Blue Island Letter #14

 Leshelle with bell windchime from Nora

 Leshelle being silly with a friend...



FUN STATS - its' been a while since we had some good stats coming from Hermana Hoer:

- number of times I wore earrings this week - 2!!!! (My sisters know what an amazing feat that is for me, but the holiday season did me in and my snowmen earrings were just too fun)
- number of blessings I have counted this week - over three hundred (see below)
- number of times that I had the thought "I really want to hear from_____," and then returned home to find a letter in my mail box from them - twice!
- Nora! Okay, so this is not at all a "stat", but a story. Nora is from Venezuela. We knocked on her door, and I was immediately drawn to her bell collection. It was huge! She later told me that she has over five hundred bells! They are from many countries and cities all over the world. It was amazing! I told her that I also collect bells, and she was just so excited. I tried to refuse when she gave me a bell/wind chime type deal (see picture). A combination of two of my favorite things. Just add a kite and a puzzle and I'm set! I love experiences like that. I was completely mesmerized.

I found the neatest thing in the Ensign the other day. I've since done it once by myself in English and twice with families in Spanish. It is a wonderful thing to do so I am going to share it with you! It is a Gratitude Challenge.  Make a list of one hundred things you are grateful for. Seems daunting to list one hundred things. However, the challenge came with a hint/help: categories!

1. 10 physical abilities
2. 10 material posessions
3. 10 living people
4. 10 people who have passed away
5. 10 things about nature
6. 10 things about today
7. 10 places in the world
8. 10 modern inventions
9. 10 foods
10. 10 things about the Gospel

...for which you are grateful. After I did this the first time, I was more aware of the many, many blessings throughout the day. The effect was awesome! I recognized so many more blessings, from little things to large things, that I had not previously given much attention to. Best of all, my heart was more grateful.

The following comment is my spanish translation, so I won't put it in quotes; however, I must preface it by saying that Henry B. Eyring wrote this - not leshelle:

           We all can choose to give thanks in prayer and ask God that He direct us to serve others in His name, especially in this time of year that we celebrate the birth of the Savior. God the Father gave his Son, and Jesus Christ gave us the Atonement, the greatest of all gifts and offerings.  Giving thanks in prayer permits us to see the magnitude of these and more blessings that we receive, and also to obtain the gift of a more grateful heart.

It is so true! I loved thinking of my many blessings. I've tried to think of new items each time that I have done the Gratitude Challenge. My blessings simply cannot be counted; and, I realized that as I attempt to count them. One hundred blessings doesn't even crack the ice.

I would love to hear about some blessings that you all realize as you go through this list. Please share! I currently have a list of three hundred (plus...shhh, I added several). My lists have become something precious to me, and have given me an even greater blessing: more gratitude, which equates to more happiness, more showing of gratidude, and more giving.

Happy Hholidays from Blue Island!

- Hermana Hoer