Jan. 14, 2012

Count Your Many Blessings List 100 From Ensign 12/2011

From the youth section of teaching the monthly Home Teaching thought:

List 100 blessings, start by listing 10 in each of the following areas.

10 Physical Abilities

1.     To walk

2.     To run

3.     To smell

4.     To taste

5.     To feel

6.     To see

7.     To jump

8.     To bend

9.     To write

10. To read

10 Material possessions

1.     Home

2.     Yard

3.     Playhouse

4.     Cars

5.     Lights

6.     Indoor water and plumbing

7.     Heater

8.     Clothing

9.     Blankets and pillows

10. Computer and TV

10 Living People

1.     Kasia

2.     Gabe

3.     McKinsey

4.     Hallie

5.     Sam

6.     Brooklyn

7.     Leilah

8.     Kade

9.     Alex

10. Greyson

10 Deceased People

1.     Kermit

2.     Ilean

3.     Lois

4.     Linda

5.     Nana (Rozilla Poulson Grandmother)

6.     Alma Poulson (grandfather)

7.     Charles Hansen

8.     Alvira Hansen

9.     Callista (Bell) Houtz Anderson

10. Vincent Houtz

10 Things of Nature

1.     Rain

2.     Snow

3.     Flowers

4.     Rainbows

5.     Sunsets/sunrises

6.     Waterfalls

7.     Animals/Birds

8.     Sun/Moon/Stars

9.     Wind

10. Clouds

10 Things from Today (1-1-2012)

1.     Sabbath Day

2.     Sacrament

3.     Gospel Teachings

4.     Family visits (Marsha)

5.     Life

6.     Health

7.     Food

8.     17 Miracles film

9.     Sacrifice of Pioneers

10. Our Children

10 Places on Earth

1.     Manti/Provo temples

2.     Duchesne

3.     Holden

4.     Centerfield

5.     Phoenix AZ

6.     Corpus Christi TX

7.     Centennial CO

8.     Srpingville/ Mapleton/ Pleasant grove/ Spanish Fork UT

9.     Hobble Creek canyon

10. Maple Canyon

10 Modern Inventions

1.     Toothbrush

2.     Razor

3.     Video Conferencing

4.     Dishwasher

5.     Cell Phones/phones

6.     TV remotes

7.     Hot Tub

8.     Clothes Washer

9.     Clothes Dryer

10. Books / Printing presses

10 Foods

1.     Bread

2.     Milk

3.     Water

4.     Punches

5.     Rice

6.     Potatos

7.     Jams

8.     Peanut Butter

9.     Honey

10. Ice Cream/Cookies/Cakes

Notes after this exercise:

The list of 100 blessings were in response to Pres Eyrings  Dec editorial in the Ensign. It gave us the above lists to complete with 10 things in each list.

As you can tell it was actually a bit of a challenge because once we got started it was easy to put numerous things in each list. By being very broad it was OK but had we been specific then the list of nature, places on earth, foods etc would have been very extensive. I would bet without a lot of effort the list could be well over a thousand or even five thousand for things which we are grateful for these days.

If you were to add other subjects such as education, government, military, church, law enforcement, freedoms, and even friends, then the list could go on even with greater numbers. The list of living people we did with the grandchildren simply because there are exactly 10 of them at this point in time but the list also included without question each of our children and their spouses and their spouses families (parents, siblings, Aunts and Uncles and cousin of whom we know many of them). It is endless when you really get to thinking about it . Even the private things such as intimacy with a spouse and the relationships of a marriage can be listed out to many individual things that are intermingled with them. Marie and I have watched three films the last two nights that have really gotten me to thinking. They are Facing our Giants (using God and the scriptures in everyday life), Fireproof (how to work at marriage to make it last), and 17 Miracles (the miracles surrounding the Willie handcart company coming with handcarts to Utah). They are each loaded with things for which to be thankful without even considering the lessons that they teach for which we are also thankful. They have each left a mark on my soul that will never be erased, maybe dimmed by time but never erased. I am so thankful to a loving Heavenly Father who watches over and protects us. Even as I think of the traveling we do and the things that could happen but don’t because of His gracious tender mercies toward each of us. 

Well needless to say we are truly blessed and with many things for which to return to the Savior and give thanks unlike the 9 who were healed and just kept going. May we be like the one who returned to give thanks, on a daily basis if not many more times each day.