*This page is dedicated to all those who have lost their lives or were injured in the terrible attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and on American Airlines Flights 11 & 77, and United Airlines Flights 93 & 175. My thoughts and prayers are with all the survivors, and the friends and families of the victims.*

"God is so big He can cover the whole world with His love, and so small He can curl up inside your heart." - June Masters Bacher

 

Battle Hymn of the Republic

~Julia Ward Howe, 1819-1910~

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgement seat;
O be swift, my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free!
While God is marching on.

Refrain: Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on!

 

                                    

 

God Bless America

~Irving Berlin, 1888-1989~

God bless America,
Land that I love.
Stand beside her and guide her,
Through the night with a light from above.

From the mountains,
To the prairies,
To the oceans, white with foam;

God bless America,
My home sweet home.
God bless America,
My home sweet home.



 

America the Beautiful

~Katharine Lee Bates, 1859-1929~

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 ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law.

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain devine.

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,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.


Amazing Grace

~John Newton, 1725-1807~

Amazing grace - how sweet the sound - that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!

Thru many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me; His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise than when we'd first begun.

 

 

August 2, 1776, After each of the delegates had signed the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams declared:

 


"We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come."*


1796, President George Washington:

"The situation in which I now stand, for the last time, in the midst of the Representatives of the People of the United States, naturally recalls the period when the Administration of the present form of Government commenced; and I cannot omit the occasion, to congratulate you and my Country, on the success of the experiment; nor to repeat my fervent supplication to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and Sovereign Arbiter of Nations, that His Providential care may still be extended to the United States; that the virtue and happiness of the People, may be preserved; and that the Government, which they have instituted, for the protection of their liberties, may be perpetual... Let us unite, therefore, in imploring the Supreme Ruler of nations, to spread His holy protection over these United States; to turn the machinations of the wicked to the confirming of our constitutions; to enable us at all times to root out internal sedition, and put invasion to flight; to perpetuate to our country that prosperity, which His goodness has already conferred, and to verify the anticipation of this government being a safeguard to human rights."*


1861, President Abraham Lincoln:

"Freedom is the natural condition of the human race, in which the Almighty intended men to live. Those who fight the purpose of the Almighty will not succeed. They always have been, they always will be, beaten."*


1884, United States Supreme Court:

"These inherent rights have never been more happily expressed than in the Declaration of Independence, "we hold these truths to be self-evident" - that is so plain that their truth is recognized upon their mere statement - "that all men are endowed" - not by edicts of emperors or decrees of parliament, or acts of Congress, but "by their Creator with certain inalienable rights and that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and to secure these" - not grant them but secure them - "governments are instituted among men."*


1961, President John F. Kennedy:

"The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God."
and
"Let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill, that we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty."*


1988, President Ronald W. Reagan:

"Let us, young and old, join together, as did the First Continental Congress, in the first step - humble, heartfelt prayer. Let us do so for the love of God and His great goodness, in search of His guidance, and the grace of repentance, in seeking His blessings, His peace, and the resting of His kind and holy hands on ourselves, our Nation, our friends in the defense of freedom, and all mankind, now and always."*


2001, President George W. Bush:

"The advance of human freedom, the great achievement of our time, and the great hope of every time, now depends on us. Our nation, this generation, will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause, by our efforts and by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail."

 

 

 

 

The following commentary was published in the Miami Herald on Sept. 12, 2001, and was written by Leonard Pitts, Jr.:


"We'll go forward from this moment.

It's my job to have something to say. 

They pay me to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering.

You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard. 

What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed. 

Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.

Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve. 

Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.

Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae -- a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though -- peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are,the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God. 

Some people -- you, perhaps -- think that any or all of this makes us weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals. 

IN PAIN 

Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel. Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before. 

But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice. 

I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with dread of the future.

In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined.

THE STEEL IN US 

You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish. 

So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of. You don't know what you just started. 

But you're about to learn."

 

Other Links:

For the text of Billy Graham's address at the National Cathedral on Friday, Sept. 14, 2001, click here.

For a Christian commentary, devotionals, and many excellent links at Peggie's Place, click here.

Click here for scriptural verses of inspiration and encouragement.

Military Dedication - my page dedicated to those who serve in our Armed Forces.

Please consider making a donation to help...American Red Cross.

Sign up to join the Presidential Prayer Team.




Finally, please join me in saying the following prayer that I received through e-mail:

National Prayer

"Lord, we come to You on bended knee,
heads bowed and our hearts filled to overflowing
with so much grief for the many people who have 
been injured and killed in our National crisis.

We ask you Lord, to give courage
and strength to those who so bravely
go to their aid. And though their hearts will
be heavy and filled with sorrow we ask Lord
that You give them the endurance needed
to help them through this difficult task.

Please give us the strength Lord,
to get through each difficult and devastating
day that faces each of us and our country. 
Protect and guide our Military that 
are now being called to duty.

We ask Lord, that You guide the leaders
of our great country in their hour of decision.
The burden that has been placed on their
shoulders during this crisis is overwhelming.
We ask that with Your infinite wisdom You
guide them gently to the right decisions.

And lastly Lord, we ask that You 
allow us all to come together as a Nation,
to stand tall and united, so that we might
help each other in our hour of need.
Amen."

 

 

"....and they will call Him 'Immanuel' - which means, God with us." ~ Isaiah 7:14,Matthew 1:23

Our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not. God is with us, even now.

"For Jesus Himself is our peace..." ~ Ephesians 2:14

 

 

 

 

Are you searching for answers? Do you want to know more about Jesus Christ? See: God's Plan.

 

 

This American Tragedy Site #431 
owned by Mary 

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