Posted in Cathys Contemplations
Be forewarned! Kleenex alert! I never knew the whole story behind the origins of this song. It is one that is far too touching and moving to stay on a dusty old shelf destined to be forgotten. I found this story,
TAPS: The Story Behind the Bugler on the following website.
True Americans.com Thank you for sharing this with us.
TAPS: The Story Behind the Bugler
This is one of those fascinating, but little know historical facts. In his book,
Amazing but True, Doug Storers says this occurred at Harrison's Point, Va. in 1862.
We have all heard the haunting melody of "Taps." It's the song that gives us that lump
in our throats and tears in our eyes. But do you know the story behind the song?
Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain
Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison's Landing, Virginia.
The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land.
During the night, Captain Ellisombe heard the moans of a soldier who was
severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate
soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for
medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain
reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward the encampment.
When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually
a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead. The Captain lit a lantern and
suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim lighten he
saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying
music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy
enlisted in the Confederate Army.
The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission to give his son
a full military burial despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted.
The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a
funeral dirge for his son at the funeral. The request was denied since the soldier
was a Confederate. But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give
him one musician.
The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes
he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform.
This wish was granted. The haunting melody, which we now know as "Taps"
used at military funerals, was born.
Here are the little-known lyrics to "Taps"
Day is done
Gone the sun
From the lakes
From the hills
From the sky
All is well, Safely rest.
God is nigh.
Fading light
Dims the sight
And a star
Gems the sky
Gleaning bright
From afar, Drawing nigh,
Falls the night.
Thanks and praise
For our days,
Neath the sun
Neath the stars
Neath the sky,
As we go, This we know,
God is nigh.
In His Love,
Posted in Cathys Contemplations
How many readers fully comprehend the depths and the sacrifices that are now and have been made by veterans? The longer that I live, thankfully the more that I learn and understand.
After attending a beautiful worship service this morning, we bundled ourselves up and drove downtown to watch the annual Veteran's Day parade.
Along the way we marveled at the many leaves still clinging to the trees, those yellow leaves vividly enhanced by the bright sunlight that embraced the day. On one of the main streets downtown, we quickly found an opening by the curb to stand and watch. Our anticipation grew as we heard the marching bands approaching over the 17th street bridge not far off.
Soldiers from many eras of war led the parade. I didn't expect the tears to flow as they did when one of the soldiers played taps. For far too many years I had a head knowledge and knew this song was played over the fallen soldiers, but I never
really knew what it meant until the day that I heard my father, a WW2 veteran say that they were always saddened when they heard these all too familiar notes being played in the distance as it only conveyed one thing to their ears. A dear comrade has now fallen. What thoughts raced through their minds? I could've be me. It could've been me. All of the surviving veterans take no glory or honor upon themselves. There exists a common heart of understanding between them. As a civilian approaches one of these veterans to thank them for their sacrifice as I witnessed, the response is always the same and these sad words,
"the real heroes, are still over there" is all that they will say. I guess I'm a bit slow to understand at times. I looked to my dad and asked him, "what does that expression mean?" His look said it all and then I understood.
It was quite difficult to quench the tears after they began. As the bands passed us by, they continued to play patriotic songs.
The word armistice means a truce, a temporary suspension of hostilities by agreement of the warring parties.
Armistice Day came to be through the first World War when fighting between the Allies and Germany ceased. It went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918.
Armistice Day became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to
Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.
Please take the time today to reflect upon the meaning of this important holiday. How quickly we forget. May history always serve as a reminder to us all. May we embrace that which is good, true and noble. May we learn from those mistakes that we have made as individuals and as a nation, never to repeat them. May God continue to bless this country of America. May she continue to shine forth that liberty, compassion and mercy upon a hurting world.
Always Remember..........
Greater Love has No Man than this, that He Lay Down His Life for His Friends (John 15:13).
In His Love,
Posted in Cathys Contemplations
De-Stressing
Stress is something the Lord has patiently shown me how to deal with little by little throughout the years though I still need His love reminders to this day. =o) Stress is the emotional and physical strain caused by our response to pressure from without. I have learned that our response is critical. Our stress levels can run so high that the effects could bring sickness to our physical bodies. Ever had a “stress” related headache? How about stomach aches or muscle cramps? I don’t doubt that a good portion of our illnesses are brought on by high levels of stress. Stress can elevate our blood pressure! I decided to look up the definition for the word stress and I found the best description listed under “mechanics”
a. the action on a body of any system of balanced forces whereby strain or deformation results.
b. the amount of stress, usually measured in pounds per square inch or in pascals.
c. a load, force, or system of forces producing a strain.
d. the internal resistance or reaction of an elastic body to the external forces applied to it.
e. the ratio of force to area.
I say this is the best description because this is “exactly” what it feels like when I’m stressed out! We as Christians know that our adversary, the devil is thrilled to see us stressing out and worrying. As a matter of fact, in those times as the spiritual wickedness hurls those impressions toward our minds, I can just picture them hovering there with a huge pin ready and waiting to pop our strained souls!
When all around me begins to pluck my last nerve, the first thing I do is cry out to the Lord in prayer. This causes hope, even just a little to begin it’s work in us because we know that Jesus, our Lord and Savior hears our pleas. Even if all we can say is “help”, we know He is near and He will begin to answer. His Word is filled with so many, many verses that we can remember when we are stressed. Here is one of them;
Psalm 31: 1-8
1 O Lord, I have come to you for protection;
don’t let me be disgraced.
Save me, for you do what is right.
2 Turn your ear to listen to me;
rescue me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
a fortress where I will be safe.
3 You are my rock and my fortress.
For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger.
4 Pull me from the trap my enemies set for me,
for I find protection in you alone.
5 I entrust my spirit into your hand.
Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.
6 I hate those who worship worthless idols.
I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love,
for you have seen my troubles,
and you care about the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not handed me over to my enemies
but have set me in a safe place.
We are told by our Lord in His Word to resist the devil and he will flee. This is what I usually do secondly in a stressful situation. I rebuke and resist him, the devil. Sometimes our own sin natures are to blame as we feed on a diet of worry and fear even when we know this cannot and will not change anything. When we focus on our problems they can grow larger in our minds and therefore larger in life itself!
The third way I like to de-stress is by reading a good book written by a Christian author. This will help take my mind off of whatever is causing the stress.
Number four on my list is;
listening to classical piano pieces and or praise and worship music. I have also found my self cleaning when I am stressed. Listening to Godly men and women speak on my ipod is another great stress reliever for me.
In His Love,
This post originated from a homework assignment as part of the Talk-A-Latte * Organization 911! HELP for the Messy Mom! Seminar Series * By Cindy Rushton * Come and join us!
Posted in Cathys Contemplations
Good Morning and a happy May 1st to all! I found the following article very interesting to say the least. We have all heard the various sermons on Eve in the garden of Eden but I'd never read anything quite like what the author Gary Kurz has written. The author has given permission to republish the article so rather than lead you outside of the blog, I've posted the article here in it's entirety. It's rather long but I hope you have the time to read it and share your opinion with me because I am interested in your take on it!
Permission
to Republish: This article may
be republished in newsletters and on websites provided attribution is
provided to the author and it appears with the included copyright,
resource box and live website link. E-mail
notice of intent is appreciated, but not required:
(mail to: PETGATE@aol.com)
Summary: Is
it right that Eve gets all the blame for what happened in the Garden of
Eden? A refreshing look
at the facts.
Title of Article: "Eve,
Setting the Record Straight"
By Gary Kurz
There
are any number of special places in this world, places we like to
frequent, where we can get away from it all or where we can just relax and
enjoy our surroundings. For
some it may be a lake or a strand of beach, for others a park or
restaurant. Wherever that
place is, it works for us as our own "special place".
To our dismay, we usually find that it is not only special to us,
but to many others. Indeed, at
times we find there is nothing really special about "our place"
at all…it seems that a lot of other folks know about it and frequent it
as well.
Nevertheless,
it remains a place we like to spend time at.
If we are unable to do that due to circumstances or distance, we
can usually find a temporary stand-in place to spend our leisure.
The point is, that there are many, many special places in this
world, and they are not unique. One
place of beauty is often as good as another as each holds similar
attraction for us.
The
Garden of Eden was a special place too, but it was also a very unique
place. There was no other
place like in on this earth. No
other place could serve as a substitute for it.
It was one of a kind. Everything
there was beautiful and perfect. There
was no illness, fear, worries or problems.
There were no environmental issues and no threat of any sort.
The inhabitants of Eden, Adam, Eve and the animals could not
possibly need for anything…every need was met for them.
They did not have to work or toil.
They did not have to plan for or worry about the future.
There were no hurricane evacuation plans to be written, no
earthquake preparedness seminar to attend.
Eden
was maintained and
kept in perfect balance by the will and power of God.
It
was a place of harmony and serenity where people and animals lived in
peace with each other. In
fact, the wildest of predators (as we know them to be today) companioned
those who would one day become their prey.
The lion would enjoy a lazy afternoon snooze lying next to the
lamb. The bear could lick the
bee's honeycomb without any retribution from angry bees.
Then, the only nourishment consumed was the bounty of the earth,
the fruit, vegetables, grains, honey and saps.
I
suppose one could say that
Eden
was a true
"heaven on earth". It
was a place made by the Lord with great care and forethought.
His Garden was a tender environment free of sin and all the
catastrophic effects caused by it. Each
tree celebrated his majesty, each flower his beauty.
Is it any wonder that after he created it with his own holy hands,
he surveyed it and gave it his ultimate seal of approval…he said that it
was "very good".
Unfortunately,
the perfection did not last as long as God would have wanted it to.
Something was amiss in
Eden
.
Change was coming. That
wily serpent introduced temptation into God's perfect setting and
temptation brought its sidekick, sin along.
There
are a lot of things we could discuss at this point: who the serpent was;
what his real agenda was; why God allowed him in the garden at all; and, a
whole host of other issues that play on our curiosity.
No doubt each would be an interesting study.
However, allow me rather to play knight in shining armor to a
damsel in distress by keeping with the topic and setting the record
straight for Eve.
Through
the centuries and millennia of human history, this matriarch of the human
race has repeatedly taken the rap for causing the fall of mankind and
resulting expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
Consequently, the blame for the condition of the world today is
also laid to her charge. While
I readily admit that she was complicit, she does not deserve the lion's
share of the world's ire.
God
did not expel Adam and Eve from the garden after Eve sinned.
We may suppose that Eve's sin was followed quickly by Adam's, but
that does not appear to be supported by the facts.
In fact, had that been the case, Eve would have been expelled
before Adam ever was given the chance to sin and he would have escaped
that judgment. However, Eve
was not quickly expelled and substantial time was apparently allowed to
pass before Adam became a party to the fall.
That should cause us to wonder why.
Romans
5:12
is clear.
The blame for disobeying God is not laid on Eve, but rather on
Adam. It says:
"Wherefore as by one man (Adam), sin entered into the
world…"
The latter part of this verse explains that "death
has passed upon all men", because of the sin that Adam committed.
It is commonly referred to as "the curse", because all
humans are born into a life that will culminate in physical death, no
exceptions. Indeed, the Bible teaches that Adam left us an inheritance to
perpetuate this curse…we are all endowed with the Adamic or sinful
nature and it is that nature that ensures the curse is effected.
In other words, our flesh will die.
Clearly God lays the blame for the fall of mankind upon
Adam and not Eve. I may be
labeled a heretic for saying this, but it appears that Eve's sin was
almost inconsequential. I am
not trying to lessen the sinfulness of her act, for scripture tells us
that "the woman being deceived
was in the transgression". Rather,
I am attempting to show that because her sin was the result of being
beguiled or tricked, the consequence of it was primarily confined to Eve
and not the catalyst for expulsion.
God did not condemn Adam or declare the curse on all
mankind at that time. He did
not expel them immediately as there was more to this episode to unfold.
It was only after Adam himself sinned that the changes took place
in the garden and that the far-reaching, time-transcending ramifications
for sin began. The reason for
this is also clear…Adam sinned on purpose.
Eve did not. This is
not an opinion, but a recorded fact in scripture.
In I Timothy
2:14
it says in part:
"And Adam was not
deceived…"
Eve had been tricked by the serpent. She
had been lied to and led astray.
It is fair to say that she just was not thinking straight and made
a very poor and sinful decision. Not
so Adam. Adam consciously and
purposely chose to sin, knowing full well what he was doing and what the
ramifications would be.
Why would he do this? Why
would he chose to separate himself from God, from the good life he had in
the garden, and subject himself to physical suffering and death?
What would compel a man to give up perfection for decay, peace for
turmoil, and leisure for hard work and toil?
The answer may surprise you, but it shouldn't, because again, we have the
Adamic nature within us and as we discuss his motive, it should make
perfect sense to you as a
descendent of Adam. At least,
you will understand it and be able to relate to the stress he was feeling
as he went through his decision-making process.
Adam knew the rules on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
He knew exactly what God had told him about it and the taboo God
had placed on its fruit. He
had probably discussed the rules with Eve on several occasions.
In fact, as they walked in the splendor of their habitat, they
probably pointed out the tree and reminded each other of God's will
concerning it. There surely
was no misunderstanding between God and his people.
Picture the scene, if you will. The
garden was a place of beauty and wonder.
Think of the most tranquil and breathtaking scenery you have ever
seen.
Eden
's beauty far surpassed it.
The land was free of death or turmoil of any form.
Each day was a day of splendor.
Adam and Eve could eat their fill and never be overweight.
They were never ill, did not age and entertained no anxieties.
Adam was a man content and happy. There
was no sin and now consequences for it.
There had been only a brief time when Adam felt anything negative
in nature and that was loneliness before woman was made, and God took care
of that problem quickly. When
Adam awakened from the sleep induced by God, he was met with the most
pleasant looking creature, Eve.
She looked like him, and yet she was not like him.
She was made to meet his needs emotionally and physically and he
was made to meet hers. They
were a perfect match and joy not only prevailed in
Eden
, but permeated every
corner of their world. Adam
was suddenly aware of the beauty and fragrance of the flowers that had
been there all along. The
birds song seemed sweeter, the garden more alive.
Now, with Eve, there was purpose to living.
With that in mind, try to slip for just a moment into
Adam's shoes. His world had
been perfect. Eve had brought
purpose and happiness to him. But
all of a sudden, everything changed. The
perfect world was shattered. Adam
did not have to ask Eve what she had done, he could see it.
Her countenance had changed from one of innocence to that of
sensuality. Her appearance was
different. Her face reflected
concern and despair. Her flesh
began aging. She seemed
unhappy and scared.
Yes, Adam knew she had disobeyed God.
He knew immediately that the warning God had given was taking
effect. His Eve was going to
die. Already she was changing.
Already she was moving away from him in shame.
He was losing her. They
both knew it. Unhappiness
flooded into Adam's heart.
Adam had a choice to make.
Was he to give up the love of his life, and perhaps his very reason
for living, being faithful to God. Was
he to watch helplessly as God punished or expelled Eve, banishing forever
from being with him? Or would
he defy and disobey God to be with his wife.
The choice may have been painful, but it was not a hard one for
Adam to make. He loved Eve and
he chose to sin and die with her than to live forever without her.
Adam was not deceived. Adam
was not tricked. He purposely
sinned in order to be with the woman God had given to him.
There is no doubt in my mind that Adam, after a period of short
consideration, beckoned Eve to share the fruit with him.
Eve has taken the brunt of blame for the fall throughout history.
The truth is, she did what most of us probably would have done
under the circumstances. Adam
on the other hand, willfully and purposely chose to disobey God.
I don't think Eve was consciously deciding that she wanted to die,
but Adam was. So let's give
Eve a little slack when we refer back to her.
She was the first sinner, but she was not the cause for our fall.
The author, Gary Kurz, helps those grieving the loss of a
pet to understand the Biblical evidence that proves they live on.
His most popular book, "Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates"
delivers the promised comfort and hope in a gentle, yet convincing way.
Visit www.coldnosesbook.com
(where a monthly "bonus gift" is offered) or write to
Gary
at petgate@aol.com.
