Quite often something is almost too good to be true. A sunset. A field of wildflowers. A starry night. A delectable peach.
Over the years, when we ran into a wonder of nature that shocked us with its magnificence, my wife and I would say, “Somebody should get a trophy for that!”
It was always clear who that somebody was. It is God who created the world with glorious sunsets, beautiful wildflowers, glorious night skies, and delicious fruit. He deserves millions of trophies!
We laughed to ourselves. If all of us made trophies for everything magnificent that God has granted us, where would He keep them all? Certainly, He would need a very large warehouse to store the expressions of gratitude that He would receive from His thankful children!
Gratitude is good for the soul. “In every thing give thanks,” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). People with grateful hearts live longer and live better. As Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf taught, “Our loving Heavenly Father knows that choosing to develop a spirit of gratitude will bring us true joy and great happiness.” (General Conference, April 2014)
As we thought about all the trophies God would receive from His grateful children, we had the idea of writing a story about those trophies and the way God would manage them. We pictured the character of Rupert as the trophy manager with an inept assistant Vern.
We imagined Rupert as painfully exacting; he was so obsessed with organizing the trophies that he never stopped to appreciate the heavenly gifts they represented.
Then Rupert gets an invitation to visit with God. God asks him about his favorite creation. And He teaches Rupert about God’s purposes in creation. He teaches him that we—God’s children—are His favorite creation. Rupert gains the insight that God designed all of His wonderful creations to send messages of love to His children. That starts Rupert thinking about gratitude and he is caught up in gratitude for God’s creation.
We took our story about gratitude and trophies and sent it to our favorite illustrator, Bruce Dupree who added his magical touch. And we published the book God’s Trophies.
As we approach the season of gratitude, maybe you would like to get copies of God’s Trophies to build the spirit of gratitude in your family and among all the people you love, and for them to see all of God’s creations as messages of love for them. The book is normally priced at $13.00, but for the holiday season, I am offering five copies of God’s Trophies—a $65 value—for $25 with free shipping in the US.
To get this remarkable offer, go to Etsy
We wish you a heart filled with gratitude for God’s magnificent creation!
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