Gratitude

I re-read President Monsons conference talk ... The Joy In The Journey, and I find it amazing how there was so much I missed when I was actually listening to it! ...
a couple of the thoughts that struck me hard the second time around are here ...

It shouldn't be amazing that life is so much better when we focus on the have's instead of the have not's. Life is so much more full and meaningful when we truely realize how much we are blessed. It's eay to get a "poor me" attitude when life is challenging. I know I get a little whiney when I focus on the half empty instead of finding joy in the half full. President monson quotes the following;

Said one well-known author: “Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend . . . when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.” ---Sarah Ban Breathnach

In D & C 88:33 we are told: “For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.”

The ancient Roman philosopher Horace admonished, “Whatever hour God has blessed you with, take it with grateful hand, nor postpone your joys from year to year, so that in whatever place you have been, you may say that you have lived happily.”

I have such abundance in my life ... I am so grateful for all that I have been blessed with! I have a wonderful family, great friends ... the gospel of Jesus Christ, a testimony ...and so much more.

count your gratefuls every day and all your cares will fly away!

I Am A Child Of God ...

I was blessed today to hear the primary children share their program today! There is nothing more precious than a child with a testimony! It is so pure ...and so real! One of the councilors of the bishopric stood up after the program and made a comment that deeply struck me .. . he commented on the simple, basic truths these kids know and said that the world would be an amazing place ...if each and every human being just understood and knew those basic truths

I blogged last time about all of the goings on that are going on ... our world is definitely in a state for sure and the key to enduring to the end is having that sweet, simple, pure testimony of a child. Do you understand who you are?? I believe that having that understanding that you are the child of a Father In Heaven who loves you is key to "getting through" the tough times we are faced with in this life. There is much good ... and by having an understanding of this life and our Father in Heaven and the plan of salvation , we can see the bigger picture. When I feel overwhelmed by the craziness of our world, when I just don't want to hear any more "hot air" flapping from the lips of politicians, when I can't stand it any more and I feel like we're doomed ...

I just need to take a moment and listen to my neighbor's little boy laugh! Or see the pictures of my brother's little girls playing in the leaves ... or my sister's kids piled on their dad in a big chair, laughing ... or having my friend's little boy look at me with pure innocence, reminding me he only has one set of feet! (long story) . Or today when I hear the pure sweet joy in their hearts as they shared what they learned in primary this year ... that let's me know that our Father In Heaven is here with us now ... though there is adversity in the shadows, our lives are illuminated by the sweet, purity of the children who fill our lives! May we always recognize their power and learn from the power their innocent faith can have on the world! Nothing, like I said before, is more precious than a child with a testimony.

Turn of my play list and be touched by the spirit as this video reminds you that we are all children of God:

Words to live by

I have been overwhelmed lately by the state of our country and the world … I keep thinking of my own scripture study and what I know from the book of Mormon that In times when they were blessed with great prosperity and wealth, they forgot the Lord. Then when they fell to bad habits which led some to wickedness and placed many in peril, the righteous would turn/return to the Lord in their humbler circumstances. It's a cycle of prosperity and wickedness we see repeated over and over again in the scriptures and now again in our day.
I worry too much I know, and I have blogged before that I am the worry Diva of all time, but it scares me to think of all the goings on that are going on. Families are being redefined … some of our own are leaving the flock because they want the doctrine to be different than it is. I’m worried that the change that is being bellered from the highest political platforms are changes that are not yet being defined. I’m all for change that makes a positive difference …I know that the state we are in now as a country needs change … changes are necessary and can be good ... but change scares me, there are certain changes that the country wants that just freak me out!
My blog is not a place for a political forum … My point for this blog is that we are on a downward spiral as a people in general … there is much good …but there is much pride and many who wish to redefine what is good and righteous to fit their own personal agenda. There are no gray area’s! I believe the Lord has marked the path and lead the way precisely in the direction that we need to follow. I am beginning to understand more and more what that “great and dreadful day” of the Lord’s coming means. The “straight and narrow” has no fork in the road, it does not bend … it truly is what it is … the straight and narrow. I pray that I will always have the strength and the spiritual insight to stay on that straight and narrow.

We are are living in our own Zarahemla ... and the Gadianton robbers are in the shadows of where we are ...right now!

I found the following words by mother Teresa very powerful:

“People are often unreasonable and self centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, People may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
--Mother Teresa

Change ...

Change ... A talk by President Monson

I was particularly moved this conference weekend by the talk by President Monson concerning change . Change is hard for me at times ... but it is constant. President Monson stated:

"Rather than dwelling on the past we must make the most of today!"
but making the most of today requires me to change some ...my attitude, my habits ...my dreams ...
Dr Phil once said on his show that "if go on doing what you've always done, you'll go on getting what you've always got."
How do you make necessary changes in your own life?
Although life changes around us constantly ... it is changing my own paradigm that is sometimes harder than just accepting those things that change without my control.

The longer we live the greater our realization that it goes all to fast … so the key is to just begin the work, if you are moving in the right direction, the change will come.
I think as I harken to his council to find joy in the journey now, I have to set goals to change things about me that hold me back ... and so begins the work ...


President Monson also expressed some of the following thoughts:

Find joy in the journey …NOW

“You pile up enough tomorrows and you’ll find that you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays” … The music man

Tell people whom you love how you feel … don’t live to regret those unsaid words…

Never let a problem that needs to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.

Press on, set goals … take pictures.

Do human beings ever realize life while they live it??

True joy goes hand in hand with gratitude!

Let’s reflect gratitude for our lives and truly find joy in the journey ..

Let us invite the Savior into our lives and truly find room for Him AND invite Him into our hearts to dwell. For I truely believe that if our Savior is not part of our journey, there can be no joy!

I have quoted George Dyer in the past : “ There are three kinds of people in the world … those who make life happen …those who watch what happens…and those who wonder what happened????”

I want to live!!! I want to make it happen!

Kindnes is More Powerful

I had this story published in "Chicken Soup For the Preteen Soul Part 2" I share it here:


"Is she coming?" my shaky voice
cracked. I didn't dare look behind
me. My sister, Kayleen, turned to
see the front of the middle school
where eager seventh- and eighthgraders
were pushing their way to
carpools or making their way
down the sidewalk toward an
evening of television and
homework.
"No," she whispered, "but if we
walk faster, maybe we'll miss her
completely. I'll bet she's still waiting for you outside the gym door."
I walked faster with my head bent down because tears were stinging my eyes and my
nose had started to run. My heart was beating furiously and I had a sick feeling in my
stomach.
Who was "she"? you might be wondering. Her name was Sabrina,
and she was a bully. We were in gym class together, and I was less
than athletic--more like pathetic! I didn't run very fast, and I was
afraid of being hit by a ball, so I was a ducker not a catcher.
That day during gym class, we had played soccer. I not only
embarrassed myself, I also made Sabrina mad--basically because
she was on my team, and we didn't win. So, in the shower, she
threatened me! "I'll meet you after class," she sneered, "and you
will wish you and I had never met!"
I didn't need to wait until after class, I already wished we had never met!
As soon as class was over, I snuck out the teacher's entrance and ran to my locker where
Kayleen was already waiting for me, so we could walk home together.
"What's up with you?" she asked, noticing the look of panic in my eyes. "Sabrina!" I
choked. "We lost the soccer game in gym and it was my fault. She was on my team."
"Oh," Kayleen simply stated, but she patted my back in understanding. "Well," she said,
"We'll walk down Seventeenth South instead of Harrison. It's out of the way enough that
Sabrina won't have a clue."
From Chicken Soup
for the Preteen Soul 2,
written by Janalea
Jeppson
Page 1 of 2
We got home safely, but the next day arrived in record time. As Kayleen and I made our
way up the steep Harrison Avenue hill, I felt sick. "I still think you should tell
somebody," Kayleen chirped every few minutes.
I never replied until she had said that at least ten times, and then I burst out, "Tell
somebody what? That Sabrina is mean and scary and just creeps me out? She's never
actually done anything! Am I supposed to just tell them I am a big, fat baby who can't
handle seventh grade because she is in it, too? What am I supposed to say?" Kayleen
didn't respond. We walked the rest of the way in silence.
In homeroom, Sabrina's best friend passed me a note that stated, "At lunch, you will pay
for running away!" I didn't even look up, but I accidentally swallowed my gum and
choked until Mr. McKonkie excused me to go and get a drink.
Walking down the hall, I felt a slight sense of relief and freedom. Still, the note had me
scared, and I ducked into the girls' bathroom and just cried. When I calmed down
enough, I washed my face so I could go back to class without it being totally obvious.
As I made my way down the hallway, I had a sick feeling that I was being followed.
Suddenly, someone kicked me in the back of the leg, hard. I almost fell over. "You little
chicken!" Sabrina's voice sneered. I didn't turn around, I just walked faster. Why wasn't
she in class? I wondered in my panic. I turned to go into Mr. McKonkie's class, but
Sabrina blocked me. I turned again and started running down the hall. I had no idea
what she was going to do, but three months of constant harassment was weighing
heavily on my mind, and I was really freaked out.
Sabrina was now chasing me. At last, she caught up with me enough to kick the back of
my legs, trying to knock me down. In a panic, I swung around to the staircase that led to
the science and math department. Sabrina was so close to me by then that my sudden
shift in direction knocked her off balance and she toppled down the stairs. I stood there
watching her fall.
At first, I felt a sudden independence and victory. I turned to walk away from her when
I noticed she hadn't stook up yet. Instinct took over, and I suddenly wasn't afraid of her
anymore. I practically jumped down the stairs and touched her shoulder. "Can I help?" I
asked. When she looked up, I could tell she was in pain. "I can't walk," she moaned. I
helped her into a standing position, put her arm around my shoulder and together we
hobbled to the nurse's office.
Sabrina never harassed me after that. We never became friends, but from that moment at
the foot of the stairs, I knew I had earned her respect. She still hated being on my team
in gym class, but things were different. Her best friend would still start in on me
sometimes, but Sabrina would shake her head and quietly say, "Leave her alone."
And she always would.