Thoughts for Thursday: Power of Gratitude

"It's not the power of the curse,
it's the power we give the curse."
~ Billy, from the movie "Penelope"

This month I am trying to focus on the abundance of blessings that God has given me. We (the sisters in Relief Society -women's organization) talked in church on Sunday about how sometimes we EXPECT certain blessings from God and sometimes don't get those blessings, but we do get other blessings that He knows that we NEED.


Take a look at this amazing video about a young man named Nick Vujicic:



and then check out this one... pay special attention to 3:30 minutes....



Sometimes we may feel "cursed" because we don't get the blessings we EXPECT.... but I love how little Billy said at the end of the movie, "It's not the power of the curse, it's the power we give the curse." So very true!!! Basically, by giving ourselves an attitude/perspective adjustment, we can go from feeling miserable to seeing how God has TRULY blessed us.

The holiday season can really be hard on a lot of people. During this time of year the world seems to focus on the "haves" and "have nots"... often times we see so many things we don't have and want. "The grass is greener...", "If only I could....", "I'd be happy if...", "I'm not perfect enough" type of ideas... Let's do something about this.

So here is the challenge for us:

Click on the image to the left to view it larger & print it off. (Sorry, it's huge, about 1 MB.)

For the next 30 days take a moment each day to write down something that you are grateful for. Then maybe snap a photo or write a journal entry and make a scrapbook layout or keep a photo journal of it to remind you.

It can be anything... a sharp pencil for sketching notes, a warm bath, the love of a friend/sibling/parent/spouse or significant other, the smile on a strangers face, a bed to sleep in, a favorite pair of shoes, a difficult child (because that means God entrusted you with His child), a burnt loaf of bread (because that means you have the ingredients & knowledge to bake bread), your job, etc.... Whatever you feel grateful for.

I guarantee that at the end of 30 days you will see an ABUNDANCE of blessings. You may even want to continue writing them down because as you focus on your blessings you will find more than one thing every day to write down.

Feel free to share on your blog, invite others to join us, and post what you are grateful for. So what are you waiting for??