Gratitude and Thanksgiving

I love this picture! Lindsay fell down and Lauren knelt down to check on her! I am so grateful for my children! And I'm so thankful for simple love.

I was asked to give a talk last week at church. It was after a bad day of cramps and bleeding due to the start of our third miscarriage and I wasn't sure I'd have the strength to stand and talk. I woke up Sunday morning feeling ready and excited to share my message of gratitude. I didn't feel sorry for myself I felt empowered by my strength and testimony. I also felt I had too much to be grateful for to not give the talk. After church I soon felt weak again and it was straight back to bed! But I was so happy God gave me the strength to get through our church service. So here is my talk. It is a long post I know. But I want it here in my journal. If you don't have a place in your heart for religion you need to not bother to read it. But I know I will be so grateful I have saved my thoughts and feelings here to look back on.

My talk went sort of like this:

I am so grateful to be at church today. I’m grateful for this ward building, for the sacrament and for all of your friendly faces. I’m also very grateful for this thanksgiving holiday. However I am not exactly thankful to be up her because I strongly dislike giving talks at church. It’s a bit uncomfortable and I worry I’ll say the wrong thing and not express myself in the way I truly feel, just because it is hard to be up in front of people. Last time I gave a talk I cried though most of it. If any of you remember. It was so embarrassing because it was the ugly cry! You now they kind of cry where you make a really ugly face and you know people are embarrassed to look at you! I can’t even believe I was asked to give a talk again after that one. So I won't cry today! Dan doesn't believe me so he has to give me a pedicure if I don't cry!!! I know your all here to feel the spirit and learn of the gospel please keep in mind that I’m not a religious scholar or a great public speaker. That’s not my talent in life. But I do have the gift of a grateful heart. I have much that I am grateful for. This week we will all have the opportunity to celebrate thanksgiving and think of what we have gratitude for. I bet each of you like me, has a long list of things you’re grateful for. I could take easily take up ten minutes reading some of my list but it is infinite. It has no end. I have no end for the gratitude of my blessings.

A few years ago my husband emailed me a quote from Ezra Taft Benson. It was on gratitude. I love this quote and I have kept it saved on my desktop and read it from time to time.

"We need to be more grateful. I think there's no true character without gratitude. It's one of the marks of a real strong character, to have a feeling of thanksgiving and gratitude for blessings that are ours.We need more of that spirit in our homes, in our daily associations, in church, everywhere. It doesn't cost anything. It's so easy to cultivate the spirit of appreciation and gratitude. And it's so easy, also, to be dissatisfied and to be envious of other people." Ezra Taft Benson


It is so easy to have feelings of gratitude. And like president Benson said it does not cost anything. It uplifts us for free. But it is also just as easy to focus on the negativity. We can make a choice to choose gratitude rather than be destitute. Just this past few weeks I can think of plenty to complain about but by doing that I miss out on the uplifting moments to think of my blessings. My sister called with news of possible breast cancer, my other sister is worried about loose her house and their job, my mom called and said my grandma needs to have heart surgery again is likely to have another heart attack and I also lost something very special this week. With everything going on this past week and month and I still just couldn't stop my self from being happy! Its not that I don't have concern or worry its just that I find power in gracious living. I choose to be happy because my list of reasons to feel gratitude is endless. And mostly we always have more blessings than opposition because of our Heavenly Fathers love. It always outweighs the negative. There is power in gracious living.

Well known author Melody Beattie, wrote
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance,chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast,a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,and creates a vision for tomorrow.

I believe when one finds gratitude their life changes. You can turn your life around by living daily with gratitude. A certain calmness and inner peace and joy is found in a life lived with gratitude. Most of my feelings of gratitude can be attributed to my testimony.
My involvement with the gospel of Jesus Christ has only brought me gratification, happiness, love…I had a friend recently tell me that she left the church when she found the truth and that when she was LDS she was living ignorantly and while her own ignorance was bliss she felt she couldn't’t think for herself. I disagree and I know without a doubt she is wrong. It is not ignorance but rather knowledge and knowledge is power. I am empowered because I believe in Jesus Christ. No, I am not better than anyone else for it but I have become a better person because of it. I could never deny the gospel after the good it has shown to me. I admit it may be easier to say I don't believe. I could wear tank tops, see an R rated movie, drink alcohol (which I don't like anyway), go to Costco on Sunday when it is not crowded and never feel guilt about anything and we would’t get to share 10% of our earnings and so on. No thanks! I'll wear my modest clothes, watch uplifting movies, say prayers with my children and only be with one man. I'll keep doing service and teach my children to be forgiving and to believe in a higher power. It is not always effortless but it is indeed worth it. I'd rather have faith in this world and be spiritually strong than not be. And Yes, I told my non believing friend I can still think for myself. And yes I am empowered by this truth and I feel much gratitude because of it!

In True to the Faith, a church booklet it says:

Gratitude is a feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for blessings or benefits we have received. As we cultivate a grateful attitude, we are more likely to be happy and spiritually strong. We should regularly express our gratitude to God for the blessings He gives us and to others for the kind acts they do for us.
In D & C 78:19 the Lord promises us
"He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious" (D&C 78:19). Gratitude is an uplifting, exalting attitude. People are generally happier when they have gratitude in their hearts. We cannot be bitter, resentful, or mean-spirited when we are grateful.

True to the Faith booklet also reads:
We should be thankful for the wonderful blessings that are ours and for the tremendous opportunities we have. We can be thankful to our parents, family, friends, and teachers. We should express appreciation to everyone who has assisted us in any way.
We should thank our Heavenly Father for His goodness to us by acknowledging His hand in all things; thanking Him for all that He gives us, keeping His commandments, and serving others. We should especially thank Him for His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, for the Savior's great example, for His teachings, for His outreaching hand to lift and help, for His infinite Atonement.
—See True to the Faith (2004), 78–79

I am grateful for the atonement and I know what we are taught is true; He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious! We do get to feel that glorious power in gratitude when we are not mean spirited and we express feelings of thanksgiving. We are given more direction on how to live this way in

THE BOOK OF PSALMS
PSALM 100

A Psalm of praise—Serve the Lord with gladness, all ye his people—Be thankful unto him and bless his name.

A PSALM OF PRAISE.
1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath amade us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with a thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.


In primary this past month we have learned this simple verse in Doctrine and Covenants 59:7
Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.

I am very happy, very blessed and have overwhelming gratitude for my life. What I have to be grateful for is infinite. I sometimes do think of the things that are not right in this world but I don’t let it bother me and often time I feel almost feel selfish because of my contentedness. I know it helps that I have faith and I guess I can contribute much of my happiness from that. I want everyone to know this and I hope to teach my children this that no matter what is going on you still have choices. Choose to be happy. Choose to submit yourself to Gods will. Choose to be a better person than you were yesterday. Choose daily to recognize your blessings and always carry the spirit of gratitude. Remember the gospel is power and it will bring you happiness. Happiness is also powerful. Find the truth for your self and live it and live it with all the thankfulness you have in your heart.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said

"May we live worthy of the glorious endowment of light and understanding and eternal truth which has come to us through all the perils of the past. Somehow, among all who have walked the earth, we have been brought forth in this unique and remarkable season. Be grateful, and above all be faithful."

I am thankful for my husband and children and for the rest of my family. I am also thankful for Michelle Madruga for bringing me chocolate chip cookies yesterday. I'm thankful to serve your wonderful children in the primary. As I said before my list of things I feel gratitude for is never ending. I'm grateful to know I have a Savior. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ , Amen.


I wish you all a happy thanksgiving.