because I have been given much

Hello all!

With Thanksgiving and the holiday season coming up, I've been thinking about living with gratitude and serving others. I found this video today and I really liked it because it reminded me to hold dear everything God has given me.

I know that I am so blessed and have so much to be grateful for. This video reminded me that I need to be expressing my gratitude more often. I want God to know every day how grateful I am. I don't want to wait until a really hard challenge comes my way before I start praising God and showing thankfulness.


This video also reminded me of a verse I read a couple weeks ago that I really liked:
D&C 42:30 - And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken. 

Consecrate means "to make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of a deity." So what does it mean to consecrate of your properties for the support of the poor? I liked what the man in this video said - "live simply so other people can simply live." 

What this verse taught me is that I should dedicate everything God has given me to the service of others. I have been blessed so abundantly, and I know that Heavenly Father wants me to use the resources I've been given to improve the lives of others. What an amazing calling - to be able to show your gratitude by dedicating all that you have to the service of others and therefore to the service of God.

I am so grateful for this time of year because the holiday season fills our hearts with the spirit of gratitude, love, and service. Let us be grateful servants all the year round. Decide now to dedicate all that you have to the service of God. 

Have a great Thanksgiving! 

Love, Haley. 

gratitude brings happiness

First, I feel the need to take back anything I ever said about not being stressed about school this year. I am a walking zombie all the time because I am so tired because I was up all hours doing homework. And it would be one thing if I always just put homework off until the evening, but I don't. I am literally that busy and I am doing homework every waking moment I am at home.

SO that is why I haven't blogged in over two weeks. Several of my hobbies are being severely neglected, actually. And I don't even have time to read BOOKS other than on the weekends. And I love reading. In fact, Saturday I didn't finish my english project until 11pm, and I had a book that had been overdue for over a week (and could not be renewed) that I hadn't started but really wanted to read, so I stayed up until 4:30 finishing it.

Okay, I really have no idea why I just wrote all of that. But I don't think I'll erase it. Anyways, the POINT is that I am so loving this break for Thanksgiving! I spent all day Monday and Tuesday doing ALL my homework so it is not looming over my head! And today I cleaned my bathroom and bedroom AND vacuumed out and washed my car. I probably haven't vacuumed out my car in months and it's probably been at least a month since my bathroom was cleaned. Gross, I know, but it makes you appreciate a clean bathroom more!!!

We are also decorating for Christmas on Friday! And watching White Christmas, one of only two old movies that I love (the other is Calamity Jane)! I am so excited!


Now that all of that is out of the way, let's talk about Thanksgiving. My very first post on this blog was a Thanksgiving post, you know. That was two years ago!! That means that I was fourteen when I wrote some of these posts. I feel the need to point that out every so often just so that you don't judge me too much!! :) I always wonder what people think of me who only knew me in like seventh grade or something. Wow, I have changed so much!

I was driving (in my slippers, mind you, to preserve my pristine car) to the library this afternoon and the whole city was so busy because, you know, Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I love LOVE things like that. I am really bad at describing it, when I first tried to explain my thoughts to my mom, she just stared at me like I was crazy.
But I feel like it is such a human thing to go out and buy last minute turkeys and pumpkin pies, the same thing happens the day before the Super Bowl and on Christmas Eve. It is just one of those things that brings people together and it is neat to see things that affect a whole society like that. It makes me appreciate humanity and the people around me a bit more, and it is really hard to explain why.
It's like when I pass someone who has a parking pass to my high school hanging on their mirror, and so do I, and I just kinda take a second to appreciate the mutual, unspoken camaraderie I feel towards that person, even though we only have that one thing in common.
It's also kinda like when our ward had missionary week and there was a night when all of the youth were being hosted at different homes for dinner, and it felt like the whole ward was outside either walking to others' houses or giving people rides or welcoming visitors.

I just love stuff like that, when everyone is just out being friends, participating in something that brings them together and defines their social group, even if they don't realize it.




Okay. I am going to stop rambling and making myself sound dumb and get to the video. Sound good?



It probably isn't surprising to you that being grateful can make you happy.

When you see everything as a gift, you are more joyful, more compassionate, have kinder thoughts, are closer to God, and are, quite simply, a more lovely person in general.  

Thanksgiving is a wonderful day to be grateful, but we should also practice gratitude all year long, not just during the holiday season.

What things are you grateful for? How are you going to express your gratitude, like the people in the above video did?
If you are grateful, you are happy. But perhaps other people will be happy, too!

Let us resolve to more often recognize the people, places, and things God has given us - and let us express gratitude! 

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a happy Thanksgiving! And as we jump into the holidays, which I am very excited to do, please never forget the reason for the season!

Love, Haley

an era of gratitude.

First of all you guys, today is the one-year anniversary of this blog. I don't know why I feel so accomplished, but I do. This has been a lot of hard work for me and hours and hours of research and blogging.

Including this post, I have written 140 posts in the last year. That's a post every 2.6 days (I think - ha)!!

Ooh. That feels good.

Okay. So because my first post was about gratitude, and because we celebrated Thanksgiving this last week, I think the following video is a good one for today...




"Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down."



Ah. I feel so incredibly blessed right now.

But I don't always.

You know, it's so true that we have it good where we live. (assuming you live in a way similar to me...)

I really feel like I should never take what I have for granted.

But let's face it, this isn't always an easy attitude to have. When things don't go your way, when work is stressful, money is tight, and friends create drama... well, self-pity can creep in.

And I know many people - and of many people - who say, "Why would you do this to me, God??"

"I don't deserve this!"


Well I'll tell you what. I've had hardships in my own life. Most likely nothing harder than you've experienced, and I didn't always believe that, but I do now.

And I've probably suffered through trials that I didn't deserve.

But you know what? I've been blessed in much larger ways with good things that I didn't deserve, either.


I don't deserve the Grace offered me.

I don't deserve the family I have.

Or the friends I have.


The world doesn't owe me anything. My God doesn't owe me anything, either.


So when I think of all the things given to me anyways - and the people who have sacrificed just about everything for me - Why am I not the most grateful person in the world?


Well I should be. Because a grateful person is a happy person.



I suppose some of you might be familiar with the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism...

basically, the first three truths are these:
1. there is suffering in the world.
2. suffering is caused by desire.
3. by curbing desires, you can end suffering.

(The fourth is rather irrelevant right now and takes more unnecessary explaining, so we will stick to the first three...) :)


I think that that is brilliant. Suffering is caused by desires. By expectations. And consequently, by disappointment.


So when you start truly being grateful for all that you have, when you stop expecting more and more success, when you stop feeling entitled to everything offered to anyone...

you will be so, so happy. I suppose that's actually the way to experience true happiness.



So here's to a year of constant attitude checks for me.

Because I want to be a happy person. I want to be done desiring worthless things.

And I want to help others. To serve the Lord and show Him where my priorities lie. I want to focus on the things that really matter.


I want the world to be a place full of grateful people.


And we've got a ways to go.

But I guess I will start with myself.



So here's to a new era.

An era of gratitude.


Will you join me?

Post #1: Gratitude

“When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives.”

-President Gordon B. Hinckley

     Hello everybody! Welcome to my new blog! This is my first post, and there were a few topics that I wanted to post thoughts about. After tossing them around in my head for a few minutes, I realized that it would probably be appropriate to share a thought about gratitude, seeing as it is Thanksgiving and all...  I love the quote above by President Gordon B. Hinckley. I know that this is so true. If you live your life with gratitude and are thankful for all things given to you, it truly will make you a better person.

    
     What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday? Wouldn't you wish that you had showed more gratitude for what you've been given? You can tell when a person acknowledges what they have. Generally, they are more willing to give of themselves because they realize that they really are blessed. There is a quote by Pavithra Mehta that says "What you truly acknowledge is truly yours." How true that is.

My dad shared something with me that can be a reminder for us all to be thankful.

- If you woke up this morning with more health than illness... you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week.

- If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

- If you can attend a religious meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death... you are more blessed than 3 billion people in the world.

- If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep... you are richer than 75% of this world.

- If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealth.

- If your parents are still alive and still married... you are very rare, even in the United States.

- If you can hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful... you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

- If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder... you are blessed because you can offer a healing touch.

- If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than over 2 billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Doesn't that make you a little more grateful for your blessings? It does for me. Something like that can really give you a renewed perspective.

I was looking in my scriptures for a story of gratitude. There are many such stories in the scriptures. I'm only going to share one, however, and it is one that you are all familiar with.

Luke 17:

 11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.

 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Bishop Merrill J. Bateman taught: “In becoming a whole person, the grateful leper was healed inside as well as on the outside. That day nine lepers were healed skin deep, but only one had the faith to be made whole”

See what gratitude can do for us?? It can make us whole.

Alright... to finish, here's a lovely video that the church posted on facebook... enjoy...

I'm thankful for: the gospel, my testimony, my family, my scriptures, my Savior, the piano, my ward family, a roof over my head and food in my pantry, school, and the wonderful country that we live in.
And oh, so much more...

Psalms 100:
4- Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5- For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

I hope that we can all remember that being thankful is not just for Thanksgiving... It is a lifestyle.