and every day, for that. It makes me happy and enriches my life much more than anything else I have ever tried. Part of being mormon is believing in The Book of Mormon. There was a prophet named King Benjamin who summed up how I feel today. He says :

-I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

- I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

-And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

- And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

- And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

-And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you.

" I say unto you, that there are not any among you, except it be your little children that have not been taught concerning these things, but what knoweth that ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly Father, to render to him all that you have and are... (mosiah, chapter 2 if you want to look it up)


I am indebted to my Heavenly Father and to Jesus Christ. Much more so than I could ever repay.


Here's this years "THANKSGIVING LIST" although, isn't that what this blog is? But anyway....

I'm thankful for:
mike and cecily and my boy growing inside me
the ability/opportunity to grow a baby
my health
food
my apartment
my parents, siblings, and other extended family
mike's parents, siblings, and other extended family
computers
showers
art
music
good books
an education
a stable income
a comfy bed
God, Christ, and a knowledge that there is a plan and purpose for my life

A smattering of gratitude

Tonight I'm grateful just to be me. Nothing too specific, but I'm happy with my life.

I have joy in my husband and my child. I have joy in the baby growing inside me. I am grateful to know what a gift and blessing that truly is.

I am grateful that my parents taught me right from wrong. I'm grateful that I didn't grow up with a lot of money.

I'm glad that I can find happiness in hard work. I'm glad that I can find happiness in being lazy when the work is done.

I'm grateful for God. I'm grateful for Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for my turn on earth.

Little Boy Blue

I have known for a week that Michael and I are having a baby boy. I'll be honest: at one point, part of me was hoping the ultrasound tech would tell me we were having a sister for my Cecily. I love sisters. Then, as I looked over at my beaming -and by beaming I mean GLOWING, GRINNING, BRIGHT EYED and JOYOUS- husband, all my longing for a girl was right away forgotten and swallowed up in my beaming about my tiny dude inside.

Today, I read this post from CJane, who's blog is the most fun to read- she's such a great writer. Gratitude and excitement for my boy was renewed again. I even cried a little. So unlike me....... ok, just kidding....... exactly like me.

Today I am grateful for one of each. That is definitely something to be grateful for.

Good Entertainment

The other night I watched "My Girl" on netflix. I LOVE netflix, but that's another grateful post entirely. After I watched it I felt good. I felt like it was just a good movie with good things in it. Nothing earth shattering, just cute kids and a nice message about putting family first. The little girl in it (who was 11) was portreyed as a LITTLE girl. Not a "tween" (who came up with that anyway?), and she didn't act like an 11 year old trying to be 17. I am thankful that there's still great movies out there to watch and good books to read, and I'm glad I can pick and choose what I want to see. And PS- I bawled like a baby.

Be Thou Humble

Today was "one of those days". One of those, "why did I decide to give up a career and be a stay at home mom?" days. One of those "My pants seriously don't fit?" days. One of those "I really can't quit crying and I'm not sure why, but if I don't find out soon I'm gonna gouge my eyes out" days.

I was just about to pull my hair out, and then I heard a song called "Every Breath" by Jenny Phillips. The words to the first few verses and chorus go like this:

His hands are catching your tears

And even without any words, He hears

You feel so far, but he's right where you are and He knows

Every Breath

Every pain

He knows your heart and He knows your name

Giver of life, light in your soul.

Oh, come home,come rest

Let Him bless

your every breath

Silence your voice and be still

And even without any words, you will feel

You think you are far, but He lives in your heart and He knows

Every breath

Every pain

He knows your heart and He knows your name

Giver of life, light in your soul

Oh, come home, come rest

Let Him Bless

Your every breath

I realized that I gave up my career to stay at home with my girl because I love her and in the long run, I will be more fulfilled and happy as a mom than as anything else. I realized that I don't fit into my pants because I'm so lucky and blessed and happy to be pregnant. I realized that I can't quit crying because sometimes you just need to get it all out, and atleast I have an avenue to do that. (hormones may have played a small part too)

And, so, here I am grateful that I was humbled by a song. Grateful for the bad days becuase without them, we don't appreciate the good ones. Grateful for a merciful God who knows and loves me in spite of my serious, serious weakness and catches my tears even when I'm too caught up in life to get on my knees.

Sabbath

Hmmmm, I always seem to post in my grateful journal on Sundays........ pattern or prompting? More like I go to church and get a swift kick in the patootie from the Spirit and realize that I'm an ungrateful poo. Then I feel the need to validate myself by pontificating on the things in my life I am grateful for.

Today I was given one of those kicks in the patootie. Again. And still I am grateful for it. I get caught up with life sometimes. We all do. And I like taking a step back to be excited about life and the good things in it. So right now I am thankful for sundays, for the sacrament, and for being happy.

Let Freedom Ring

This weekend I've been grateful for the founding fathers. I think they were men of courage. They signed the declaration of independence knowing that it was a treasonous act, and they could all be hung for doing so. They prepared for war and realized that it would not be easy, but worth it. Worth it for them, and worth it for us. A free country is something worth being grateful for. And, I really like fireworks.

Cecily JeNae

Today I am grateful for my girl. Not just that I'm a mom in general, but that I'm the mom to THIS spirit in particular. Of course, I think she's the best, and the cutest, and the smartest, but it's more than that. She seriously has a fun, funny, sometimes crazy, always amazing personality. She laughes at my jokes, and I laugh at hers. I'm pretty sure we're best friends. And best friends with dad. And I'm pretty sure that it will stay that way for a while. She's

the coolest. That's right. The coolest.

Trials

Today in church we spoke about happiness through our trials, and the light at the end of them. There is always light as long as we learn. I am grateful for the small trials I have been given, although I have never been happy about them at the time. Sometimes I feel like I have been spared the "really bad" trials of life so far but I don't think anyone has a monopoly on pain. We cannot possibly compare our trials to another persons, because we all have unique emotions, reactions, and spirits. God chose our trials to help us grow, I think. I'm trying to grow. I suck at it a lot. I feel like it's a good time for me to write this, because as of right now, all is well. But, tomorrow always brings change, and I may need to look back and take my own advice.

This Little House

Today I'm grateful for our cute little apartment. It's nice, and it's close to Mike's work, and it's cheap. I'm especially happy that it's cheap 'cause that means we get to save some money for our eventual house. Our landlords did a great job fixing it up, and its got just enough "old charm" mixed with "modern convenience." Our neighbors (who are also the owners..) have 3 kids that Cecily adores and wants to play with nearly every day, which is tons of fun for both she and I. I get to talk to an adult, and she gets to run around in the yard. We even have a garden. Carrots and tomatos comin' our way! Who could ask for more? I wish I had a picture to post of it, but I haven't taken one yet...

A Mother

As I was laying in bed last night it occurred to me how grateful I am to be a mother. I feel so lucky that I didn't have trouble getting pregnant, staying pregnant, or giving birth. I don't know why this is given to some people who don't deserve it, and withheld from some beautiful women (many that i know and am close to) who deserve it beyond measure. There is a woman I know who has a mothers heart, but has had several miscarriages and has not been given that gift in this life. Cecily just adores her. It makes me melt to see C.J. yell her name and run to her in the hall at church, but it also makes me hurt to think of her pain. The sunshine in all of this is that I know God is just, and that He will give her blessings beyond measure either in this life or in the next. It's also good for me to realize what a tremendous responsibility and gift I have from Heavenly Father. I have an amazing little girl.

My Body

Today I'm very happy that I got to come to earth and get a body.  Sometimes I don't like the shape of my body, or I don't like when my body doesn't work as well as it should.  I'm fighting a cold right now..... but I'm glad that God gave me the ability to fight off the virus, and it's especially nice that He gives me enough strength to take care of my baby girl in the midst of it all.  In the grand scheme of things, I'm workin' pretty well at the moment, and although I know my body will break down and get old and wrinkly, I'm grateful to have gotten one at all.  In particular, I feel lucky that I can see well and I have straight teeth.  Along with my many (and I mean MANY) imperfections, I like those 2 things best.  

Giving Talks

It's been too long since my last post.  I have much to be grateful for.  Today I'm happy that I have to give a talk in church. It gave me a much needed push to focus on Christ, on service, and on being happy. 

 God, in His wisdom, knows when we need pushing.

  Over the past few weeks I have been remiss in counting my many blessings and have instead been a bit selfish.  Now I want to shout from the rooftops how grateful I am for the world and everyone in it.  Yes, as much as I hate (and I mean REALLY strongly dislike) standing on a pulpit and spouting what little knowledge I have for the congregation, it's worth it because of the things I have learned (and continue to learn) from it.  

Blessed Prayer

It's been one of those wonderful weeks where prayer is my lifeline. It's the only thing that keeps me sane in a world full of twists and turns. I have such a good life, and I feel blessed. I love that I can pray in my mind or I can pray outloud. I pray mostly on my knees and sometimes, if I'm lazy, still laying in bed in the morning. I pray while doing dishes, or the laundry. Isn't it glorious that God gives us such an open line of communication? He never tells us that "It's just not a good time" or "I'll have to call you back." He just loves us and lets us pray when we're happy or sad or troubled or angry or full of thanks. He just listens, and if we look closely enough, always answers.

The Bath

Today I'm grateful for my bathtub. I'm grateful for all the modern conveniences that make baths possible: running water, pipes, smart people, houses, plumbing, a fabulous water heater and many more. I love baths. I love really warm bubble baths with yummy scented bath oil. I'm relaxed and content for however long I choose to stay in my watery dreamland, and that is something to be thankful for.

Sweet Grapefruit

In an attempt to become more grateful for the things in my life, I've decided to start a blog of some of the things I'm thankful for, or happy about, or just things that make my life better. Big things, silly things, substantial things and tiny things. I know I could do this in a journal, but putting it out there for the universe to read somehow makes it more real and concrete........... or something. Anyway, I hope it will help me thank God more for the good things in my life.

Day One: Grapefruit. A silly thing and not very powerful or grand thing for my first entry, but I love it just the same. It's a divine midnight snack. Cut in half. Dusted with sugar. Full of yummy goodness. And, when I'm done I love to squeeze the last bit of juice out of it and usually it gets on my face and hands. Then I'm sticky, and happy, and full.