Count Your Many Blessings - Part 1

I had something else in mind to post today but as I got online to do this and check my emails, I had an email from my nephew who is also serving as a missionary in Taiwan like my Princess number 2.

He is in a different part of the country. His mother posted his email to the family and I am going to share something he sent this week because I feel like he was inspired to write it. I did a search on my blog "Grateful for" and I had so many posts come up that the oldest post showing was not much more than a month old which basically means, I write lots of posts in which I write, "I'm grateful for...."

I think sometimes people may get sick of reading me post "How grateful I am" or think I am over zealous about it but when I looked at the things I posted being grateful for, I really am grateful for those things. Each night I fall asleep talking to my Heavenly Father sharing with him the things I am grateful for in my life. This blog is titled "The secret is GRATITUDE" after all.

I have my gratitude frames which are still getting additions regularly and get hung and shared in my home. I write in my journal/diary nightly about my blessings and the things I am grateful for and I have this blog so I can share those things for which I am grateful!

I have so many blessings that I don't know many people who have more blessings in their life than I do but I still feel that I don't thank God and Christ enough for all they do and have done for me. I will always be indebted to them which gives me more opportunity to share more and more of what I am grateful for in my life!

I went around my house with my camera to take a few pictures to add to this post of my home decorations which talk of gratitude, grateful, thankful, giving etc. I had 15 within 2 minutes. I am sure I missed some, in fact, I just thought of one I missed. I like to have reminders around me to help me keep gratitude in my heart and to remain positive in my attitude.

Here is what my nephew missionary in Taiwan sent in his email to our family.

"In the past couple of weeks I have really enjoyed the song "Count Your Many Blessings". I have decided to take the song's invite to the test, to "count [my] many blessings, name them one by one". Each day I have been writing down all of the blessings that I have received that day. I want to make this a lifetime pursuit. The only problem is that I will be running an eternal deficit as I cannot even begin to name all of the blessings that God has given me, nor will I ever be able to. But I have noticed that I have been more grateful since I have started doing this. And I can even see more blessings than I could before. Not because I wasn't being blessed as much before, but because my ability to recognize God's blessings in my life has increased. I am really grateful that I have started this and that God gave me the inspiration to do this."

I looked that song up on YOUTUBE and there weren't that many options. Some were down right annoying! :-) However, I found this group "Hovie Lister and The Statesmen" singing it that someone posted and I thought it was great! They sound like the singers or song writing style used for the "Zipp-a-dee-doo-dah" song. Here is a link to that song:Count Your Many Blessings. (Click after you finish reading or you will be taken from this page)

My missionary Princess number 2 wrote that she started a list the first week in Taiwan of what she is grateful for and in several of her emails continues the list. "Little did they know what a little positive attitude can do for you. I've decided that being here for 5 days already makes me grateful for all of the little things that I have back in the states. I'm grateful for 1. Warm running water. 2. Free grocery bags at the store. 3. A dry climate. 4. Things not smelling like mold all the time. 5. big houses and apartments. Just to name a few."

A few weeks later she adds, "Things I'm even more grateful for this week? 1. Garbage cans/ dumpsters. 2. American Public Restrooms. 3. Vacuums. 4. Bleach. 5. Rain Gear."

Here is a link to my post about having a "Gratitude Journal" or Blessing Diary during my divorce.

Here is a link to my post called "Count Your Blessings..."

If you want to read all the posts on Gratitude, click on the "Gratitude Moments" on the left at the home page or type that in the search box at the bottom of the page. There are lots of them!

There is more I want to share with you on this but don't want to overwhelm in one post so I will share more on this tomorrow.