There was a great talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf last October titled,
Of Regrets and Resolutions. Here are a few lines that stuck out
to me...
Doesn’t it seem foolish to spoil sweet and joyful experiences because we are
constantly anticipating the moment when they will end?
Do we listen to beautiful music waiting for the final note to fade before we allow ourselves to truly enjoy it? No. We listen and connect to the variations of melody, rhythm, and harmony throughout the composition.
Do we say our prayers with only the “amen” or the end in mind? Of course not. We pray to be close to our Heavenly Father, to receive His Spirit and feel His love.
We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. “Rejoice and be glad in it.”6
Brothers and sisters, no matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it.
(For the complete text, click the title of the talk)
So that's what I'm going to do!
Starting today...
30 minutes on a train and bam! We're standing in front of Buckingham Palace! Just Janae and I. And while we're there it began to snow. Gorgeous!!!
January 15th:
I'm heading to Costco in a minute, can I point out that their hot dogs are better than ours?
January 16th:
School Uniforms. I LOVE school uniforms on so many levels! I will miss them when we're faced with the world of "what to wear" back home.
January 17th:
The London Temple. This is where I spent most of my day. It turned out to be a tragic day, I got a call that a church friend, just my age died after surgery leaving her dear young family. I can't even quite put my thoughts into words yet, but I am so glad that I had spent that same day at the temple being reminded of the covenant of eternal marriage and families.
In case you're curious... you can click the red box.
Snowflakes that fall on my nose and eyelashes whilst dropping my boys off at school today.
January 19th:
Surprisingly: drivable roads!
January 20th:
11th hour inspiration, and that amazing feeling when you've just said amen, to conclude you talk.
January 21st:
My husband returning home safely: if only for 24 hours. ***Enjoying prized goods from the USA!!!
January 22nd: Oh, this isn't a grateful day! Jason got home yesterday from the US, and left today for South Africa. I'm grateful that he is employed!
January 23rd: Driving to the orthodontist and for the first time, not needing to look at my GPS.
January 24th: Trusting AJ with a tire change on the side of the road. Ya gotta love that kid. Went to a Tyre shop (that's how they spell tires here, and they worked on my tyre for free) It was so weird to me.
January 25th: Not falling! I walked the boys to school and slipped on the ice five times, but just enough to be scared. Not once did I fall. It was a blessing! I enjoyed walking down the High street this morning; I was warm but my cheeks and nose tingled a bit from the cold. It felt great.
January 26th: Getting to know new friends better.
January 27th: Sleeping in and cuddling with my baby who had a fever.
January 28th: Went for a run (I am NOT a runner), but instead of running past boring Texas neighborhoods and dead yellow grass, I was running under a tunnel while a train sped by overhead and a doubledecker bus passed me by on my right. And just ahead, running along the High street. Only one downer, running past the couple of smokers standing outside the stores or restaurants. But it's energizing.
January 29th: Not knowing many people means not getting many phone calls on any given day. Feeling a bit under the weather today, kind of nice not having 100 things to do when you're sick.
January 30th: Hmm. Still sick, not dead yet.
January 31st: A hard working husband. He has been working like a dog this week! Poor guy. I love his strong work ethic.
February 1st: A good laugh with a friend on the phone
February 2nd: Not living in Texas today. We're all still sick and getting over sicknesses, it's been a long week. And one fabulous thing today is that we do not live in Texas where we may have 4 sporting events to support for our children. Nope! Not today. We did have one! Emily ran in a county cross country meet, but it's noon, we're all home, and we're going to put our feet up together and relax! It's a good day.
February 3rd: I love the Sabbath Day.
February 4th: We watched Harry Potter for FHE tonight. It's so neat to see so many things that we used to think was particular to Harry Potter, but actually it's not a Potter thing, it's just an English thing. Totally different perspective.
February 5th: When an Englishman calls me "love" It's so cute. He said, "You shouldn't park here, Love." I was even being reprimanded and it sounded better because of it.
Stay tuned for more entries!
Check back in a month and hold me accountable. ;-)