108. Today I am grateful for Christmas lights

Another thing I love about Christmas time is the lights. I love seeing houses and buildings lit up for Christmas. And the streets decorated with lights and snowflakes. It makes everything look Merry and Bright!

107. Today I am grateful for the love of God

Today I was reading my scriptures and I came across a scripture that I have read and heard many times. John 3:16-17 which reads “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” 

While reading this scripture, I was overcome with an increased testimony and gratitude for the love of God. Being Christmas time, we recognize the birth of Christ, the son of God. However, it is because of God’s love for us that Christ was sent to earth to save us. I love how the scripture says that Christ was not sent to the world to condemn us but to save us. We know from the scriptures that Christ was not judgemental. He did give us commandments to follow but he showed us how to live through love. Just as our Heavenly Father loves us so does our Savior, Jesus Christ who taught us to love each other.

Reading this scripture today has increased my desire to be more loving to everyone. I am grateful for that as well.

106. Today I am grateful that I won’t need to buy more new tires

I took my car in to a tire shop today to get the winter tires put on. I also asked them if they could check my tires for leaks as the tire pressure has been dropping quite a bit lately. It turns out that they just needed a good cleaning due to build up of gunk between the tires and rims. I am very grateful that I will not have to buy more new tires in the spring!

105.Today I am grateful for the ward Christmas party

I attended our ward Christmas party today and I am grateful for all those who organized the party and prepared the meal. I am also grateful that we were allowed to take home some of the wall decorations, paper stars, which I used to put up on our walls to decorate for Christmas.

104. Today I am grateful for my brother-in-law, JJ

Today is my brother-in-law’s birthday! Because I want to write about people I am grateful for as well as things I figure birthdays are a good day to share my gratitude for that person. I am grateful for JJ mostly because he treats my sister well and makes her happy. He also makes me laugh (even though the line between when it’s time to be funny and time to be serious may get crossed sometimes). He’s also always willing to help others out which is a quality that I admire.

Happy Birthday JJ!

103. Today I am grateful for Christmas carollers

One of my favourite things about Christmas is Christmas carollers, whether they are standing on the streets singing or going from house to house. You don’t see it very often these days but it’s something I enjoy participating in and seeing. One of my favourite family traditions is soon before Christmas, usually on Christmas Eve; we go around to the homes in our neighbourhood and sing Christmas carols. We’re not really that musical but we enjoy it and our neighbours love it.

Tonight I enjoyed listening to a women’s choir sing Christmas carols at the Legislature building. Singing really does help to feel the Christmas spirit. They were beautiful singers. As well as the legislature was decorated beautifully for Christmas inside and a beautiful lights display outside. They also served hot chocolate for patrons to enjoy while listening to the choirs. It’s nice to see that our tax dollars are being put to good use. J

102. Today I am grateful for times when life’s trials are put into perspective

I went out for ice cream with a friend tonight and parked in a nearby parking lot. I didn’t see any sign indicating that it was paid parking but a few minutes after I parked I was issued a ticket. The first thing I noticed was that almost every car had a ticket, second it was a Tuesday evening and it was cold, third I finally saw the sign at a far corner of the parking lot. With all these things combined, I drove home feeling very annoyed and then I got to a point where the traffic was backed up. Starting to feel even more frustrated I looked over and saw what appeared to be a very bad accident. My train of thought changed and I realized that this “trial” I was experiencing was not that bad and that it will help me to be sure to scan the whole parking lot for signs in the future.