An Attitude of Gratitude

This week we had a lesson from Suzann.  She helped remind us to cultivate an attitude of gratitude and be thankful in all things. 

“A grateful heart…comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives.”

-Thomas S. Monson-

October 3, 2010

Lori Henningson sent me this email that in a FUN way sums up what we have been learning this month!  I hope you enjoy these reminders!

I AM THANKFUL:  

FOR THE WIFE

WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT, 

BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME, 

AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND

WHO IS ON THE SOFA BEING A COUCH POTATO, 

BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME 

FOR THE TEENAGER

WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME, NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT. 

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT 

BECAUSE IT MEANS WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH WHO SINGS OFF KEY

BECAUSE IT MEANS I CAN HEAR. 

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY 

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD. 

AND FINALLY FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF 

IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

Let us ALL be Thankful to be alive!  What a great light hearted reminder to us!  Thanks Lori for sharing!  Have a great week!

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK!  I am indeed very grateful for you!  We are so blessed to have each other and be blessed in each other’s lives.

Today we had a wonderful lesson by Sister Sarah Udall on the Holy Ghost. She broke down the Roles of the Holy Ghost  into 8 things:

1.       To Bear witness of the Father and the Son

2.       Testify of Truth

3.       Purify and Sanctify

4.       Reveal Future

5.       Comfort

6.       Guide

7.       Reprove Sin

8.       Prepare you for things to come

President Brigham Young said:

“We want to live so as to have the Spirit every day, every hour of the day, every minute of the day, and every latter-day Saint is entitled to the Spirit of God, to the power of the Holy Ghost, to lead him in his individual duties. (In Tabernacle, May 15, 1864)

She reminded us that we all have the chance to have the spirit with us 24 hours and 7 days a week. But that we have to work on being worthy of it.  Several sister’s shared personal experiences as to how the spirit has blessed them through different means.  Sister Jean Urry shared a beautiful experience when she was PREPARED by the spirit for a HARD conversation was to be coming.  She was told what was going to happen and so when the conversation came, she was able to handle in a calm matter rather than out of control.

The memory that I had going through my head through this lesson was feeling Holy Ghost so strong when I received my Patriarchal Blessing.  I was 16 when I chose to get it.  I was spiritually immature and frankly the reason that went in for my blessing (which I never divulged to anyone) was because I had a friend that had just been killed in a horrible drunk driving accident.  Weeks before her death, Kim and I had this conversation that we always wondered if we may die young.  We talked about different experiences that we had to maybe feel that way.  So when she REALLY did die, I was so freaked out! I felt like I NEEDED TO KNOW if I was going to have the same fate.  Unfortunately I felt that a Patriarchal Blessing was the way to find it out.  I breezed through my interviews and had an appointment with the stake Patriarch.

The morning of my blessing I was not kind to my Mother.  I was grumpy and had a chip on my shoulder.  Mostly I was suffering great anxiety as to what the blessing might say.  The sweet Patriarch welcomed my family into his home in the wee 6 am hours.  He talked to me about linage and what it meant.  (I wish now that I would have listened to a word he said, cause I would really like to hear it now).  At the conclusion of his thoughts he asked me to offer the prayer so that the Holy Ghost could attend his words. 

After saying the prayer he placed his hands on my head and he sat there.  He sat there for a VERY LONG, awkward space of time. I even opened my eyes and looked at my Mom who too was looking up wondering what was happening.  After what seemed like 5 minutes of silence the Patriarch removed his hands from my head and scooted a stool right up to me so close that he was touching my knees with his knees. I was thinking to myself, “ I HAVE NO FUTURE! That is what he is going to tell me!  He is going to say, YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!” (Yes, I am a little dramatic, but that is really the thoughts that came to me.)

Patriarch McKinnley looked deep into my eyes and said, “Megan, I cannot tell you whether you are going to live or die.  That is not the purpose of a Patriarchal Blessing. We are not fortune tellers.  We are Men appointed by God to tell you the blessings that you will receive IF you are righteous and make wise choices.”  At this statement the spirit FLOODED the room and I started sobbing.  My Mom looked at me as to say, “What is going on?!” I just kept sobbing.  I couldn’t believe it!  He knew what I was thinking. The spirit helped him perceive my very deep thoughts.

He then looked at me and said, “ The Lord desires you to have a Patriarchal blessing as a Liahona in your life if you desire to have it for the right reasons.  Would you like me to give this blessing to you now?!” I wanted it now more than ever, because I understood that It was given with such power and inspiration, that I wanted that guidance in my life.

That experience with the Holy Ghost, through someone else was one I will not soon forget.  It has been an anchor to me at times when I might doubt or might want to choose a wrong direction.  It steers me back to safe waters.

Sisters, the Lord is in the details of our lives!  He has given us such great tools to use in our journey back to him.  The Holy Ghost is one of those tools.  It is a constant guide and compass to us if we choose to follow. Hold tight to that power and guidance and your life will be full of understanding and peace.

I love you.  I am grateful for my friendships with you and the love I feel!  Enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with those you love this year!

Meg

Filling our Testimony Tank

Happy Monday!  I am absolutely LOVING this weather!  I just got back from taking my 8 month old twin babies (nanny kids) to The Botanical Garden’s.  It was gorgeous with a breeze blowing outside.  We had a WONDERFUL time.  I am so excited for this cool weather and I am looking forward to many more cool months!

Yesterday we got such an AWESOME opportunity to hear about Testimony from Ashlee LeSuer.   She gave us much to think about and we had some great testimonies that followed, including hearing from our newest sister, Jennifer that was baptized on Saturday.

As Ashlee was speaking I was thinking of the times that I had experience with my Testimony.  Which have been a lot through the years.  We all get so many chances to grow our testimony or fill our testimony tank.  I find it so interesting how we some times look as our testimony like an ON/OFF switch.  We go through phases of our lives where we may have depleted our testimony and some of us may think, “Oh it’s on again!....Oh wait, it’s off….It’s on….It’s off!”  Have you had times in your life where you felt this way? I like to see it a bit differently.  I like to think of it as a gas tank.  We get out of our testimony what WE put into it.  Are we filling up our testimony tank?  Or are we just letting it stay at half full or a quarter of a tank?  Could your tank be nearing empty?  We might search for the answers to how we might again fill this tank again.  Those answers are found in the “primary answers” as is nearly every answer to our questions to increased spirituality are.  Scriptures, prayers, church and temple attendance. President Packer suggests another way to build our testimonies.

President Boyd K. Packer said: "A testimony is to be found in the bearing of it. Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that 'leap of faith,' as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and step into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two."

I was thinking of times when through other’s examples of “bearing their testimonies, I was able to increase mine.  While living in Orem, Utah I was given the pleasure to be primary chorister for 5 years.  I LOVED IT! During the time there I felt inspired to ask special permission to use a song I had learned at EFY (Especially For Youth Summer camp at BYU) in my primary song line up.  This song was written by Kory Kunz after the FINAL testimony of Elder Bruce R. McConkie. After the Bishop heard the song he thought it would be an awesome challenge for our Senior Primary and granted the permission.  We worked on the song for months.  All different parts and talked about testimony, had them listen to his last testimony and talked to the kids about letting their OWN testimony SHINE through singing this song.  When they sang it, We all felt the spirit so strong and I saw how they were feeling their testimonies through as I watched some these children sing with tears coming down their cheeks.  We performed this song as the CLOSING song to our primary program that year and I do not believe there was a dry eye in the congregation. It was one of those moments when you could tangibly feel the spirit surrounding you. We were even asked to visit a BYU ward to sing that song in their sacrament meeting.  It was a blessed time where I saw these Senior Primary children transform their OWN personal testimonies through bearing it through singing this testimony of Elder McConkie with all their hearts. 

As I told you at Mother’s Day, I was able to fly home and have a reunion with these youth (who are now a lot of them in their Senior year of HS) and sing this once again for their Mother’s (who all say it is still their favorite song) on Mother’s Day.  The power of how they sang it, even seemed to multiply.  What an awesome opportunity to see the starting for some of them as to finding THEIR OWN testimony through sharing their talents. I want to share with you the song as well as the closing testimony today.  If you don’t want to watch the whole 7 min talk, put it forward to 6 min and watch from that point on (although I think you should listen to all of it.).  An important thing to know about this particular talk is Elder McConkie passed away 10 days after he gave this POWERFUL witness of our Savior!  Enjoy!

As you listen to this song, think of a bunch of 9-11 yrs singing this with all their hearts..

Sister’s, I am eternally grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am thankful that someone as imperfect as I can be forgiven from my sins and try again.  I am thankful for The Book of Mormon that bears a second witness of our Savior and teaches me of the faith and obedience that is required to make it back to the presence of my Father in Heaven.  I am so thankful for a prophet that leads and guides this church under the direction of the Savior. I know that I can turn to the prophet for truth and if I follow, I will always be safe and be able to find peace amidst the turmoil all around me. I am so thankful for opportunities all around me to share even the small part of the gospel that I know. I know that as I continue to bear my testimony that I can continue to grow and progress toward the Woman of God that I need to be.  In the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen