God Bless - Thankful Hearts...

Hi friends! :) I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration! :D We all have so much to be thankful for!

I will soon share photos and stories of my life as of late (and soon reveal my new blog that I will soon create! :D), but today I have gratitude in my heart that needs to be expressed... so here I am again on this old blog! ;)

I love my life! :D - My life is so good! :) I am really enjoying life to the fullest! 

There was a time (a phase, you could say) when I focused on what life didn't give me. That was frustrating! No matter how many great things there were in life, I would still have moments in which the things I didn't have - got me down - a lot. And some of them were really big losses; it was a struggle.

One day the Lord said to me (during this very hard time when I was experiencing struggles which seemed too much to bear), "Be happy, despite your less than ideal circumstances." Because I knew it was the Lord speaking to my heart, I finally realized, 

...It must be possible - to CHOOSE happiness!  :)

I learned that a person doesn't have to have certain things they deem necessary for a happy life (or have certain things go their way) to be happy. A person simply needs to CHOOSE happiness, by choosing to be thankful for the many daily blessings from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Some may suppose that I only believe this because I must have, whatever it is they lack which they suppose one needs to be happy. But I know this - that the things which I once supposed I needed to be happy - I learned to be happy without - and that which I knew I needed, I learned to have faith I would one day have in the Lord's good time...

Some of the key factors that helped me to choose happiness included making the choice to accept the things I can't change and to focus only on the things I can change. 

Another was to choose to be thankful for everything - the good, and the not so good (which I knew God could turn into a blessing to me so long as I loved and served him). 

No more would I feel sorry for myself... I would count ALL experiences and all situations as blessings. 

I would remember why I was here on Earth and what my Father in Heaven desired for me to learn and be blessed to become as a result of every single experience - or lack thereof... 

Before I learned to be thankful for everything, I supposed that I had little in certain ways; after I choose to choose to be thankful for everything I discovered that I had SO MUCH! 

As life goes on, I am continually more thankful for my life. I am continually amazed that the challenges which I once saw as misfortunes, I now see as opportunities for learning and growth. I am not overwhelmed, but rather, I'm excited for the opportunities to overcome and learn and grow! :D And I realize that for everything I don't have which others have, I have something which others lack. I believe this is true for us all! And I have SO MUCH. I truly do. My life is so Abundantly Blessed! :)

Heavenly Father has blessed and continues to bless each and every one of his children in a multitude of ways. All we need to do to be happy, is to LOVE Him, as well as our Savior, Jesus Christ... and to LOOK for, and BE THANKFUL for - the MANY blessings they give to us - each and every day...

Here are a couple links to articles I read which got me thinking about gratitude and happiness. They really uplifted and inspired me! :) Perhaps they will uplift and inspire you, too...

Someone Else is Thankful For Less Than What You Have... 

Photo taken from one of my blogging friends (Thanks Keith! :D)- linked above...

Seeing is believing: Doctor, family say Centerville man's sight restoration 'a miracle' - Amazing and beautiful story of hope and faith! And of a man and his wife, who choose to focus on what they have, and have to gain - despite great struggles...

Doctors, Doctors, Doctors - A blog post written by the wife of the man written about above - A story of hope and faith that Jesus Christ can and will do - what the Doctors insist they can not do...

Wishing you all a wonderful and beautiful life of gratitude! 

Corine :D