Growing up the son of a preacher, “Count Your Blessings” was one of the songs I heard from time to time as I (Mark) sat in church as my dad preached the sermon and my mom played the piano.  My parents’ work took our family to several towns in Michigan where my father was pastor of the local church and as far away as Seoul, South Korea as missionaries for five years.  The huge city of Seoul seemed packed wall to wall with people.

As we enter the holiday season, if we can get past the hype and the many obligations, many of us take a moment or two to reflect on things like what we are really thankful for and what is really important in life.  As I think back to the past, I am thankful that I had parents who brought me up in a home that focused on a strong faith.

Speaking of tough times, perhaps as you read this column you are going through difficulty.  This is not the best time economically in our country.

Maybe you’re going through something personal.  Our family has had a tough time over the past two years or so dealing with the deaths of my father and mother-in-law and the health struggles of my father-in-law.  These circumstances can definitely be a downer.

I was reading a book by Norman Vincent Peale not too long ago and he told a story of someone who had come to him and said, “I have lost everything.” The man had made a fortune in business and lost it all in a bad economy. Peale asked the man several questions. “Do you have a wife and does she love you?” “Do you have children and do they love you?” “Do you have friends and do they support you?” Does God love you?” After thinking about it, the man was encouraged and realized he had not lost everything but that he still had much to be thankful for and decided to get back to living life.

As we enter this Thanksgiving and Christmas season, here are some of our conclusions and since you “can’t take it with you,” they are not all related to your money:

1. Life is short.  Enjoy each day to the fullest.  Look for all of the positives in each day and enjoy the time with family and friends.

2. Life is good.  I bet if you count your blessings, they will far outnumber the trials you may have to go through.

3. These are the good old days.  Don’t spend too much time looking forward or looking back.

4. God is faithful.  He will do what He said He will do!  He has never failed keeping His promises!

5. We are all works in progress.  God will finish what he started in us.

6. We can choose what we focus our thoughts on; choose happiness.

7. Be grateful. If we are focused more on gratitude, we feel better and are more likely to have the desire to help and serve others.

8. Get your financial and estate plan in order.  Smart planning will benefit you and your family for years to come.

We are thankful for you.  Thankful we get to write this column, do our radio show and have the opportunity to meet and work with many great people. Count your blessings, name them one by one. Thanks for being a blessing to us.

For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at 1 p.m.  on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysradio.com.  Securities are offered through NEXT Financial Group Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC.  The office is at 1700 Woodlands Drive, Suite 100, Maumee, OH 43537.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 3:10 pm and is filed under Retirement Guys, Toledo Business Link.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.