Thursday, November 27, 2008

feed thou our souls, fill thou our hearts

1. I am grateful for a really restful sleep with delightful dreams.
2. I am grateful that have many happy memories to reflect on and think about in quiet moments.
3. I am grateful for a life of abundance--I am generally healthy; I live in a free county; I have a stable and supportive family; I feel loved by many people; I am married to someone who loves me and is kind to me (and I am just head over heels for him, too); I live in a nice home with comfortable furniture; I have reliable cars to drive; I have a kitchen and pantry stocked with food; I have friends who make me laugh and remind me of the good things in life; I have an active imagination and can find the good in bad situations; I have a good education and a job that is secure; I feel safe; I enjoy the freedom to worship according to the dictates of my conscience; I have easy access to modern medicine and good health care; I have access to the medical knowledge of a timeless civilization and a husband who is not afraid to use it; I have been taught by people who love me and want the best for me; I feel my Savior's love; I am the recipient of countless acts of service; I know who I am and what my potential is; I have a closet full of clothes (even though on most mornings I complain that I have nothing to wear); I have planned and lived well so that even in uncertain economic times I can be optimistic and confident in our ability to make it through; I have been given more than I can use and so am able to give to others. Truly, my cup runneth over.

"So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart."
-Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

"Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life... a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year - and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God."
-Ray Stannard Baker

And this one isn't specifically gratitude related, but I love it and am grateful for my own testimony that God lives and that He loves me.

"I bear testimony that God lives. His love is infinite and eternal. It extends to all of His children. Because He loves us, He has provided prophets and apostles to guide us in our time. He has given us the Holy Ghost, who teaches, comforts, and inspires. He has given us His scriptures. And I am grateful beyond description that He has given to each of us a heart capable of experiencing the pure love of Christ. I pray that our hearts may be filled with that love and that we may reach out to our Heavenly Father and to others with new vision and new faith. I testify that as we do so, we will discover a greater richness in life."Joseph B Wirthlin, "The Great Commandment," Ensign, Nov. 2007

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