12 Months to be Thankful for

As I sat and pondered what in the world I could write about on this wonderful and beautiful thanksgiving day... a thankful list came to my mind... Oh yes, another one of these.

Thankful lists are something everyone seems to write on thanksgiving but what about every other day of the year? Aren't there things we should be thankful for EVERY SINGLE day??

It seems to me that everyone's thankful list include some of the same things: family, a home, the gospel etc...

Although all those things are wonderful and I am thankful for them don't you think it starts to become a little repetitive?

Every year we seem to be "thankful" for the same things... but every year is a different year, so shouldn't there be more to our lists then just that?

What if our thankful list was more specific?

I am thankful for a loving family but I am also thankful for each individual member of my family.

I am thankful for my Dad and how hard he works everyday to provide for me.

I am thankful for my Mom and the new things she teaches me day by day and the way she keeps our house orderly and clean/

I am thankful for my little brother Richie and the fun that he adds to my life by being my best friend.

I am thankful for my little sister Ginger who always has a smile on her face and can brighten anyone's day.

A more specific thankful list becomes a more meaningful thankful list.

I have a lot to be grateful for and my list of thanks could go on forever and ever but the list I'm about to share with you is based on events that happened this past year and the accounts that I made in my journal.

December 2012: Thankful to be in all the right places in all the right time and also for the birth of my Savior and how that small event changed the world FOREVER.

January 2013: Thankful for the knowledge of Eternal Families. Thankful for the trials in my life that help me to grow stronger. Thankful for the atonement and its indescribable power.

February 2013: Thankful for the callings in which I have been given that help to strengthen me and push me to be the best me I can possibly be. Thankful for answered prayers and for the guidance of the Holy Ghost.

March 2013: Thankful that I am able to see things in an eternal perspective so that I may be able to find and feel peace in all situation. Thankful for the ability to dream and that our dreams give us hope for the future. Thankful to have someone who allows me to experience things in life that I would have missed out on other wise.

April 2013: Thankful for music and my wonderful cousin who helped me record a piano instrumental CD for my soon to be missionary. Thankful for wonderful people and time well spent together.

May 2013: Thankful for the priesthood and the wonderful men in my life that not only hold it but cherish it. Tankful for missionaries and the service they provide. Thankful for temples that I can go to whenever I want and feel the peace that comes from regularly attending. Thankful for loving friends who give me love and support through every situation.

June 2013: Thankful for the power of prayer and that I can feel my Saviors love as I get on my knees everyday. Thankful for planes and for airport layovers.

July 2013: Thankful for second families. thankful for revelation and confirmations.

August 2013: Thankful for the mailing system and the person who created it because without the mailing system life would be so sad.

September 2013: Thankful for friends who are in the same situation I am in and that I can turn to them whenever I need them and know that they can help me out because they can relate.

October 2013: Thankful to be able to adjust to different situation and rely on my Savior to help me. Thankful for general conference and that we get to hear the prophets who are called of God speak to us and guide us in this ever changing and awful world that we live.

November 2013: Thankful that I am able to stand firm in what I believe in and to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion in my life.

I am so thankful for each and every event that happened throughout this year. Although at the time I may have been wondering "Why me?"  I now know why certain things happened to me and I am thankful for the learning and growing that occurred.

Journal Challenge: Write in your journal everyday and list three things that you

                                                                                       were thankful for 

                     Happy Thanksgiving!





The 6 month mark!

PUT ON THE BREAKS!!

or maybe don't!!!!!

 

Where to begin.

 I am filled with gratitude.

2 days ago was the 6th month mark of my sweet Missionary Elder Walker being in the field.

 

 

At the beginning the time seemed to go by oh so very slow.

The days felt like weeks, the weeks felt like months, and the months left like years.

It wasn't until I blinked one day, that I realized I was already beginning the second quarter of the wait.

 

The past 6 months and the next 18, are the times to learn, the times to grow, and the times to PREPARE.

 

"We need to understand that it is not possible to grow and develop that seed in the twinkling of an eye but rather through the process of time. Christ asks us to 'take up [ our ] cross daily,' meaning hat it must be a constant focus and desire." -Ulisses Soares

 

I've come to learn many things

I've grown in many ways,

and I'm continuing to prepare every single day.

 

A lot things can happen in just 6 months. A lot of changes can be made, a lot of things can be learned.

 

Along my Journey  I am finding trials, I am finding heartache, but I am also finding joys.

 

Life is all about "finding joy in the journey (Thomas S. Monson)."

 

Over the past little while I have come to learn and understand many things. The following are a FEW of the many things I have learned throughout this journey (so far) , and the things that I hope you can someday understand and learn as you go about your preparation for eternity.

 

 

1. We are never alone -- There have been plenty of times when I have felt alone in this journey, when I have felt like running away, and when I have felt like I couldn't do it anymore and I just wanted to give up. The way to get through these feelings, is by turning to our savior. Look to him in all things. When we feel forgotten, he is the one person who has not forgotten us. He is our number one support in all we do. "Keep trying, keep believing, be happy, don't get discouraged, things will work out (Gordon B. Hinckley)!"
2. Our Savior loves us more then we can comprehend -- whenever I have felt inadequate, under appreciated, or even unloved  and have turned to my savior I have felt his love so strong. I have literally felt the arms of my savior wrap around me. Christ gives his love freely, it is up to us to accept that love. "God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, Just as he always has; but he can't if you don't pray, he can't if you don't dream. In short, he can't if you don't believe (Jeffery R. Holland)." 
3. REGULAR temple attendance is key to our happiness. Attending the temple regularly keeps us on the path we need to be and helps us prepare for eternity.  
4. I am becoming who the Savior wants me to be. I am turning into the daughter Heavenly Father designed me to become.
5. "Faith in God includes faith in his timing." -- Only time can tell what will really happen in these next 18 month. The things that happen are only slightly under my control. Whatever is supposed to be will be and that is what needs to be kept in our mind. I'm not waiting for my missionary. I am preparing myself for my future husband. Whether that man is my missionary it mattereth not. What matters is that I am doing all I can to be worthy of someone great, worthy of the blessings of the temple, and worthy to have a forever family.

 

"If you will listen, you will feel the spirit well up in you. The lord will tell you what he wants you to do with your life."

-Robert D. Hales

 

 

 

PREPARING MY ETERNITY NOT WAITING FOR IT

Aspire to Be Something Higher

One thing you should know about me if you don't already is that I love to read other people's blogs. There seems to be something about the blog community that I love. I don't know if it is the fact that I am a blogger myself, or if is because I love hearing other people's opinions, or if I love being uplifted or what. I guess it is a combination of all those things put together. 

Anyway what I'm getting at is that I was reading a blog recently and the blogger was talking about how she doesn't like that people look up to her. She wishes people didn't look up to her. Maybe that's because she is scared. I can see why people looking up to you could be a scary thing. Rather then thinking of it as a scary thing we should look at it as a compliment. 

My Heart always melts when I am told by younger siblings or even friends that they want to be like me someday! What a huge responsibility, but also what an honor!! Knowing that people look up to us makes us become better. With the knowledge of knowing that there are people watching me and looking up to me, I want to aspire to become the best possible me I can become. I try my hardest to be the best example, I try to aspire to become something higher. Being looked up to makes it harder for us to make big mistakes, it makes it harder to be mean to those around us, it makes us watch the words we speak, and the actions we take. It help us aspire to be something higher! 

"To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to achieve."

                         -James Allen