Today is November 11th. In Canada, we’re observing Remembrance Day. In the United States, it’s Veterans Day. And today gives us a beautiful opportunity to practice something we’re learning here in Kingdom Peace & Prosperity. The first step in our P4P cycle is 𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. Attention posts aren’t necessarily about your business, your community or your offers. They’re about sharing something that has your attention and discovering who else cares about the same things you do. They’re an invitation to get to know each other. Today, I’d love to invite you to share your own story. 🇨🇦 If you’re Canadian, do you have memories of Remembrance Day growing up? Are there people in your family whose service you’d like to honor? 🇺🇸 If you’re American, what does Veterans Day mean to you? Who would you like to recognize and thank for their service? And if you’re from another country, we’d love to hear how you honor those who have served. Here's the invitation: Rather than sharing your story in the comments below, create your OWN post in our Attention category. 🚨 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙟𝙞! 𝙄𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝘼𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙨 𝙖 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋4𝙋 𝙘𝙮𝙘𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. Give us a chance to learn something about you and the people who have shaped your life. I’ll be sharing one of my childhood memories in a separate post in just a few minutes. Let’s fill our Attention category with stories of remembrance, honor and gratitude today. ❤️

When I was a little girl, probably around Grade 3, Remembrance Day was a very special part of our school year. Every November, we’d draw pictures and make posters to remember those who had given their lives in war. The Second World War was especially close to our hearts. We wore poppies. We memorized In Flanders Fields. We recited it every year. And at 11 o’clock on November 11th, we’d stop for a moment of silence. I remember one year putting so much care into my Remembrance Day poster. Our school held a contest and I won a prize! I can’t remember now if it was first or third place. I’m leaning toward third. 😊 But I remember how special it felt. It wasn’t just about winning something. I had put my heart into remembering what had happened during the war and how much I NEVER wanted something like that to happen again. That memory has stayed with me for decades. When I had children of my own, I carried that tradition into our home. Every November 11th, we’d stop at 11 o’clock for our moment of silence. Then I’d read them a special Remembrance Day picture book with the Flamder’s Fields poem before we continued with our day. It’s one of those little traditions that means so much to me. ❤️ And here’s something I didn’t realize until I started working online and connecting with more Americans. Canada and the United States honor November 11th a little differently! 🇨🇦 In Canada, Remembrance Day is a time to remember those who served, especially those who gave their lives. Our traditions have deep roots in the First and Second World Wars. 🇺🇸 In the United States, Memorial Day in May is specifically set aside to remember those who died in military service, while Veterans Day on November 11th honors everyone who has served in the U.S. Armed Forces. I’ve come to appreciate that difference. And as a Canadian, I want to say something to our American members. Thank you. I’m deeply grateful for the men and women who have served in the United States military.

Lisa's beautiful Remembrance Day post got me thinking about the stories we carry in our families. Military service has been woven through my family's history for generations. My father served. So did several of my uncles, my aunt, my brother, my stepbrother, two nephews, a great-nephew, and my husband, Todd. One of my uncles never came home from Korea. Another was a Marine who received the Medal of Honor. Growing up, these weren't just names in history books. They were people in our family. People we loved, listened to, worried about, and remembered. As I've gotten older, I've come to understand something I couldn't fully appreciate as a child. Military service doesn't end when someone takes off the uniform. My father was exposed to Agent Orange during his service. Years later, he developed prostate cancer. He died at 73. His service was part of his story, but so were the years he spent being a father, loving his family, and living with the consequences of that service. And I think about my uncle who never had those years at all. That's what Veterans Day means to me. It's remembering that behind every uniform is a person. Someone with a family, hopes, dreams, and a life that matters. Some came home. Some didn't. And some came home carrying things the rest of us couldn't see. Lisa, thank you for inviting us to share our stories. I love that a little girl's Remembrance Day poster became a memory that stayed with you and a tradition you passed along to your children. I hope we keep telling these stories, not just on November 11, but whenever we have the opportunity. Because remembering the people matters just as much as remembering their service. ❤️

I loved reading about your childhood memories of Remembrance Day in Canada! ❤️ Here in America, we celebrate our independence on the Fourth of July, but Veterans Day is especially meaningful because my brother served in the U.S. Army. I'm grateful for the men and women who have served our countries and for the sacrifices their families have made. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful memory! ❤️🇨🇦🇺🇸

I grew up reading and reflecting on the poem “In Flanders Fields” every November. But I wasn’t taught (or at least don’t remember being taught) much about the man who wrote it. His name was John McCrae and his story is one worth remembering. ❤️ John McCrae was born in Guelph, Ontario, in 1872. He was a doctor, a teacher, a poet and a soldier. He was also a man of strong Christian faith who cared deeply about people and animals. When the First World War began in 1914, he was 41 years old. He had already served in the South African War, but he volunteered again, this time as a medical officer with the Canadian Field Artillery. In the spring of 1915, he found himself near Ypres, Belgium, during some of the fiercest fighting of the war. Day after day, he cared for wounded soldiers while surrounded by death and destruction. Then, on May 2, 1915, something happened that would lead to one of the most remembered poems in Canadian history. His close friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed. He was buried in a simple grave marked by a wooden cross. And among the crosses marking the graves of fallen soldiers, wild red poppies were beginning to bloom. The following day, May 3, John McCrae wrote “In Flanders Fields.” Can you picture that? A doctor who had spent his days trying to save lives, standing among the graves of men he couldn’t save. And finding words that would help generations remember them. His poem was published in December 1915 and soon became a powerful symbol of remembrance. Those little red poppies would eventually become one of the most recognized symbols of military sacrifice around the world. But there’s another part of his story that I learned as we read his story with our family. John McCrae didn’t make it home from the war either. He continued caring for wounded soldiers in France, eventually becoming the physician in charge of medical services at a Canadian military hospital. In January 1918, he became seriously ill with pneumonia and meningitis.