Count your blessings, Christmas countdown...

[keith]

With Thanksgiving and the holidays approaching, now is as good a time as any to count your blessings!

We've got quite a good-hearted group here at theBubbler, though we all have our grumbles. Some of us aren't looking forward to Winter, some of us don't care much for Mondays, all of us have a few pet peeves.

This thread is for counting our blessings as the holidays approach.


I was talking with Santa today (good Christmas countdown clock there) and decided that I must do this thread I've been thinking about for at least a few days.

I'll start.

I'm blessed because of my Dad. He gave me a great start in life and much more. I'll miss him this Christmas.

I'm blessed because my family and I enjoy relatively good health.

I'm blessed because I get to do the kind of work that I really enjoy, that I'm good at, and that other people get to benefit from.

I'm blessed to be able to communicate fairly well, and to have places like this to do it, with people I enjoy communicating with.

I'm blessed because I still have friends, good friends, from thirty or forty years ago.

I'm blessed with a nice house, in a nice area, with good schools in a great country.

I hope you are all blessed, too, and that you'll share your blessings.

Regards,
Keith

[dgridley]

Some great points you make, Keith.. and while I don't want to sound geo or ethnocentric, when I see the problems throughout the world, I always feel blessed to live in a great country like the US of A.

I may not be in great health but I'm blessed that I'm still able to get around and the old heart is still beating!

Blessed that I have a roof over my head, cupboards and a fridge with food in them (even ice cream, yay!), good friends, a job..

My mom used to quote this all the time:

I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw a man with no feet. -Arabic Proverb

[Santa]

Thanks, Keith.

I am blessed for my family and extended family.

I am blessed to be able to work in the fields that I do, and love the compensation that I receive, not only monetary, but the appreciation of the children and the families that I work for.

I am blessed because I have a place to live(in Milwaukee) and food to eat.

I have to say I am very blessed to know someone like you, Keith, an ally in business.

[tamed]

I am blessed with the obvious...family, rewarding career, nice home and all the accoutrements.

The less than obvious things that I love about my little life: the rhythm of it all, the way something beautiful catches me by surprise like the gracefulness of a deer or a hawk. The way my husband will reach out to squeeze my hand when I walk past. My grand kids running to greet me. Even the black parts that threaten to take me apart piece by piece...they let me know when I've got it really good, when I should thank my lucky stars that I'm alive.

[dgridley]

Nicely put..

Originally Posted by tamed

I am blessed with the obvious...family, rewarding career, nice home and all the accoutrements.

The less than obvious things that I love about my little life: the rhythm of it all, the way something beautiful catches me by surprise like the gracefulness of a deer or a hawk. The way my husband will reach out to squeeze my hand when I walk past. My grand kids running to greet me. Even the black parts that threaten to take me apart piece by piece...they let me know when I've got it really good, when I should thank my lucky stars that I'm alive.

[keith]

Originally Posted by Santa

Thanks, Keith...

Thank you.

Originally Posted by tamed

I am blessed with the obvious...family, rewarding career, nice home and all the accoutrements.

The less than obvious things that I love about my little life: the rhythm of it all, the way something beautiful catches me by surprise like the gracefulness of a deer or a hawk. The way my husband will reach out to squeeze my hand when I walk past. My grand kids running to greet me. Even the black parts that threaten to take me apart piece by piece...they let me know when I've got it really good, when I should thank my lucky stars that I'm alive.

Beautifully put. Thanks for sharing.

Regards,
Keith

[keith]

Anyone else care to reflect on what they're thankful for?

Regards,
Keith

[keith]

Grateful for beer! Good beer. Mmmmmmmmm, beer.

Often give and get a gift to/from a friend that has 2 kinds of each of a variety of beers.

Regards,
Keith

[tamed]

The infamous Benjamin Franklin quote:
Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

[keith]

Thanksgiving coming up.

What do you have to be thankful for?

Regards,
Keith

[keith]

bumpity bump

[pk]

Things to be thankful for:


A beautiful song
A comfortable chair
A cool breeze
A drink of cool water
A full moon
A gentle rain
A glass of cold milk
A good book to read
A good coat
A good husband/wife/partner
A good pillow
A scenic drive
Air conditioning
Banana splits
Beaches in the morning
Birds singing
Blue jeans
Brothers
Butterflies
Butterfly kisses
Ceiling fans
Children laughing
Christmas morning
Clothes that fit well
Comfortable shoes
Compliments
Computers that work
Cooing Babies
Dark Chocolate
Dishwashers
Diversity
Dried pineapple slices
Fairness
Crackling fire in a fireplace
Flowers
Freedom of religion
Freedom of speech
Fresh ideas
Friendly dogs
Good conversation
Good eyesight
Good friends
Good health
Good movies
Good teachers
Good tires
Grace
Grandchildren
Grandma
Grandpa
Hair spray
High-speed Internet access
Holding hands
Homemade ice cream
Honest people
Hugs
Ice cubes
Indoor plumbing
Kind men
Kittens
Laughter
Live Christmas trees
Morning coffee
Parking spaces near the front
Peanut butter
Plenty of closet space
Polyester
Polite drivers
Porch swings
Pregnant women
Puppies
Quiet mornings
Rainbows
Remote Controls
Roasted peanuts
Shade trees
Silk pajamas
Sisters
Smiles
Snow covered mountains
Snowflakes
Soft toilet paper
Sunrises
Sunsets
Thanksgiving dinner
That I wasn't in the obituaries today
The color of autumn leaves
The ocean
The smell of a Sunday roast cooking
The smell of homemade bread
The words "I love you"
Tire swings
True friends
Uninterrupted dinners
Warm kisses
Warm showers
Whipped cream
White puffy clouds
Wrinkle-free clothes

[pk]

If we could shrink the earth's population

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be:

57 Asians

21 Europeans

14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south

8 would be Africans

52 would be female

48 would be male

70 would be non-white
30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian

89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States.

80 would live in substandard housing

70 would be unable to read

50 would suffer from malnutrition

(ONE)1 would be near death;

(ONE)1 would be near birth;

(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education;

(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would own a computer.

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

And, therefore . . .

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

As you read this and are reminded how life is in the rest of the world, remember just how blessed you really are!

[dgridley]

Rep added PK.. thanks for the post.

[Randymetro]

I am thankful that I can read.

[pk]

I'm thankful I can see. (with the help of strong glasses!)

[pk]

Count Your Blessings!

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Love your neighbor as much as yourself.

Author Unknown

[dgridley]

From 1,001 Reasons I’m Thankful (picking some at random I can relate to):

60) I’ve heard birds sing
61) I’ve heard my mother sing to me

115) I have smelled coffee in the morning
116) I have smelled sausage cooking in the morning

132) I have a tongue
133) I have eyelids
134) I have eyebrows
135) I have hair on top of my head (well, some anyway )
136) I have two arms
137) I have two hands
138) I have ten fingers
139) I have two legs
140) I have two feet
141) I have ten toes

180) I have plenty of socks

617) JELL-O

840) I don’t have a girly voice

And so on.. could you compile such a list? What would YOUR list say about you as a person? Seems this author's list says alot about her (alot of food on the list ).

1,001 Reasons I’m Thankful

The point is: if you look at a list like that, it makes you realize that if you have 1001 things to be thankful for.. that's alot.