I went to school early this morning to attend parent/teacher conference for my children. I laughed, I cried (happy tears), and as I was leaving I noticed this bulletin board inviting students to write what they are thankful for. I just couldn't resist adding a comment of my own.
Sundy mentioned in the comments on Monday's post that their family hangs a poster by the front door, and every time they leave, they stop to record something that they are thankful for, even inviting visitors to get in on the act. I think that is a pretty neat idea, and I was happy to see it implemented at my kids' school.
Anyway, on Monday evening, we had nothing planned for FHE, so I cracked open the November Friend which had just arrived and started reading the first article to them called "A Grateful Heart".
In it President Henry B. Eyring teaches us that "We must ask in prayer that God, by the power of the Holy Ghost, will help us see our blessings clearly. He can help us be grateful for blessings we take for granted."
He continues, "Giving thanks in prayer can allow us to see the magnitude of these blessings and all of our other blessings and so receive the gift of a more grateful heart."
This gift of a more grateful heart is definitely one that I would like my family and I to receive during this season of thanks. So, we knelt down together as a family and each offered aloud a prayer asking Heavenly Father to help us have a grateful heart. Then we thanked God for as many blessings as we could think of and tried not to ask for anything for ourselves.
This was a very simple FHE lessons, but a powerful one. Can you imagine what the world would be like if all families knelt down together to offer thanks to God...each person praying in turn together...even just once? It certainly has made a difference for us, and my children all said that they felt the spirit as we prayed together.
I am thankful for the words of the prophets brought straight to our door through The Friend magazine!
Now I said there would be a giveaway today, and here it is! I stumbled on this Thanksgiving-themed print on Etsy from IAdoreDecor...and I did indeed adore it. And the shop-owner has been kind enough to offer this print as a giveaway for you today.
I love this idea of "entering His gates" with Thanksgiving and praise and blessing His name. Being "in his gates" sounds like a protected and calm place to reside. In his recent conference address, Elder Bednar taught that "A grateful person is rich in contentment. An ungrateful person suffers in the poverty of endless discontent."
I don't know about you guys, but I want to enter His gates dripping with the "richness" of being grateful for all I have received and not live my life in the poverty of what I think I lack.
It's a fairly easy change that can alter the course of our day...and ultimately our lives.
Anyway, if you'd like to win the print above by IAdoreDecor, just leave a comment on this post telling me something you're thankful for today. And be sure to check out her other cute prints.
We've already said family and The Book of Mormon on a previous post, so let's stretch ourselves and try to think of something that we might sometimes forget to be thankful for...and leave it in the comment. It can be silly or serious...big or small...subtle or obvious blessings.
I will announce the winner tomorrow!
PS - Looking for more Thanksgiving ideas? Check out these posts:
Free Thanksgiving Activities (including an FHE on Gratitude)
I'm thankful for my husband who is very selfless and giving to us, his family. This boat would have sunk a long time ago without him. He is so good to me.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for my children. My special needs child has finally been blessed with good health and doing well and is happy. Both of my other kids r a blessing. I am thankful for my nurse who takes wonderful care of my son so i am able to work.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for my children. My special needs child has finally been blessed with good health and doing well and is happy. Both of my other kids r a blessing. I am thankful for my nurse who takes wonderful care of my son so i am able to work.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for a sweet precious newborn- so fresh from heaven that he even smells of angels!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun bulletin board! I'm thankful to be able to work hard for my family. I don't always love the work, but I'm able to do it.
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful for the ability I have to breastfeed. It saves us so much money each month, and the bonding from it is so precious and irreplaceable.
ReplyDeleteEach year we create a 'Thankful Turkey' where we each add a feather every night with something we are thankful for. With 5 people adding one thing a night our turkey gets quite large and we try to not have any repeats! The last two nights I have been thankful for clean bathrooms and folded clothes! And today I am thankful for crisp autumn air.
ReplyDeleteI am so thankful for a healthy body. When I am quite pregnant, it makes me realize how much I appreciate the ability to run and bend and jump when I'm not with child.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for a home and time to spend as a family while my husband looks for a job.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for water. It is refreshing, tastes good, is good for you, has countless uses, is sparkly and beautiful and we would die without it.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful to be a stay at home mom, for a washer and dryer, and for my husband who loves me tenderly!
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for my two missionaries out serving the Lord for two years! I am most thankful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost who strengthen's me throught my day! =)
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for the still small voice and the comfort that can only come from God. It's been a stressful week with way too many tears, but I am SO grateful that I can pray for calm and that my prayer is heard. Also thankful for the beautiful heartbeat I heard this morning from the baby inside of me . What a blessing the gift of life is! So thankful I can be a part of that.
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely post to put to use in my own life. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to read your thoughts on gratitude today; it made a difference.
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
Today I am grateful that Heavenly Father is with me as I undertake being PTA President at my daughter's Jr. High this year. This is soooo out of my comfort zone, and I have been blessed with an amazing board. Now that the first two months of school are over, I'm able to actually relax a little and start enjoying things! :o)
ReplyDeleteMy missionary son serving in the Guayaquil Ecuador South Mission and his valiant service, dedication and struggles to learn the language and preach the word of God to our brothers and sisters in Ecuador. Thanks for the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteYour family prayer, each taking a turn to express gratitude, is something we've done also. It brings the sweetest spirit into our home. Thanks for reminding me that we haven't done it for a while. I thankful for just about everything, but I couldn't make it through life without the Atonement and my testimony of and faith in my Savior.
ReplyDeleteI have so many things to be thankful for...but today I am especially thankful for music...for the opportunity my children have to learn to play violin/piano and to develop their talents, increase in responsibility and learn about themselves and this world in a different way. I am thankful for music that invites the spirit. I am thankful for music that teaches skills/lessons...both academic and spiritual lessons.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful to be here during the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times! This is an amazing day and age where we can connect to uplift and enrich each other's lives through this wonderful gift of technology. Imagine what lies ahead of us as more programs are developed like Family Search that allows us to participate in this precious work!
ReplyDeleteThankful for a great missionary experience I had today and the person is coming to church this week! God answers out prayers
ReplyDeleteI am grateful to have read all of the previous comments! There is so much to be thankful for. I love the warmth I feel when I walk into my home coming in from the crisp autumn air.
ReplyDeleteI am extremely grateful to be a mother. A calling that millions of women since the beginning of time have embarked on but one that I thought I would never have the opportunity to experience. The Lord has blessed our home with three miracles and each of them bring so much light and love to my life. My third is just 4 months old and once again I have been shown that the Lord knows best and truly knows the desires of our hearts. Happy November!
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for the opportunity we have to start raising a family all over again as we complete the adoption of our 2 1/2 year old granddaughter, now our daughter. I am thankful for a Heavenly Father that protected her and spared her life so that she could be such a bright joy in ours. I am grateful to be her mother forever.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful for central heating, that when the house feels drafty I can just turn up the thermostat and enjoy instant warm air flowing from the heating vents in our home. I don't need to worry about finding fuel, chopping or cutting wood, or tending the home fires each day to keep us warm!
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for eternal families.
ReplyDeleteThe love of my Heavenly Father.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful for 4 sweet boys.
ReplyDeleteWhen My husband and I were expecting our first child, we visited the George Bush Library in College Station Texas. As you walked into the museum, a quote from President Bush was painted on the entry. It touched my heart and I cried (not just hormonal tears LOL) my husband was touched, and it became our "goal". President Bush said, "My greatest accomplishment is that my children still want to come home." Right now, 16 years later, my two oldest children, teen boys have 5 friends over on a friday night. I am thankful that they choose to be in our home and their friends do too. I pray that our relationship continues that when they leave for college, marriage, work, missions etc that they will always come home. I am thankful for many blessing because of my children, but listening to 7 boys sing old rock songs with 2 little sisters joining in, ranks up there with the best of them. Thanks also to Jocelyn for helping my gratitude quotient! My tears are flowing, the happy happy tears of a heart filled with thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this comment Karen a
DeleteI love that saying and glad you shared it. I am looking for a motto and maybe this is the one. X. And way to go. Sounds like you are making your goal!
I love the idea of having the gratitude wall at school! When I was in college we had a piece of paper taped to the door where we wrote what we were grateful for. It was a great reminder to see every day as we walked in and out each day. When we finished the page we added another one next to it. At the end of 2 years it covered the whole front door and the closet door next to it... I still have a copy of it in my journal.
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