Two weeks ago in Sacrament meeting at church, my husband William gave what I'm told was a wonderful talk on gratitude. Unfortunately, I was not there to hear it as I was home with under-the-weather kiddos.
Today in church I had the pleasure of hearing William speak again on various things he is grateful for, and things he has learned about life lately. Additionally, I got to hear all three of my children speak to the congregation about what mattered to them.
Abraham talked about how much he enjoyed reading scriptures together as a family. Annabelle talked about how she was affected by watching Abraham get baptized last month. Alexander talked, with my help, about loving his family and loving primary. In our church, we do not have paid clergy. The sermons are given by regular people---regular people like the Qian family.
This practice means that not all the sermons in our church are well-rehearsed , dynamic presentations, but they are all from the heart, based in scripture as well as personal experience, and are (hopefully) meaningful and uplifting. I'm grateful for a church that would put as much value on what my four-year-old has to say as they would on what a biblical scholar has to say. Thankfully, in our church membership we do have both, but neither one is more important than the other and each can deliver a powerful sermon.
So, coming back to the topic of William's talk a couple of weeks ago, gratitude is a concept that has been on my mind a lot lately. I hope to use some of this blog space over the next couple of months to explore the concept further, to express some of my own gratitude, and get us all thinking about the power gratitude can have in our lives.
In the meantime, start thinking. What's the most unexpected thing you are grateful for?
Today in church I had the pleasure of hearing William speak again on various things he is grateful for, and things he has learned about life lately. Additionally, I got to hear all three of my children speak to the congregation about what mattered to them.
Abraham talked about how much he enjoyed reading scriptures together as a family. Annabelle talked about how she was affected by watching Abraham get baptized last month. Alexander talked, with my help, about loving his family and loving primary. In our church, we do not have paid clergy. The sermons are given by regular people---regular people like the Qian family.
This practice means that not all the sermons in our church are well-rehearsed , dynamic presentations, but they are all from the heart, based in scripture as well as personal experience, and are (hopefully) meaningful and uplifting. I'm grateful for a church that would put as much value on what my four-year-old has to say as they would on what a biblical scholar has to say. Thankfully, in our church membership we do have both, but neither one is more important than the other and each can deliver a powerful sermon.
So, coming back to the topic of William's talk a couple of weeks ago, gratitude is a concept that has been on my mind a lot lately. I hope to use some of this blog space over the next couple of months to explore the concept further, to express some of my own gratitude, and get us all thinking about the power gratitude can have in our lives.
In the meantime, start thinking. What's the most unexpected thing you are grateful for?
