Grateful Sundays

"Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road." -John Henry Jowett

Here are a few things I'm thankful for this past week.

* The Tease of Spring. Everywhere I look this week, the trees are starting to bud, flowers are peeking out from their winter's rest and you can hear the sweet singing of birds in the trees. It's a wonderful reminder that after the long, dark days of winter, a vibrant, beautiful spring is around the corner. As it is with the seasons, so it is with life. After a long, seemingly dark season of life, we can have the hope of a beautiful tomorrow with freshness, new life and experience that will enable us to grow and flourish. Thank you, spring.

* Reliable Transportation. I spend nearly half my life in my car, literally. Running kids to seminary, to school, to soccer, to rehearsals, to Scouts, to Young Women, to Girls Activity Days, to birthday parties and more. I am so thankful that I'm blessed to be a busy, stay-at-home mom who CAN run my kids everywhere. And I'm also thankful for my 'Kid Mobile' that is reliable and takes us everywhere we need to go. It keeps us cool in the hot Texas afternoons and evenings and even warms our 'seats' on the coldest of mornings. With the turn of the key, the engine roars and we are off and running. For our reliable transportation, I am truly thankful.

* Old Friends. My sister, Danae, invited me to join Facebook. I have resisted for many months, mostly because my Handsome Husband put a gigantic filter on my computer that wouldn't let me even into facebook. But somehow, with my new computer, the filter isn't quite to severe. It has been such a fun week reconnecting with old high school buddies, wonderful old-friends from previous wards around the country we've been in and just simply 'talking' with long-distant family members. It's fun to see how well everyone is doing and simply catch up on life. It's amazing how small the world truly is, technologically. Reconnecting with wonderful people who have truly had an impact on my life is great. Thank you.

* Voices of Children. Last night, I attended an '8 Is Great' fireside for the children turning 8 in our ward. It's so exciting to be turning 8 and these children learned about baptism, Cub Scouts, Girls Activity Days and the Faith in God program. The program was wonderful. My favorite part, though, was the simple voices of these children singing 'The Rainbow Song'. When was the last time you listened to your children sing? Did you listen to their voice singing the words? I promise if you listen closely, you might just hear the angels singing along with them. The voices of children are sweet, melodic and just plain angelic. For sharing your beautiful voices with me, sweet children, Thank you.

* Alarm Clocks. Day light saving time. Need I say more?