Showing posts with label Military. Show all posts

We pray for the close friends and family of General Norman Schwarzkopf, military commander in Desert Storm.

Let us not forget the generals:

Here's another old love poem written more years ago than I can admit. It talks about two lovers who, for whatever reason, are separated for a time. While all the love poems I've ever written are for my Bride and my Lord, I'd like to dedicate this one especially to all those who have to be away from their Love for a season (think "military" who are deployed away from theirs because they are serving us):

#11: I am thankful for our veterans.

Some days are easier than others. Because today is Veteran's Day it is just natural that I would be thankful for veterans (past, present and future).

I'm thankful for the American Vets of the past because they taught us that freedom was something worth fighting for, worth standing for, worth living and even dying for.They gave us principles--do the words "taxation without representation" mean anything to you? Later vets continued to defend freedom and to keep our country safe from invaders who would seek to remove from us the freedoms that had already been bought at an extremely high price.

Present vets are those who have retired from military service, but are still around for us to thank. Most served in battles like Viet Nam, and Desert Storm. Some may have even seen action in Korea (dare we reach all the way back to WWII--the Great War--or to WWI--the War to End All Wars). When you see them on the street, in the store, or at church this weekend, be sure to give them a hearty thank you for their service.

And let's not forget those who are currently serving our country--stateside, or deployed in places like Germany, Afghanistan, or elsewhere across the globe. You may know someone who's in one of our fine branches of the military so that you don't have to serve--thank 'em. You may be related (or perhaps even MARRIED) to one of these heroes (generic term)--thank 'em. You may not personally know anyone who is military, but when you see one as you travel around (you can usually point them out--they'll be the one in uniform) thank 'em. They don't get to be appreciated nearly as much as they ought.

Thanks Taylor, David, David, Beau and Jamie (some are present friends, others are former students, all are modern-day heroes).

I'm thankful for our Veterans.

It's Veteran's Day. So . . .




or . . .



or . . .

Today, I would like to honor actually two groups—the temporal and the spiritual.

A heartfelt salute goes out to those men and women who have dedicated their lives to the cause of patriotism. We have military stationed at home and abroad that work daily to protect those “certain unalienable Rights” which were endowed by our Creator. We gladly live in a nation that bases its freedoms on the ideology that men can disagree with governmental decisions and make that disagreement known—broadcasting it venomously to all who will listen. I believe, however, that we ought to offer our heartfelt support to our military personnel wherever they may serve. They are heroes with a capital HEART. We should be thankful to God and to these people that they are on the job protecting our American ideals whenever they serve.

On the other side of the coin, serving around the world are people who take their relationship with Christ so seriously, that they have surrendered their lives, their careers, even their families, to the spread of the gospel. These people are known as missionaries. They carry the message of Jesus Christ to the world around them, whether it is at the corner store in Backwater, North Carolina, or at an outpost in the Zambizi desert. We as a church have romanticized missionary work to the point of placing missionary personnel on a pedestal picturing them as demigods. The reality is that missionaries are simply heroes—ordinary people doing extraordinary things. The difference between missionaries and ordinary believers is that they live to advance the Kingdom of God.

One group protects our Constitutional freedom.

The other advances our freedom in Christ.