Dear God.

I wanna take a minute not to ask for anything from you, but simply to thank you for all I have.

Amen

.........I hope I don't get behind LaVerne in the thankin line, I've seen pictures of his place n stuff....or Heaven forbid Progun....speedy1 would be OK tho....

Ken,

My sentiments exactly.

Thanks to you for posting that.

George

X3

And in the words of John Prine:

Noise-maker, noise-maker,
You have no complaint
You are what you are and you ain't what you ain't
So listen up Buster and listen up good
Stop wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood

Signed,
Dear Abby

Thanks for that reminder Ken, I definitely need to do that more.

The happiest man in the world is the one who appreciates all that life has brought his way, wants what he has, and is kind and loving to those around him.
I'm happy for you. Thanks for the reminder Ken. I think I'll go call my kids!:)

Well said! I think most of the time I think about what I don't have instead of what I've been blessed with. I hope this doesn't go off on a tangent. Maybe I'm just jaded.:S

Thanks for posting this Ken,
I have to remind myself, not to ask Him for blessings but rather how I can be a blessing to Him!
after all, I am already blessed and He is certainly worthy.

...and I'm just a bit more thankful we have guys like you & Wyatt to keep us entertained....

Hit it, Boys!

;)

Jack,
I think it's very commendable to be humble for what we have; it's all too easy to take things for granted. Much has been said about "we are the 99%" but globally, we are the 1%... no matter how bad your lot in life, there are billions of others with a worse deal of the cards.

If you're going to attribute this outrageously good fortune to a Supreme Being, then good for you - but I urge you to be consistent, by considering the lot of those who aren't so fortunate, and asking yourself... where is the Supreme Being for them? What did they do to not deserve the same blessings you receive? What did you do to receive the good fortune you are currently enjoying (and commendably, you acknowledge?)

Big questions, but they need to be asked - and answered - by anyone who interprets what I see as blind luck to divine intervention.

There but for the grace of God, go I.

Or something close to that.

Today I feel very blessed. I'm in the city where my late wife and I spent our last anniversary together.

X12

...I see this has a more serious and somber tone than our usual fare...then please allow me to quote a great man...Bob Hope......Thanks for the mammaries".....blessed be thy name.....

Another way to humble yourself is to think about the amazing natural processes that unfolded in order for you to read this thread.

A universe born with a vast expansion of space, particles and forces condensing into existence as the universe cooled, simple elements being formed from the particles - elements that clumped together by the weak force of gravity to become huge nuclear fusion reactors, the stars, inside which heavier and heavier elements were manufactured. Stars clumped together to form galaxies, galaxies clumped together to form clusters of galaxies.

Eventually these stars died, exploding their heavy contents throughout space. In death though, there was life, as the elements spewed from these stars collected around one newly forming star, whose planetary disc collected under gravity to form our solar system.

Then the transformation of the Earth to a habitable landscape, the origins of life in self-replicating amino acids, and the powerhouse of natural selection, which has shaped life from simple-celled organisms and creatures acting on impulse through to sentient human beings evolved from ape-like ancestors capable of abstract thought and rational reasoning capabilities, enough to figure out this whole TRUE story and back it up with objective evidence... beings who survived all manner of pitfalls, hazards, not to mention the fraught dating game just so that you could survive to see this photo of a bunny with a toilet roll on its head.

Steve, I was once of the same school of thought that you seem to currently have. I grew up traveling the world and lived in lands that the populations had different beliefs than that of the Southern South from which I came. I was confused in the religious world and remained so well into my adulthood. Where I began to change is when I studied metaphysics at the university level where it was pointed out to me that I am a thinking thing, therefore I am. OK, I believe that but I also know I did not create myself, something else did that. It is at that point I woke up and realized that God is called by many names throughout the world and how one comes to know him is through personal experiences. As for my experiences, they include two combat tours without a scratch, my incarceration into a hostile environment and coming away unscratched, the very fact that I survived these man test is brought me to where I am today...respectful to one grater than I or you or them. I am not here to preach, I am answering your question as best I can without imposition to yourself or anyone else. I am only speaking for myself, a person very grateful.

He certainly works in mysterious ways.... helping his favorite quarterback scramble for a first down on a critical drive, allowing his children to starve to terrible deaths in other parts of the world, to blessing a devout follower with terminal cancer that struck him down at age 33, gasping for his every last breath... to have children in war zones see their parents flesh ripped from them by bullets flung and stuck to a wall for spreading the creators gift of freedom... allowing his messengers en masse to rape children.. I can see why some would be thankful for his blesings, and some not so much.

Steve, Your definition of me couldn't suit me more and my compliments to your astuteness as well as the thought you put into your response, I thank you. The question you put out there was such that I had to ponder my own life and why I am as I am and then to put that in writing and make it sense took mental effort, in the end I only told you what I have come to know. In your reply you said you were open and when I read that a smile came onto me. At some point in life you will reflect on your past, your travels and your relationships and wonder how this all came about. An incident may cause this but it will happen and when it does the opening in your door will bring value to your understanding. I know of nothing else I can say.

(tu)

Thanks Ken;

We are each granted many blessings. Being thankful for them is a great way to be a peace.