"No situation is so bad, ..."

As I was looking through my post list I noticed this post I started back in March of 2012 but never finished. This quote goes through my head ALL THE TIME. :) I used to have it up on my mirror in my bedroom. When I think of my problems, they are so small. I'm having pregnancy complications, but at least I'm pregnant and have had three healthy kids. I'm in a small town that's really hot, but at least I'm with my husband and kids. All of my problems are so small and I have so much to be thankful for. Imagine how much happier the world would be if people focused on their blessings and not their problems. I'm not saying I never whine, but I have learned that it rarely helps the situation. If you haven't read the talk below, you should. It's a good one.

This is the original post: (I'm sure I planned on writing more and then got too tired)

"No situation is so bad, that whining won't make it worse." (Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Tongue of Angels")

I say that phrase over and over in my head all the time. There are many times I feel like complaining, and then think to myself, "What's the point?" I've learned that complaining about a situation never makes it better, and most of the time, either makes it worse, or just makes me dwell on it so it appears worse.

Here's an example: I'm tired. Really, really tired. Mike has been gone for a week and a half, and in addition to taking care of my kids the best I can I also have to get our house packed up as much as possible for our upcoming move. There are times when I've thought about signing into Facebook and venting so I can get some sympathy posts, but then I remember it's pointless and only draws attention to a very blessed person complaining about a nice, comfortable life. Also, I asked for this. I prayed, fasted and begged for Mike to have this opportunity, so what do I have to complain about?

Okay, back to 2013. Here is a part of the talk that I really like and just want to include.

"May I expand this counsel to make it a full family matter. We must be so careful in speaking to a child. What we say or don’t say, how we say it and when is so very, very important in shaping a child’s view of himself or herself. But it is even more important in shaping that child’s faith in us and their faith in God. Be constructive in your comments to a child—always. Never tell them, even in whimsy, that they are fat or dumb or lazy or homely. You would never do that maliciously, but they remember and may struggle for years trying to forget—and to forgive. And try not to compare your children, even if you think you are skillful at it. You may say most positively that “Susan is pretty and Sandra is bright,” but all Susan will remember is that she isn’t bright and Sandra that she isn’t pretty. Praise each child individually for what that child is, and help him or her escape our culture’s obsession with comparing, competing, and never feeling we are “enough.”