Name Them One by One

Johnson Oatman Jr. once wrote, "When upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done." I've had to experiment with this. When dealing with things in life, "life's billows" so to speak its definitely easy to get discouraged and see life as some gloomy existence. Except when you keep track of all the blessings you are thankful for. A while back I began a list of every blessing I could think of. I'd like to have a book of things I'm thankful for. To start, I am thankful for; family, friends, scriptures, testimony, the Holy Ghost, The Atonement, Patriarchal Blessings, the Word of Wisdom, Joseph Smith, Prophets and Apostles, sun, moon, stars, air, clouds, ocean, mountains, sight, smell, feel, hearing, walking, running, sounds, music, kids, car, house, water, food, safety, love, listening, laughing, crying, gasoline, money, the ability to speak and understand, writing, reading, books, job, trusting people, Temples, church buildings, freedom, trials (though its tough at times), the ability to grow, agency, church leadership, Institute, colors, paper, pens, communication, travel, air planes, medicine, caring, kindness, computers, internet, e-mail, mail, bikes, electricity, plumbing, Fire people, help, time, bandaids, ponytails, chapstick (burt's bees), forgiveness, the Restoration, knowledge, tests, school, mercy, singing, praying, chairs, air conditioning, windows, cameras, pictures, memories, hugs, cuddles, sleep, profound thought, quotations, ideas, new situations, sunglasses, glasses, copy machines, roller blades, trees, shade, dogs, cats, animals of all types, spiders, insects, birds, stores, storage, laws, law enforcement, horns, streets, street lights, signals (of all types), leashes, tennis shoes, basketball, soccer, grass, sprinklers, pools, UPS, interpretations, perspectives, silly time, serious time, flowers, inventions, trucks, motorcycles, calenders, planning, notebooks, journals, photoshop, drawing, skipping, piers, towels, tooth brushes, tooth paste, eye drops, leaves, sidewalk, door knobs, locks, hammocks, ping pong, volleyball, humor, trust, learning, language, life, etc., etc. How can you not smile now? and this is but a partial list! Do it to it! I promise it works :)

Looking Up

So many things these days get people down and not ok. It's a sad thing and I have fallen from a good day to a bad day in just a few questionable thoughts. Today I realized that just the act of looking up helps, sounds silly but think about it. From the perspective I have, realizing how small you really are in this life puts things in perspective. Just as something that seems to make all the difference in your own life goes bad look up, in the big picture of things it doesn't matter. The way things go has so many variables you can't expect things to happen without being all knowing. I know little in this respect. I know only what I study and believe; I can't possibly figure out all of life's questions out especially the ever present "what if's" and "why's". I think that's also where your faith comes in. If you are searching for answers to questions and you aren't sure what else to do, but aren't getting anything sure from prayer your faith is tested as you pursue something that has no sure result. 

Anyway just a ramble for today :)

My Face on a Screen

"Each week, depending on the number of calls to be assigned, two to four members of the Quorum of the Twelve go to separate rooms at Church headquarters. There, after kneeling in prayer and asking for divine guidance, each sits down before a computer screen. On that screen, one at a time, prospective missionaries’ pictures and personal information appear, along with the current needs of all of the missions of the Church. Each missionary is then personally assigned to a specific mission and given a date on which to enter a missionary training center." by David A. Edwards (Your Call to Serve New Era 2007)
Its pretty crazy to think of my face on a screen in front of a few of the most high esteemed men on earth! Oh I am so looking forward for mail time! Sometimes it's difficult to get in the car, drive to the post office, deal with all the traffic on Main Street; but I think with the prospect of what's on its way I'll be lining up to go and get it. Two more weeks!