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Monday, November 21, 2011

Thanksgiving is coming- will we DO it?

As it looks like we will not be able to join our family for the traditional holiday
(most of our family members are a couple of states away, and we HAD planned to feast with them all in our home there-- but we are in a temporary housing condition, in this older ((but MUCH appreciated!)) 5th wheel, without any tip outs and a table smaller than two TV trays), so then it brings me to thinking about the reasons for the feast.

A Sister at church added an sight- to look at the word piecemeal. "Thanks Giving", to thank God and then GIVE to others. (that could be a whole new post even!).

I was looking at that I'm so SOOO thankful my dear husband is with me, and that we both have enough health, to not need others to help with our daily needs, and that we have enough funds to buy nutritious food in adequate supplies (though the tiny fridge does not hold much) as we try to eliminate from our diet, "food" that is not really food, but choose instead more organic vegetables and fruits with unprocessed foods that we prepare ourselves to preserve the most nutrition.

I'm blessed that my dear husband likes to cook and watched the same film titled "FoodMatters" that has helped inspire us to eat more carefully. Yes, we still sometimes "indulge" in an ice cream bar, but it is WAY less and the REAL "good stuff" is a greater percentage of our consumption. :)

Family not being available, though I know will be missed WAY more than any specific foods. : /. So we are considering inviting to our tiny 5th wheel, or maybe taking out to eat an Elderly friend who is also without family, and uses a walker. (it would be really hard for him to make it up INTO this "home" on wheels.

So, still thinking about the title of this holiday, and that Gratitude is an Attitude, that brings with it peace and hope, I am working on that. It isn't all that hard, as I daily see and feel my blessings, even many times a day. While the whole "why I am here- purpose of life" is the basis for what goes on, is such a great help.

I just had a wife of a friend of my husbands, ask if she could ask me a personal question. I said sure, and she asked if it was our religion (she knew we are LDS or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka Mormons) that has helped us get through our financial challenges (our business was forced into bankruptcy which , we fought, and lost, and then lost 89% or more of our assets which also supplied my husbands work, and we may lose our family home though the bank I don't THINK has filed foreclosure on it yet.)

Anyway, I answered that question with "Yes." I explained that knowing we came from our Father in Heaven, and why we were here and where we go after we die helped. that "it is NOT a case of "he who dies with the most toys wins". They were just leaving for another meeting when she asked that question, so I couldn't go into detail. But I gave her a pass a long card, with the name "Gramajane" as the title of my profile to look up on Mormon.org and that she could get her questions answered there, that I had also worked to answer FAQ there too.

It is amazing to me how much difference it makes in life, in being more peaceful and joyful to live, when you know why you are living! I'm so VERY thankful for the restored from Heaven Gospel of Jesus Christ that answers that most important question, and how that answer fits with the rest of the questions I have had. I'm grateful and thankful for prayer, and my experiences with my prayers being answered. I'm thankful for my husband, my children, my grandchildren, and all humanity. I'm appreciative to a HUGE degree for our freedom to choose. I love having "a voice and a choice" in what happens to me, or at least in my reaction to what happens!

We do not have complete control, but we can learn to control our reactions, to be more Christlike, which I work to do. I'm so thankful for repentance, for the chance to try yet again to do better. I love the Lord Jesus Christ, and our Father in Heaven and I want to be a daughter of God, that represents our family well. May God bless me to be so.