No Frog-eye salad

It's Thanksgiving, but there will be no turkey and stuffing for me this year. I'll admit that I'm feeling a little homesick for family and friends, not to mention buttery mashed potatoes and frog-eye salad:) But, chin up! I'm in Thailand! And there is much to be grateful for here too! While America is enjoying pumpkin pie and Aunt Marilyn's toffee and siging "Over the River and through the Woods", I'll be savoring my rice and bananas and singing "If You're happy and you know it.." with a bunch of 4th graders.
For my scripture study this morning, I decided to focus on gratitude. I read some of my favorite verses like Alma 34:38 which reminds me of the connection between gratitude and having the Spirit. I also re-read Sister Parkin's April Conference address, "Gratitude: A Spirit filled Principle". I loved this talk, especially one particular part. She says the following:
"Gratitude required awareness and effort, not only to feel it but to express it. Frequently we are oblivious to the Lord's hand. We murmur, complain, resist, criticize, so often we are not grateful. In the Book of Mormon, we learn that those who murmur do not know 'the dealings of that God who created them'. The Lord counsels us not to murmur becuase it is then difficult for the Spirit to work with us."
"Gratitude is a Sprit-filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things. which gladden our hearts with their message of God's love. Theis grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness..."
I have so much to be grateful for, yet too often fail to recognize the Lord's blessings in my life.
Nature is beautiful, people are good, art is inspiring, food is delicious, weather is pleasant, trials are refining, work is rewarding, and God's love is abundant only if we see them as such.
I am thankful for the experiences, people, and knowledge that have made me into the person I am today. And I know the Lord is making more of me than I could ever make of myself. I'm thankful for his grace.
Sawat dee ka! and Happy Thanksgiving!