30 Days of Gratitude #1

This is the first of my 30 Days of Gratitude posts.  If you're wondering where this idea originated check out my post on Gratitude.  After recognizing that I needed a greater dose of gratitude in my life I decided to take time each day to share one thing I'm grateful for.  

Homeschooling - I’m grateful for the opportunity to homeschool my children this year.  It has allowed my family more freedom to focus on things that matter most.  I feel like I have more time to focus on teaching values, life skills, and I LOVE that James and I can determine the schedule our family sets and not some outside entity.  Our times isn't spent running all over the place.  We are together. and doing more meaningful things together.  We work together, we help one another and we play together.

It has given me the opportunity to drive the academic bus for each of my kids.  We work at their pace and not the pace of a teacher or 25 other children.  We can speed up or slow down where necessary.  It has been so much fun see what my kids are excited about, what they want to learn and then to focus on those areas. 

Gratitude is the Secret to True Happiness

Have you ever gotten to a point when you were just sick and tired of being unhappy?  For a while now I’ve been struggling to really be happy.  It’s so easy to look at my life and see everything that is hard and challenging and just down right not good.  My house and yard aren’t big enough, my children are too messy, my husband is too busy, we don’t have enough extra money, and the list goes on and on.  I don’t feel great about praying that Heavenly Father will take the challenges away because I know that there are things for me to learn.  It’s the figuring out what I’m suppose to learn that is the tough part.  

On the flip side, my husband is one of the happiest and most grateful people I know.  I remember when our first daughter was born almost 14 years ago he thanked everyone in the hospital from the doctor to the people who came into give us our meals and everyone in between.   When I say thanked them,  I mean PROFUSELY!  I remember thinking, “You know they are just doing their job…” as if a thank you wasn’t even necessary.   To this day he still continues.  He is always expressing gratitude to people no matter what they have done.  He doesn’t feel like he “deserves” everything and he doesn’t feel like he deserves more.  He’s just grateful and that attitude of gratitude makes him happy regardless of the circumstances in his life.  

There have been times when he has said to me expressly, “Christie, I don’t think we need more, I think we have enough.  I think that there is a way to accomplish everything we need to do….”  He hasn’t directly come out and said, “Christie, you could use a good dose of gratitude in your life.”  He knows me well enough to know that the direct approach wouldn’t go over too well.  This morning as I was reflecting upon the unhappy state of my heart I realized that much of my problem does lie within myself and it starts (and probably ends) with my lack of gratitude.

The Lord says it so well in so many verses in the scriptures.  Let’s start with the command to be grateful.  (Yep - let’s not water it down any, it’s a commandment) “And ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with.”  D&C 46:32  He doesn’t say be grateful when you have something to be grateful about.  He says, “must give thanks”.  That sounds like a modern day  “thou shalt” to me.  He also says, “whatsoever blessing”.  I think that is a nice way of saying “everything.”  

I think the parable of the Ten lepers demonstrates how the Lord feels about the sin of ingratitude.  (Notice I said the “sin” and not the “sinner”.  He loves us all but the things we do can sadden him.) You remember the parable of the ten lepers.  Ten were healed but only one returned to give the Lord thanks.  His response to the one who returned was, “Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?”  Luke 17:11-19  I think He expected the other nine to return and express gratitude.  I think he was saddened because they didn’t.  The application is true for us.  He expects us to recognize our blessings and express gratitude and thanks for them and it likewise saddens him when we do not.

So why is gratitude such an important virtue to cultivate?  Quoting President Joseph F. Smith, President Thomas S. Monson said, “My brothers and sisters, do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love.”  President Monson, “The Divine Gift of Gratitude”, Oct. 2010 I love that last part, gratitude “unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love.”  

It’s so easy to focus on what we don’t have, what isn’t going “right” in our lives, or the challenges and difficulties we face.  It’s the glass “half empty” approach instead of the glass “half full”.  Once again the Savior is our example, remember the time He had been teaching a group of people (over 4000 to be exact) for about 3 days and they were hungry and weak.  He called his disciples and said, “I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.”  His disciples approached the situation much like so many of us would have by saying, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?”  In other words, “We didn’t bring lunch for ourselves let alone an additional 4000 hungry individuals, what are we supposed to do?”  However, they found seven loaves and a few fishes and that was enough for the Lord.  Here’s the interesting part, we expect the Savior to bless the fishes and loaves and yet if we look closer the scriptures say, “he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them…”  The miracle occurred after he had given thanks.  The scriptures continue the story, “And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.”  Matt 15:32-39  

Now that we better recognize how the Lord views the virtue gratitude, how do we develop this attitude of gratitude? Once again President Monson explains by quoting the words of President Joseph F. Smith, “The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.” He continued: “Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man!”  President Monson, “The Divine Gift of Gratitude”, Oct. 2010

The way to develop a grateful heart is through a prayerful life.  This is developed as we daily express our gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings as well as to those around us for all that they bring into our lives.  This requires a conscious effort at least until we have learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude.  

I am going to strive daily to look for things to be grateful for in my life, to give thanks to the people around me and to my Heavenly Father.  I know in my heart that this will bring the peace and the happiness that I need.  I also know that it is one thing to say and another thing to do.  In an effort to keep myself accountable to actually LIVING this principle I am going to spend the next 30 days sharing one new thing that I am grateful for so stay tuned… for 30 days of gratitude.

Plexus MS Testimonials

I love Abigail Canter's Plexus Testimonial.  

"I was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis in March of 2008. Prior to this I was very fit, very active, in great shape! LOVED Cardio kickboxing and spinning...went 5 days a week. When MS hit me one of my first major symptoms was heat sensitivity..and thanks to that my ability to exercise went to a screeching halt! I had vision issues and severe fatigue. My cognitive level was greatly diminished. The first year with MS and all the medications they put me on...I went from bad to worse. In July of 2009 I was fortunate to be able to have the CCSVI procedure which for me reversed the majority of MS symptoms  and from there I felt I had my life back for a good two years. 

Last November was the first time I had had a relapse since the procedure...and having quit all MS related medications I was NOT willing to go back on them. And understand during this 5yr period of time I went from a very fit physique to weighing 215 lbs on a 5'3 tall body! Never in my life other than having children had I EVER been overweight. Since gaining all this weight post MS diagnosis I have done EVERYTHING under the sun...truly. I am an RN and spent a great majority of my life as a dancer...health was important to me...but MS robbed me of that. Needless to say the first thing I decided to do was radically change my diet...I began following the auto-immune protocol for Paleo, though I did it in phases...so cut out gluten, in Nov, Cut out Diary in Jan, by March I'd lost 13lbs. Was walking daily weather permitting and only lost 12lb!?!?! SO in April I did a 21 Day cleanse with a friend...partly to remove ALL foods from my diet...and understand as well that I have been eating whole, organic food for decades....yes I did eat crap every now and then...but it was NOT a large part of my diet. I rarely drank sodas...I DID drink cappuccino daily! When I started the cleanse I cut out everything and during the cleanse I learned that my body was not tolerating 'nightblooms' (potato, tomato, eggplant and peppers) either. Within 30mins of eating any of the 'bad' foods my right foot went numb and my left eye would get blurry....Needless to say after 3 weeks of intense supplements, crazy recipes...I was down another 9lbs...I continued with the diet and walking 5 days a week...and from April to June...lost nothing. 

While I felt pretty good having handled my MS symptoms this way, I STILL needed to take naps daily....and I still could wear myself out if I did too much and I certainly knew that carrying around all that extra weight was not good for my body!! Thanks to the blessing of my friend Celeste Gwynn who always wore her Plexus t-shirt to theater rehearsals...I decided to give Plexus a try...for 7 days..as I knew my body was hypersensitive STILL to foods/products/additives..that were not good for me. Day 3 I had NO adverse effects, I had lost 3lbs and my husband said I looked slimmer!!  I became an Ambassador that day and have never looked back! 

I currently have lost 27lbs and 42+ inches since starting Plexus. I sleep amazingly well and wake up energized WITHOUT cappuccino I may add! I NEVER woke up energized since the MS diagnosis even after the CCSVI treatment. I have sustained healthy energy throughout the day. My hereditary high BP has come down and I've decreased my meds. This winter for the first time in decades I am NOT using anti-depressants for S.A.D.S...which could be connected to the MS as depression is more prevalent in MS patients. 

My life has changed because of Plexus and I feel so Blessed that I have the ability AND energy to share Plexus with so many people. I hope and pray that it can help others the way it has helped me. I truly feel for the first time in YEARS like myself again. A dear friend once nicknamed my style as 'Abigaily' and I haven't felt that way in a very long time...my husband said the other day...you're becoming 'Abigaily' again...and it warmed my heart! 

This is long...but I hope it is meaningful!! I use ALL of the Plexus products but the Biocleanse as it interferes with my BP Meds. I take the Slim with my Xfactor vitamins first thing in the morning. Take 1-2 Accelerator+ with my Fast Pain Relief and Nerve Health Support after breakfast and then take the FPR & NHS with Probio5 again at bedtime. I still have weight to lose...but I am confident and HOPEFUL that I will get there. Plexus has given me HOPE back and that is a wonderful thing."

This is Tera's Plexus Testimonial

"My name is Tera and here is my testimony so far…..as of 4.8.2014 

I have MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and was previously on 5 different meds just for MS that consisted of a total of 24-28 pills a day depending on how I felt as well as a shot in the leg every day. I also have Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Chron's disease, migraines and chronic pain syndrome not to mention have had 17 major surgeries (to include 4 lower back surgeries). I was on a total of TWENTY-TWO different prescriptions…yes that was 22 separate bottles with different meds in them) for numerous things previously mentioned along with depression and anxiety. I started Plexus in mid-November and as of today have shut out all MS meds except 1-2 pills at night and occasional Xanax for certain situations! People with MS, RA and/or Fibromyalgia usually have "episodes" where they can't walk or even get outta bed for days. I had those days that turned into weeks in the past few years.

Since starting plexus I have not had a single episode! I have energy during the day and into the evening that I never thought was possible. Plus I've lost 27 pounds and lots of inches (it's about time I measured again)!! . It's very difficult to explain to someone that doesn't have MS or fibromyalgia that we AREN'T lazy.....our bodies simply do not have what it takes to get up and move.

Update as of 4.8.2014

I am now only taking my anti-anxiety medications on an as needed basis and not every night! No more MS pills at night either! I have lost about 35 pounds, joined a gym, hired a personal trainer and even have my 16 year old asking to take it so her face will not break out so much! She is ASKING to go to the gym when we go and drinking more water!

I’ve had people ask me what I take, well here it is:

***Slim drink (20-30 minutes before breakfast but if I happen to miss it, I drink it ASAP

***X Factor (taken with my slim drink) the aloe blend in this multivitamin is patented just for Plexus and has an absorption rate of around 300% - which means everything you take is absorbed about 300 times faster than just drinking or ingesting medications! I will not live without this product!! ***Bio Cleanse (take 2 in the morning with 24 oz of water before I eat anything for the day)

***Bio Cleanse (2 with another 24 oz of water before my dinner – about 15-20 mins before I eat)

***Pro Bio 5 (this one is tricky…I took the candida at home test and mine was horrid…so I ordered the pro bio 5 and started with 2 each night before bed on an empty stomach. After a month I went up to 3 capsules each night and kept with that dosage for about 2 weeks. Then I moved up to 4 capsules a night and kept with that dosage for about 2 months. I then felt like I needed to move back down to 3 a night and did that for about 3 weeks and am currently back down to taking 2 capsules a night at bedtime.

******If you don’t take the Bio Cleanse in conjunction with the Pro Bio 5, for 99% of people the Pro Bio 5 is not going to work at its full potential. Put it this way, you can take out the trash each week but if the trash truck doesn’t come along and empty it, you are stuck with that trash until the next week. If the truck doesn’t show up that next week, you are again stuck with the trash from week 1 and week 2. The pro bio 5 gets rid of all the junk in your gut but the Bio Cleanse is the “trash truck”…the bio cleanse moves all the junk that the pro bio has worked so hard to get rid of and helps your body release it.******

***I also take the Fast Relief products. I take the Fast Relief pills only when I have aches and pains or even a headache. I use the Fast Relief cream on almost everything….my back being the first place, my knees if they hurt, my hands when I have an RA flare up and even my feet especially the bottoms if I have walked a lot that day. There are day where I don’t take these because the rest of the Plexus products I take on a regular basis have helped me so much that I don’t need these on a daily basis.

***I use the Fast Relief Nerve Health Support usually at night before bedtime if I’ve had a long day and my fibromyalgia has flared up. I don’t take this on a daily basis either.

***Plexus body cream – all I can say is OMG….This is my creamy GOLD fountain of youth (except it’s grey in color lol) but I use it on my face and my hands and elbows and feet.

***Last but certainly not least….Plexus 96 protein drink. Vanilla is my FAVORITE! They just came out with chocolate but it just isn’t my thing (my husband likes it) I usually make mine with half 1% milk and the other half Vanilla Almond Soy Milk. I’ve added fruit to mine before and it’s great. There are tons of P96 recipes out on Facebook and online. This is either my breakfast if I’m in a hurry or a late night snack while watching a movie instead of popcorn, candy, soda, etc…that some of my other family that isn’t taking plexus is eating!

I was NEVER, EVER a water drinker. All I used to drink was sweet tea, all kinds of soda! I was a Dr Pepper junkie!!!! I am talking I would drink one as soon as I got up (it was my coffee since I don’t drink it) and couldn’t live without my RT 44 Dr Pepper from Sonic….and sometimes I would have TWO of those a day if I happen to be driving by during happy hour! Since starting Plexus, after about a week I noticed that all soda tasted gross to me and all I wanted was WATER!!!! Yes, I craved water. And yes at first even though I craved it, it got old to me. Do NOT use those water enhancers….they are full of bad stuff like aspartame and you will be defeating the purpose of drinking water! I know this sounds weird but put a few pieces of cucumber in your glass. And the easiest way to drink as much water that you need is to find a cute BPA FREE cup with a STRAW. It will make the world of difference. I have a few that I rotate out so they can be was washed. I found mine at Wal-mart for like $4 each and they hold 24oz of water. I have a small dry erase board on my fridge and keep tally marks when I’m done with that cup of water so I know exactly how much I’ve had and how much more I need for the day!

So I know this was a long read and I apologize for that but I’m just so excited about my progress and even more excited to help others get on their path! If you are a fellow ambassador, please feel free to share! Let’s share Plexus with EVERYONE!

****FYI I didn’t add any of the products that I don’t take on a regular basis in the picture just so you can see what I take on an everyday****

**Plexus offers a 60 day money back guarantee on all full sized products (not the 3 or 7 day trials packs) 

– what other company believes in their product so much that they offer a refund like this? I haven’t found one except Plexus!**"

If you'd like to learn more about Plexus or order your own products check out my Plexus website here:  www.lowerbloodsugarfast.com.

Contention

We've been experiencing a lot of yelling, fighting, scratching (yes we've got girls) and other types of

contentious behavior.  This morning I was reading a wonderful talk by Elder Russell M. Nelson called, "The Canker of Contention".  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/04/the-canker-of-contention?lang=eng  He explained that contention comes from the Devil and yet the commandment from the Lord is that we have no contention.  Something inside of me "awoke" after reading this talk. I've always gone along accepting contention as a part of life but after reading this I realized that if God gives us a commandment he will help us keep it.  It is possible to keep the commandment to have no contention within ourselves and our families.

This past Sunday was Testimony meeting in Sacrament meeting.  A younger man shared some thoughts in his testimony and I've been thinking about them all week.  He talked about the feeling that he felt when he was younger and went to his grandparents home.  It was a feeling of love and peace.  As a youth he didn't recognize what he was feeling but as he got older he realized that those feelings were from the spirit he felt in their home.  He then explained that he had been called to serve in the nursery and the first time he gave the lesson the children seemed to pay little attention and he wondered why he should even bother.  Then he remembered the experience at his grandparents home - those feelings of peace and joy - the feelings of the spirit.  He explained that he realized that those nursery children needed to feel that same spirit from him and within the nursery class as he did while at his grandparents home.  His responsibility as a nursery leader wasn't just to teach a lesson and get the children to sit quietly and listen, more importantly he was to help facilitate an environment of peace where the spirit could be felt. 

As I've reflected upon the contention we are experiencing in our home I think about what this man shared about his grandparents home.  The solution is not only stopping the contention but inviting the spirit.  I think about the scripture in 4 Nephi 1:15, "...there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people."  When our hearts are filled with love for God there is no room for contention.  

I know that the family is the place where we can best learn to love God and to demonstrate our love for Him in how we treat each other.  My role as a mother is to lead by example and to teach by precept.  I need to make sure that I am not selfish and that I am placing love for God and keeping His commandments above all else help and teach my children to do like-wise.  I think that this will be our family theme for the month (or maybe two or three).