Gratitude

These past few days have been very, um, how shall I say it. Interesting? Trying? A little bit hard, but not excessively because I've been on top of my homework. But alas, I really do not have an excuse for not keeping up on my grateful blog. :)

I'm grateful for the wonderful weather today, and I'm grateful that it's not too hot or too cold to wear my cute new sweater ;)

I'm so grateful for my mom. She's such a wonderful woman. I appreciate her financial support, but more than that, I'm glad that we've been able to become closer. She's such a strong woman and has gone through a lot and I just appreciate her.

I'm grateful that Jordan's parents invite me over to their house for dinner. It's nice going there and being around there family (even though Jordan isn't there *tear*).

And along with that, I'm grateful for Tay and his awesome guitar playing skills and his willingness to play for me!! :)

I'm grateful for being able to read. Seriously, I love love love it so much. It's so nice to have insights brought on by others. And reading the scriptures really brings inspiration in the times I need it most.

Loves! Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season :D

Live and Learn, The Creation, & Uncle Kirt

Okay, so as I was trying to sign into my blog, I had put in my email and what I thought was the password, but I was then directed to a page informing me that I had not entered the correct password and that I needed to try again. I put in several different passwords, but to no avail. I then sent an email to myself to remind me of my password. I waited and waited, but nothing came. Confused, I returned to the sign in page and tried again. Nothing still. At this point I was extremely confused. So then, I tried a different email, and alas! That was the correct email! Whodathunk! Not me obviously because it took me about 20 minutes to figure this all out. Live and Learn I guess.

I had wanted to share this today, but I couldn't find the right opportunity, so I'll share it here before I forget. A little over a year ago, my Uncle Kirt passed away from a heart attack. He was not old. In fact, he had just gotten remarried. What made it even worse is that his wife literally watched him die. It was not over time, he did not deteriorate. It was extremely sudden and without warning. I remember the day I got the call from my dad telling me that his brother had died. I was standing in the kitchen of my dorm my freshman year of college. I didn't believe him at first, but I also knew my dad wouldn't make a joke about something like that. When I went to the funeral, my Grandma gave a talk about the Creation. At first, I was really confused as to why she would talk about something that seemed so irrelevant. However, as she continued with her talk, and as I saw today, I learned that it was not irrelevant at all. Before coming to this life, our Heavenly Father presented a plan to us. This plan involved coming to Earth, living as mortal beings, and then hopefully returning to our Heavenly Father. My grandma then talked about the wonderful creation of the earth, the solar system, and the universe. She talked about how infinite the universe is and of how great God's creations are. She then continued by explaining that God not only created this vast thing, but also created each little thing, like the fish and the plants and the insects of the earth. He paid attention to every last detail. He finished with his greatest creation. Man. God made man in His image, and his plan was that we would all someday become gods like unto himself.

You know what, I kind of lost my train of thought on this. I started this blog a few hours ago, but this is the gist of what I want to say. The Lord created man in his image. To me, this means that He WANTS us to be like him in every way. Even in the way we look. He wants us to live up to our fullest potential. He wants us to become gods in the next life. My uncle was not perfect. No one is. But he was a good person. He may not have lived up to his fullest potential in this life, but I know he will in the next. Sorry, this wasn't as good a post as I would've liked, but I just all of a sudden got really distracted

Counting Your Blessings

A few weeks ago, I gave a talk in church about gratitude. These past few months, I've decided to really count my blessings. In my talk, I recounted a really awful weekend. At the end of that weekend, so much had gone wrong, and instead of being optimistic, I was really mad. I was upset at the guy I thought was my best friend, I was mad at my mom for making me drive my little brother down to EFY, which was 8 hours away, I was angry that there was so much in my life that was out of my control. As I started to look for things to be grateful for, I went back to that weekend, and started with every single thing I could think of that I could say "Thank you" for. Little things like getting there and back perfectly safe, not forgetting anything that wasn't replaceable, slightly bigger things like getting a pair of awesome glasses, and getting a little extra time to spend with my little brother, and really awesome things like spending time with friends I hadn't seen in a long time. After realizing my mistake, I apologized to my mom for how I had treated her. I didn't realize how awful I had been until after the fact. And isn't how that always is? I mean, I know that something I need to work on is being grateful for my trials WHILE I'm facing them. I know that if I can do this, not only will I come out of them a better person, but they will be that much easier to deal with and seem to go by much faster.
This season of Thanksgiving has actually not felt like Thanksgiving. It felt like a really short break from school. I guess it was hard for me because it was the first Thanksgiving that I had where I wasn't with my family the whole time. But I just want to take a few moments to share what I am thankful for. I hope that you all will forgive me for this list which, although it may be somewhat long, it will be nowhere near everything that I am actually thankful for just because there is so, so much. Here goes.

I'm so incredibly thankful for my mom, my dad, my three brothers, and my sister-in-law. I don't know where I would be without them. They all have done so, so much for me.
I'm thankful that my dad has let me stay at his house for the past few months, free of charge. I'm actually incredibly thankful for my dad. He has always been there for me. Whether it was for help studying for a test or just being there to listen, he has always been a great role model for me.
I'm thankful that my brother and his wife are letting me stay with them while I'm transitioning to a new place.
I'm thankful that I've always had a place to stay. Even though it hasn't always been the most convenient for those I have stayed with, I was always welcome with open arms.
I'm thankful for all of my friends. I can't believe that people actually want to be friends with me, but I don't know where I'd be in my life without them. Most of them don't know how much they've helped me out.
I'm so thankful for Kara, my best friend since 4th grade. I know that she's always there for me and that I can talk to her about anything. I'm so glad that I have a sister like her.
I'd go through and name all of the friends I'm thankful for, but there are so many, and I'm afraid I'd leave someone out. But please know that each of you has a very special place in my heart. My friends mean a lot to me because I know how lucky I am to have them.
I'm thankful that I get to attend such a wonderful university. I know how unbelievably lucky I am that I get to attend BYU.
For that matter, I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I'm so grateful for the testimony I have of the Church and the amazing friends I've met as a result of being a member. I'm grateful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that without him, I would have no chance to return to my Father in Heaven, and for that I am forever indebted to him.
I'm so grateful for the Atonement and for my loving Savior. I grateful that I have a knowledge of what Christ did for me and that I have the opportunity to repent and be forgiven.
I'm thankful that I was born in this time period. I know that I was saved for this time for a special reason, and I'm so grateful that I am blessed with that knowledge.
I'm grateful that I get to live in this wonderful, free nation. I know that there are so many people in this world that live in oppression, and I know that I am extremely blessed to live in a country where freedom is a right we have.
I'm grateful for music. I'm so thankful that the Lord gave us the ability to produce something that can bring so much happiness, that can easily bring the spirit, that can lift my spirits when I'm having a bad day, and can make me smile even when I don't feel like it.
I'm thankful for the ward I've been placed in. This may seem a little insignificant, but I really feel like a part of a family there, and I love that everyone in it is so incredibly nice and outgoing. It was something I really needed. After living so long feeling like I didn't have a home anywhere, I feel at home in my ward, and that's a great feeling.
I'm grateful for my ability to make friends. I don't know how I would get along without that gift from God. In fact, I have no idea how I am able to do that, but some how the Lord knew that I needed that now more than ever.
I'm so thankful that I am loved.
I'm so so grateful for the scriptures and the amazing testimony of Christ and Heavenly Father that is in them.
I'm grateful for my ability to cry. I know that without all the sad and incredibly hard times, I wouldn't understand how wonderful it is to be happy and to laugh.
I'm try to be thankful for everything in my life. Even the little things like my aunt calling me and inviting me to Thanksgiving dinner with my family or my friends who will talk with me even when it's incredibly late. I know that I have so many blessings that my cup literally runneth over.

In short, I'd just like to mention how many I blessings I have. This list is a mere scratch upon the surface of all of the things I am grateful for and all of the blessings I have been given. In my talk, I mentioned how much the Lord does for us. I mean, think about it for just a moment. If the Lord can do all that for us, then can't we give a few moments of our day thanking him?