Gratitude

This little quote is everywhere on Instagram lately.  Have you seen it?  I thought about it this morning and wondered if I'm sufficiently grateful for the things that I've been given.  So I decided to make a list.  Of everything.  

1.  Time.  Extended amounts of time during the day to read, connect, think, be quiet or noisy, go out or stay in.  
2.  Variable Weather in Texas.  I kind of like having a variety.  Sweaters on Monday, flip flops on Friday.  It's nice not to be in a weather rut.
3.  Kids who Love to Snuggle.  
4.  Abundance.  There is never a day that goes by that I'm not overwhelmed by the abundance that surrounds us right now.  
5.  Good Friends.  
6.  A Temple Nearby.
7.  Names to Take to the Temple.
8.  Meaningful Prayers.
9.  A Blazing Testimony of the Savior and this Church.
10.  Change.  Change of heart.  Change of purpose.  Change of location.  Change of opportunity.  
11.  Old Friends.  We have wonderful friends in this current place where we live, but what a blessing to also have friends in every other place we've lived who still love us and think of us and who are excited to see us when we come back.
12.  Bloggy Friends.  I am so grateful for the lovely women who write uplifting things, who leave uplifting comments, and who inspire me on a regular basis.
13.  Comforts of Home.  Heat, blankets, and soup in the winter.  Air conditioning, ceiling fans, and tile floors in the summer.  
14.  A Full Pantry.
15.  Creative, Talented, Happy Children.
16.  Truth and Light in Unexpected Places.  I ordered the best book this week and can't wait to read it.  (More on that soon...hopefully.)
17.  Technology.  
18.  Wisdom.
19.  Experience.
20.  Challenges.  "all these things shall work together for your good." - D&C 122:7
21.  Love.
22.  Music.
23.  Art.
24.  Teachers.  So many of them who require more of their students than "just average."  So many who care and email and push and lift and inspire.
25.  Grandparents.  
26.  Heritage.  What an amazing path our ancestors have paved for us.  I hope always that they are happy with what we've done with that path.  
27.  Enthusiastic Birds.  I love staying in bed long enough to hear the birds welcome the day.  This morning it was still dark and there was one little bird outside my window chirping away, anxious to get the day going.  
28.  Reliable Transportation.  What would it even be like to have to walk all the way to school on those frigid winter mornings?  I have no idea and my kids have no idea.  And I'm so grateful for that.  
29.  Journals.  I love to type out my thoughts here because it's fast, but I love it so much more to be able to write them down with an actual pen on actual paper.  
30.  Personal Revelation.
31.  Divine Threads.  I know I called them strings before, but someone else called them THREADS and that sounded so much better...more permanent, strong, unbreakable, idk...I just really like it.  
32.  Missionary Opportunities.
33.  Hope.
34.  Travel.  
35.  Doctors, Medicine, and the Insurance to pay for it all.
36.  Inspiration.  
37.  Flowers.  
38.  Family.
39.  Bunnies.  I know they're a nuisance, but I just love driving home in the twilight hours of the day and finding a couple of them playing in my grass.  
40.  Talents.   
41.  Reminders.  
42.  Sunshine.  I love those patches of sunlight that come through the windows in the morning.  Sometimes I spend the whole day following them around the house.
43.  Clarity.
44.  Perspective.
45.  Slippers.  My feet are always so cold in the winter. 
46.  Water.  
47.  Messages from Friends.
48.  Kindness.  People who let me into crazy lines of traffic.  People who smile and make eye contact in the grocery store.  People who drop things off on my front porch.  People who just do a really good job at what they do.   
49.  Church on Sundays.  Oh, I love going there so much.  
50.  One more day with my husband and my children.

At first, I ended my list at 20 and then I thought of 20 more, and then finally decided to just go ahead and make it 50.  But if I stayed here all day, I could come up with many, many more.  Instead of eternally being tied to my computer, though, and wearing you out with a list of 1000s of things I'm grateful for, I decided to just keep a little notebook with me and fill it with all these things when they occur to me during the day.  

I am so grateful for the reminder to BE GRATEFUL.  I never want to get casual in my recognition of the blessings in my life or forget where they come from.  

"Say thank you, until we mean it.
Thank God, life, and the universe for everyone and everything sent your way.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, and confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. It can turn an existence into a real life, and disconnected situations into important and beneficial lessons. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Gratitude makes things right.
Gratitude turns negative energy into positive energy. There is no situation or circumstance so small or large that it is not susceptible to gratitude's power. We can start with whom we are and what we have today, apply gratitude, then let it work its magic.
Say thank you, until you mean it. if you say it long enough, you will believe it.Today, I will shine the transforming light of gratitude on all the circumstances of my life."   - Melody Beattie The Language of Letting Go