Cultivating and Attitude of Gratitude

I had the opportunity to speak in church this past Sunday about Gratitude. I shared a bit of our experience with Svend getting a residency (everyone in our ward is probably tired of hearing about it) and then I also talked about Thanksgiving and my little pitty party I had because Svend was gone all day. During that pity party, I decided to make a thankful banner with the kids. The first thing I wrote was FAMILY. I'm grateful for my family. They have shown support beyond belief and have helped us so much. I'm grateful for all the times my parents made it a point to spend as much time with family as possible since now I don't have that luxury. I asked the kids what they were thankful for. Of course, the first thing out of their mouth was "that dad got a job". SLAP! Here I was having a pity party because Svend was gone...for the exact reason we'd been praying and fasting and pleading with the Lord. He HAS A RESIDENCY...and I was upset. wow. Slap. The rest of the day was better.

My mind has been going 100mph thinking about the topic of gratitude. I've gone through my journal/blog through the past years and realized just how grateful I am for my life. So many things keep hitting me. Grateful Bergen's head healed. Grateful for the mornings Tabitha wakes up so happy. Grateful Tally goes to a good, safe school. Grateful for our home. And, when I look at the things that frustrate me, I can replace that frustration with peace by counting my blessings. I have the best parents in the world. They have been such a support to me and my family. I have the best brothers in the world. I am so grateful i got to be their one and only sister. They have been my protectors and married the best women I could have ever asked for as sister-in-laws. I am grateful there is food in my fridge. I'm grateful the kids have clothes and coats...and gloves to lose and dinner to complain about :) I'm grateful our friend gave us a couch so we could all have a place to sit now in our living room. I'm grateful for the home we live in and that some how we always make rent and bills each month.

I just think, with all the things there are to complain about and make you want to climb in a cave and bury your head... there are many things to be grateful for. so many things. I'm grateful for my body after babies... I actually have a body that can HAVE babies. A lot of women don't. It doesn't mean I should give up on being healthy, but I should be content where I'm at and look forward rather than dwelling on things that really don't matter... I should be grateful I can't figure out what to do with my hair...because i HAVE hair. :) See...we just have to be grateful. We still get upset and annoyed, but we can have a better attitude. And, as trials come our way, when we're holding on by a thread... we may not have that gratitude...but if we can have faith that things will work out, then, when the trials are over, we can look back and see how much the Lord has truly blesses us.

Anyways...those are just a few things that have been on my brain over and over again...i'm sure i'll add to it again :)