O remember, remember

At the last October LDS general conference, one of my favorite talks was the one given by President Henry B. Eyring. He talked about the importance of writing down how he has seen the hand of God blessing him and his family. I really felt like that was important. After thinking about it for over a month, I purchased a simple paperback journal from the grocery store. Each night I write just a few sentences about gratitude. It is a bit harder than you think. The first few days are okay, but after that you have to think. What it has done for me is to think, listen, observe throughout the hours of the day looking for the Lord's hand in my life (and the life of my family). It's been a cool experience. Now, I may not be able to write everyday for the rest of my life, but that is my plan at this point in my life. I remember back when I wrote EVERY day on my mission and then thereafter for a couple of years after I was home. After I got married it got more difficult to write. Now, I'm starting again. I'll let you know how it goes. A couple of days ago, I read an article called Catch some joy tomorrow. This is on one of the blogs that I follow. I recommend that you take 30 seconds to read it (especially, if you are in a grumpy mood today). Another article about the importance of gratitude that was in the Church News a couple of weeks ago. A study done by the University of Davis discovered that those that wrote in gratitude journals each day were 25% happier than others! Thankfulness is a choice. "Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done".