What I’m Thankful For: The Big Things

After a marvelous Thanksgiving Day, I realize with total satisfaction that I have everything I need:

I have a roof over my head and food on my table.

I have a healthy body and a (basically) sound mind. 😉

I have a profession I enjoy, that provides for my family, and still leaves some left over for fun.

Most importantly, I have a loving family and friends who feel like family — without whom my life would be very poor indeed.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

This post is one in a series.  Get the rest of the posts here.

What I’m Thankful For: The Little Things

When it comes to all the little things that make life beautiful, I’m thankful for…

What I’m Thankful For: Jesus

As best I can recreate it, here’s a short, 5-minute talk I gave on Sunday as part of our ward’s primary program.  Topic? “I Know My Savior Lives.”  Of all the things I’m thankful for in my life, Jesus is definitely top of my list. It isn’t possible for me to adequately express my feelings about the Master in five minutes or in a simple blog post, but here at least is the crux of the matter for me.  Yay Jesus!! 🙂

What I’m Thankful For: Being Mormon

There’s no doubt about it: I’m an unconventional Mormon.  I have a tattoo that says “grace” on my upper back.  I attend an evangelical Bible study every Friday.  I’ve even been known to drink the occasional chai latte, just because I can.  Over the past several years I’ve wrestled mightily with my testimony of Mormonism, my commitment to the Restored Gospel.  Eventually, I decided to stay…partly because I find deep beauty in many of our distinctly Mormon doctrines — doctrines which I genuinely hope are true — and partly because I feel there is value in loyalty to the faith community in which I was born and raised.

I am generally content with my decision.  I no longer question it every day.  Still, there are moments when I am discouraged, fearful: perhaps I’m fooling myself.  Maybe I’m settling when there is something Bigger and Better beyond Mormonism.   Maybe God would lead me elsewhere if I had the faith to follow Him.  I know this candid confession might come as a surprise to some who are reading this (to others, it might explain a lot), but I want to share the context from which the next part of my post emerges.

You see, tonight I had an experience that confirmed to me the wisdom of remaining Mormon despite my doubts, that instilled in me a deep gratitude for my Mormon identity, culture, belief, and practice.

What I’m Thankful For: Bad Religious Movies

If there is one thing I love — and I mean love — with a blazing passion that burns like wildfire in my soul, it’s bad movies.  And not just any bad movies.  Bad religious movies.  I love them so much I cry.  I watch them whenever possible.  They fill a special hole in my heart that nothing else can touch.

There are literally dozens to choose from (and believe me, I’ve seen them all), but here are my top 5.

What I’m Thankful For: Music

I’m taking a cue from a friend and posting things I’m thankful for this month. I’m not sure I’ll do it every day — perhaps every other (or thereabouts) — but I love the idea of publicly expressing my gratitude.

Today is music. There’s something about music that makes everything okay, even when it’s not.  For your listening pleasure, I’ve put together a little playlist of songs that have greatly enriched my life.  Enjoy!  You can get the whole thing on YouTube at this link. Or you can listen / watch the embedded videos here on the blog.  Along with each song, I’ve included a short comment about why I love it so much.

50 Things I Love

Friends and neighbors, I am no longer in such a cranky mood!  Hooray!

My blog has been a bundle of pissiness lately, and there’s no excuse for that.  Well, except for the fact that I have been a bundle of pissiness lately–which I guess is not so much of an excuse as it is an explanation.

In any event, I decided today that there’s always gonna be stuff to be pissy about, so I might as well get over it.  Therefore, it is with great joy that I present my list of 50 Things I Love (to counteract my previous list of 50 Things I Hate).  In no particular order…