thankful thursday . . .

. . . remember those?  

Remember when I was so good about being thankful and remembering to write down why I am thankful?  Ya, I do too.  And I miss being more aware of my gratitude.

On Sunday I had the blessed opportunity to speak in church.  I'm one of those folks that actually likes speaking in church.  I like the thought and study I put into it and actually think it's kind of fun.  Anyways, the Bishopric of our ward asked our Young Women's Presidency to speak so that's what we did.  And since speaking in church on Sunday, I've felt an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for a few things this week.

1.  The Young Women's Theme . . .

We are daughters of our Heavenly Father,

who loves us, and we love Him.

WE WILL "STAND as witnesses of God at all times

and in all things, and in all places" (Mosiah 18:9)

as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:

FAITH ~ DIVINE NATURE

INDIVIDUAL WORTH ~ KNOWLEDGE

CHOICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

GOOD WORKS ~ INTEGRITY

and VIRTUE

WE BELIEVE as we come to accept and act

upon these values, WE WILL BE PREPARED

to strengthen home and family,

make and keep sacred covenants, receive

the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy

the blessings of exaltation.

Every Sunday at church and every Wednesday at our weekly Young Women's activity we stand and recite this theme together.  As we did this last night, I felt so grateful for the opportunity it gives me to be reminded of who I am, my purpose, and of my eternal destiny.

I felt grateful this week (and especially today) for the knowledge I have that I am a daughter of my Heavenly Father who loves me.  Because I know He who created me love me perfectly (imperfections and all!), my self-confidence  is improved and my ability to handle trial, adversity, and temptation is increased.  Because I know He loves me, I know He wants me to succeed and He will do everything He can to help me do so.  And because I love Him, the things I choose to do and say on a daily basis are improved and my desire to serve His children in increased.

2.  The young women in our ward.

These girls are amazing.  Strong.  Valiant.  Pure.  Courageous.  I learn from them every time I am with them.  They make me laugh.  HARD.  And even though they are 11 to 16 years younger than me, they are turning into some of my dearest friends.

3.  General Conference and Living Prophets.

Today, as I made my 45 minute commute to and from work, I listened to General Conference.  One of the talks I listened to was Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's, Of Things That Matter Most.  I was grateful for the simple reminder that I don't have to run a million miles an hour all of the time, that it is okay to slow down or say "no" when I am feeling overwhelmed.  I am grateful for the reminder that Heavenly Father appreciates all we do and is aware of what we do.

I am grateful our loving Heavenly Father has provided Living Prophets for us to provide us counsel, encouragement, guidance and help through this crazy life.  I am grateful they are here on the earth to be a mouth piece for our Heavenly Father.

I decided today I like being grateful.  So, I'm going to give an honest effort to remember my 'Thankful Thursdays'.  I can't promise I'll get around to them every week.  But I'll sure give it an honest effort.

{Thanks for listening if you read that whole thing.}