America the Beautiful

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned - stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life !
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

Reach the World- The Shiloh Quartet

Created by Nathan of MyDogMurphy.com

Newcomers In Heaven

Two thousand one, nine eleven
Five thousand plus arrive in heaven
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait
A bearded man with stovepipe hat
Steps forward saying,
"Lets sit, lets chat"
They settle down in seats of clouds
A man named Martin shouts out proud
"I have a dream!" and once he did
The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."
Groups of soldiers in blue and gray
Others in khaki, and green then say
"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"
The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."
From a man on sticks one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear.
The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,
trust us sir, we've passed that test."
"Courage doesn't hide in caves
You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"
The Newcomers had heard this voice before
A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannisport shores
A silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus
that day
"Back on Earth, we wrote reports,
 Watched our children play in sports
worked our gardens, sang our songs
Went to church and clipped coupons
We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought

Unlike you, great we're not"
The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, "don't talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see
You died for freedom, just like me"
Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of rubbled streets and twisted beams
Death, destruction, smoke and dust
And people working just 'cause they must
Hauling ash, lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell
But not alone
"Look! Blackman, Whiteman, Brownman, Yellowman
Side by side helping their fellow man!"
So said Martin, as he watched the scene
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."
Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen haze
The soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in '44
The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow - but I don't see fear."
"You left behind husbands and wives
Daughters and sons and so many lives
are suffering now because of this wrong
But look very closely. You're not really gone.
All of those people, even those who've never met
you
All of their lives, they'll never forget you
Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together, together as one.
With that the man in the stovepipe hat said
"Take my hand," and from there he led
five thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven
On this day, two thousand one, nine one eleven

Author unknown
 

 You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news
On  September 11, 2001. Neither will I.
 I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called
 his wife to say "Good-Bye." I held his fingers steady as he dialed.
 I gave him the peace to say, "Honey, I am not going to make it,
 but it is OK...I am ready to go."
 I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their
children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and
 as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.
 

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out
to Me  for help. "I have been knocking on the door of your heart for
 50 years!" I said.   "Of course I will show you the way home -
only believe on Me now."
 

 I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the
 injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock
 in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered.
 I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every  prayer.

 I was with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very
 hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that
 their faith has saved them.
 I was in Texas, Kansas, London. I was standing next to you when you
 heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me?
 I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew every name -
though  not all know Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor.
 Some sought Me with their last breath. 
 Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames;
"Come to Me... this way... take my hand." Some chose, for the final
 time, to ignore Me. But, I was there.
 I did not place you in the Tower that day. You may not know why,
 but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment
 in time, would you have reached for Me?
September 11, 2001 was not the end of the journey for you.
 
But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as
well. Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment,
 you know you are "ready to go."
 I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.
 God
 author unknown



 

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