The Small Things in Life

In my effort to start living a simpler life and really enjoying the journey, I have decided that a good dose of gratitude for the small things is exactly what I need.  And where is a better place to express appreciation than on a blog, right??  What I'd like to do is to think of 10 small instances that have happened to me in the past month or so, or maybe just since school has started that I failed to realize were a true blessing, and acknowledge them, mainly just for my own sake, and you are the lucky person that gets to read about them.  

1. The other day my little brother Parker called me out of nowhere just to talk! When I say little I really mean a 6 foot 3 17 year old, but he's still little to me!  It was such a blessing to me to be able to talk to my busy brother, especially when he's the one that made the first contact!

2. I have quite a few friends that are out on missions right now, and it is always such a joy to receive a letter from any of them in the mail! I have probably received 5 letters from different people in the past 3 weeks, and it has been so great.

3. We had cleaning checks in our apartments yesterday and it was a really busy day for me because I had class then work until midnight, and the checks were going to occur while I was at work.  So I didn't find the time to vaccuum my room, but then when I got home from work, I saw that one of my roommates had vaccuumed for me!  Luckily, we all passed the check!

4. I wrote in my journal last night, and it had been about a month since I had written.  Time is moving so fast that I found it really hard to find the time to write this past month.  So needless to say, it was a very long entry, and I got all of my fears, thoughts, trials out on paper, and wow was it therapeutic.  I just feel so much lighter today and a lot less stressed and I know it's because I had the opportunity to write in my journal.  Don't worry though, I will not slack again, I've already written in it again today! haha (Those of you who know me really well will understand my journal obsession).

5. I already mentioned this in my last blog, but listening to conference this past weekend was such a true blessing.  It is so amazing that we have a living prophet of God on the earth today, and have the opportunity to listen to his words twice a year.  I am so blessed to have the knowledge that I do and I have truly been blessed with the desire to change and make my life better, which I can do by following the counsel that I received this past weekend.

6. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to go to dinner with a new girl I met from the ward.  I have had such a struggle with making new friends out at BYU, that it was so awesome to be able to start a new friendship and enjoy her company.  I'm sure we will become much better friends over the semester.

7. I am attending a mission prep class right now at BYU, and even though I'm not entirely sure on whether or not I want to serve a mission, this class has been absolutely amazing.  My teacher, Prof. Bott really knows what he is talking about, and he's such a humble man that teaches with such power that is is so awesome.  I learn so much every time I am in that class, and that's how classes should be! I am truly uplifted every time I go, and have been truly blessed to be able to become a part of it. 

8. The past few months have been probably the hardest trials I have ever gone through, and the darkest time in my life.  I kept praying to Heavenly Father and yet I felt so alone and abandoned by Him.  In retrospect, I was the one who abandoned him, but that can wait for another blog entry.  Everything has been going so well this semester with school, work, and my calling that it has just been reminder after reminder after reminder that Heavenly Father is aware of me and loves me enough to pay so much attention to me out of his billions and billions of creations. 

9.  A few years ago I made this CD with "Spooky Tunes" on it for Halloween.  I just remembered that I had it today so I popped it into my CD player in my car and have been listening to it here and there all day, and it has just made me smile! It's quite the good mix, I must admit.  You can ask me what's on it, if you are really curious. :)

10. And for my final "small" thing of the month, this past Monday, we had FHE and it turned out to be a lot of fun.  Our group is a lot of fun and I really enjoy interacting with everyone in it.  We had a short lesson and played a few games, and it was a really good evening.  

Well there you have it folks!! I really wanted to mix it up by showing the Lord's hand in my life, even in the small things, and just small things in general that bring a smile to my face.  I want to do this more often because recognizing these things in my life can make me a happier person.  Maybe you should try it too!  Well I think that's all I've got to say for now, so later!