AGATT--Do Not Try this at Home!

Okay, after a day of trying All Gratitude All the Time, I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible.  As you may know from my last entry, I decided for my birthday to only pray in gratitude to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ all day and not ask Him for anything.  My resolve lasted till 7:30 am while driving Miriam to school.  I realized that because of my gratitude goal, I hadn't made my usual petition for protection for me and my family, or for the Holy Ghost to be with us, or any of the blessings that we need every day.  I really didn't want to see what a day without those blessings would be like.  So I cheated and said a quick prayer asking Heavenly Father to bless us with the same blessings He always does and resloved to ask for nothing more all day.  That lasted till 8:00 when I was driving to the hospital to be with Brian's mom during her morning therapy.  I wanted to pray for her to be comforted and do a good job during her therapy session, but couldn't.  I realized that my goal would keep me from praying not only for myself, but for everyone I love.  That's when I began to wonder if all this was such a good idea.  I said a gratitude prayer instead.  Next came the bad news around 10:00 that the insurance was not likely to approve Sally's transfer to a nursing and rehab center to continue her therapy, and I broke my resolve again with a plea for Heavenly Father's intervention mixed with lots of gratitude for all the blessings He has already showered on us since her stroke.  Well, by the time I drove home from the hospital, I realized the error of my ways and, like Moroni, had to repent of the oath that I had made except mine was more a goal than an oath.  Anyway, I realized then that I do need My Savior every hour.  He sustains my every moment, my every breath.  He makes possible my every effort, my every sucess, He dries my tears after every failure, and most importantly, He does the same for all my children and for all of His children who place their trust in Him.  I love my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, and my new resolve is to ask God knowing He will answer and to praise Him with all my heart.