The Divine Gift of Gratitude

"Count your many blessings, name them one by one..."

President Monson delivered a beautiful talk in last month's General Conference on a topic for which I often need a refresher course - gratitude. He shares some words that resonated with me:

A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our
Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring
into our lives. This requires conscious effort—at least until we have truly
learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and
intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don’t get around to it.
Someone has said that "feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping
a present and not giving it."12 When we encounter challenges and problems in our
lives, it is often difficult for us to focus on our blessings. However, if we
reach deep enough and look hard enough, we will be able to feel and recognize
just how much we have been given.

With everything that has happened in our lives lately, I feel like I've taken a lot of our blessings, both big and small, for granted.

Last year, I counted down the days of November with things for which I was thankful. In a similar vein, I wanted to do something that I used to do with great regularity before I was married - keep a gratitude journal... at least until Thanksgiving. I found that when I kept a gratitude journal, it helped me reflect on the daily, little blessings that I often overlook.

So, with that, today is Day #1 in my journey to increase my gratitude and awareness of those many blessings. As President Monson admonished us, I am choosing to make a conscious effort to remember - and give thanks. Below are some things that I, for one reason or another, am grateful for today - it may be a bit random (and is not listed in the order of importance), but that is how it works for me:

1. Sleep
2. Stormy days
3. My mom
4. My husband
5. My son
6. Jesus Christ
7. Peach cobbler
8. Good friends
9. The yellow scarf
10. Our new home

Also, I saw a fun idea on a blog (sorry that I can't reference it) for a way to integrate the whole family in giving thanks during November. At the beginning of the month, each family member is given a number of colorful strips of paper, and is asked to write one blessing per slip, per day. The slips are deposited in a jar throughout the month. On Thanksgiving, the jar is passed around during dinner and read aloud by the family members. I really like this idea because we try to say the "one thing we are thankful" for at Thanksgiving dinner, but doing it this way allows for more time to think and make the list more meaningful. I plan to do this for FHE this week... and Benjamin's gratitude slips (transcribed by the parents) should be particularly entertaining, I'm sure.

Speaking of gratitude, I'm thankful for those of you who still stop by to read my ramblings. Although I don't post as frequently as I would like, I appreciate those of you who have stayed with me and stop in from time-to-time to see how life is in our neck of the woods. Happy Thanksgiving Countdown to you!