President George Washington proclaimed the Day of National Thanksgiving on Oct. 3, 1789.

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits and humbly to implore his protection and favor," Washington wrote in his proclamation. "Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me 'to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.'"

Being grateful.

A very difficult task considering the current economic state we find ourselves in with too much going wrong.

There were, however, many grateful people Nov. 17 at Bethany Evangelical Congregational Church in Allentown when approximately 500 Thanksgiving meals were served.

Men, women and children thankfully came to the Thanksgiving table with grateful hearts to enjoy a hot meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and desserts.

I volunteered at the church and surprisingly met people with the same mindset as me – being grateful for God's blessings and wanting to give back to the community as a way of saying thank you.

Pastor Gus Al-Khal from Bethany and Pastor Rick Sergi, from SonRise Christian Fellowship, Bethlehem, provided the message, reminding both volunteers and dinner guests the importance of being grateful for the many gifts in our lives despite the things that may not be perfect.

They were grateful for the contributions of 120 turkeys, the folks who cooked the food, those who worked behind the scenes and for the many volunteers who arrived to serve the meals.

Author Neil Pasricha found himself in a crumbling marriage, experienced the death of a best friend and the sale of his home.

In June 2008, Pasricha launched the website, 1000awesomethings.com.

"The website grew into a warm place where people around the world came to curl up under a blanket and think about the small joys we overlook," Pasricha said.

Simple joys such as finding money in your pocket, snow days and many more.

In his book "The Book of Awesome," Pasricha said, "Life is so great that we only get a tiny moment to enjoy everything we see. And that moment is right now."

Perhaps we should find the things in our lives for which to be grateful that will put a smile on our faces and help us get through the difficult and stressful times.

If you are able to find something to be grateful for, share it with others at the Thanksgiving table. See if you can find 1,000 awesome things.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Debbie Galbraith

editor

East Penn Press

Salisbury Press