Thankful & Blessed

It's still November. And I am still celebrating Thanksgiving. This year I have especially been focused on the good things we've been blessed with. This has been a BIG year on blessings for us.

We bought a home.
We love our neighborhood and ward.
I graduated with my bachelor's degree...and I survived.
Steve got a job in the area of work that he is going to school for.
We bought a much needed second car.
A new nephew was born.
We got to visit Disney World with my family.
Etc, etc, etc.

I sometimes compare myself to our neighbors and friends and wonder how I'll ever be like them. I have to remember not to compare myself to others, especially those that are more established in their lives and that have lived here for years. This past Sunday I really felt in my heart that we are blessed and I do not need to worry over the little things that I am concerned about.

We sang Count Your Blessings, along with other songs about gratitude. But a certain verse really spoke to my heart:

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.
Count your many blessings;
money cannot buy your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

I read that verse of the song over and over through the rest of the meeting, thinking of all that I already have and how so many others do not even have that. So I don't need to feel insignificant or like I don't have all the things I want. I have the things I need, and then so much more. I do not need to keep up with the Joneses, because my neighbors are some of the most sincere and caring people we've met. I don't need to worry that anyone is judging me or thinking they are better than me.

I know that Christ has promised me the best gift of all. I am so grateful for Christ's influence in our lives and in our home.

We are so blessed. I am glad that this holiday season helps remind me to be grateful in all I do.

The Same

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.
                                     -Emily Bronte


I love this guy and I am so thankful for him every day.

A Close Second

Christmas is my favorite holiday. But Thanksgiving is a very close second. I LOVE remembering all my blessings and all the things I am grateful for.

In my first year at Weber State my roommates and I made a Thankful Wall in our apartment. We made hand turkeys that represented us and we wrote something like "Thankful Turkey" on it. Then throughout the month we would take post-it notes and write things we were thankful for on them and stick them all over the wall. We also let any and all friends that came into our room add to our wall. By the end of the month we had a full wall of blessings and big and/or little things we were all thankful for. It was so cool to see what things people thought of and to feel how my heart grew while we did that together.

I think I'm going to try and do something similar in our house this year. 2012 has brought us many MANY things to be thankful for (a home, a car, graduation with a bachelor's, new nephew, Disney family vacation, 4 years of marriage, and so much more). I'm not sure if it will actually be on a wall in our house, or if I'll just use the blog, but something will happen.

Anyway - November is always a special month because of the attitude I try to create in my life. I hope you all feel similarly as you go throughout the season of gratitude and giving.