There are many ways to say it:
gracias, danke, arigato,
grazie, merci, obrigado…
Continue readingIn the USA, we are officially in “the holiday season.”. No need to mention which one because the ‘the’ takes care of the definition. Our official kick-off starts with turkey day and apexes with the jolly old man in red and concludes with a whole new year to start all over again. Before all that though, we set apart a day to give thanks for, well, all that and everything leading up to all that. I found a gratitude writing prompt to write a thank you speech for my greatest success. In true fashion, I modified it to make it more me. Here is a thank you speech for my year.
Continue readingThere once was an old man who lived in a tiny village. This old man lived a fairly simple life. He never had much luxury but he never wanted for anything. To sum it all up, he lived a content life in his little village. The only thing he ever spent money on for himself is chocolate milk. Something about it seemed to both comfort and relax him. The best time to drink it was after a long, grueling day in the field. In fact, he only drank it after particularly grueling days. It was his reward for handling such days. He loved chocolate milk.
Continue readingI get it. Your life may look lousy right now. You feel like your talent is to fail. Everything you touch gets destroyed. Success is an illusion. What is the point? You ask. To be truthful, I don’t know. What I do know is if you see this in the sky

What does it mean to be grateful?
Gratitude is so much more than merely saying thank you.
Continue readingThere is an account in the Book of Mormon that amazes me every time I read it. It is found in Alma 24 and begins with verse 7. The newly called Anti-Nephi-Lehies have trouble in the form of armed soldiers marching toward them. What is their act of defense? A long list of gratitude and a refusal to take up arms. The fact that when faced with certain death this group of people chose to lift up their voices in gratitude sets an example for me of how to be grateful even under the worst circumstances. There is always something to be grateful about.
Continue readingRemember your mother taught you better. Use your manners and remember to say please and thank you. Continue reading
When trouble hits
and it’s hard to just be
it is tempting
to ask out loud “Why me?” Continue reading
A few years ago, I read an excerpt from a book called 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik.

The author was finishing the worst year of his life in 2007 and through a series of events decided to write a different thank you note each day for a year. The experience changed his life.
Since I have decided to jump back into reading this year I have made sure I am not without a book to read each night. Either one chapter a day or 10 pages whichever comes first and my attention span holds out on. Right before Thanksgiving I finished a book so I decided to read the entire book this year over the Thanksgiving holiday. It seemed like an appropriate choice for the holiday. Continue reading