Sunday, January 24, 2010

Thank you, Heavenly Father

Without the constraint of the not-yet-explained (see God of the Gaps post) to limit the phenomena attributable to God, I credit Him with the following. 

Blessings/Tender Mercies I Am Grateful For:

Palm pilot
Mom
Growing up in Meridian, Idaho
Growing up in the church
Growing up in a free democratic republic
Voting
The internet
Email
Googledocs
Practically never having to worry about having enough to eat
Jolynne (my sister)
All my family members, immediate and extended
Roommates Joel, Josh, Taylor, Nathaniel, and James
Blogs
Pandora.com
Academia, that so many journals and original research are so breathtakingly accessible
Educational opportunity
Safe-ish roads (they could be in a lot worse condition)
A legal system which generally outlaws person A harming person B
A level of law enforcement close to the optimal level between overly intrusive/powerful and ineffective
Each of the standard works
Joseph Smith's fidelity to God and truth
The tradition of birthdays- it's a great opportunity to help people feel special and recognized
Being able to repent and change and experience true new beginnings. When I sin, because of the Atonement, I really can be restored and start anew.
One of my favorite songs: I Feel My Savior's Love (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1RCGhXjAtU)
Sports! Tennis and frisbee and soccer and basketball and innertube water polo and wallyball and running and triathlons and swimming, oh my! I love sports.
Writing and speaking and language and communication. Wow!
The universe, stars, and galaxies- the only wonder to compare with them is the nature around us.
Love (agape)
A whole host of efficient systems (e.g. markets, natural selection, email, discussion boards, google docs, dropbox, backpacks, libraries, and prayer)
Man-sized furniture that's not two inches off the ground
Refrigerators
Books
The fossil record
The advance of rational inquiry as evidenced by the organized common sense called "science"
Relative abundance of possessions, shelter, and health care in America
Longer life spans and lower infant mortality world wide
Rain forests
Cell phones
Shoes
Indoor plumbing, heating, and AC
Carpets
Ants
My windshield wiper fluid ejectors working suddenly when I needed them on a dangerous winter drive even though they'd been broken for months

Okay, that's it for the short list.

The tagging of these phenomena as blessings from God is arbitrary inasmuch as other phenomena, including
those conventionally considered negative, are from my perspective equally likely to be caused by God. 
Exceptions to arbitrary selection include tender mercies I detect not by their improbability or unexplainability, 
but rather because I claim that such blessings were revealed to me as interventions of God.  My purpose here
is to point out some phenomena I consider "good" and attribute at least that set to God's direct and/or 
indirect action.






2 comments:

  1. You think prayer is an efficient system? It seems the opposite of efficient to me...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this! Doesn't it feel good to count your blessings? How blessed you are!

    ReplyDelete

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