Write 10 things about nature you are grateful for:
1. The sunset I saw last night on my walk home
2. The warmth of the sun
3. The beauty of the stars and moon on a cloudless night
4. The flight on an Eagle
5. A mountain top with a crystal clear lake
6. A golden wheat field at harvest time
7. A new colt standing next to its mother
8. A mother holding her newborn for the first time
9. A sunrise over the mountains
10. The love of a family pet
Write 10 things about today you are grateful for:
1. Being alive
2. A new chance to make something different of myself
3. A family that loves me
4. Friends that love me
5. A loving daughter who reached out to her grandmother without being asked
6. The my whole family is safe after the devastating winds in Utah that wrecked the whole cities
7. A body that doesn’t hurt…too much
8. A clear mind that can see what will really make me happy in the long run
9. A chance to fix a wrong
10. A job
Write 10 places on earth you are grateful for:
1. Great Falls, Montana
2. Marquette, Michigan
3. Ogden, Utah
4. Centerville, Utah
5. Oslo, Norway
6. Bergen, Norway
7. Narvik, Norway
8. Chateauroux, France
9. My garage
10. My favorite hunting spot
Write 10 modern inventions you are grateful for:
1. Computers
2. The internet
3. Electricity
4. Combustion engine
5. Telephone, old school and cell
6. Light bulb…all kinds
7. Gortex
8. Cast iron
9. Medicine…no matter how frustrating it can be
10. Television
Write 10 foods you are grateful for:
1. Chocolate
2. Strawberries
3. Venison
4. Pork chops
5. Apple Pie
6. Turkey
7. Pumpkin Pie
8. Happy cookies
9. Ice cream
10. Anything cooked in a Dutch oven
Write 10 things about the gospel you are grateful for:
1. The Atonement of Jesus Christ
2. The power of the Priesthood
3. The blessings of the temple
4. The eternal nature of family
5. The opportunity to serve in a calling
6. The weekly opportunity to partake of the sacrament
7. The opportunity to serve a full-time mission (mine, the one Ben is on right now, and the one Brian can serve).
8. Family History
9. Friends no matter where I go
10. The chance to be truly happy if I do what I know is right.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
TAKE A GRATITUDE CHALLENGE - Part 1
I was reading the December 2011 copy of the Ensign and I came across an interesting exercise for youth and I thought I would try it myself.
Let's not just talk about counting our blessings--let's do it! Write a list of 100 things you are thankful for. If that sounds like it is too many, try this:
Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for:
1. I can walk the 55 blocks to work
2. I can type
3. I can hold a firearm steady enough to be a better than average shot
4. I have eyes that can see…even with the wrong glasses on
5. My heart continues to beat
6. My ears can hear the voices of my family, friends and nature
7. I can drive a car
8. I can ride a bicycle
9. I can climb a tree
10. I can sing
Write 10 material possessions you are grateful for:
1. My house
2. The food in my fridge and cupboards
3. My guns
4. My car
5. My M&M collection
6. My Dutch ovens
7. My tools
8. My son’s Legos
9. My wedding ring
10. My scriptures
Write 10 living people you are grateful for:
1. My wife, Jeanine
2. My daughter, Steph
3. My daughter, Robin
4. My son, Ben
5. My son, Brian
6. My mom
7. My dad
8. My brother
9. My sister
10. My mother-in-law
Write 10 deceased people you are grateful for:
1. Jesus Christ
2. My father-in-law
3. My paternal grandfather
4. My paternal grandmother
5. My maternal grandfather
6. My maternal grandmother
7. Christopher Columbus
8. George Washington
9. Spencer W. Kimball
10. Gordon B. Hinckley
To be continued...
Let's not just talk about counting our blessings--let's do it! Write a list of 100 things you are thankful for. If that sounds like it is too many, try this:
Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for:
1. I can walk the 55 blocks to work
2. I can type
3. I can hold a firearm steady enough to be a better than average shot
4. I have eyes that can see…even with the wrong glasses on
5. My heart continues to beat
6. My ears can hear the voices of my family, friends and nature
7. I can drive a car
8. I can ride a bicycle
9. I can climb a tree
10. I can sing
Write 10 material possessions you are grateful for:
1. My house
2. The food in my fridge and cupboards
3. My guns
4. My car
5. My M&M collection
6. My Dutch ovens
7. My tools
8. My son’s Legos
9. My wedding ring
10. My scriptures
Write 10 living people you are grateful for:
1. My wife, Jeanine
2. My daughter, Steph
3. My daughter, Robin
4. My son, Ben
5. My son, Brian
6. My mom
7. My dad
8. My brother
9. My sister
10. My mother-in-law
Write 10 deceased people you are grateful for:
1. Jesus Christ
2. My father-in-law
3. My paternal grandfather
4. My paternal grandmother
5. My maternal grandfather
6. My maternal grandmother
7. Christopher Columbus
8. George Washington
9. Spencer W. Kimball
10. Gordon B. Hinckley
To be continued...
Sunday, November 27, 2011
A thought shared in church meetings today has brought me to the Bible, the Old Testiment, the Psalms, Chapter 38:
1 O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.
6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.
10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.
11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.
12 They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.
13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
15 For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.
17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.
19 But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
21 Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me.
22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.
I know that God and Christ both love me very much and it is because of that love that I know that there will be a new day tomorrow for me to try to improve something, small though it may seem, if I will be put my trust in Them.
1 O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.
6 I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee.
10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.
11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off.
12 They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long.
13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
15 For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.
17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.
19 But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
20 They also that render evil for good are mine adversaries; because I follow the thing that good is.
21 Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me.
22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.
I know that God and Christ both love me very much and it is because of that love that I know that there will be a new day tomorrow for me to try to improve something, small though it may seem, if I will be put my trust in Them.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Here we go again
And so I feeling once again that I would really like a place to put down my thoughts and feelings without being judged...at least not in a way that I would see feedback on right a way.
I have found that life is once again a struggle in my mind. I am not the person that I feel I should be and I am not in the place that I should be. Where I am right now is not where I thought I would be at this stage in my life...far from it actually. I didn't think I would feel so far behind myself that no matter how hard I ran I would never catch up. I had some really big plans for my life and now I am finding that they are not within my reach. I guess if I had actually made them more of a goal I would have been more successful but I didn't and I can't go back now. I just somehow have to find a way to accept where I am and what I am and then decide if I want to change. I keep thinking that it is something as simple as losing weight or stopping a bad habit but I fear it is more than that. Stopping something in my life or changing something on the outside will only affect part of it. However, unless I find a way to change what is inside I will not be able to get something seriously figured out.
I have been working hard to come out of my shell lately and find some new friends. I thought that I had found a couple of them...and they were even at work...but it just doesn't seem to be working out. I was hoping that the age difference wouldn't be that big of a deal and maybe it is not but I feel it does impact things. I also have to be careful that I only find male friends or I come across as the dirty old man...and that sucks. There is one that I thought was really going to go places but I have lost my touch. One day things are fine and the next day everything falls apart. I don't know what I did but it really sucks. I was told by this friend that family replaces friends...and I don't think I believe that but it has really made me want to be quiet and stay to myself.
It hit be so hard and has become such a big deal to me that today I text all the folks from work and let them know that we could only have a professional relationship and that any contact outside of work would be happen. I feel that I am being told that there must be a complete separation of work and play and that I can't blend the two. I am even feeling so bothered by it that I am going to have to start calling everyone by their rank and last name so that I but back up the barrier. I don't like the barriers...I even worked hard in the shop to remove their barriers but I can see that with the way I am feeling now, I won't be able to keep going without those barriers back up.
So you can see that none of this is actually making me feel better about how things are in my life right now. The only good thing that has come out of all of this was that I actually cried the other day and I haven't done that in over a year. I guess have some emotion back is a good thing. I just hope that somewhere I can find a way to pull myself back together and press forward again. This summer was great but now I feel so far behind that I will need to work twice as hard to just catch up to where I was before. Oh well...life will go on...now the challenge is to smile.
I have found that life is once again a struggle in my mind. I am not the person that I feel I should be and I am not in the place that I should be. Where I am right now is not where I thought I would be at this stage in my life...far from it actually. I didn't think I would feel so far behind myself that no matter how hard I ran I would never catch up. I had some really big plans for my life and now I am finding that they are not within my reach. I guess if I had actually made them more of a goal I would have been more successful but I didn't and I can't go back now. I just somehow have to find a way to accept where I am and what I am and then decide if I want to change. I keep thinking that it is something as simple as losing weight or stopping a bad habit but I fear it is more than that. Stopping something in my life or changing something on the outside will only affect part of it. However, unless I find a way to change what is inside I will not be able to get something seriously figured out.
I have been working hard to come out of my shell lately and find some new friends. I thought that I had found a couple of them...and they were even at work...but it just doesn't seem to be working out. I was hoping that the age difference wouldn't be that big of a deal and maybe it is not but I feel it does impact things. I also have to be careful that I only find male friends or I come across as the dirty old man...and that sucks. There is one that I thought was really going to go places but I have lost my touch. One day things are fine and the next day everything falls apart. I don't know what I did but it really sucks. I was told by this friend that family replaces friends...and I don't think I believe that but it has really made me want to be quiet and stay to myself.
It hit be so hard and has become such a big deal to me that today I text all the folks from work and let them know that we could only have a professional relationship and that any contact outside of work would be happen. I feel that I am being told that there must be a complete separation of work and play and that I can't blend the two. I am even feeling so bothered by it that I am going to have to start calling everyone by their rank and last name so that I but back up the barrier. I don't like the barriers...I even worked hard in the shop to remove their barriers but I can see that with the way I am feeling now, I won't be able to keep going without those barriers back up.
So you can see that none of this is actually making me feel better about how things are in my life right now. The only good thing that has come out of all of this was that I actually cried the other day and I haven't done that in over a year. I guess have some emotion back is a good thing. I just hope that somewhere I can find a way to pull myself back together and press forward again. This summer was great but now I feel so far behind that I will need to work twice as hard to just catch up to where I was before. Oh well...life will go on...now the challenge is to smile.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
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