Preachers will tell you, “You can’t be depressed if your mind’s focused on what you have to be thankful for. A heart of gratitude in the face of whatever life throws at you is the key to staying out of the doldrums.”

Looking for a phone number the other day in an old reporter’s notepad of mine, I came across some quotes I jotted down from a summer family Bible conference I attended last year in central Pennsylvania at a time when I was feeling especially lonely and down.

Dan Gross, a preacher and worldwide evangelist from Wisconsin who’s reached hundreds of thousands of people in India with the Gospel, gave an excellent study on prayer, making the point, “For most Christians, prayer is a time to whine, complain, moan and groan, but Paul says prayer is about thanksgiving.”

Gross, as I remember very clearly, delivered me a real revelation when he said God doesn’t respond to our tears; He simply doesn’t deal in emotions when we converse with Him.

Gross kept emphasizing, through many different passages of Scripture, about how when you really, truly internalize the fact that prayer is to be about thanksgiving it will revolutionize your life. He reasoned, “If you spent time giving thanks rather than whining you can just imagine how this would change your inner man!”

Of course, the Apostle Paul perfectly backs up this principle in Philippians 4: 6-8: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
[7] And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
[8] Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

*****

One of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in years has been volunteering with the Chicago not-for-profit charitable organization Housing Opportunities and Maintenance for the Elderly (H.O.M.E.).

Not only have I been transporting around in a special van handicapped elderly from two different H.O.M.E. care facilities in my neighborhood (Edgewater/Rogers Park), but I spent two days last week cooking (by myself) both lunch and dinner for 15-20 elderly.

This past Monday on Labor Day I helped prepare a Hawaiian Luau luncheon for about 50 residents from the two homes, also carting them back and forth in the handicap-accessible van.

One of my favorite moments was after we cleared the dessert from the tables and H.O.M.E. resident Olga, a Russia native, got up and played the piano while fellow resident, Dan, sung “You’re Nobody ’Til Somebody Loves You,” followed by “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons.”

*****

One of my favorite residents, who lives on the fifth floor of “The Nathalie Salmon House,” is Richard, a retired artist who relies on a breathing machine. He invited me into his tiny, cluttered room to see his latest oil painting, a gaucho next to his horse with the hills of New Mexico as a backdrop.

I noticed Richard had several different bibles lined up on his bookshelf and when I learned he was Believer I shared with him Paul’s dispensational “mystery” message, which he seemed very enthusiastic to hear.

Richard was used to reading from a Good News translation and when I told him the King James Bible was the only authentic Bible he kind of chuckled and showed me an old KJV he inherited from his mother.

By the end of our time together, I had Richard listening to a sermon on my church’s website and reading my latest blog entries. He was genuinely excited to have found out about the two internet sites.

Another favorite resident is Geri, a 70-some-year-old who had part of her stomach removed from cancer and is now suffering with Alzheimer’s. She was raised in an orphanage in Cincinnati, Ohio, and worked as a truck driver until her doctor told her the jostling around of her skinny frame on the highway was too hard on her kidneys and made her quit. She then became a cook at a truck stop diner and quickly won over the drivers with her home-cooking.

Geri is still at a stage where she knows she’s forgetting what she’s been told, etc., and is very conscious of increasingly faltering memory. Still, she keeps her humor and positive disposition and is a real joy to be around. She has all kinds of wisdom she readily shares with others and her stories about the old days are full of entertaining detail. What an inspiration!

Mabel, another resident who is super-friendly and someone you just like to be around, has made a habit of posting newspaper comics on a bulletin board next to the elevators.

One of the comics has Frank & Ernest looking at a snack food vending machine. The sign on it reads, “This Machine Accepts What it Cannot Change.”

In a Shoe comic, the waitress at the coffee shop counter turns to Shoe, who’s sitting at a stool, and says, “My crazy old Uncle George just turned one hundred and three.” Shoe asks, “What’s his secret?” to which the waitress answers, “No secret . . . he just plain lost his will to live.”

A Ziggy comic has the doctor telling Ziggy, who’s on an examining table, “The good news is that your disease has a very funny-sounding name.”

(Editor’s Note: To be continued . . .)