Year-End Gratitude

In the November-December, 2009, issue of Hometown, the article entitled "Gratitude Adjustment" described the process of keeping a gratitude journal. See page 11 of the current issue if you haven't read the article.

The concept is not new. Remember the hymn, "Count Your Blessings?" The language is a bit dated, but the message is perennial.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
[And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.] Alternate 4th line for refrain.

We invite you to share your gratitude list for 2009 by commenting on this blog.

Take a look at Ehow article on how to keep a gratitude journal.

Celebration of Freedom

In the July-August (2009) issue, I quoted several presidents in the "Celebration of Freedom" article. Well, Mark Twain wasn't a president, but he was a great commentator on American life. Below are the links to the Web sites where I found those quotes.

Mark Twain:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain386139.html

Dwight D. Eisenhower: http://www.quotegarden.com/freedom.html

John F. Kennedy: http://www.usa-patriotism.com/quotes/kennedy.htm

Thomas Jefferson: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/liberty.html

Patrick Henry: http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_freedom.html


Also mentioned in the article was the Web site of the national archives, where you can find the text of the Declaration of Independence. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html

The quote sites all have search features where you can search for other "freedom" quotes.

Hometown Wedding Stories

In the May/June issue, which will hit the streets in the KenTenn area during the first week of May, the Senior Grapevine section includes an article on weddings. We invite you to share your wedding story with us by commenting briefly on this post. Or, if you know of someone who has an interesting wedding story, please e-mail us at hometownkytn(a)gmail.com.

PS---we listed our e-mail with (a) where the @ should be in order to frustrate spammers. Please change the (a) to @ when you e-mail us. Thanks.