Being Thankful During a Time of Stress

This week was very stressful for me.  And in a future blog I'm going to explain.  But this is my Gratitude day, so I will share with you how I handled my stress this week.  First I will let you know that I am facing some medical issues.  As my mother says not knowing what is wrong is the worst.  And this week that was my issue, I did not know what was wrong.  I'm not sure the total of what is wrong yet, but I know a few things that I am not facing.  And that helps.  So I was laying in bed, feeling upset and my husband turns to me and says "It's hard to be grateful when things go wrong isn't it."  Wow.  That gave me a bit of determination.  I was going to find everything I could be grateful for despite my physical issue.  And from that early morning moment on I began to thank God for all the things that were right.  Here are ten things I found to be grateful for.

1. I was grateful I live in Utah instead of New Jersey.  I got all the test I needed done to find out what my problem is in two days time.  If I had been in New Jersey I would have either had to go to the emergency room, or wait days between doctor appointments.  I went to one doctors office and was able to have every test done in one day.  And still be able to go to work that night.  Yes I was exhausted but I went.  There is no sick leave where I work. ( After the holidays I plan to look for a better job. I have a degree and so much experience there has to be something better I can do)
2. I was thankful for the kindness and compassion that was shown to me from every person that I had to work with.  Nobody looked at me and made me feel unworthy of kindness.  In New Jersey we had so many people look at our health insurance and treat us like second class citizens.   The kindness was so wonderful.
3.  I was thankful that my husband was able to take the day off, and hold my hand through it all.  I'm a wimp when it comes to doctors.  It was such a blessing.
4. I thanked God for every part of my body that was working correctly.  That I am not in pain, and that I have strength.
5. I thanked God for all the support of friends with listening ears, and the compassion they gave to me.  For my Mother in Law and a friend at work who are catholic and lit candles and said prayers for me.
6.I was thankful that I work nights.  It was so easy to make appointments and then still be able to work.  I know a lot of people who work days that have problems getting appointments because they work during the time that most doctor offices are open.

7. I was grateful for the book I am reading called "God Winks"  It made me look for things to show me that God was there for me.  And He was.

8.  I was grateful for the symbol of an owl.  A few weeks ago a customer told me that Owls are a sign of good luck.  In every room I was in at the doctors office yesterday there was an Owl.  That was my God Wink that Everything would be OK.
9.  I'm grateful that what I was told I might have was not what I have.  As with high deductible insurance I could never afford to pay for all of the medical bills that would have been incurred, and the fact that I can't afford at this Point not to work.
10.

I was so Thankful that as we left the doctors office the first thing we saw was the spires of a Temple.  I Love The Temple.  I get to go there and be so close to God.  It was as if he was saying to me you are where you are supposed to be and I am here for you.

Sorry no related links this week.  I am tired and work will be long to night.  But I'm grateful for a job, and that I have energy enough to go. 

G.G.

I think I did really well with counting blessings through the beginning of this trial.  I hope I can continue.

The Rescue is learning to Love as the Savior loved.

As I ponder about the rescue and read articles on the parables, I am brought to the realization that part of the rescue is to learn to love the lost.  It is to learn to be kind to those who are making or have made mistakes.  To look beyond the sin they have committed and to see them as Heavenly Father sees them.

Heavenly Father wants us to find those who have walked down the wrong path, and to bring them back.  Not by force but by love.  By being there for them, by showing them that they are loved and can come back to Heavenly Father and be forgiven.

I have seen wonderful people make mistakes that take them far from God.  I have watched other judge them and decide not to be their friend.  And yet I chose to love them.  I chose to listen to them, and to not judge them.  I chose to be there during their dark times.  I could see the pain in their eyes, and knew that even though their choices were not to Heavenly Fathers standards they still needed a friend and Love. 

I may not bring them totally back to the Church, but I know that I have given them love, and friendship, and have not judged them.  I know that giving this love can be hard, but it helps build the bridges needed for the day when they want to walk back to Heavenly Father.  I have noticed being a convert to the church that it is sometimes easier for members to welcome people to the church who have never been members than it is for them to forgive and welcome back those who have made mistakes and left the church.  I think the rescue is trying to tell us that we need to reach out to those who have left and show as much compassion for them as we would someone who is new and never knew the commandments of God.

I wish I could have protected some of my lost sheep, so they would never have left Heavenly Father.  But since I could not.  I will choose to love them, and hopefully at some point they will return.  And what joy that will give me and my Father in Heaven.

Related Sites:

Parables of Mercy

Our Lost Coin

Gratitude = being Supernatural

In reading my gratitude blog from last week, and re-reading the related sites I came across a really cool quote. " Living with Gratitude is not a human way to live, not a natural way to live- It's Supernatural."
Isn't it true that we tend to complain more about what we don't have or what is going wrong, than to focus on all that we do have and what is right.  Imagine everyone spending a day just being grateful for the things they have, what a great day that would be.  I have so many things to be thankful for.  Here is my Friday list.

I'm thankful for the walk I took and the beautiful fall colors.  I felt even more thankful for my legs that work correctly and don't ache when I helped a woman at the store who had to use special poles to walk.  I stand at my job, sometimes for 8 plus hours.  So it is good to have healthy legs.

I'm Grateful for a three day weekend.  Three days to spend with my family what a wonderful blessing for us.  I hope to get into the city and see what it looks like in the fall.

I'm grateful for forgotten keys, and a flat tire.  Each of these incidents while not the greatest of occurrences led to my husband and I having a little more time together.  We even got to have lunch together and decided that we should meet once or twice a month for lunch.  If these things hadn't happened we may not have decided to do this.

I'm thankful for quiet moments where I'm beginning to learn how to quiet my mind, and focus on living in the moment and feeling the spirit.

I'm grateful for the time I got to spend listening to Conference talks this week.  Especially for the talk about not looking behind at what has been done, but focusing on what is in front of me and doing that.  I spent a lot of last year focusing on our move and all the energy it took from me.  It's time to focus on why I'm here and what I need to be doing.  I know this will help me feel less tired.
There are so many blessing round you, stop and count some it will brighten your day.

Related Sites:
More Gratitude Give Me
Count your blessings: How Gratitude can improve your health

The Rescue: It begins with prayer

This Sunday was Fast and Testimony Sunday at Church.  It is a time when members of the church fast and pray and share with each other their testimonies of the gospel.  Our Bishop again talked about the importance of "The Rescue".  I have been reflecting on this for the last few weeks and each Monday I hope to share a bit of what I am learning.

The first step that I have taken in my "Rescue" plan is to study the scriptures related to the rescue.  They are the parables of  "The Lost Sheep", "The Lost Coin", and the "Prodigal Son."  I am very interested in seeing what the Prophets and others have to say about these three parables.

I have decided to start with studying the parable of "The Lost Coin."  I think that my interest in this parable stems back to the first talk by our Bishop on "The Rescue".  In the talk my Bishop gave he likened the lost coin to our ancestors.  He said "The sweeping of the house"  was similar to the searching of the family.  As in the New Testament times when you talked of a persons house it was in reference to their family.  Because I do so much family history research this really stuck with me.  I like the idea that in searching for my ancestors I'm helping in the rescue.

I like the idea that in doing family history work, and Temple work that I am linking my family together and that I can be with my family for eternity.  In reading about the parable of the lost coin I have learned to look at it in other ways too.  One thing is to try not to be like the woman and let any of my living family become lost.  And to also try to be sure to keep those friends who I love strong also so that they do not become lost.  In the related sites section I have provide a link to a talk about the lost coin.  In the talk it say that your search always begins with prayer.  

So this week, I am going to continue to pray about those who may be lost or those I can be friends with to keep them from becoming lost.  I actually had a rescue moment at work last night.  Talking with a friend at work who is returning to church activity.  It was nice to be able to give her support.  One thing I do often is put these people's names on the prayer lists at the Temple.  I look forward to learning more this week.

Related sites:

The Lost Coin

G.G.

Friday again?? Some things I'm thankful for this week....

Friday seems to come quicker every week.  I had a better week of writing down what I am grateful for in my gratitude book.
1. I'm grateful for General Conference.  I actually felt this year that I'm more on track and enjoyed the talks.I look forward to studying them and growing in my faith.
2. I'm thankful that I have enough money to buy groceries.  The house is getting filled with food and it's nice to know we will have good meals all this week.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
3.  I'm grateful for this gumball machine that my husband got from his work.  It actually has more gumballs in it now.  It was a fun treat for the kids.
4. I'm grateful for the rain we have been getting.  It is nice to have a rainy day now and then.

5. I'm grateful for the beautiful fall colors.  It is just so nice to take in all the beauty around me.
6. I'm grateful for libraries and free books to read.

7. I'm grateful for good children who are doing so well in school.
8.I'm grateful for my work discounts, it save me lots of money.
9.I'm am grateful to be a woman.  I do not look to be like men.  I love who I am and the roles that God has given to me.

10. I'm grateful for nice customers.  Those who are kind, and say thank you.  As in my job there are many who are angry and yell at me for things I have no control over.  I think I should have gotten a degree in psychology.  As I listen to many people and their problems every day.

Related Sites:
Gratitude a path to happiness
How to start a Gratitude pattern that can change your life
How to let and attitude of Gratitude change your life

Honey we live in Utah now.....Reflections on our move after 2 and 1/2 years

Often when my husband and I go for walks, my husband will turn to me and say " We live in Utah, how did that happen?"  In fact my son on a recent facebook page stated " Remind me how I got to Utah again."  and I relplied your parents packed you up and moved you.  This is our New Jersey house.  We actually only owned half of the house.  The half with out the drive way.  It was the cheapest house you could buy in the area when we bought it and it needed tons of work.  It was all we could afford, and I really had a love/hate relationship with it.  At times I loved it, and many more times I hated it.  Pretty much every time something needed to be fixed, which was never ending.

This is our new home in Utah.  Thankfully our constant fixing up of the old home paid off and we actually pay less now than we did in NJ.  Our taxes in NJ were almost $5,000.00 a year.  They are a little over $1,000.00 a year here. We pay less for our mortage than we did paying rent while waiting for the house to sell.  My husband still has friends who think we should move back to NJ.  I will stay here in Utah thank you.

This was our view out our front window in NJ.  Everything in New Jersey is pretty much flat.  I don't know how my Vermont spirit dealt with that for years.  It was green though, and the sun coming in the windows was nice.

Here is what our back yard in New Jersey looked like.  Again, its green, but we lived in town.The best thing about my neighborhood in NJ was all the friends that I made.  I had so many nice neighbors.  I have nice neighbors here in Utah too, I just don't see them as much as I saw my NJ neighbors.  Though I am working on changing that.

This is my view in the morning in Utah.  Even when I've only had 4 to 5 hours of sleep I can still look out and want to weep from the beauty of it.  Each morning the colors are so vivid and beautiful.

Sometimes there are horses out in the field across from my house.  How I love to see the horses.  We often go for walks and pet the horses along the trail.  You could not do this in New Jersey.

In New Jersey we drove to the nearest park to take walks everyday in the summer. I loved those walks, feeding the fish and turtles and seeing the wild life.  In Utah there is a bike path out side our house that goes for miles, with mountain views on all sides. This past weekend we saw a fox on the trail, and of course fed the horses.  One followed us for as long as it could hoping for more handfuls of grass.

In New Jersey we had the Beach on the weekends which was an hour away and the kiddie  pool at the park. We practically lived at the kiddie pool in the summer when the kids were young.  When we went back to visit, the beach was changed, and much more expensive, and the kids had out grown the little pool.  Our street did not seem as safe as we walked our old path ways people yelled obscenities at us.  My son was also the victim of bullying from kindergarten through 7th grade.  I can't say I miss that.

In New Jersey we had the 4H Cat Club.  I miss that.  I miss teaching science stuff that was fun.

In Utah we have Karate. My daughter has a great passion for this sport.  I think she loves it more than cat club. My son is not bullied, and he has so many more friends.  He is treated kindly and is doing well.  I'm not sure that would have been the case in NJ. In New Jersey we had the church, but there were no Temples near us.  The closest for many years was in Washington D.C.. Then finally they built a Temple in New York City.  But It was very hard to go.  Here in Utah....

There are Temples everywhere.  I love going to the Draper Temple.  I'm so grateful that we are in Utah, and I have this time to learn and grow and attend the Temple.  Yet every now and then I think just like my family, "How did we end up living in Utah?"  

I Guess it is where God wants us to be.

I love the mountains.  Often times when I think about this big move we made, it makes me think about my Ancestors and the moves that they made.  From England, Ireland and Scotland to America.  And then some that move from the east coast to the West.  At least with modern technology I can keep in touch with family and friends.  I think it must have been a lot harder for those that came before me. 

G.G.

Working to be stronger than the storm.

I've decided to dedicate my Monday blog post to becoming spiritually ready for the storms of life.  Not long ago my husband went back to NJ for a friends funeral and was able to photograph some of the destruction that occurred from super storm sandy.  In New Jersey their slogan has been "Stronger than the Storm".

There are storms that can damage all that is around you.  Like super storm sandy, and then there are more personal storms that can change your life.  My Church often talks about being prepared for the storms of life.  Our family has just come out of a huge storm for us.  I'm hoping now that God will give us some time to rest and regroup before a new storm arises.  I still feel very tired from the trial we have just passed through.

Fall is always my time to look at my life and think about what I am doing and what I need to do.  I have come to the conclusion that in the next few months I want to focus more of my time in growing my spiritual strength.  So on Mondays I hope to share with you some of what I am doing to grow spiritually.  My first goal is to read more from the scriptures each week.  My focus this month is going to be on the Parable's that deal with rescuing the lost.  The lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son.  This has been the topic of many Sunday lessons and has really caught my attention.  I am also going to be looking for talks by the Prophets on "The Rescue."  I feel as I begin to learn how to love and rescue others I will also be strengthening myself.  So I hope you will enjoy my new Monday blog focus. Perhaps it will help you also prepare for the storms of life.

So when the sunrises afterwards you can feel ready for the new day.
G.G.
Related sites:
Preparing for the life's spiritual storms
To The Rescue

Gratitude Friday

" If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling the nurtures the soul." Harold Kushner

So it is Friday, and I'm so Grateful for that. I have survived another week of working long hours and caring for my family.  Looking back on the week there is much to be thankful for.
1.

I'm thankful that my daughter did well at her Karate challenge.  I'm grateful that I am able to pay so she can learn Karate as it teaches her many great values that will help her succeed in life

.2. I am grateful for all the beautiful colors fall brings and the cooler weather.  I look around and am just amazed by the beauty of the world.

3. I'm grateful for the time I got to spend in the Temple this week.  One of the great blessings of moving to Utah for me is being able to attend the Temple every week.  There is so much to learn and so much service to be done there.  It is also nice to go to a quiet place away from the world and be able to have peace.

4. I am grateful for all the people who share old photo's and family stories on line.  I love to find photo's of my ancestors, and to learn about their lives.

5. I am thankful that I have been able to pay all my bills this week.

6.  I am thankful for the lessons we had a church this past Sunday, they really helped me to grow spiritually.

7. I am thankful that our heating unit is new and works well.  It was nice to be able to turn the heat on this morning.

8. I'm thankful for all the sun light that comes into my home and heats it up.  We really don't have to run our heating much in the day if the sun comes out.  Our house gets so warm.

9. I'm grateful for tubs of sweaters.  I have quiet the collection and its time to get them out.  I love sweaters.

10. I'm Thankful for my hands as I do so many things with them.  They continue to type and work all day and never ache.  That is quiet the blessing. :)

Related Site:

Song of Gratitude

How Gratitude can change your life

Well hope you enjoyed my list of the things I've been grateful for this week.  Still trying to be more diligent in writing things down each day. Please feel free to share what things you are thankful for or how having gratitude in your life has helped you.

G.G.

Karate Kid Watch out.....This Karate Girl is out to chicken kick you!

My daughter had her Karate Challenge this weekend.  I really like that she takes Karate it has a lot of positive qualities. It teaches her to be respectful, to work hard towards a goal, and to be disciplined, it also helps her have confidence in herself.  This year there were not many people in her belt color competing, so she ended up competing against people who have more experience than her.  She decided to compete against the higher belts than to compete against someone who had a lower belt because she did not want to have the lower belt person feel bad if they lost to her.  She chose instead to take a chance that she would not win any awards than to have someone with less experience lose.  I thought that was a great attitude to have.
Her first class was the Kata class.  I love watching her do Kata's.  They take hours to learn and perfect.

My daughter competed against all red belts in this class.  They are three belts higher than her and yet I thought she did as good as they did and although she didn't place for this event most of the people she competed against said she did a great job.
Her next class was the technique's class.  She did three techniques that she learned over the year.  Her partner is one of the student teachers.

She did great, and won first place in this class.

The last class that she participated in was sparing. She loves to spar, and her favorite thing to do is the Chicken Kick.  Like you see if you watch the Karate Kid movie. (The old one).

Here they are all lined up and ready to spar.  My daughter spared against the two boys.  They were both taller than her, but she showed no fear. You will have to look to part 2 for the video of her fighting as for some reason it will not load.
So watch for part two.  Hopefully the video will load.
G.G.