Practical Application

Did  you - like me - ever stop and think, "When am I going to need to know THIS?" For me, it was all the time: algebra is what comes to mind first, but also some of those life lessons the Good Lord has assigned to me.

Oh, I know. I am familiar with the concept of "all these things shall be for thy experience, and shall be for thy good." And it's true. I am beginning to get the message.

I'm starting to have more opportunities to apply what I have experienced. It's kind of crazy for me to see it. I feel a bit as if I have been learning all my life, and more than a little surprised to run up against a moment where I can say, "Hey, I know this, I've done that one already. Ooh! Ooh! Pick me! I know!"

Recently, I have had an opportunity to share experiences in a way that was useful to someone else. It felt strange and cool all at the same time. Since when am I the tutorial? I am grateful for the circumstances God has placed in my life, knowing I would need those experiences and lessons later on. I am almost giddy with excitement to share what I know. I am also terrified that I will become even more of a preachy know-it-all than I already am. Even so, I am thankful for practical application.

What are you blessed with today?

XOXOX

That "Five Love Languages" thing, it can change, you know. I think mine is now "physical touch", which it didn't used to be. I am a sucker for a good hug, for holding hands, for snuggling. I was holding my baby this evening, and petting her soft little head with my nose. Love it.

A professed "hands-on" person, to be sure, it was kind of a surprise to claim "physical touch" as the primary way I feel loved. As a mother, I get "touched out" on a regular basis. I suppose it's all in the type of touch. I notice how I have never turned down a foot rub. (Who has?)

This comes up for discussion because today I am thankful for kisses: from that unexpected kiss on the cheek from Great-grandpa on Sunday, to my four-year-old who will not to go to bed without kissing everyone, to butterfly kisses from my girls, to the (sometimes snot-garnished) smooches of my toddler, to the "honey, I'm home" kiss from my wonderful husband.

I love kisses. I love having my children sidle up to me out of the blue and lean on my shoulder for a moment, then kiss me on the cheek and wander away. I love it when my husband pulls me close at the end of a hard day and kisses my forehead. I love kissing my mom good-bye on her soft cheek, and how she cocks her head to the side to be accommodating. Lovelovelove it.

I am so thankful for kisses, and all that they imply.

What are you blessed with today?

Option

I am not feeling particularly eloquent tonight. So many things on my mind and on my to-do list. But I think I must say I am thankful for options. 

Choosing is hard for me. The "opportunity cost" always gets me. I have always had limited resources: time, money, energy, whatever. So I agonize and obsess over how to allocate them. It kills me to waste any of it, although I do. All the time. It's usually only in retrospect that I can see it, though.

Still, inside all that agony and obsession, I recognize the blessing. I have options to agonize and obsess about. Choosing means I have a choice. Often, many choices. Like choosing a salad dressing: so many to choose from, yet ultimately only one salad to dress. 

I find it telling that the thesaurus lists "variety" and "abundance" as synonyms for "choice", along with "opportunity" as a synonym for "option". Because I have options to choose from, my life is full of opportunity and abundance. I am grateful for the opportunity - and the liberty! - to choose for myself. I am grateful for options.

What are you blessed with today?

Smooth Sailing

Ah, today was a busy day. So much to do here at home, a couple of big things on the schedule...busy, busy, busy. Toss in the mix the whims and needs of my children, and it is never a guarantee that things will run according to plan. In fact, I usually plan on it NOT running thusly. That way, if/when it does, I can be pleasantly surprised, not "madder'n a wet hen", as my mother is want to say.

Today, however, ran like it needed to, MUCH to my pleasure and surprise. I mean, I was exhausted, and had a headache when it was all over. But everything that had to get done got done, and all the things that truly needed to happen were able to happen. So, when my head hits the pillow (in a couple of minutes), I can sleep. As opposed to, say, going over what went wrong in my head, or beating myself up about what didn't get done. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

So, I am grateful for smooth sailing. And ibuprofen. Yup, when taken as a whole, it has been a good day.

What are you blessed with today?

Strength in Numbers

I have a testimony of the Law of the Fast. Today was "Fast Sunday" in our little branch, as next week will be Stake Conference.  Last night, my husband and I gathered those of our children who are old enough to fast in our room, and started our fast together. I love that.

I also love sitting in Sacrament meeting on Fast Sunday and listening to the testimonies of others, hearing them declare what they know and why they believe. It strengthens me so much. Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the baptism of a dear friend, and I also had the opportunity to bear my own testimony concerning baptism and our Heavenly Father's plan for us to return to Him.

There is no substitute for the feeling of shared testimony. There is no replacement of the strength I draw from the fellowship of the saints. Truly, there is strength in numbers. I am grateful for my little spot among the followers of Christ. I am grateful for the chance to witness for Him, and to be uplifted by the witness of others.

What have you been blessed with today?