What I Am Grateful For…And You Might Be Too

(Thanksgiving Cornucopia via Iron Bay Computer and Design)

“The Unthankful heart…discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!”–Henry Ward Beecher

A friend asked me if I am ready for the Thanksgiving holiday, to which I replied, that for me… I give thanks every day. Every morning upon awakening, I recite a Hebrew prayer:

“I gratefully thank you, O living and eternal King. For you have returned my soul within me with compassion – abundant in Your faithfulness!”

Then when I am completely awake, I reason:

“If the King would not return my soul, who would thank him?”

Why has the simple act of saying “Thank you” become a holiday? According to the article on the Plimoth Plantation Website, “to the Puritans, a true Thanksgiving was a day of prayer and pious humiliation, thanking god for his special providence”.

(Black Friday 2009 // Photograph by Manny Kagan)What a surprise! I thought it was created to have a “Black Friday Sale”, and for families stuffing themselves with turkey the day before. But what does this bird have to do with the actual celebration of the end of the fall harvest? It is very simple.

When the Pilgrims arrived on the shores of America, they were hungry. Turkeys were easy to catch and voila! Combining two events together—a new tradition was born in the middle of the 17^th century. For vegetarians, who do not eat turkey, but want to keep the tradition (or even for those who do not want to feel as stuffed as a turkey after the meal), there is an inflatable one, like this one that I saw in a second-hand store.

(Inflatable Turkey // Photograph by Manny Kagan)Now let me tell you what I am grateful for. I am grateful that after a week of no telephone service, our telephone system came back to life. AT&T blamed Hurricane Sandy for why it took so long to solve the problem. (If one believes it.) Now clients can actually reach us.

I am grateful that “Mortgage rates at record lows boost recovery”. You may read the entire article in the SF Chronicle. The article stated, “the percentage of loans in the foreclosure process was down”. Thanks to historical low interest rates, we can help many borrowers.

I am grateful that the Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, said that underwriting standards for mortgages are too tight and that reduced credit availability “slowing the revival in housing and impending the economic recovery” (Reilly, Wall Street Journal). I hope it will not take another four years for regulators to remove the brakes and allow mortgage industry to revive; especially since the government owned mortgage enterprises, like FHA, are actually bankrupt.

I am grateful that those who read my book liked what I have written. One of the readers, Samuel Freshman–author of The Smartest Way to Save, which I strongly recommend, wrote:

“Manny Kagan’s The Mortgage Game, is one of the best outlines of the mortgage market that I have come across. I recommend it to anyone who wants to get more familiar with the mortgage industry to read it before applying for a loan.”–Samuel Freshman, author.

P.S. If you want to save trees, you can read my book on a Kindle or a Nook.

PLEASE SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND.

Best Wishes,

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