Grateful

I've heard something like this said a million times, "What you think about, when you don't have anything you HAVE to think about, will show you where your priorities lie." This is something that has been coming to my mind quite frequently when I have time to just think. But I only after I realize that what I am complaining about in my head is absolutely self-centered, ungrateful, and small. Apparently my priorities can be described by the embarrassing words just mentioned.

I have been complaining about alot of silly things lately. They are things that if anyone who had real problems heard me, they would want to give me a darn good spanking for being such an thankless, selfish jerk .

Today, while reprimanding myself, I remembered that someone can hear all of these horrible thoughts. I am embarrassed because He knows how those people with real problems feel. So, I am embarrassed to think that He hears their thoughts and then hears mine.

So, I would like to tell you all what I am grateful for. Hopefully it will help me remember that I should spend that leisure thinking time in a way that will prevent the embarrassment I feel when I kneel down to pray at night.

I am grateful for a husband who works hard ,does what is right, loves me and makes me happy. I am grateful for a daughter who is healthy, smart and strong. I am grateful I live in a country and circumstance where I can so easily keep her tummy full and her little body warm. I am grateful to live in a place that truly feels like home. I am grateful for the good jobs we have and the security they give us. I am grateful for a country that allows us to live, worship, and speak as we please.

I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the direction it gives to my life.

I am so blessed and I want to spend more time thinking about what is right than about what is wrong.

"The absence of gratitude bespeaks a lack of appreciation and an ignorance that comes of an attitude of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism and, frequently, in malicious conduct. Many selfish, arrogant, and usually miserable people in this world walk without gratitude. Perhaps they do so because they do not fully realize all they have to be thankful for"

-Gordon B. Hinkley

I think I am going to try something new tomorrow. Every time I complain out loud or in my head, I will write down one thing I am thankful for. I'll report back.