AP News Iraq The twin explosions that killed Genaro Acosta on
Veterans Day destroyed even his wedding ring, but the
explosions
left his gold cross intact. "Everywhere he went, he
would not take that cross off," his brother Fernando
Acosta said. Acosta of Fair Oaks, Calif., was killed
Nov. 11 when his vehicle hit two explosives in Taji,
Iraq. He was stationed at Fort Hood. He is survived by
his wife, Roxanne Longoria Acosta.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay
down his life for his friends.
Dear Heavenly
Father, As we remember
those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, we
think of how they have followed in the footsteps of your son,
our Savior, Jesus Christ. Please hold our service men and women
in your strong arms. Cover them with your sheltering grace and
presence as they stand in the gap for our protection. We also remember
the families of our troops, and ask for your unique blessings to
fill their homes and your peace, provision and strength to fill
their lives.
May the members
of our armed forces be filled with courage to face each day and
may they trust in the Lord’s mighty power to accomplish each
task. Let our military
brothers and sisters feel our love and support. In the name of
Jesus, Amen.
They say that Winston Churchill requested that at his funeral
service in church that there be 2 buglers. One on the main floor and
one high up in the balcony. At the end of the service the
lower one would play "Taps" followed by the one high up in the
balcony playing "Revelry". The significance was that Taps signified
that his life on earth was finished but that Revelry meant it was
the dawn of a new eternal life in heaven for him.
"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they
protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they
perform for us in our time of need. I ask this in the name of Jesus,
our Lord and Savior. Amen."
Each year we give this tribute
Out of thankfulness and love
For your loyalty and courage
Virtues that set you above.
We’ll never forget you gave your all
That others can be free
You paid the ultimate earthly price
Immortal you will ever be.
We walk the byways, streets of towns
Country lanes, through parks
At ease, at peace, possible because
Of missions upon which you embarked.
When there is no setting sun
And tides stretch out o'er all the land
No birds to fly, no songs to sing
Then we'll come and take your hand.
For now we won't forget
An emptiness your parting left
You gave your life in freedom's call In God’s eyes you're ever blessed.
For each soldier that has fallen so that
many may stand
We honor their spirit as they pass to God's hand
For without their sacrifice we would live forever in fear
We pray for their loved ones and provide a salute and a tear
God help us heal the wounds of hate and the misery of war
That is our gift to our fallen heroes that are amongst us no more
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.
Amazing Facts
about Eagles Our Nations Symbol
One of the many amazing facts about eagles is the way they respond
to an approaching storm. Other birds sense that storm coming and
they head for cover. Oh, but not the mighty eagle. No, he literally
sits on the edge of his nest, waiting expectantly for the storm to
come. When it does, he locks his wings in an ascending position and
he uses the storm's strong winds to help him spiral round and round,
rising higher and higher all the time. Ultimately, the eagle begins
to see sunlight around him and the storm below him. He rides the
storm until he rises above the storm.
All eagles are
renowned for their excellent eyesight, and the
bald eagle is no exception. They have two
foveae, or centers of focus, that allow the
birds to see both forward and to the side at the
same time.
Eagles, like all birds,
have color vision. An eagle's eye is almost as large as a
human's, but its sharpness is at least four times that of a
person with perfect vision. The eagle can probably identify
a rabbit moving almost a mile away. That means that an eagle
flying at an altitude of 1000 feet over open country could
spot prey over an area of almost 3 square miles from a fixed
position.
An
eagle isn't born knowing how to fly. Just like us learning
to walk, they need to learn to fly and it's actually a
pretty traumatic experience. Mama Eagle takes you high for a
ride on her back and then she dumps you. Suddenly, you are
hurtling through the sky with the ground below racing toward
you. All the while, Papa Eagle is circling overhead, just
watching. In a panic, the little eagle remembers watching
Mom and Dad use these feathery things at their sides, so he
clumsily extends his wings and starts flapping them
frantically. It's a good start, but it's not enough to save
him from this rapidly approaching disaster below. At that
moment, Papa Eagle suddenly swoops downward at eye-blurring
speed, flying straight for his falling child. And in a
perfectly timed rescue, the father swoops in under his baby,
catches him on his back, and takes him back to the sky.
That day of his first attempt to fly, the
junior eagle learns a very important lesson - your father
can fly faster than you can fall. So can yours. Your
Heavenly Father, that is. If there's been a time when you
have put your total trust in Jesus Christ to be your rescuer
from your sin, then the great God of the universe is your
Father. And no matter how fast or how far you may fall, He
can always fly faster than you can fall. He catches His
falling children.
We Must Remember
We pause on this Memorial Day, a
brief moment in time,
To bring close to our hearts those memories we hold so dear
Of the men and women before us who unselfishly put their dreams,
their lives on the line.
Where danger lay as a stalker,
waiting to take away each breath, while the soldier
plowed with determination the furrows of death.
We must remember, we must, you and I,
those special heroes who chose to fly,
to fly the skies of blue that turned as dark as the midnight sky,
Their wings began to shudder as smoke choked their breath away,
And hope gave way to the resignation, "Today, I'm going to die."
Treading the waters so deep and wide,
Men and women continued on their mission,
For God and country, their hearts would abide.
Surprised by attacks with brutal disregard for human life,
they fought to the end, knowing that life and limb would be lost,
whether of self or friend.
Yes by land, by sea, and in the skies,
they fought for our land,
they fought for freedom so that you and I might stand,
Stand for what is right, for what is good and true,
fight that we might say without fear, "God loves you."
Yes, we must remember, for freedom is not cheap,
for lives and limbs were lost so that we might keep,
All the things that we can have and all the things we can do,
Like cars and boats and a house with a roof,
Like going to church without fear,
and reading the Bible where we find the truth,
The truth of knowing that whether we are red, yellow, black,
or white,
We are all God's children and we need to learn to love one another
as God first loved us.
For if there is to be peace on earth,
where all men and women are free,
it must begin with each and all of us,
let it begin with you and me.
A Hero Who Gave Up Fame & Wealth
A
special prayer for the family of Spc Patrick Tillman
(Army)
A True Hero who gave up a
career with the Arizona Cardinals
Football Team and volunteered to fight for freedom.
He gave up personal glory and wealth for a greater glory.
http://www.iraqwarheroes.org/tillman.htm
St Peters Lutheran Church
Schaumburg Illinois
202 East
Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg, Illinois 60194-3593
• Church Phone (847) 885-3350 ••• Church Fax (847) 885-1106
• • School Phone (847) 885-7636 ••• School Fax (847)
882-9157 •
Have you ever wanted to say "thank
you", but didn't?
Next time, say it. Here's how... the gratitude
campaign
The sign we are using is intended to communicate
"thank you from the bottom of my heart. "
To make the sign simply place your hand
on your heart
as though you're saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Then
pull your hand down and out, bending at the elbow
(not the wrist), stopping for a moment at about the
belly button with your hand flat, palm up, angled toward
the person you're thanking.
According to Norman Heimgartner, Ed.D.,
author of “Behavioral Traits of Deaf Children” and
former Professor of Education at the University of Puget
Sound, this sign originated in France in the late
1700’s, and was published in “Theorie des Signes”, a
dictionary of signs by the Abbe Sicard. The sign was
brought to the United States in 1816 by the Reverend
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, founder of Gallaudet
University, who later modified it to start at the chin
rather than at the heart. That sign is now the standard
sign for “thank you” in American Sign Language. The
original sign, starting at the heart, is less commonly
known today and might now be considered “slang”.
Dear Heavenly
Father, 
The twin explosions that killed Genaro Acosta on
Veterans Day destroyed even his wedding ring, but the
explosions
left his gold cross intact. "Everywhere he went, he
would not take that cross off," his brother Fernando
Acosta said. Acosta of Fair Oaks, Calif., was killed
Nov. 11 when his vehicle hit two explosives in Taji,
Iraq. He was stationed at Fort Hood. He is survived by
his wife, Roxanne Longoria Acosta.
Amazing Facts
about Eagles Our Nations Symbol
A
special prayer for the family of Spc Patrick Tillman
(Army)
