Excell operated a Chicago-based publishing business specializing in Sunday School materials and collaborated with the Methodists for numerous projects. Over Oatman’s life, he penned more than 5,000 songs, including the classic hymn “No, Not One.”įor “Count Your Blessings,” Oatman partnered with E.O. “Count Your Blessings,” intended as a song for youth, first appeared in “Songs for Young People,” which was published in 1897 by the Methodist Book Concern, a precursor to The United Methodist Publishing Hous e. What we do know is that Johnson Oatman Jr., the lyricist, was a Methodist Episcopal minister who had a penchant for songwriting. Whether the song’s author was battling tough times when he wrote the lyrics is unknown. Members from Perryville United Methodist Church in Perryville, Kentucky, perform “Count Your Blessings.” After doing this every day for one week, the test group reported better sleep patterns and a more positive emotional outlook than the control group. In a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the test group was asked to daily write down five things for which they were thankful. In addition to the anecdotal proof, the virtues of gratitude have been proven by science.
Numerous stories in the Bible remind you to look beyond your circumstances to see you are not alone, that “the Lord is in this place,” providing anecdotal evidence of the importance of gratitude. “Surely the Lord is in this place,” Jacob said, “and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16) Jacob awoke the next morning with a change of heart and life didn’t seem so bad. That night in a dream, God reassured Jacob that He was with him, that He had a plan for Jacob’s life and that He would not leave him. He also had no idea about how his circumstances might turn out. He was alone, scared and had nowhere to go. When Jacob stopped for the night at a place he would later name “Bethel,” Jacob was in the midst of a bad situation. Such was the case for Jacob, who, in Genesis 28, is fleeing from his angry brother, Esau.
So can counting your blessings really help when turmoil swirls around you and discouragement weighs heavy on your mind? The author of these song lyrics acknowledges that you can feel burdened and life can seem unfair. The faithful act of assessing blessings and acknowledging what God has provided in your life may give perspective when challenges and conflicts occur, as the four verses detail (see sidebar). The remaining line of the chorus implores you to, after counting and naming the blessings, to “see what God has done.” This simple mandate for cultivating gratitude and thanksgiving is the opening line in the catchy chorus of “Count Your Blessings,” a church music staple first published more than a century ago.Īll these years later, the four verses and chorus can be summed up this way: Counting your blessings may be the antidote to feeling disheartened. "We have each other, I suppose," she'd said, in a voice made fluty by unexpected emotion.Count your blessings. Lady Gwendolyn had sniffed and looked away.
Dolly had answered solemnly: "I have you." She'd held it in her hand, fingers closed around it, aware that it was melting against her warm palm. It had taken a moment to realize what the old woman was suggesting, but when she did, Dolly had reached tentatively inside the bag to withdraw a red and green gobstopper. Lady Gwendolyn had held out her bag of sweets then and for the first time ever offered one to Dolly. "Well, you're not entirely alone, are you, silly girl?" And I'm." She bit her bottom lip, anxious not to start crying again. "She's an heiress, married to a famous writer. "She had a wealthy uncle who took her in," said Dolly quietly. It was true, Vivien's life had come up roses in the end, but there were a few marked differences between them. “You're young, though you'll make a go of it.