Happy Memorial Day to my American readers. :) May we all remember in the middle of the celebrations with family and friends the true meaning of the holiday: honoring those who gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy.
Yesterday at church, we had our traditional Memorial Day service, honoring the soldiers who lost their lives, and also paying tribute to the veterans in our church.
We had some excellent special music, too. I had the privilege of being a part of the special ensemble. We sang three songs, including a challenging a cappella version of "The Star Spangled Banner." There were also songs performed by a quartet and one performed by a young man in our church who sang an incredible arrangement of each of the military songs with prerecorded versions of himself singing the other parts.
I am so thankful for those who were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for my freedoms. I am thankful for a father, an uncle, and a grandfather who fought for our country. And I am thankful for a Savior who paid an even greater price for my spiritual freedom.
The song lyrics I thought I'd leave you with today are from one of the quartet numbers. It's called: "Blades of Grass and Pure White Stones." According to my research, the lyrics were written by Orrin Hatch, and the music was written by Lowell Alexander and Phil Naish.
Blades of grass and pure white stones
Shelter those who've come and gone.
Just below the emerald sod
Are those who've reached the arms of God.
Buried here with dignity,
Endless rows for all to see.
Freedom's seeds in sorrow sown,
'Neath blades of grass and pure white stones.
Blades of grass and pure white stones
Cover those who've left their homes,
To rest in fields here side by side,
Lest we forget their sacrifice.
Buried here with dignity,
Endless rows for all to see.
Freedom's seeds in sorrow sown,
'Neath blades of grass and pure white stones.
Just below the emerald sod
Are those who've reached the arms of God.
Buried here with dignity
Endless rows for all to see.
Freedom's seeds in sorrow sown,
'Neath blades of grass and pure white stones.
'Neath blades of grass and pure white stones.
May we never forget.
Showing posts with label Memorial Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memorial Day. Show all posts
Monday, May 30, 2016
Monday, May 26, 2014
Happy Memorial Day plus Free Shipping at Disneystore.com :)
Happy Memorial Day, everyone! May we take the time today in the middle of barbecues and family get-togethers to remember the real reason for this holiday: honoring those who have given their lives for the freedoms we enjoy. May we never forget.
And even though Veteran's Day isn't until November, it never hurts to thank those who served our country and didn't lose their lives. Today's veterans didn't make the ultimate sacrifice like their fallen comrades, but they still made sacrifices of their own and fought bravely for our freedom and our country. They deserve our thanks. :)
I hope to have the first of my review posts up a bit later this afternoon. In the meantime, Disneystore.com has free shipping sitewide today in honor of Memorial Day. Unfortunately, the Frozen dolls are not back in stock yet, but there are lots of other fun goodies to stock up on with the shipping discount. Apply code FREESHIP. You can see all of their items HERE.
Happy Memorial Day and happy shopping! Talk to you again soon! :)
And even though Veteran's Day isn't until November, it never hurts to thank those who served our country and didn't lose their lives. Today's veterans didn't make the ultimate sacrifice like their fallen comrades, but they still made sacrifices of their own and fought bravely for our freedom and our country. They deserve our thanks. :)
I hope to have the first of my review posts up a bit later this afternoon. In the meantime, Disneystore.com has free shipping sitewide today in honor of Memorial Day. Unfortunately, the Frozen dolls are not back in stock yet, but there are lots of other fun goodies to stock up on with the shipping discount. Apply code FREESHIP. You can see all of their items HERE.
Happy Memorial Day and happy shopping! Talk to you again soon! :)
Monday, May 27, 2013
Happy Memorial Day!
I know you've all already seen this photo, but I thought it would be fun to use it one last time. :) I hope all of my friends in the US have a wonderful Memorial Day with your loved ones. My hope is that in the middle of the barbecues and the family fun, we'd all remember the true reason for this holiday. I'm so thankful for all of our military men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Happy Memorial Day!
In the midst of our celebrations and festivities today, may we remember what this day is for: honoring those who lost their lives so that we could live in freedom.
Our church had a wonderful Memorial Day service last night. It was filled with patriotic songs, stories of our country's Christian heritage, and a review of some of the different battles that have been fought. It was wonderful to see so many of the teens in our church involved...what a testimony they have! :) We also played a video that talked all about the different memorials in Washington, DC. Then the trio I'm involved in sang a song called "Row Upon Row" while pictures were shown of Arlington National Cemetery and other monuments and memorials from past wars. I think the lyrics of this song really capture what this holiday is about, so I thought I'd share them with you:
Have you ever been to Arlington
Where tombstones stand row upon row?
Great soldiers turned to granite ghosts
Harboring invincible souls.
Their sacrifice of flesh and blood
Lay buried deep in freedom's sod.
Brave hearts who will never know
The solemn honor we bestow
Row upon row upon row upon row.
(Chorus)
Let freedom ring
Let the nation sing
Till the whole earth knows
How proud we are
Of each row upon row upon row upon row.
The earth lays still at Arlington
Where tombstones stand row upon row.
And the flag flies
Proudly in the skies.
Oh let this scene forever stand
Reminding us what we've been given.
We hold these lost in high esteem
The pave the road to all our dreams
Row upon row upon row upon row.
(Repeat Chorus)
Let freedom ring
Join hands and sing
Till the multitude grows
One by one, row upon row upon row upon row.
One by one, row upon row upon row upon row.
I'm pretty sure this song was written by Kara Williamson-Tualatai (I don't have my sheet music with me anymore, so I had to do some research online). If you'd like an idea of how it sounds, I've included a link to the YouTube video HERE. (You'll have to mute my blog music to listen, because it will open in a new window...sorry about that!)
Our version didn't sound quite the same. We sang it with just piano and toned down the contemporary style of the singing a bit (which was good because I cannot sing like that and make it sound pleasant!). :} We wanted it to be appropriate for our very conservative church (and personally, I liked it a little better without the electric guitars and heavy drumbeat in the background...although I wish we'd had the marching drumbeat at the beginning and ending for ours too). ;) Regardless, I hope you enjoy the song and that it helps you remember the fallen on this special day. :)
Our church had a wonderful Memorial Day service last night. It was filled with patriotic songs, stories of our country's Christian heritage, and a review of some of the different battles that have been fought. It was wonderful to see so many of the teens in our church involved...what a testimony they have! :) We also played a video that talked all about the different memorials in Washington, DC. Then the trio I'm involved in sang a song called "Row Upon Row" while pictures were shown of Arlington National Cemetery and other monuments and memorials from past wars. I think the lyrics of this song really capture what this holiday is about, so I thought I'd share them with you:
Have you ever been to Arlington
Where tombstones stand row upon row?
Great soldiers turned to granite ghosts
Harboring invincible souls.
Their sacrifice of flesh and blood
Lay buried deep in freedom's sod.
Brave hearts who will never know
The solemn honor we bestow
Row upon row upon row upon row.
(Chorus)
Let freedom ring
Let the nation sing
Till the whole earth knows
How proud we are
Of each row upon row upon row upon row.
The earth lays still at Arlington
Where tombstones stand row upon row.
And the flag flies
Proudly in the skies.
Oh let this scene forever stand
Reminding us what we've been given.
We hold these lost in high esteem
The pave the road to all our dreams
Row upon row upon row upon row.
(Repeat Chorus)
Let freedom ring
Join hands and sing
Till the multitude grows
One by one, row upon row upon row upon row.
One by one, row upon row upon row upon row.
I'm pretty sure this song was written by Kara Williamson-Tualatai (I don't have my sheet music with me anymore, so I had to do some research online). If you'd like an idea of how it sounds, I've included a link to the YouTube video HERE. (You'll have to mute my blog music to listen, because it will open in a new window...sorry about that!)
Our version didn't sound quite the same. We sang it with just piano and toned down the contemporary style of the singing a bit (which was good because I cannot sing like that and make it sound pleasant!). :} We wanted it to be appropriate for our very conservative church (and personally, I liked it a little better without the electric guitars and heavy drumbeat in the background...although I wish we'd had the marching drumbeat at the beginning and ending for ours too). ;) Regardless, I hope you enjoy the song and that it helps you remember the fallen on this special day. :)
Monday, May 30, 2011
Happy (or not so happy) Memorial Day!
Hey guys! This is a post I did today for my private blog that I thought some of you might enjoy. :)
Hi everyone. Happy Memorial Day! May we always remember the brave men and women who gave their lives so that we could live in freedom.
I just had to share a rather sad story from last night. Our church celebrated Memorial Day with a special evening service that included singing, poetry, and an extremely moving DVD of 3 of the WWII veterans from our church sharing their experiences. One of the songs was a medley performed by the children and high school youth of our church. As you might guess, all three of my girls were involved.
Now, before I share this story, I have to set the stage, so to speak. The girls have all had minor colds for a few days now, so we stayed home from the morning service. We had to be at practice at 5 pm, which is when we normally eat dinner. The service was at 6, and didn't get over until after 7, which is the girls' normal bedtime.
At 3:45, I started getting things ready. Of course, being the extremely unorganized person that I am, (and in my defense, let me remind you that I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed last Monday, so things have been a little out of whack lately) it didn't dawn on me until that exact moment that red, white or blue attire would be the most appropriate for being on stage on MEMORIAL DAY (duh!).
Thus began a mad, frantic scramble through the girl's clothes. I was desperate for anything that even resembled red, white and blue (you'd think it wouldn't be that difficult!). I finally managed to find an outfit for each girl...horribly wrinkled, of course. Out came the iron. I don't think I've ever ironed faster in my life!! I dressed each of them, only to discover that the shirt I'd chosen for my oldest was too small.
At this point, my two younger girls were dressed but needed shoes and were in desperate need of help with their hair. They also needed to brush their teeth. My oldest had a skirt but no shirt, no shoes, tangled hair, and unbrushed teeth. I was still in my pajamas (don't knock it...it's a stay-at-home-mom thing, OK?) with no makeup, wild hair, and absolutely no clue what I was going to wear. It was now 4:15. We had to leave by 4:45 at the absolute latest to get there by 5:00.
As you can imagine, I wasn't exactly the perfect representation of calm, rational motherhood at this moment. My hubby, who had been sleeping after a long weekend of work, woke up in time to rescue my oldest from my attempts at brushing through her tangles at light speed (the fact that she was crying and I was, to put it mildly, not exactly being sympathetic probably didn't help his napping). He helped me get snacks and drinks together for the girls while I found the oldest another shirt, did the two younger girls' hair, brushed everyone's teeth, got dressed, and did my makeup.
We were in the car by 4:40. I had not given everyone the huge snack I had planned, although I had at least fed them. I hadn't eaten since 3:00, but I couldn't think of anything soft enough for my mouth to take with me.
We got there on time (early, even!) and the girls started running through their program. They all looked so cute! All three of them were singing their hearts out with the other children. The song was a medley that included "I'm Just a Flag-Wavin' American", and each child got to hold their own little flag and wave it every time they sang that line. I was in charge of passing out flags to the children on the left side of the stage.
Then, about midway through the practice, my middle daughter misunderstood something the director said and thought she was being singled out and scolded. Afterwards, she was confused about where she was supposed to move for the next part of the song. For Middle Gal, who loves nothing more than getting things right and being praised for it, this was crushing. She was so distraught that she started crying and had to come sit with me.
Everyone ran through the song one more time, but Middle Gal decided to sit it out. She told me between sobs that she was afraid she'd sound whiny and she didn't know where to go. This girl was tired and needed food, so my mom and I figured it would probably be best for her to sit in the audience instead of performing. Something important that I should have connected at the time is that one little girl on my side of the stage who had missed the first practice was there for the second one...but more on that later.
After the practices were over, when Middle Gal realized that she was going to miss the actual performance, she decided that she wanted to sing after all. I checked with our director and she said it would be okay as long as I thought she could do it without crying.
Now, at this point, it would have been smart for me to go over the flags and make sure we had enough. But I hadn't even thought about that extra little girl and the fact that we might be short.. I was so tired and hungry and stressed about my middle daughter falling apart. At the moment, I was trying to decide whether or not I should have her go back up. I talked to her a bit, and she seemed completely recovered. I realized then that it would probably be best for all parties concerned if she went ahead and sang. My youngest would do better having her sister with her, and my middle gal would be very disappointed to miss out on performing.
Between this time and the actual service, my oldest also had a melt-down moment. She was crying and upset enough that I was wondering if she would have to sit it out instead! Thankfully, she pulled it together in time. By now, I was just trying to keep everyone happy long enough to get through their song.
Midway through the service, it was time for the medley. I got up, grabbed my pile of flags, and started passing them out to the kids. I was down to the last two girls (my middle daughter and my youngest daughter) when I realized to my horror that I only had one flag left. I gave Middle Gal the last flag and sent her up to the stage. My youngest stood next to me waiting with a trusting but slightly confused expression on her face. I took her hand and said, "I don't have a flag for you yet, sweetie. Go ahead and go up". I led her to the stage and placed her next to her sister.
By now, the song had already begun. The children were all singing with happy voices and cheerfully waving their flags. I will never forget the look on my Little Gal's face. She stood there, a forlorn look on her features, first looking over at the other children with their flags, then looking down at me. I'm actually almost crying now just thinking about it! It was such a terrible moment. I felt like the worst mother in the world.
My mind was racing. How had I suddenly come up one flag short? What could I do? I glanced across at the mom who had handed out flags to the children on the other side of the stage and saw that she had 4 or 5 extra flags sitting next to her. But by now, the song was in progress and it seemed like it would be too distracting to race 2 aisles over, grab a flag, and race back. In retrospect, I probably should have just done it. Everyone would have understood, and Little Gal would have been happier. But I hesitated. I didn't want to break the children's concentration or detract from the performance.
Little Gal never cried. Her lip quivered some, and her face was absolutely pitiful. But she also didn't sing. It was so heartbreaking. I thought back to the practice, when she'd done such a wonderful job. She knew all the words to the song, even though she's only 3. Now she just stood there watching the others.
When all of the kids came down, my youngest said, "Mommy, I wanted a flag too!" Even then she didn't cry, but I just felt so terrible.
I realize this wasn't really that big of a deal in the scheme of things. I think I was more traumatized by it than she was, to be honest! After talking things through with a few others, I finally realized what had happened with the extra kiddo being thrown into the mix. I just wish I would have realized it in time.
I just had to keep reminding myself that God is in control of everything, even little things like a three year old who doesn't get to have a flag during her song. As moms, we hate to see our children suffer or miss out on the best life has to offer. I know this sounds silly, but I even found myself praying, "Why Lord? Why did my daughter have to go through this?"
I'm sure there will be many more unpleasant situations my girls will have to endure as they grow. I don't think it will get any easier moving on from missing flags to broken hearts and unkind friends...or even bigger problems. This is what I do know, though. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
"All things"...even heartbreak and disappointment, even trials and testings. I can rest assured that everything that has happened and will happen to my girls is already known and allowed by our Heavenly Father. Because He is all-knowing, He can see the outcome even when I can't understand it with my finite human brain. Even if the things that happen to my girls aren't good in and of themselves, they can be used for good. God may use some situations to conform their character more like His own (James 1:2-4). He may use trials to lead them in another direction, or draw the girls closer to Himself. I may never know the reason for some things that will happen to the girls until Heaven. But because God is good, I can rest in His promises.
One valuable result of my youngest girl's little trial is that everyone was very impressed with the way she handled the situation. The best way I can describe it is that she was a stalwart little soldier. [This is not meant to belittle the severity of the situations that our real troops face in any way, btw.] She was obviously disappointed, but didn't cry or throw a fit. She just bravely endured the whole situation. The director of the evening called her the "hero of the night". Little Gal herself seems to be completely over her disappointment...she was even singing "I'm Just a Flag-Wavin' American" with her sisters this morning, a huge grin on her face. (I, on the other hand, will probably never be able to listen to that song again without thinking of last night!)
I am so proud of my girl, and can only pray that I will remember this little lesson as the girls grow and face new challenges through each period of their life.
Hi everyone. Happy Memorial Day! May we always remember the brave men and women who gave their lives so that we could live in freedom.
I just had to share a rather sad story from last night. Our church celebrated Memorial Day with a special evening service that included singing, poetry, and an extremely moving DVD of 3 of the WWII veterans from our church sharing their experiences. One of the songs was a medley performed by the children and high school youth of our church. As you might guess, all three of my girls were involved.
Now, before I share this story, I have to set the stage, so to speak. The girls have all had minor colds for a few days now, so we stayed home from the morning service. We had to be at practice at 5 pm, which is when we normally eat dinner. The service was at 6, and didn't get over until after 7, which is the girls' normal bedtime.
At 3:45, I started getting things ready. Of course, being the extremely unorganized person that I am, (and in my defense, let me remind you that I had all 4 wisdom teeth removed last Monday, so things have been a little out of whack lately) it didn't dawn on me until that exact moment that red, white or blue attire would be the most appropriate for being on stage on MEMORIAL DAY (duh!).
Thus began a mad, frantic scramble through the girl's clothes. I was desperate for anything that even resembled red, white and blue (you'd think it wouldn't be that difficult!). I finally managed to find an outfit for each girl...horribly wrinkled, of course. Out came the iron. I don't think I've ever ironed faster in my life!! I dressed each of them, only to discover that the shirt I'd chosen for my oldest was too small.
At this point, my two younger girls were dressed but needed shoes and were in desperate need of help with their hair. They also needed to brush their teeth. My oldest had a skirt but no shirt, no shoes, tangled hair, and unbrushed teeth. I was still in my pajamas (don't knock it...it's a stay-at-home-mom thing, OK?) with no makeup, wild hair, and absolutely no clue what I was going to wear. It was now 4:15. We had to leave by 4:45 at the absolute latest to get there by 5:00.
As you can imagine, I wasn't exactly the perfect representation of calm, rational motherhood at this moment. My hubby, who had been sleeping after a long weekend of work, woke up in time to rescue my oldest from my attempts at brushing through her tangles at light speed (the fact that she was crying and I was, to put it mildly, not exactly being sympathetic probably didn't help his napping). He helped me get snacks and drinks together for the girls while I found the oldest another shirt, did the two younger girls' hair, brushed everyone's teeth, got dressed, and did my makeup.
We were in the car by 4:40. I had not given everyone the huge snack I had planned, although I had at least fed them. I hadn't eaten since 3:00, but I couldn't think of anything soft enough for my mouth to take with me.
We got there on time (early, even!) and the girls started running through their program. They all looked so cute! All three of them were singing their hearts out with the other children. The song was a medley that included "I'm Just a Flag-Wavin' American", and each child got to hold their own little flag and wave it every time they sang that line. I was in charge of passing out flags to the children on the left side of the stage.
Then, about midway through the practice, my middle daughter misunderstood something the director said and thought she was being singled out and scolded. Afterwards, she was confused about where she was supposed to move for the next part of the song. For Middle Gal, who loves nothing more than getting things right and being praised for it, this was crushing. She was so distraught that she started crying and had to come sit with me.
Everyone ran through the song one more time, but Middle Gal decided to sit it out. She told me between sobs that she was afraid she'd sound whiny and she didn't know where to go. This girl was tired and needed food, so my mom and I figured it would probably be best for her to sit in the audience instead of performing. Something important that I should have connected at the time is that one little girl on my side of the stage who had missed the first practice was there for the second one...but more on that later.
After the practices were over, when Middle Gal realized that she was going to miss the actual performance, she decided that she wanted to sing after all. I checked with our director and she said it would be okay as long as I thought she could do it without crying.
Now, at this point, it would have been smart for me to go over the flags and make sure we had enough. But I hadn't even thought about that extra little girl and the fact that we might be short.. I was so tired and hungry and stressed about my middle daughter falling apart. At the moment, I was trying to decide whether or not I should have her go back up. I talked to her a bit, and she seemed completely recovered. I realized then that it would probably be best for all parties concerned if she went ahead and sang. My youngest would do better having her sister with her, and my middle gal would be very disappointed to miss out on performing.
Between this time and the actual service, my oldest also had a melt-down moment. She was crying and upset enough that I was wondering if she would have to sit it out instead! Thankfully, she pulled it together in time. By now, I was just trying to keep everyone happy long enough to get through their song.
Midway through the service, it was time for the medley. I got up, grabbed my pile of flags, and started passing them out to the kids. I was down to the last two girls (my middle daughter and my youngest daughter) when I realized to my horror that I only had one flag left. I gave Middle Gal the last flag and sent her up to the stage. My youngest stood next to me waiting with a trusting but slightly confused expression on her face. I took her hand and said, "I don't have a flag for you yet, sweetie. Go ahead and go up". I led her to the stage and placed her next to her sister.
By now, the song had already begun. The children were all singing with happy voices and cheerfully waving their flags. I will never forget the look on my Little Gal's face. She stood there, a forlorn look on her features, first looking over at the other children with their flags, then looking down at me. I'm actually almost crying now just thinking about it! It was such a terrible moment. I felt like the worst mother in the world.
My mind was racing. How had I suddenly come up one flag short? What could I do? I glanced across at the mom who had handed out flags to the children on the other side of the stage and saw that she had 4 or 5 extra flags sitting next to her. But by now, the song was in progress and it seemed like it would be too distracting to race 2 aisles over, grab a flag, and race back. In retrospect, I probably should have just done it. Everyone would have understood, and Little Gal would have been happier. But I hesitated. I didn't want to break the children's concentration or detract from the performance.
Little Gal never cried. Her lip quivered some, and her face was absolutely pitiful. But she also didn't sing. It was so heartbreaking. I thought back to the practice, when she'd done such a wonderful job. She knew all the words to the song, even though she's only 3. Now she just stood there watching the others.
When all of the kids came down, my youngest said, "Mommy, I wanted a flag too!" Even then she didn't cry, but I just felt so terrible.
I realize this wasn't really that big of a deal in the scheme of things. I think I was more traumatized by it than she was, to be honest! After talking things through with a few others, I finally realized what had happened with the extra kiddo being thrown into the mix. I just wish I would have realized it in time.
I just had to keep reminding myself that God is in control of everything, even little things like a three year old who doesn't get to have a flag during her song. As moms, we hate to see our children suffer or miss out on the best life has to offer. I know this sounds silly, but I even found myself praying, "Why Lord? Why did my daughter have to go through this?"
I'm sure there will be many more unpleasant situations my girls will have to endure as they grow. I don't think it will get any easier moving on from missing flags to broken hearts and unkind friends...or even bigger problems. This is what I do know, though. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
"All things"...even heartbreak and disappointment, even trials and testings. I can rest assured that everything that has happened and will happen to my girls is already known and allowed by our Heavenly Father. Because He is all-knowing, He can see the outcome even when I can't understand it with my finite human brain. Even if the things that happen to my girls aren't good in and of themselves, they can be used for good. God may use some situations to conform their character more like His own (James 1:2-4). He may use trials to lead them in another direction, or draw the girls closer to Himself. I may never know the reason for some things that will happen to the girls until Heaven. But because God is good, I can rest in His promises.
One valuable result of my youngest girl's little trial is that everyone was very impressed with the way she handled the situation. The best way I can describe it is that she was a stalwart little soldier. [This is not meant to belittle the severity of the situations that our real troops face in any way, btw.] She was obviously disappointed, but didn't cry or throw a fit. She just bravely endured the whole situation. The director of the evening called her the "hero of the night". Little Gal herself seems to be completely over her disappointment...she was even singing "I'm Just a Flag-Wavin' American" with her sisters this morning, a huge grin on her face. (I, on the other hand, will probably never be able to listen to that song again without thinking of last night!)
I am so proud of my girl, and can only pray that I will remember this little lesson as the girls grow and face new challenges through each period of their life.
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