country – Page 4 – hugsnblessings

Girders in the shape of a cross, preserved from the wreckage of the World Trade Center (WTC), stand over the WTC site in New York September 10, 2004. New York City plans to mark the third anniversary of the attacks on the trade center with an observance at the site on September 11 with parents and grandparents of victims reading their names. The American flag is reflected on the surface of the new 7 World Trade Center Building, under construction, at rear. The original 7 World Trade Center, which stood at the same location, burned and collapsed in the attack three years ago. — Girders in the shape of a cross, preserved from the wreckage of the World Trade Center (WTC), stand over the WTC site in New York September 10, 2004. The American flag is reflected on the surface of the new 7 World Trade Center Building, under construction, at rear.

Dear Lord, as we remember the evils of September 11th, let us turn our hearts and minds towards the good found only in You;
Be close to those who mourn: the parents who lost children, the children who never knew a parent, and all who lost a loved one;
Embrace this grieving nation, and let time never lessen the impact of this day; may we never forget;
Protect those who go in harm’s way to save others, and those who suffer and die to safeguard our nation;
Give wisdom to our leaders, that they may make choices that prevent another day such as this;
Convert the hearts of those who seek our destruction, and banish from the world the darkness that allows such hate to fester and grow;
Let Your love rain down upon us, and let Your peace flourish on the Earth;
All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

~Thomas L. McDonald

may we never forget…

to share a hug n’ a blessing with another,

as they both have the power to heal the world!

bippity-boppity-blog thoughts to carry through the Weekend…

(may they be patriotic for you!)

My entire immediate family is American. We (Americans) don’t often talk about that in today’s politically-correct society. And so we generally remain quietly proud of our heritage. Aware of our privelage and the possibility of dreams; we honor those who helped to provide such opportunity.

Samuel Francis Smith wrote the lyrics to “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” in 1831, while a student at the Andover Theological Seminary in Andover, Massachusetts. His friend Lowell Mason had asked him to translate the lyrics in some German school songbooks or to write new lyrics. A melody in Muzio Clementi’s Symphony No. 3 caught his attention. Rather than translating the lyrics from German, Smith wrote his own American patriotic hymn to the melody, completing the lyrics in thirty minutes.

Smith gave Mason the lyrics he had written and the song was first performed in public on July 4, 1831, at a children’s Independence Day celebration at Park Street Church in Boston. First publication of “America” was in 1832.

Lyrics:
1
My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From ev’ry mountainside
Let freedom ring!
2
My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture thrills,
Like that above.
3
Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.
4
Our fathers’ God to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom’s holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King.

5
Our joyful hearts today,
Their grateful tribute pay,
Happy and free,
After our toils and fears,
After our blood and tears,
Strong with our hundred years,
O God, to Thee.