Thanksgiving Yields Happiness

There’s an axiom about God’s commandments: He commands us to do exactly what will lead to our greatest happiness. One commandment is to give thanks in all things. It is mentioned a lot.

Here’s one:

Psalm 107:1

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

And another:

Mosiah 26:39 (Book of Mormon)

… being commanded of God to pray without ceasing, and to give thanks in all things.

And another:

Ephesians 5:20

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Earlier this week, Dennis Prager put out a new Prager U video on the connection between gratitude and happiness. Worth watching, this week while we’re purposely thinking about being gratitude.

As for me, I’m especially grateful for a new grandbaby. We were traveling on the day she was born, but she waited until just after we arrived at our hotel for the night, so we got to tune in with video chat (we used Duo) in the nick of time for her grand arrival. And there she was, right on our tablet screen. I’m grateful for technology that can make that possible.

It was another full day’s drive, and then the following day before we got to meet her in person, just an hour before coming home from the hospital.

So, this week of Thanksgiving, I’m writing less. Sitting around holding a baby. Doing a lot of cooking, and playing with her big brother (almost 3 years old). And taking lots of photos. We have plans for a Christmas card photo with the littles playing the main roles.

Here’s a quick glimpse of this new, perfect, little blessing.

Little Social Sphere 2, 4 days old

5 days old, still sleeping a lot