Study of the Psalms Chapter 1 verse 1 by wanderean
A Thankful Heart by Tran Le Tuy Phuong
1. A Thankful Heart
Poem: Helen Steiner Rice
Images: Internet
PPS: Trần Lê Túy-Phượng
2. Helen Steiner Rice (May 19 1900 - April 23 1981) was an American writer of religious
and inspirational poetry.
Helen Steiner was born in Lorain, Ohio on May 19, 1900. Her father, a railroad
worker, died in the influenza epidemic of 1918. She began work for a public utility and
progressed to the position of advertising manager, which was rare for a woman at that
time. She also became the Ohio State Chairman of the Women's Public Information
Committee of the Electric Light Association, and campaigned for women's rights and
improved working conditions.
In 1929 she married Franklin Rice, a bank vice-president in Dayton, Ohio. After the
stock market crash in October that year, Franklin lost his job and his investments. He fell
into a depression from which he never recovered, and committed suicide in 1932.
Rice became a successful businesswoman and lecturer, but found her most satisfying
outlet in writing verse for a prominent greeting card company namely American
Greetings. Her poems received wide exposure in the 1960s when several were read by
Aladdin on the poetry segment of the Lawrence Welk television show.
The demand for her poems became so great that her books are still selling steadily after
many printings, and she has been acclaimed as "America's beloved inspirational poet
laureate". Helen Steiner Rice’s books of inspirational poetry have now sold nearly
seven million copies. Her strong religious faith and the ability she had to express deep
emotion gave her poems timeless appeal.
She died on the evening of April 23 1981, a month shy of her 81st birthday and was
buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Lorain, Ohio.
Both Pope John Paul II and President James Carter and his wife Rosalynn were
admirers of her artistry.