Thankful

It's almost here! I love Thanksgiving, with its focus on family and food :) My favorite combination! One of my favorite ways to remember the meaning of the Thanksgiving season is to listen to the lyrics of Josh Groban's "Thankful." If you haven't heard it, you will love it because the message is so pure, and Josh Groban's voice is hard to beat! 

"So caught up in ourselves; we take when we should give...And on this day we hope for what we still can't see. It's up to us to be the change, and even though we all can still do more, there's so much to be thankful for."

I love how certain songs just speak what your heart feels--this one always does that for me. 

Here are some things I have been thankful for recently:

Soup bread bowls comfort the soul like no other food can in fall!

I loved my fall morning walks. 

However, I am ready to welcome winter and all it's festivities. 

I am thankful to be a Browning, with such wonderful heritage. 

I am loving our new Brigham City Temple (currently, our closest temple) being opened. It was fun to drive to Logan, but a half hour drive is much nicer than an hour drive. We scheduled an appointment a week in advance to go on Saturday, and their only time left was the 6:00 AM session so we had a wonderful, dark, early snow fall morning. This temple's interior has to be my favorite; it is absolutely beautiful. Ben then surprised me and took me out for breakfast. What a wonderful way to start a Saturday morning :) 

I am thankful for yummy new opportunities to make desserts--like this trifle I just made today that I am trying not to eat before I take it to Young Women in Excellence tonight!

I love my Laurels. Seriously, being in Young Women has been such a big blessing. These girls make me so happy, and of course I have so much fun with my fellow YW leaders :) My first time at a Young Women event was Young Women in Excellence last year. 

I was terrified because I didn't know how well I would get along with teenage girls, and I had just finished student teaching some of my Laurels. I made a fool of myself by volunteering to stir soup and ended up BURNING a whole pot of soup. I was so embarrassed; I wondered if they were all thinking, "Who wants her in this calling? First day on the "job" and she burns a home made pot of soup!" When I confessed my embarrassment to the maker of the then-burned soup, she just smiled and laughed, and said it was no big deal. Talk about forgiveness! These leaders I work with are amazing, and I have come to love them with all my heart. I love my "girls" and I love learning from their life, and I am so excited that our Laurel class is increasing times two by the end of the year. What a wonderful blessing!!

I am so glad there is a season to be Thankful. Truly, it should be a year-round practice, but I am glad that for people like me, it helps turn our hearts to things that matter most.