Well, the year is winding down, so I thought I should probably--just perhaps--do some journaling. Seeing how my last post was in January, I'm obviously needing to make personal journaling a new year's resolution!
Seeing how it's November and with Thanksgiving around the corner, I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and keep a daily gratitude journal for the month. Since it's November 6th, I'm going to need to do a little catch-up, but after today, I'm going to really try to post something every day. So, here it goes!
I found these gratitude journal prompts at:
textmyjournal.com.
Day One: What smell are you grateful for today?
I love the smell of autumn--crisp air, crunchy leaves, pumpkin spice, apple cider. I love the smell of food baking, like homemade bread, cookies, pie...mmmmm yum! And I love smells that take me back--the smell of my Grandma Mair's perfume, the smell of homemade tortillas, bacon frying, and laundry starch that remind me of my Grandma Medina, the smell of an old farm truck that takes me back to riding in my Grandpa Medina's truck...so many good smells and so many memories.
Day Two: What technology are you grateful for?
Hhhmmmm...that's a tough one. I think it's a tie between my computer and my smart phone. I'm always trying to explain to kids what life was like before the internet and before cellphones. They just don't get it. I don't know what I would do without Google search! And I love that I can read my scriptures and pull up almost any talk ever given on my phone and link them all. I can take pictures, send instant messages, get directions (awesome for a person who is always lost!), listen to music, look up information, and track my health all on this little device that fits in my palm. I amazed at the things that we can do with technology these days!
Day Three: What color are you grateful for?
My favorite color is red. My Grandma Medina's favorite color was red too. It fit her. She was fiery and spicy and force to be reckoned with. That's how I want to be! But I'm also grateful for red's sister, orange. Especially during this time of year when the leaves are turning red, yellow, orange, and brown. Orange makes me feel happy and energized. Here's some pictures from a recent drive through the mountains. I love the oranges, yellows, and golds.
Day Four--What food are you most grateful for?
At first, I was going to say home-cooked food, but then I thought of all of my favorite restaurants and favorite foods at these places. I do love to eat out. Then I was going to say the food I'm most grateful for is food cooked by someone else. This is true some days when I'm worn out and too tired to come up with dinner, but I do love to cook. I love sweet food, salty food, spicy (but not too spicy) food, buttery food, fattening food...there are very few foods in this world that I don't like (liver and oysters is pretty much the only foods that come to mind). My sister and I are notorious for letting our love of food get us into trouble. This story sums it all up quite well:
“Cookies” by Arnold Lobel
From Frog and Toad Together
Toad baked some cookies. “These cookies smell very good,” said Toad. He ate one. “And they taste even better,” he said. Toad ran to Frog’s house. “Frog, Frog,” cried Toad, “taste these cookies that I have made.”
Frog ate one of the cookies. “These are the best cookies I have ever eaten!” said Frog.
Frog and Toad ate many cookies, one after another. “You know, Toad,” said Frog, with his mouth full, “I think we should stop eating. We will soon be sick.”
“You are right,” said Toad. “Let us eat one last cookie, and then we will stop.” Frog and Toad ate one last cookie. There were many cookies left in the bowl.
“Frog,” said Toad, “let us eat one very last cookie, and then we will stop.” Frog and Toad at one very last cookie.
“We must stop eating!” cried Toad as he ate another.
“Yes,” said Frog, reaching for a cookie, “we need will power.”
“What is will power?” asked Toad.
“Will power is trying hard not to do something that you really want to do,” said Frog.
“You mean like trying not to eat all of these cookies?” asked Toad.
“Right,” said Frog.
Frog put the cookies in a box. “There,” he said. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.”
“But we can open the box,” said Toad.
“That is true,” said Frog.
Frog tied some string around the box. “There,” he said. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.”
“But we can cut the string and open the box,” said Toad.
“That is true,” said Frog.
Frog got a ladder. He put the box up on a high shelf. “There,” said Frog. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.”
“But we can climb the ladder and take the box down from the shelf and cut the string and open the box,” said Toad.
“That is true,” said Frog.
Frog climbed the ladder and took the box down from the shelf. He cut the string and opened the box. Frog took the box outside. He shouted in a loud voice, “HEY BIRDS, HERE ARE COOKIES!”
Birds came from everywhere. They picked up all the cookies in their beaks and flew away.
“Now we have no more cookies to eat,” said Toad sadly. “Not even one.”
“Yes,” said Frog, but we have lots and lots of will power.”
“You may keep it all, Frog,” said Toad. “I am going home now to bake a cake.”
Suffice it to say, I'm grateful for food in general! Let's just leave it at that.
Day Five--What sound are you grateful for today?
I am grateful for the sound of my children's laughter, of wind rustling through the trees, of babies cooing, of beautiful music that stirs your soul, and somedays, I'm grateful for the sound of silence. Like the words of one of my favorite Primary songs says,
Whenever I hear the song of a bird
Or look at the blue, blue sky,Whenever I feel the rain on my faceOr the wind as it rushes by,Whenever I touch a velvet roseOr walk by our lilac tree,I'm glad that I live in this beautiful worldHeav'nly Father created for me.Currently, I'm deaf in one ear, and I'm really starting to realize how much I miss hearing. I can still hear things, but I imagine there's so much more that I'm missing out on. But I am so grateful for what I do hear. There's this sweet video on the internet of a baby who has just had his hearing fixed, and he hears the voice of his mom for the first time. His reaction is so sweet. I'm grateful that I can hear the voices of my children (even if they're crying and bickering some of the time). I'm grateful that I can hear the voice of my husband, of my family, of my friends...life sounds good to me!
Day Six--What in nature are you grateful for?
This is another hard one. I love nature in general. I'm grateful for animals such as horses, dogs, and cats. I'm grateful for the little life lessons that I learn from watching birds. I'm grateful for the mountains. I'm grateful of wide, open fields. I'm grateful for sunrises and sunsets. I'm grateful the stars. That's one of the things I love about where I live. Every night, when it's clear, I can go outside and just be swallowed up in the starry sky. There's so very little light pollution, that the stars really shine brighter here. I'm grateful for the fierce majesty of the ocean. I'm grateful for blue skies but also rainy afternoons. Nature, for me, is a daily reminder that God loves His children and that everything in life is going to work out for my good. I am so grateful for nature! As one of my favorite hymns says it:
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Refrain:
Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Refrain
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Refrain
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
