Oh Say Can You See

Last night we had National Anthem Night for FHE. We heard the Belgian national anthem:
(Which is sung without salute of any type except by those in uniform. It can be sung in French, Flemish or German, all nationally recognized languages. I chose French because that's what Quentin speaks)

Brabançonne
Ô Belgique, ô mère chérie,
À toi nos cœurs, à toi nos bras,
À toi notre sang, ô Patrie !
Nous le jurons tous, tu vivras !
Tu vivras toujours grande et belle
Et ton invincible unité
Aura pour devise immortelle :
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté !
Aura pour devise immortelle :
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté !
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté !
Le Roi, la Loi, la Liberté !

courtesy of Quentin

and then the Korean national anthem,(I did not use the Kanji) Which is sung with hand on heart, like America's.

Aegukka
Donghae mulgwa Baekdusani mareugo daltorok
Haneunimi bo-uhasa uri nara manse

CHORUS:
Mugunghwa samcheolli hwaryeo gangsan
Daehan saram Daehan euro giri bojeonhase

Namsan wie jeosonamu cheolgapeul dureundeut
Baram seori bulbyeon naneun uri gisang ilse
CHORUS
Gaeul hanal gonghwal hande nopgogu reumeopsi
Byalgeun dalgeun uri gasim ilpyeon dansim ilse
CHORUS
Igi sangnwa imam euro chungseongeul dahayeo
Goero una jeulgeo una nara sarang hase
CHORUS

courtesy of Won.

After they shared their country's songs, we graced them with a family presentation of America's national anthem. It was so much fun!

Spoken Words

I have been so neglectful of late, not taking time to thank those in my life who give time to listen and encourage. There are days when I allow myself to draw so inward that I close out much of the light around me. It is with happy and grateful heart that I find myself blinking at the brilliance of your friendship and love. What a world to live in, one that provides all the remedies to fear and despair through the kind word of a friend.

The Home of Your Life

The light switched on in the home of my life. A conscious decision has been made and I am glad that somehow I have accepted the structure of it. Not a "well, I guess this is as good it's going to get" thing but an "I'll wrap my arms around whatever comes in the door of my life each morning and tackle/love it head on". I'll find a place for it somewhere. Good experiences hung on the walls for display, unhappy moments tucked into the closets and stored, perhaps to be taken out later and reexamined for greater worth than originally thought. Some things will take time to place, others have a perfect spot waiting for their arrival.
Accomplishment in life comes from working through each day, finding a place in the home of your life for each and every experience.

Soot

I've lived on top of my life for a very long time. That is to say, I've floated above or skirted around it. I suppose actually that I have never really delved much beneath the shiny exterior of the day-to-day of it. I have always prided myself on my ability to be unaffected by major events, non-reactive except in controlled environments. It's funny how some things make us look down into the inside stuff. While I would never, if shown before hand, chosen to experience the last two years I cannot be anything but gratefully changed by them. Life is dirty and messy in a one-year-old-experiencing-cake-for-the-first-time kind of way. It's the hands on, "that mark won't come off" kind of life I would so eagerly choose to live now. It's the glory of experience, both good and bad, that make us who we are. And while living a smooth life is good, there is something to be said about seeing your best laid plans go up in smoke. Invariably I find myself amazed at the beauty and better paving of the path that lay ahead after the smoke clears and the fire dies out. In fact, I would say scorched and sooty paths might be the best for walking.

Le Fantasme

I have a fantasy. (Don't worry, it's rated "G".) In my fantasy I am in a high mountain meadow and I am surrounded by music. Loud, wonderful music. I have often spent unfilled moments pondering the feasibility of said fantasy, working out logistics and details, just to see if I could actually make it work. Thus far I decided I need a huge, silent generator and even bigger speakers. The playlist shifts from time to time depending on my mood and activities but for the most part, I am alone with my music overlooking a great expanse of nature and basking in the warmth of the sun.

I experienced my fantasy in a small way last week. I had the great chance to go to the symphony with a dear friend and by the time I had listened to a stirring presentation of three separate adagios and a piano concerto, I was primed and ready for the main event; Dvorak's "New World Symphony".

As I sat in the first row of the balcony, overlooking a great expanse of stage and instruments I felt the spiritual transportation that only music can provide. I closed my eyes only to wish, for a moment, my spirit could shed it's human shell and fly into the music filled air. In that moment I had the thought that classical music is humanity's way of trying to speak God's language. It is all we cannot express with our limited languages. It is feeling mixed with consciousness mixed with hope, expressed in a moment when hours of preparation and sacrifice combine.

While I was admiring the talent of those artists performing before me, I realized that only when such sacrifice has been made could such a moment of transfiguration be accomplished. It is truth, it is the way God works with us. The entire act of practice, giving up other things for perfection, is but an example of the purpose of our lives. It is heaven's way of reminding us what we can be if we choose a better path. I am grateful for the beauty of music and last Thursday I was happy to feel a little closer to God.

Days Like These

I love the nights when I go to bed and really feel like the day that I am completing was better than most. I've been lucky to have a couple of them in a row this week and I'm feeling pretty awesome. As I've lain down to sleep, I have mentioned to my hubby that I would be okay if this day repeated a couple of times, that it's worth doing twice.

Gotta love those tender mercies!

Down On My Knees

I have begun the new year seeking a closer relationship with the Savior. It has been such a wonderful experience to really focus on him and sincerely seek to make changes in my life. One thing has caught my attention; it's the practice of kneeling when I pray. Let me just say, I am lazy. I have been of the mind that it's okay to sit in my bed and say my prayer. I always said to myself, "at least I sit up" or "it really doesn't make that big a difference whether or not I kneel." Then today I had the thought. "How is it in my life that I seek to follow him with exactness and fail to do such a simple task?" I have asked him for so many things. I have pleaded with him for comfort and peace and yet....I am so stubborn about actually getting down on my knees.

I have thus added this simple act to the list of things I can change in my life to be closer to him. Some in the world would see this as a sign of subjugation or weakness. I would say that in fact it is a sign of spiritual strength and humility and even more so, a symbol of respect. It is, really, the least I can do.