Gratitude for Miracles

This week I have chosen to focus, recognize and be grateful for the daily miracles that happen each day in my life.

I am reminded of a comment my son shared with me a few years ago. "If we do not recognize the miracles of each day, we are not spiritually in tune. Because there are miracles all around us. We need to recognize, and show gratitude for these wonderful blessings that are about us".

There is an amazing feeling that fills our hearts as we recognize the blessings in our live's. Like a beautiful sunset, or the intricacies of a leaf or flower; the miracle of life itself.

Sometimes miracles present themselves in people that we meet that touch our life, or introduce us to a new idea or bring joy into our life.

Thoughts on Hope

I have had an incredible experience this past week reading some great talks on "Hope". May I share some of these insights that I have learned.

Hope is a powerful word used in the scriptures. It often found in between, faith and charity. (1 Cor. 13:13). These words are interrelated, and also interdependent.

In the dictionary, hope is not identified as just a wish, but an expectation of things to come. It is this sense of expectation, as opposed to wishing, that makes all the difference when "hope" appears in scriptural context.

In Psalms 31:24 "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." This gives us courage to attempt any undertaking with the belief and expectation that it can be done with help from the Lord.

"Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness." "Hope is a gift of the spirit". "Hope in Heavenly Father's merciful plan of happiness leads to peace, mercy, rejoicing, and gladness. The hope of salvation is like a protective helmet; it is the foundation of our faith and an anchor to our souls".

"The adversary uses despair to bind hearts and minds in suffocating darkness. Despair drains from us all that is vibrant and joyful and leaves us behind the empty remnants of what life was meant to be. Despair kills ambition, advances sickness, pollutes the soul, and deadens the heart. Despair can seem like a staircase that leads only and forever downward."

"Hope on the other hand, is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn. It encourages and inspires us to place our trust in the loving care of an eternal Heavenly Father, who has prepared a way for those who seek for eternal truth in a world of relativism,confusion, and of fear".

"Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance".

"With hope comes joy and happiness. With hope, we can have patience to bear our afflictions. The brighter our hope, the greater our faith. The stronger our hope, the purer our charity".

"Hope sustains us through despair. Hope teaches that there is reason to rejoice even when all seems dark around us". "This is the quality of hope we must cherish and develop. Such a mature hope comes in and through our Savior Jesus Christ, for every man that hat this hope in him purifieth himself, even as the Savior is pure."

"Never surrender. Never allow despair to overcome your spirit. Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf)

There is such a lifting power of joy and happiness through hope. I am grateful for experiencing such hope this past week.

Pleasant People are a Joy to be Around

Pleasant people are a joy to be around. I just went to the bank yesterday, and there was a darling girl working as a teller. She wasn't overly attractive, but she so beautiful, because she was happy, cheerful, had a great smile on. Instantly, I thought, I need to line her up with my son. Wow, what a fun person to be around. I ended up going to the teller next to her, and an older gentlemen got to be her customer. Instantly, he was trying to find out about her. It almost seemed like he was trying to hit on her. He was attracted to her darling smile, and you could tell he wanted to be around her more. Because he asked her questions like, how long have you worked here (answer 10 months, but I usually work at a different branch). He replied, I guess I better start going to that branch. You are delightful to be around, and you have a darling smile.

She radiated joy and happiness. She was like a magnet to those around. People want to be around those who are happy. I guess I need to "happy up".

I told my son, you have to marry someone who sparkles, who is happy. Sometimes I feel that stress darkens our countenance, dims our inner light, wears us down and makes us unhealthy. I really need to "happy up". I need to choose the bright side of things.

(Just found this written a year or so ago, thought it would be fun to post. The cool thing is my son is now married to a girl who sparkles, radiates joy and happiness and is a joy to be around. He listened or got real lucky!)

Test's of our Patience

My hat goes off to my sweet sister who has patiently sat on the phone with me for 3 and a half hours trying to get me phone to sync to my computer to only find out after 3 hours that I had been plugging my USB cable into the phone jack not the USB port. Only me!!!!

Wow, does my sister have patience. All she said was, "Don't feel bad, you learned something today, and you will never do that again." Wow, what a sister! She is amazing, and incredibly computer savvy. She is my mentor, and good friend. Thank you for your patience.

Simplicity - a guide to caring for the soul

Recently, I ran into a book entitled, "simplicity - a guide to caring for the soul". This book is written so eloquently by Carolyn J. Rasmus.

There is inspiration & ideas for peace in caring for your soul on every page. I hated to put it down, and each day looked so forward to the time spent reading this book. Please take time to read this. I am hopeful to share some of the insights from this book soon.