Giving thanks

So I really just want to share this fantastic gem with you. I have shared this on Facebook, and via e-mail to several friends. I kind of love it.

Now I can't take any credit for this at all (except I edited it a little bit for my friends in the mission field). The link to the actual post is right here: http://iwouldratherbecold.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-i-give-thanks-for.html.

I highly suggest you read this, it was written by a friend of mine from Montana who is currently volunteering/adventuring in Nepal instead of going to college right away. It's really fantastic actually.

And in the spirit of giving thanks I just want to share with you what I am grateful for in this holiday season:
 (cough cough..it is possible that it  has been somewhere around 2 months since I started this post, but I will continue it regardless)

I am thankful for life. For the beautiful opportunity is to be alive and to live on this Earth every single day. Our lives truly are miracles and each and every day I am astounded by how amazing life is. I honestly can't even wrap my mind around it.

I am thankful for my family and friends and the people who I am blessed to have in my life.. especially those who have stuck it out when things have gotten more than a little rough. And especially my wonderful, amazing roommates this Semester who I could not do without.

I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for the power of His word. I am thankful for the many blessings of the Priesthood and for the worthy Priesthood holders in my life. I am thankful for the opportunity to go to church every Sunday and feel the Spirit and learn more of the teachings of the Savior Jesus Christ.

I am thankful for the incredible university that I have been SO blessed to attend. I am grateful for the many opportunities that it has provided to me already, and the opportunities which I know will continue to be available to me in the remaining two years of my undergrad studies.

I am thankful for all of the many experiences that I have already been able to have in the short time I have been on this earth. Traveling through Southeast Asia and getting to experience the culture of Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore while spreading friendship through music. Living with my second family, the Wenigs, in Kulmbach, Germany, and falling absolutely in love with that country. Having so many chances to see different parts of this amazing country that I am proud to call my homeland, and being able to meet different people and learn about them without leaving the USA. I look forward to the time I will spend in London, England, this coming Summer, and for the many opportunities that will give me to meet new people, learn new culture and try new things.

I am thankful for the home in which I was raised to treat other people with kindness and to respect everyone. I am thankful that my parents taught me independence and the ability to make my own decisions, and that they taught me how to serve from a young age. I am thankful for the 5 fantastic siblings I have, and the sixth one that will join our family in April, even if he and I will be more than 18 years apart in age. I am thankful for my extended family who have supported me throughout my life and given me the encouragement to pursue my dreams.

I am thankful for music. Music is my lifeline and without it I am missing a part of my soul. I am so incredibly blessed to have been raised somewhere where I had the chance to learn many different instruments and to grow in many different styles of music as I grew up. I am thankful for the opportunity, and responsibility, that I have had in my ward here to work with the music in church meetings and to be able to uplift others through my talents, and to be able to help others foster those talents.

I am thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and for my Heavenly Father, who has a plan for me and who knows exactly what I need in my life at any given moment. It may not always be easy to trust in that, but I know it is true. And I see every day the ways in which he is influencing my life and giving me the opportunities I need to get to where I need to be. Without that guidance I know that I would be lost.

This is a thanks that I strive to always keep in my heart. The entire year, and not just during a certain season or around a particular holiday. Thanks never expires.