A Thankful Heart

"In life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy."

-Brother David Steindl-Rast @ www.gratefulness.org

'Tis the season to measure that which I am grateful for. This is a wonderful blessing that I have (and you too!)... to count each blessing inmylife; which is usually "small and simple" (Alma 37:6), but occasionally very great, and soon I start to see just how much I have been blessed with every day.If we can cultivate an attitude of gratitude in our hearts, we will have the power to overcome all of life's challenges and those debilitating feelings of inadequacy that come from the adversary in an effort to keep us from reaching for that power that we have within us to do something amazing and become someone beautifully divine. Each day during the month of November, I am going to add to this list something that I am thankful for, no matter how small or insignificant it may be. In order to discover the power of gratitude to unleash unlimited abundance and happiness in YOUR life, click here.

November 1: I am thankful for my warm, comfy bed.

November 2: I am thankful for the opportunity I have to vote.

November 3: I am thankful for my students who know how to make me smile.

November 4: I am thankful for my family.

November 5: I am thankful for soldiers, firefighters, police officers, and all others who protect and fight for our life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

November 6: I am so thankful to have been raised knowing that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that God loves me enough to provide a way to overcome sin, weakness, and all types of pain. What greater love is there than that?

I am thankful for my beautiful nephew and his sweet spirit. He truly loves unconditionally!

November 7: I am thankful for good music and the power it has to lift your spirits and bring you closer to God.

November 8: I am thankful for rain.


November 9: I am thankful for prayer, especially at 2:00 in the morning when everything seems so hopeless.


November 10: I am thankful for warm clothes and the heat in my car on a frosty morning. I am also thankful for the heat in my home on a cold afternoon and evening.



November 11: I am thankful for my grandfather, William Allen Myers, Jr and his service to America in the US Coast Guard. I miss you, Bucky! Thank you for being my hero and my guardian angel. I am also thankful for another grandfather, Garn, and his service to America (Air Force) as well!

November 12 I am thankful for the weekend and to have report cards all finished and ready for conferences next week.

November 13 I am grateful for friends. Today I am remembering a really good friend and missing her lots on her birthday. I also was able to spend some time with some good friends from Page that I haven't seen in 2-3 years. Yay for friends.

November 14 I am grateful for Sundays and the spiritual nourishment and refreshment that I get.

November 15 I am grateful for small breaks in between parent teacher conferences. Enough to take a swig from the Dr. Pepper and run to the bathroom.

November 16 I am grateful for my job. Even though the little "turkeys" are loud, sometimes naughty, don't listen too well, and sometimes are energy draining, it sure is rewarding to get a hug from so many of them as I walk across the playground. You would think I was Hannah Montana or something, the way they run up to me yelling my ...name with their arms stretched out for a hug. :D

November 17 I am thankful to have so much to be thankful for.

November 18 I am thankful to be done with parent teacher conferences, and that only 2 people stood us up.

November 19 I am grateful for nice strangers, Santa's Little Helpers! Today I was at Maverick getting at soda and the stranger, an older gentleman sneezed so naturally, I said, "bless you!" Well when I went to buy my drink, I found he had paid for it. That is the 2nd time in recent months that a stranger has paid for my stuff.

November 20 I am thankful that I was able to learn how to read. I am thankful for books, and for all the enjoyment and learning that I get from them.

November 21 I am grateful to have a place of my own. No one cares if it is messy, except me. I can sleep in since no one is making noise. I can do my laundry when I want and not have to worry whether the washer or dryer is available. Its all mine....but I do wish I had someone to help me clean it.

November 22 I am thankful for my weaknesses and the humility they have helped me to develop. I am thankful for my ADHD and the things that I have learned about how to learn. Even though I didn't really struggle in school (aside from math), there is so much in other areas of my life that I struggle to learn and it has helped me understand how to be patient with myself and others, and how it feels when you think everyone thinks you're stupid or slow.

Blessings in disguise?

I have been thinking about my dad a lot lately. Unfortunately, there is a big gap between the dad that he is and the father that I wish he could have been inmylife. There is so much that a girl needs her father to teach her and because he never did, I feel like there is so much that I don't know. I think the most important of these is how to trust and be a daughter. I feel like my relationship with God and the Lord could be so much deeper and stronger and more meaningful if I understood how to trust in them and lean on them. I have had to put so much effort into developing that trust that I feel like I have missed out on learning so many other things in the meantime.
I have been spending a lot of time and effort and faith on forgiving my dad for the things he did and those he didn't do, as well, and on remembering the things he did that made me feel good and loved. I want to get to the point where I accept the fact that he was the person that I needed to be my dad in order to become the perfect daughter that I want to be, and where I love him despite the painful things he did, he said, and the things he didn't do or didn't say. I know I am like him in a lot of ways, some good and some not so good, and I know that there are a lot of things that I can learn from him, whether he taught me by example or by non example. I guess some blessings are strange like that, they can be disguised as the painful thorns that keep the enemies away rather than the beauty of the flower, so easily recognized.

Friends

"And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul."
- 1 Samuel 18:1
"And now Zoram, I speak unto you... I know that thou art a true friend unto my son, Nephi, forever." -2 Nephi 1:30
"Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands."
- D&C 121:9



I consider myself lucky to have been blessed with amazing friends. I have never been the person that had loads of friends; always hanging out at parties or social events, but I have almost always had at least one or two really good friends inmylife who have helped me cope through the hard times and helped me to be a better person. In fact, just the other day I heard a quote, I think it was in the movie "Forever Strong", that a true friend is the person who makes you want to be a better person and, inmylife, I have found this to be true to the utmost extent. Those true friends, the real friends, always stood by my side when I wanted to be better, stronger, truer, and to "stand a little taller," while some of those who I thought were friends left when I didn't want to do what they had to offer. This is still true today. I thank God every day for my true friends, even those who I don't talk to every day anymore. Even those who are not here anymore. Even those who may have gone a different direction due to hurt feelings, challenges, or other unfortunate situations, and in these painful losses, I pray that forgiveness and healing will someday come, and we will be able to be friends once again. I still consider you my friend because you have made me want to be better than I am. I hope you feel the same way. To all my friends; those who stand by me today, those who once held my hand, those who are no longer walking this earth, and those who I hope to someday call a friend again, I love you and I thank you for all you have taught me about who I am and who I want to be. I especially thank those friends who have led me to seek for the friendship of the only person who can truly understand everything I have been through and the mistakes I have made and, yet, still love me and be my Friend when no one else knows how to or has the strength or courage to be.

An undeserved and priceless gift

Titus 3:3-7 Words of Paul to Titus

3- For we ourselves were also sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
4- But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
5- Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6- Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7- That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

happy birthday, Grandma Irene

Grandma just celebrated her birthday this week and since she is such an amazing woman, I thought I would share 82 amazing things about her. Happy birthday, Grandma! I am so grateful to have had you as the rock you have been inmylife!



1. She brought the Gospel to our family by accepting it and being baptized.
2. She can do everything with one hand that it takes me two hands to do.
3. She has taught me how to sew.
4. She has a brave, strong heart.
5. I can see a lot of myself in her.
6. She helped provide the things we needed growing up, like school clothes and cars.
7. She is a stylin' grandma.
8. She has always had tons of energy.
9. Her house and clothes smell so wonderful.
10. She is neat and organized.
11. She is smart and values education. Even though she didn't finish school as a child she went back as an adult and got her GED and other vocational training.
12. She has worked hard all her life to be self sufficient.
13. She is very talented at sewing and made us dresses when we were children. She made most of my mom's clothes.
14. She loves family history and served as a missionary in the FHC.
15. She is forgiving.
16. She is generous.
17. She took us in when we needed a safe place to live.
18. She has a "beauty mark " on her lip.
19. She fought cancer bravely and won.
20. She has a wonderful sense of humor.
21. She is a proud American and is concerned and informed in politics.
22. She has an eye for beautiful antiques.
23. She always has the most amazing quilts.
24. She still has dolls.
25. She got me my first Cabbage Patch Kid and I still have it.
26. She has a quiet, but strong, testimony of the Lord and His church.
27. She decorates her home beautifully.
28. She let us sleep in her bed with her even though we kicked and stole the covers.
29. She had sleepovers with us and we would watch "Golden Girls" and "Johnny Carson" with her.
30. She loves dogs, especially pugs.
31. She always wrote me on my mission faithfully.
32. She has a caring heart and took special care of Deeda and Fowie in their final years.
33. She draws cute Smiley faces.
34. She has lots of neat things that she enjoys telling the history of.
35. She is interested in me.
36. She is proud of me and my siblings for even small accomplishments.
37. She is stubborn about the things she believes in.
38. She doesn't give up.
39. She has great stories of growing up in Arkansas.
40. She still tries to learn new things.
41. She is a great friend.
42. She has a great vocabulary- "whoopie!" "For Pithie's sake" and "dear Gussy"
43. She still looks great in jeans.
44. She has traveled many places.
45. She put up with us to drive us to Arkansas when I was ten to see her family.
46. She has overcome great challenges in life.
47. She cooks great Southern Comfort foods: fried chicken, fried potatoes, fried okra.
48. She raised my mom and taught her to be a loving mother.
49. She is a good listener.
50. She patiently taught me how to drive.
51. She colored with me when I was little.
52. She taught Erin and me how to make paper dolls.
53. She took me to Disneyland by myself when I was 8.
54. She is a shopping pro. She wore me out as a child.
55. She knows how to find the best bargains at the best stores.
56. She has always been involved in our lives.
57. She is protective.
58. She has spent many hours helping my brother and his wife with paperwork and dealing with government agencies.
59. She always looks great.
60. She took me places and picked me up when Mom was at work.
61. She is always willing to help or listen, no matter the hour.
62. She chose an amazing husband who took my mother as his daughter and loved his grandkids fiercely.
63. She chose another amazing husband who accepts us as his family and blesses us with his Priesthood and is always willing to help in any way he can.
64. She let me live with her while I went to college.
65. She looks at least 20 years younger than she is.
66. She knows exactly the right gifts to buy.
67. She loves kids...not a grumpy old lady.
68. She knows and remembers my friends.
69. She makes the best spaghetti.
70. She hurts when you hurt.
71. She is always thinking of someone else.
72. She would watch Jazz games with me.
73. She likes football.
74. She has a wonderful laugh.
75. She likes to play and have fun.
76. She's classy. :)
77. She worries about me.
78. She always brings back special presents when she goes on a trip.
79. She has lived a life of faith.
80. She is a good example to me.
81. She still colors her hair red.
82. She is beautiful and wise.

I couldn't ask for more!

I had an amazing Independence Day! I feel so blessed to be able to live in America and be able to enjoy the freedoms that we have and, so often, take for granted. We didn't do anything really amazing to celebrate, but I just felt so happy to be able to enjoy such simple things.
1. Yesterday morning I woke up and said to Mom, "Will you go get some pancakes with me?" Kelly, Mom, and I went to Golden Corral and ate more than we needed to and went home full. How many people in this world can only wish for a meal like that? And we left food on our plates because we were stuffed.
2. We went to Wal Mart to get some extra things for our family barbeque we were going to have. Hot dogs, dessert, and lots of extras. All right there in one store. Plenty for anyone who needs it and we had the money in our pockets.
3. We spent the day getting the house and yard ready for the family to come. I feel blessed that we have a home that we can celebrate in with friends and family. A nice yard to relax in and feel the blessings of living in a beautiful, free country. Even when it has to be cleaned and the water fountain breaks, causing stress.
4.We had a barbeque dinner with the family (except Michael and Natalie, who are at her family's reunion, and Will, who had to work). Again, there was more than enough food for everyone to get more than their fill. We are blessed to be able to live so close together and see each other pretty much when ever we want to. We spent the night eating, relaxing, laughing, and swooning over a brand new baby, who other than a bout with jaundice, was born perfectly healthy to loving parents in a clean hospital, by means of quality medical attention and with care and supplies necessary to start out strong and healthy.





5. We were able to see much of the fireworks show from all the way across town. We sat on our front lawn and watched neighborhood children setting off fireworks late into the evening, beautiful reminders of our fight for independence over 200 years ago. "And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."

I am so grateful to live in this country and to be able to feel God's protection over His promised land.


God Bless The USA
by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

Feeling better on so many levels

Today I started to feel better. I think I may have sneezed a total of three times although I am still coughing and my back still hurts. I was able to go see Erin in the hospital and I asked for a face mask, but I am the world's worst claustrophobe and it didn't work so well. I hate to have my nose covered with anything; a blanket, a sleeping bag, a face mask... so I really didn't use it correctly, but I tried. She is doing a lot better and the doctor told her that she could maybe even go home tomorrow. He also said he had never seen such a seperation heal so quickly. We all know why though, don't we? Thanks for the prayers and remembering our whole family. She has felt the strength of all your prayers and blessings.
SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thought for the Day (TFTD)

"Life is like that--ups and downs, a bump on the head, and a crack on the shins. It was ever thus. Hamlet went about crying, "To be or not to be," but that didn't solve any of his problems. There is something of a tendency among us to think that everything must be lovely and rosy and beautiful without realizing that even adversity has some sweet uses. One of my favorite newspaper columnists is Jenkin Lloyd Jones. In a recent article published in the News, he commented: Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. . . . Life is like an old-time rail journey--delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."
--President Gordon B. Hinckley