This Year I Resolve...
The year 2006 is finally upon us and 'tis the season" for new beginnings, to throw off the old and herald new good things to come throughout the year. When you turn on the television, commercials for Weight Watchers, fresh bottled water, vitamins, healthy cereals and milk, exercise equipment, and many other self help sources bombard your mind from the screen, flashing the message, "You should resolve to be healthier this year!"
In the last issue of our weekly eNewsletter, we asked our readers what their New Year's resolutions were to see if they matched up with the messages the media and big businesses have been conveying. Yes, we did read that many Pigeon Forge vacationers resolve to be healthier this year; but more than that, we received some very noble responses from people who wish to help people around them and strengthen the benevolent ties Americans share.
Here are just a few 2006 New Year's Resolutions that readers sent us:
"My New Year's Resolution is to be a brighter light for Jesus in hope for lost people to be saved. I hope people will see the peace and contentment it brings to their life."
"I just turned 45; this year my resolution will be to stop focusing so much on making everyone else happy and focus on myself. I need to work on getting more exercise and eating better and being happier."
"My New Year's resolution is to be more healthy and go to church more regularly."
"I just got back from a visit to South Africa, where I experienced the grand splendor of first class hotels and saw beach front mansions on the shores of Cape Town, but then drove further inland and strolled through townships crammed with makeshift huts topped with metal roofs and haphazard boards nailed together. Trash littered the dusty ground and there were children donned in ragged garments, smiling from ear to ear, welcoming visitors passing through with such enthusiasm. That struck a cord in my heart; the children face treacheries everyday that I can't begin to imagine, like parents dying of AIDS, hunger, filth, no running water or electricity... Yet they are so happy when they see visitors on the streets. Hardship never completely squelches childhood laughter. So that is my New Year's resolution, to do whatever I can to encourage that laughter and positive outlook in myself and those around me and to cherish everything that I have been given and use my gifts to help those around me!"
So, what do you resolve to change this year? The most interesting comment will be showcased in this weeks issue of the PigeonForge.com eNewsletter!