December 14th, National Childrens Memorial Day: Candle Lighting Ceremony & Proclamation

Open Arms for Empty Hearts will be holding the annual candle lighting event on December 14 at London Bridge Beach.  The event begins at 6:30pm to ensure that everyone has their candles ready to light at 7pm.  As most of you know, this is an event that is held around the world and candles are lighted at 7pm in each time zone so that candles can burn continuously across the continent, in memory of our children lost too soon.  This event is open to everyone, so please pass the word.

Also note that the Open Arms for Empty Hearts will hold their December meeting on Thursday, December 11th, the day before the Candle Lighting Ceremony.

Please note that starting in 2015, Open Arms for Empty Hearts will begin meeting on the 1st and last Thursday of each month.  Since the 1st Thursday in January is New Years Day, our first meeting of the new year will be the last Thursday of the month, January 29th. 

Please note the following Proclamation signed by the honorable Mayor, Mark S Nexsen, Mayor of Lake Havasu City, Arizona:

Office of the Mayor Lake Havasu City, Arizona Proclamation

"NATIONAL CHILDREN'S MEMORIAL DAY"

December 14, 2014

WHEREAS, approximately 80,000 infants, children, teenagers, and young adults of families living throughout the United States die each year from countless causes; and

WHEREAS, the death of an infant, child, teenager; and young adult of a family is considered to be one q/the greatest tragedies that a parent or family will ever endure during a lifetime; and

WHEREAS, Open Arms for Empty Hearts is a supportive group that provides empathy and understanding in the healing process for a family that is coping with and recovering from the loss of a loved one; and

WIIEREAS, Open Arms för Empty Hearts is open to all moms who have lost a child or in some instances, children: and

WHEREAS, Open Arms for Empty Hearts observes National Children 's Memorial Day every year along with others around the world, in every time zone at 7:00 p.m. on the Sunday of December in remembrance of loved ones that have passed on; creating a 24-hour international candle lighting ceremony that encircles the globe.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mark S Nexsen, Mayor of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, do hereby proclaim Sunday, December 14, 2014 as

"NATIONAL CHILDREN'S MEMORIAL DAY"

in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and urge all citizens both in public ceremonies and in private thoughts and prayers to honor the children we have lost, the children who have lived and died and who, even in death, continue to matter.

The Journey Group Meetings resume this Thursday Oct. 24th 10am-12N - Join Us

For mom's in the Lake Havasu City area, we are pleased to let you know that The Journey Group will begin meeting for the Fall 2013 thru Spring 2014 sessions on Thursday 10/24 at 10 a.m. until noon at the Lake Havasu City Aquatic Center, Rooms 153 & 154.  

A schedule of up-coming sessions will be part of your 10/24 hand-out material.  Please make note of the dates and we will also note reminders of the dates here as well..

If you have a friend or know someone who is a bereaved Mother, PLEASE email or phone me.  I will make contact with her, personally inviting her to the Journey Group.  I will follow up by sending a letter and brochure.  

Also, IF you have any suggestions you would like to make for the meetings........I.E. something special you think we should do;  a project we might consider to review........PLEASE get in touch with me.  This is YOUR GROUP........not just mine.  We can do anything we choose to do to celebrate our children.   I am totally open to new and fresh ideas.   I welcome hearing from you.

Our 7th Annual Retreat will be held at the Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch the weekend of Friday 2/21/14.......Sunday 2/23/14.   Theme is "MY HEART WILL GO ON".....     Retreat information and registration forms will be available at the first meeting.  

The annual "Lights of Love" Candlelight Ceremony  will be held the 2nd Sunday of the month of December.   Location will be Calvary Baptist LHC and the date is 12/08/13 @ 6:00 p.m.  More details will follow.   PLEASE mark your calendars. 

With this said.......I hope to see each one of you soon.  Remember in Jer. 31:13  God promises HE will turn our mourning into JOY !!!    Expect it...........Look for it!!!   It is there!!!  You just have to accept it.    

Blessings, Love and PEACE in your lives ,  Joyce Floyd

Fathers Day, A Grandfather's View

~ Bill Fausett, BP Central Arkansas Chapter

Now well into my fifties and knowing Father’s Day is approaching once again, I find myself recalling my very first. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, June 16, when I became a father for the first time, a Father’s Day I will never forget. Already prepared with the traditional cigars, I had to be a turkey, strutting his stuff . Many of the Father’s Days after that were spent away from home working and never stopping to think just how special this day really is.

After my retirement, a few years back, I became a grandfather and my whole life changed. I never dreamed I would be changing diapers, giving bottles, in the middle of the floor playing dolls, or outside watching bugs, birds, butterflies, bees, squirrels, rabbits, and loving every minute of it, with the most beautiful granddaughter anyone has ever seen (my opinion, of course).

That was a special year for me. I found myself asking the wife, “Did our kids do that?” many times, and she telling me, “yes”, but you were working or just didn’t notice. My granddaughter taught me more about the beauty of life and how much I had missed in the short time she was here that I could have ever imagined!

We lost her at 13 months, 2 days, and 22 hours due to a very rare genetic disorder and again my life changed. This Father’s Day will be spent with my family and a new grandson, now two and half years old, and a great little guy. I see much of the same inquisitive nature in him. Making sure each visit he has is a good time, I think I do it out of obligation and not with the joy that I once had, but when you see that smile on his face, you know you made his day a little better and that makes it all worthwhile.

Memories are a part of our past and some become a part of our heart. At the end of Father’s Day, when everyone has gone to bed, I will sit at my desk, drink one more cup of coffee, say a prayer and, once again, tell my granddaughter just how much I love and miss her and somehow I know she knows and in my mind will hear her say, “Pa Paw, I love you too. Take time to smell the roses.”

I Will Be There (Tomorrow)

I want to thank Saundra Blade from Clinton, Indiana for sending me the link to this special website www.angelabode.com/holidayideas.html

This website, started by a mom like us, has ideas and tips from other mom’s who are grieving for their child or children during the holidays…    Here is an excerpt and special poem that I loving borrowed from the website, which I believe we can all relate to this Christmas Eve. 

May you and your family find peace this Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and I pray we find joy from our memories, even if they are sprinkled with tears..  Cherie Houston

  

I WILL BE THERE

Sharon J. Bryant

Mom, tomorrow I will be there
Though you may not see
I'll smile and remember
The last Christmas, with you and me

Don't be sad mom
I'm never far away
Your heart has hidden sight
My memory will always stay

I watched as you touched the ornaments
Sometimes a tear was shed as you did
I touched you gently on your shoulder
And on tiptoes I proudly stood

I'm only gone for a little while mom
I'm waiting for the day to be
When God calls out your name mom
We'll be together, just you wait and see

But until that time comes
Carry on as you did when I was there
I tell the angels how much I love you
There are angels here everywhere!

I stand behind you some days
When I know that you are sad
I want you to be happy mom
It would make my heart so glad

So on this Christmas Eve, Mom
Think of me as I will be thinking of you
And touch that special ornament
That I once made for you

I love you mom and dad, also
I know you know I do
And I'll be waiting here for you
When your earthly life is through

Love, Your child in Heaven

Today is Special-Join us to Celebrate Your Children

Please join us this evening, Sunday, December 11th, 2011 at 6pm in Lake Havasu City, AZ for our 10th Annual Lights of Love Candlelight Memorial, a time to honor and remember our children who have died too soon. This ceremony is non-denominational and an opportunity for all parents, grandparents, families and friends to reflect and celebrate the lives and memories of our precious loved ones. There is no fee and the candles will be provided. Everyone in the community is invited.

Where: Calvary Baptist Church Sanctuary, 1605 S. McCulloch Blvd., Lake Havasu City, AZ

Fee: None

Notes: Candles will be provided, no charge

This tradition began in 1997 and continues today by The Compassionate Friends for a Worldwide Candle Lighting which unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour to honor and remember children who have died at any age from any cause. As candles are lit at 7 p.m. local time, creating a virtual wave of light, hundreds of thousands of persons commemorate and honor the memory of children in a way that transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries. This event is intended to create a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone. Hundreds of formal candle lighting events are held and thousands of informal candle lightings are conducted in homes as families gather in quiet remembrance of children who have died, but will never be forgotten.

For those of you reading our blog in other parts of the US or the world, we would encourage you to check with your local chapter of TCF/The Compassionate Friends, your local church or other bereavement support organization - such as hospice, MADD and others... or check this website...

www.compassionatefriends.org/WCL_Misc/2011_services.aspx

December 11th-6pm - 10th Annual Lights of Love Candlelight Memorial

Mark your calendar and please join us Sunday evening, December 11^th, 2011 in Lake Havasu City, AZ for our 10^th Annual Lights of Love Candlelight Memorial, a time to honor and remember our children who have died too soon. This ceremony is non-denominational and an opportunity for all parents, grandparents, families and friends to reflect and celebrate the lives and memories of our precious loved ones. There is no fee and the candles will be provided. The community is invited. Please plan to attend our 10^th Annual Lights of Love celebration...

Date: Sunday evening, December 11^th

Time: 6pm

Where: Calvary Baptist Church Sanctuary, 1605 S. McCulloch Blvd., Lake Havasu City, AZ

Fee: None

Notes: Candles will be provided, no charge

This tradition was begun in 1997 and continues today by The Compassionate Friends for a Worldwide Candle Lighting which unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour to honor and remember children who have died at any age from any cause. As candles are lit at 7 p.m. local time, creating a virtual wave of light, hundreds of thousands of persons commemorate and honor the memory of children in a way that transcends all ethnic, cultural, religious, and political boundaries.

Now believed to be the largest mass candle lighting on the globe, the Worldwide Candle Lighting, a gift to the bereavement community from The Compassionate Friends (TCF), creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone. Hundreds of formal candle lighting events are held and thousands of informal candle lightings are conducted in homes as families gather in quiet remembrance of children who have died, but will never be forgotten.

The Worldwide Candle Lighting started in the United States in 1997 as a small Internet observance but has since swelled in numbers as word has spread throughout the world of the remembrance.

TCF has been joined in recent years by chapters of several organizations including MISS, MADD, Parents of Murdered Children, SIDS Network, Gilda's Club, BPUSA, local bereavement groups, including Journey from Mourning to Joy, churches, funeral homes, hospitals, hospices, children's gardens, schools, cemeteries, and community centers in all 50 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico . Services range in size from just a few people to nearly a thousand.

For those of you reading our blog in other parts of the US or the world, we would encourage you to check with your local chapter of TCF/The Compassionate Friends or any of the other groups noted above for..

Many groups and organizations are also listing their events on a referral site, provided by the following Link from “The Compassionate Friends List of Candle Lighting's World Wide”:

www.compassionatefriends.org/WCL_Misc/2011_services.aspx