Standing Tall in 2016….what does that mean? The January 2016 Friend Magazine published a song called, “Standing Tall” by Jan Pinborough and Janice Kapp Perry. I love the lyrics! It gives examples of people in the scriptures that stood tall and that we, too, can do the same when we are confronted with challenges.
David faced the giant
With only five small stones.
He did not fear.
He knew the Lord was near,
So David stood tall!
Esther prayed for courage
Before she faced the king.
Her faith burned bright.
The Lord was on her side,
So Esther stood tall!
When I face a challenge
That’s either great or small,
I’ll show my faith
And courage every day,
So I can stand tall!
CHORUS:
I’ll stand tall! The Savior is beside me.
He’s always there to guide me.
I do not walk alone, I’ll stand tall!
His Spirit will direct me,
His loving arms protect me.
He’s on my side, so I can stand tall!
The Friend Magazine is encouraging children everywhere to send their traced footprint along with their pledge for standing tall in 2016:
(If you’d like to learn the song, here is a music video on LDS.org to help you learn the words.)
Suzanne Wager already started teaching her Primary this song. She writes, “I created printables for the three verses (except for the chorus). Verse one, I printed on cardstock the color of stones and cut each page out to look like a rock. Verse 2, I drew a crown around each phrase on each page and printed it on yellow paper. The last verse I printed out on green paper:
CLICK HERE to open Verse 1 (pdf)
CLICK HERE to open Verse 2 (pdf)
CLICK HERE to open Verse 3 (pdf)
As they learn each verse, I will put it up on the board and practice it. I will turn around different phrases (so the children can’t see them) and see if they can remember the words. For the chorus, the children stand up taller and taller whenever it says “I”ll stand tall” and I plan to use a few actions through out the chorus. Once they have practiced the first verse enough, I will hand out a pair of rocks to each student. They can hit the rocks together to the beat (goes along with the David and Goliath story). I also put an image of Ester, David and Goliath, and a modern day child next to each verse as they were learning it. When we review the song, I will just hold up the images of the people to remind them what the verse is about.”
