My sister, the Fabgrandma, has another blog that I write on sometimes too. The blog site is: Jogging in Turtle Time and each day has a theme that you write your blog about for that particular day. I am coping my blog and posting it here as well.....So here is my What if Wednesday Blog:

What if you had terminal illness...
I decided to blog on this subject today because the theme for the day seemed to fit. We had a little guy that worked with us here at ACE last summer, Mason. He was such a nice young man. Always polite, courteous and kind. He is the son of a teacher I had at Lithia Springs High School, Gerald Harper. Gerald and his wife had Mason and his sister later in life. I'm sure Gerald is close to 56 or so.

Mason had been diagnosed with terminal cancer (I'm not really sure what kind he had so I'm not going to guess here; if I find out for sure, I will post it in a comment)a few years back and last summer he had a relapse. He has been in both Dallas, Texas & Orlando, Florida Cancer centers. He and his Dad came home a few weeks ago from Dallas where the doctors had told them there was nothing else they could do.

So, my what if? for today is: What if you were 20 years old, with your whole life ahead of you and you were told that there is nothing else that could be done? Would you hold close the friends and family who have always been there for you? Would you spend what little time you had left making sure that those people knew how much you loved and appreciated all of the love, care & sacrifices that have been made on your behalf to have a comfortable and peaceful journey into the unknown? or would you be mad at God and everyone around you because they were going to live and you were not! Mmmmm, tough place to be.

James Mason Harper passed away today. He was twenty years old and had his whole life ahead of him only to be snatched like a thief in the night by the terrible, horrible cancer that lived in his body. From what I understand, Mason was mad. He was mad at everyone and everything that represented life. I had heard through some of his friends that they didn't think he was saved. I can only hope that Mason and Jesus were the only two that knew the answer to that. I will be praying for the Harper's and their loss of such an amazing young man.....I will also be praying that in the end, Mason was able to take the hand of his precious Lord and Savior for his journey home.

In Memory of James Mason Harper: September 7, 1988 - March 25, 2009

Annual DCCS Spring Concert 2009

One of the things I so dearly love to do is sing. Back in June of 2003, I auditioned and landed a spot in one of Douglas Counties finest Community Chorus, Douglas County Chamber Singers. I sing Tenor I for all that have a knowledge of SATB in the choral world. Over the past 5 seasons I have sang with the Chorus, many of the songs have moved me, but none like one of the pieces we are singing this Spring: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Mack Wilberg arrangement).

Wikipedia describes this piece the following way:

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing is a Christian hymn composed by the 18th century Methodist pastor and hymnist Robert Robinson. The hymn is set to an American folk tune known as Nettleton, by attribution to the evangelist Asahel Nettleton who composed it early in the nineteenth century.[1] Robinson penned the words at age 22 in the year 1757[2]. The words of the hymn are in the public domain. The song has gained a degree of popularity in recent years, in large part due to an arrangement by Mack Wilberg, which appears at the end of the BYU Choirs concert "A Thanksgiving of American Folk Hymns," recorded in April 1994, which is rebroadcast annually by hundreds of PBS affiliates.

I have posted a link to the BYU rendition for your listening pleasure. I might add that we don't have as many members in our group as BYU, nor do we have a full Orchestra, but we do have an awesome Director and an even more profound young Accompanist. It is an awesome piece. The words to the revised version are:

1. Come Thou Fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,

Mount of God's unchanging love.

2. Here I raise my Ebenezer;

Hither by Thy help I'm come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be!

Let that grace now like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander,

Lord, I feel it,Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

It serves as a reminder to me that I am covered by the

Blood of my Precious Savior, Jesus Christ and I am

Eternally Grateful for the opportunity to do what I

love to do & that He has given me a voice to Sing

His Praises.