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!

To Life!

If you’ve ever watch the movie, Fiddler on the Roof, you’ve heard the song “L’Chaim.” L’chaim literally means “to life” and it is often used on special occasions as a Jewish toast. But the phrase has deeper meaning than the words capture. Rachel Naomi Remen in her book My Grandfather’s Blessings explains that the phrase means that “No matter what difficulty life brings, no matter how hard or painful or unfair life is, life is holy and worthy of celebration.”


I love that thought. Living life is a sacred experience and when we remember that thought it changes how we experience life. And when we remember that life is holy we know that each moment is worth celebrating no matter what the moments bring.

So celebrate this moment by giving thanks or shouting hurray or dancing or singing or whatever you do to celebrate!

L’chaim! To life!

The Power of Gratitude

One of the most powerful Truth Tools is Gratitude. It is absolutely amazing how using this tool can chase away the vexing thin in your life—for one thing it changes how you see life and it also brings joy to moments in which we normally overlook the joy. 

To help sharpen this tool, make a commitment that for the next 21 days you will identify three things that you are grateful for that happened that day. It can be something you see or experience or do and to facilitate the sharpening process you must write those three things down each night before you go to bed.  

As the days go by while doing this you can feel yourself change. While going about your day knowing that at night you are going to have to record three things, you find yourself looking for good all day long. And you find things to be grateful for in some surprising places! Writing it down at night brings back the warm memories of what you discovered that day and reinforces the good feelings which contribute to a peaceful night’s sleep. Three weeks of doing this makes it a habit—a habit you won’t want to break.

So Thankful . . .

November is the month of Thanksgiving and so I’ve been taking a few moments each day to think about some the things I have to be thankful for. Yesterday I was thinking about how thankful I am for the Holy Ghost and I found this list of just a few of the things He does for me. The list made me even more grateful, and so I thought I’d share it with you so you can ponder on these things too.

 Helps us recall and recognize truth (John 14:26)

 Conveys spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12: 1-11)

 Guides our prayers (D&C 46: 30)

 Teaches us eternal truths (Moroni 10: 5)

 Brings peace and joy to the soul (Gal 5: 22)

 Opens our minds to revelation (Alma 5: 46, 1 Ne 10: 19)

 Shows and tells us all things that we should do (2 Ne 32:3, 5)

 Strengthens the body, mind, and spirit (Romans 8: 26)

 Remits sin (JST Matt 26: 24-25)

 Sanctifies us (3 Ne 27: 20)

I am so blessed, but this list also made me realize that when I make wrong choices and sin, I am giving all this up. It helps motivate me to do what is right.

Today's thoughts of gratitude are easy. A new grandson arrived last night giving us a total of 27 grandsons and 7 grand daughters! My heart is full to the brim and overflowing! How grateful I am!

Being . . . Thankful

An important part of Living in Truth, something that keeps us grounded in Truth, is gratitude. But usually when we think of being grateful we think of expressing thanks in words.  But the kind of gratitude that keeps us grounded in Truth is more than words—it is a state of being. True gratitude is words and thoughts and actions.

We’ve all seen someone receive a gift with gushing words of thanks, but as soon as the giver turns his back the person throws the gift down, rolls his eyes, or in other ways makes it known the gift isn’t what they wanted.  The words were uttered out of a sense of manners or etiquette but the actions erase the words and express the person’s true emotions.

In the same way we can express thanks to God but then by the way we treat the things and people around us we declare we aren’t all that thankful. Gratitude is more than words it is a way of living. We show gratitude by reverencing, enjoying, caring for, and appreciating the things around us. We think grateful thoughts constantly and in short, we ARE gratitude.

In Colossians 3:15 we are told, “Be ye thankful.” Notice it doesn’t say that we should think or say thankful words. It says we should BE grateful. It is the being that makes the difference in whether gratitude is a fleeting thought or a foundation that roots us firmly in the way of Truth.

Good Things Are Coming

It’s almost here—Thanksgiving Day! It’s my favorite holiday. I love visiting with family even when my brother lectures me on why I shouldn’t have pierced ears, I love eating delicious food even though I’m a vegetarian and the main part of the meal is turkey, I love watching the children play together even though they are loud and obnoxious, and I love working in the kitchen with people I love even though there are too many chiefs giving orders.  And I’m not being sarcastic here. I really love Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to stop and evaluate whether you are a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kind of person. It would be easy to hate Thanksgiving because of any of those negative things (I know people who do!) But it is just as easy to love Thanksgiving because of all the wonderful things that occur. 

This year I’m going to capture every good moment and save it up in my memory bank. Then when life gets a little tough I’m going to make a withdrawal from my memory savings account and enjoy the good moments all over again. Besides being good for the future, I think watching for the wonderful moments will make more of them happen. 

Thank goodness for Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Has Begun!

My favorite holiday is here! It has started! And the best part is that this year I have family. Two of my daughters and their families arrived last night and my son and daughter who live in Utah will be here most of the week. I have five grandchildren in my house at once and am loving it. Kirsha is staying at Mariah's house, but everyone was here for dinner last night so there were eight grandchildren in my house at one time. (I hope the excitement is echoing through the Internet!!!!) This doesn't happen to me often!

We have so many plans--a talent show, puppet shows, reading Shel Silverstein together cuddled up in the Inglenook, going to the Children's Museum together, touch football in the backyard, and especially Thanksgiving dinner! Chaos, noise, laughter, music, rowdy fun!!! That's what I have to be thankful for. (And also an endodontist that fixed my toothache today!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for:
1. The gospel(which includes the Savior, scriptures, temples, etc.)
2. My family
3. My health
3. My talents
4. My friends (YOU!)
5. This beautiful world
6. Music
7. A soft bed
8. A warm shower
9. Laughter
10. Technology (which includes the Internet and my dishwasher!)

That's just the top ten. There is sooo much more that I am grateful for. I can hardly contain myself with thinking about all that I have. So this Thanksgiving I'm going to follow the counsel of the Lord when He said, "If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving" (D&C 136:28). As a matter of fact, I think I'll start singing right now!

MUCH LOVE TO YOU ALL! (Did you hear the music? I'm dancing, too! Join in! Sing! Dance! Be joyful! Making lists isn't the only way to be grateful!)

image from:www.crewsnest.vispa.com