I'm Thankful for Salt

Yesterday I found myself thinking about my Savior all day long. While Thanksgiving usually makes me think of the Savior, this was more. As I salted the food I was cooking it reminded me of the Atonement. As I filled salt shakers for dinner I was reminded of the covenants I had made. As I ate dinner and put more salt on my mashed potatoes, I thought about Mary salting and swaddling her baby, my Savior. Last night as the kids got hungry again and broke out the potato chips I thought about how I should be more "salted." I have so, so much to be thankful for and I need to be better at reaching out to others.

My study of salt has been amazing because of the many things I have learned, but the best part is that like yesterday I don't go through a single day without being reminded many times of the covenants and the Atonement. Studying salt has turned out to be such a blessing in my life.

Who'd have thought that going into In and Out Burger and ordering a grilled cheese would be a spiritual experience? It was on Wednesday when I pumped a little cup full of catchup and suddenly saw a container of little salt packets next to the catchup. My heart jumped at the sight and my mind suddenly filled with so many good thoughts. I love salt!

I've Grateful for Versions

I am so thankful for the many versions that now exist of the Bible. Comparing different translations is one of the best ways to ponder and learn. Growing up I only read the King James Version (KJV), but for many years now I've loved the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and the New International Version (NIV).

Let me show you what I mean. In the KJV Romans 15:1-3 reads: "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me."

Now let's look at the NRSV of the same verse: "We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, 'The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.'"     

And now the NIV: "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: 'The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.'"

In this case the NSRV and the NIV are not much different, but even that small difference makes you think in different ways. Both the NSRV and the NIV, however, are modernized and explain in ways that are easier to understand and that often speak directly to my heart.

There are hundreds of versions of the Bible available on line and anyone can use the to study. I'm so thankful for them and for the technology that makes them so assessable!

I've got so much to be grateful for!  

Encouragers

Today I'm grateful for encouragement. I'm thankful for those who have encouraged me and I'm thankful for everyone who has encouraged anyone else. Everyone needs encouragement at one time or another. Encouragement makes the world go round.

I'm writing this thanks to electricity. The electric light in this room allows me to see what I am doing, and I am so thankful for all the people who encouraged Thomas Edison so that he didn't give up and leave me in the dark.

I am thankful for all the people who encouraged Alexander Graham Bell and all those who have improved upon his idea to send voices along air waves. I remember the days of picking up the telephone and telling the operator what number I wanted. Now I speak to my daughters clear across the United States while I'm shopping in the grocery store.

I've always been grateful for these marvelous inventions, but this Thanksgiving I'm also grateful for the unknown people who kept the inventors inventing. Most of us will never be inventors, but we are all have a voice and are well equiped to be an encourager. I'm grateful for that, too!

Thanks for Thanksgiving Week!

I have to begin this Thanksgiving week by saying how grateful I am to all of you who follow

Good News!

and especially those of you who leave comments

and let me know there is really someone out there reading this.

I also want to announce that awhile back I responded to the comments people left on

Good News!

but I stopped because it didn't seem anyone was reading them--

especially the person I was responding to.

But I miss the interaction and so I am going to respond once again to comments that are left here.

So be sure to look back if you left a comment and read my response.

 

I hope you enjoy every moment of this week of gratitude!

Of all the holidays in the year, Thanksgiving is my favorite

and that's why I'm making it into a week long celebration instead of a one day event.

I am thankful for so many things I can't fit it all into one day!

Today I'm concentrating on you and friends and family relationships. I'm so very grateful!

I'm Grateful For Gratitude!

Happiness researchers have identified eight reasons that cultivating an “Attitude of Gratitude” makes people happier. Many of these eight reasons are intuitive and are things we’ve all thought about. But some aren’t. For example, happiness researcher Sonya Lyubomirsky says that expressing gratitude bolsters self-worth and self-esteem. Why? Because when you concentrate on how much people have done for you, how many good things have happened in your life, or how many things you have accomplished you feel more loved and confident.

Lyubomirsky also explains that the research clearly shows that living with an “Attitude of Gratitude” encourages moral behavior. This happens because grateful people are aware of what even a small gesture of kindness means to them and they in turn are eager to reciprocate. They go about their days naturally doing small and large acts of kindness for others and in other ways doing all kinds of good.

Another result of a gratitude attitude is that it builds social bonds because it tends to strengthen existing relationships and nurtures new ones. Several studies have shown that people who feel gratitude toward others, even if they don’t express it, experience higher quality relationships with those people.

We all know the wonderful feeling that comes when we express gratitude, but there are many other benefits to living with an Attitude of Gratitude.

Happy Independence Day!

For me this day is a second thanks giving day. Specifically, it’s a day to give thanks for my wonderful country and my freedom.

I’ve been blessed to travel a lot and have seen some beautiful places in this world, but of all the places I’ve been, I like my home best. (Of course, I know that you in other countries feel the same about your homelands and that is how it should be. But today, being the birthday of my homeland, I am celebrating it!)

I’m grateful to ancestors who gave so much to come here from England, Scotland, Denmark, and Ireland. I’m grateful for all those who gave their lives to make us independent and all those who have served and sacrificed to preserve our freedom and help extend freedom to others.

I am grateful! Happy Birthday, USA!

Sure Happiness

Sometimes life is deceptive. For example, we look at happy people and after talking with them for a while we realize that they are also very grateful people. The gratitude seeps into their conversation not in a scripted way, but naturally as if it bubbles out of them whether they want it to or not. So we go away thinking they are happy because they have so much to be grateful for. That is the illusion!

If you talk longer or get to know these people more you realize they are not grateful because they are happy, they are happy because they are grateful. The secret to happiness and love is gratitude. Gratitude is also the secret to Living in Truth. When we are looking for those Golden Goods and rejoice in them, and give thanks for them, we are happy and filled with love.

In short, happiness does not ensure gratitude, but gratitude always ensures happiness.

Honor the Ordinary

At different times in my life I've fallen into a trap of thinking that it is only the big, spectacular things that I have to be grateful for--like getting a promotion at work, or winning something, or getting something that I'd wanted for a long time, or a prayer for healing being answered.

But the older I get the more I realize that there are many, many ordinary, every day things that I am grateful for, but that I don't acknowledge those things enough. The surprising thing is how much joy and happiness giving thanks for those things brings into my life.

Consciously thinking, "I am grateful for rain drops," or "I am grateful for a soft pillow," or "I am grateful for a cuddly place to sleep," or "I am grateful for strawberries," or "I am grateful for the sound of children giggling," or "I am grateful for a warm shower," brings an immediate joy into my heart that I can feel bouncing inside me like a helium balloon. It is almost like magic!

Not surprisingly in my recent studies, I've read over and over again where researchers have shown that if people will just write down three things they are grateful for each day it can change them. So I've set about looking for and honoring the ordinary.

I'm grateful for words. I'm grateful for color. I'm grateful for music.

It's your turn. What three things are you grateful for?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The Good News! today is that we all have so very much to be thankful for.

I'm grateful for family and friends and for YOU!

Thanks for reading and leaving comments and just plain making me think.

I love you all!

Enjoy your day.

Giving Thanks

As we get closer to my favorite holiday,

Thanksgiving,

my heart is full of thanks.

Perhaps that's why I love the holiday so much.

Other holidays are stressful and draining, but for me

Thanksgiving is invigorating and uplifting.

It makes me think about how 

thankful I am to be alive.

I'm thankful that Grizelda,

even though she refuses to leave,

is being a good visitor and not causing me problems.

I'm thankful for family and friends.

I'm thankful for all of the big things like the gospel and my beautiful home.

But I'm also thankful for raindrops,

sunshine on my cheeks,

a warm shower, a soft bed,

a fluffy down comforter given to me by a dear friend,

the scriptures,

crisp autumn mornings to walk through piles of crackling leaves.

I'm thankful for so many things

 and the more I list the more it feels like gratitude

 is lifting me like helium lifts a balloon.

I can tell already that today

is going to be a high flying day!!!!

Happy thanks giving week to you all.

BUT THANKS!

Long ago I realized that one of the best places for me to receive inspiration is in the shower. It wasn’t until recently that I realized why. I love the shower and when I am in there I am very much in the present moment (see yesterday’s post). When I’m in the shower I’m Anchored to the sound of the water spraying from the shower head and splashing on the walls and floor. I’m feeling the warmth of the water and the tickle of it on my back. I’m enjoying the wetness and the lavender scent of the shampoo and the clean, fresh smell of the soap. In short, all of my senses are firmly Anchoring me to the present moment and in the present moment is where the Spirit works.

 

Besides Anchoring, one of the most effective ways I found to stay in the present is to be constantly looking for the blessings of that moment. Even when I was in the throes of the battle with Grizelda, there was always something wonderful in any given moment for me to concentrate on. I love games, so I’ve made this effort into a game—the “BUT THANKS” Game. While being rolled into brain surgery, I could have been thinking about the fact that I had a 50% chance of coming out of surgery blind and a 90% chance of having vision impairment. Instead of worry about what might be, I stayed in the present moment by thinking of what was right there by playing the “But Thanks” Game. In stead of thinking about my fear, I thought “I might lose my sight in surgery BUT THANKS for some very trained surgeons in here to take care of me.” In other words, you trump your fears with a BUT THANKS. 

This works for many situations. “I have to speak in Church, BUT THANKS for the Spirit that will help me.” “I have a job interview, BUT THANKS for teachers that have prepared me well.” “I just spilled milk all over the floor, BUT THANKS for a sense of humor so I can just laugh about it.” “My parents just got divorced, BUT THANKS that they both still love me.” “I have attention deficit disorder, BUT THANKS for the energy I have.”

Trumping our fears with Thanks helps us stay our of the Pit and firmly planted in the present moment.

It's a Thanks Giving Day!

  O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. (Psalm 136:2)

  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. (Col. 3:17)

  And they gave thanks to God, yea, all their men and all their women and all their children that could speak lifted their voices in the praises of their God. (Mosiah 24:22)

I'm starting my thanks giving by thanking my God for all of you. Thanks for stopping by to visit. Thanks for your kind comments. Thanks for your friendship and love.

Have a beautiful day!

My Thanksgiving Memory Tree

I have decided that all holidays are like Christmas trees. These “holiday trees” exist only in your mind and are adorned not with decorations but with memories. For example, tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and as it approaches I am remembering all the Thanksgiving days that have come before this one. I remember my childhood Thanksgivings when all my cousins (all 17 of us) gathered in Grandpa’s two bedroom home. I’m not sure how the adults decided who got the one spare bedroom but us kids all slept on the floor in the front room. I loved being near the widow seat and can still hear the giggling and whispered chatter that went on well into the wee morning hours.

Another ornament on my memory tree is the memory of Thanksgiving at my aunt’s small apartment when the roasted but un-carved turkey was placed on the table and to this day I swear it stood up and gobbled at me. (That’s why I’m a vegetarian!) I can remember Thanksgivings at my own home where my uncle teased me about having knot knees like my mom. I can remember going to my great aunt’s house after our own dinner to join in the Anderson celebration. I loved that because they always brought out the homemade root beer they were famous for making. The bubbles tickled my nose and if I concentrate very hard I can almost taste the rich yeastiness of the homemade brew even now.

In short, holidays give us a marker to hang memories on and tomorrow I will add another “ornament” to my Thanksgiving tree. I’m going to make it a good one and I hope your new Thanksgiving ornament will be a beautiful one, too!

Wow, 50,000!

In the next couple of days the 50,000th visitor will click onto

Good News!

As I have reflected on how my D7 started this blog as a surprise to me, how many of you so lovingly supported me through my battle with Grizelda, and the many of you who have signed up as followers, my heart has been filled to over flowing. I love signing in and seeing your pictures. It gives me the same feeling as walking into a room full of friends. Thank you for your comments for your love and for coming to visit.

As I wrote about a few days ago, there is so much negative talk out there about technology. And yes, I do understand that it can be misused. But there is also so much good that can be accomplished through technology. When those of you who have a link to my blog on your own blogs click into my blog from your link, I can then click into your blog and I love to see what you are doing. Many of you I’ve never met in person, but from following your blogs I feel like we are old friends. I love it and hope someday to meet you all.

So, thank you! And I am sending my love your way. May God bless each and every one of you!

Thanks Giving

As King Benjamin grew old and knew his time on earth was about to end, he gathered his people together to give them his final counsel and advice. But before he spoke to them he prepared their hearts to receive his teachings. He had them observe the sacrificial rituals that were part of the Law of Moses and then  he had the people “give thanks to the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, and who had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and had appointed just men to be their teachers, and also a just man to be their king, who had established peace in the land of Zarahemla, and who had taught them to keep the commandments of God, that they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men” (Mosiah 2:4).

This sentence contains a lot of phrases that describe God. They are phrases of praise and love, but they can be removed from the sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence, and in this case, there are so many they actually make you forget what the sentence is all about. So lets take them out and see what the sentence says. The people gave “thanks to the Lord their God . . . that they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men.”

In D&C  130:20-21 we are taught that “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated-- And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” King Benjamin knew that giving thanks was the law that would bring the people the blessing of love.  Likewise, as you and I give thanks we will be “filled with love towards God and all men.”

picture: http://www.silhouettesclipart.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/thanksgiving-cornucopia-clip-art.jpg