Veterans Day - a little early

I will be out until next Thursday to attend a memorial service for my Grandfather. He passed away earlier this summer but we had to wait until next week to have him interned in Arlington National Cemetery. Our nation's WWII veterans are passing away at the rate of about a thousand men and women a day. Arlington performs many, many ceremonies every day. So many that my Aunt and Uncle had to wait this long. I have heard it said that our veterans fight and die for the very freedoms that we take for granted. The right to vote for our governing body is not a universal experience. The ability to smear and disagree vocally with our governing bodies. Very few other countries know first hand what we enjoy. To support our soldiers is not just a call for them to come home. It is not just to tell them that we support them. It is learning about what they experienced, and not judging what they went through. Like Theodore Rososevelt once said, "it is not the critic who coumts, but the one who steps in the ring". In Vietnam and in Iraq today - all that the American public hears about day in and day out are the casualties. Both American and civilian. Not about the lives that were saved from oppresive regimes. Not about the schools or hospitals that were built. Not about the people who now are able to leave their homes and go to the market. You want to support out troops? Go out and proclaim these victories! Go out and wave the flag of their success! Because if our men and women die and those who remain come home and all they hear about is the death... what pride are they going to feel in themselves when no one remembers their accomplishments? Our WWII veterans achieved a great and wonderful thing. They removed three very oppresive regimes. Regimes responsible for the deaths of tens, maybe even hundreds of thousands. But do you know what it took for America to get involved? It took Pearl Harbor. It took us getting a black eye before we interviened. Prior to that the Japanese had invaded most of Asia and inflicted many injustices upon Korea and China. Hitler had invaded most of Europe and interned an entire piece of the European culture known as the Jews (and others "less desirable"). I once read a Chinese tale. I do not know if the story is true, or if it is just a proverb - but it rings true. This is to the best of my memory so please bear with me... The Emperor of China was walking with his physician in his garden. The Emperor asked his physician, "Who is the greater physician, you or your brother?" The physician replied, "my brother is the greater. He sees illness a far off, before it takes form and treats it. Where as I treat the illness after it has taken form, and therefor I receive the greater recognition. but my brother treats it before it is widly known." Hindsight is 20/20. Epsecially when there are things to be seen in hindsight. But if something is prevented where is the concreate, without doubt, type proof? There is none. There are a lot of things I do not agree with in regards to those who govern this country (and my state and city), but God has inplaced all authority on this Earth. Democrat, Republican. Democratic and dictator. I do not understand it all but I do know it all works together for His glory. If you want to support our troops (and this goes for the other nations with soldiers in harms way) do not pound and beat down all the bad that is going on - seek out the good that has been accomplished - and rejoice and proclaim those accomplishments. Then you are supporting those soldiers and sailors. Updates: Samurai Yarns Verse for today: Colossians 1 : 15-20, ESV The Preeminence of Christ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by [6] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

The basics

Ever have one of those ah-ha! moments? Most of us do. Ever have one where the ah-ha is not necessarily a good one? This morning I had one of them. Two of them actually. The first one was that I do not have any real deep friendships. The Lord has blessed me with several friends. All of whom I would go out of my way to help with things - even go out in the middle of the night to help. People who I would do most things for, and I think they would return such actions (even initiate some actions on my behalf) - but I do not really know them, and they do not really know me. I have friends from the National Guard. I still get e-mails from one guy I have not seen face to face since at least 1992. I have guys in the National Guard now that I dig into my pockets when they need things, and the same for me. But I do not know them. I see them 2 or 3 days a month and we go our seperate ways. Guys closer to home, guys whos weddings I have been in, that we call each other maybe once a month. We say we need to get together but never do. The other was how poor of a worker I have been of late. For the past 18-24 months my mind has been a whirlwind. Some of that has been reflected here, but not all of it. It is not that I have been a bad worker all the time, but I know I could have been doing better. We are to work as if the Lord Himself was our boss - and I have not been doing that. Well, that is about as deep as I care to get right now. Besides... I need to get back to work. :) Updates: None Verse for today: Colossians 1 : 15-20, ESV He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by [6] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Mass confusion

Well, today has been yet another whirlwind of trying to keep my head above water. Thank you all for your prayers in regards to my possible business venture. If the Lord moves this forward I will outline it some here. But for now I have just sort of put out feelers and sought some counsel in person. It seems like it will be a good ministry opportunity as well. My Panthers lost a heartbreaker this Sunday against the Bengals. I read in the Charlotte Observer that the Panthers feel that the Bengals essentially got a gift. That the interception in the endzone was because the Bengals were not in their proper coverage. Well, if the defender comes away with the ball, and the offense does not have anything to show for it - I would say that the defense was right where they needed to be. I mean, that's their job - to stop the offense from scoring points - and that is exactly what the Bengal's defense did. This weekend the Panthers will take on the Cowboys at home on Sunday night football. The Panthers are 5 point favorites and have a history of not making the spread (of late) at home. I have several friends who are Cowboys fans. Should make for a fun night. I had to go to the doctor today (thus why I am a little late). I will be having an 'upper endoscopy' just after Thanksgiving. I have been having cronic pain just below my sternum and have been taking things like Prilosec for months now. I will also be having an x-ray done next week for some chronic pain in my neck, shoulders, and back. For some time now I've had chronic neck pain that radiates down through my back and shoulders. Both of these items have been little 'annoyances' that have finally gotten to the point I want to take care of them. One thing I want to write in passing - mostly because I am confident that I do not get too many readers - is that I missed two opportunities this past weekend, and I am kicking myself pretty hard. I need to be more aware of my surroundings. Updates: None Verse for today: 1 Corinthians 12 : 12-20, ESV For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves [4] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, [5] yet one body.

Opportunity?

Well someone has approached me regarding a business opportunity. For those who do... please pray for wisdom. If it is God's will - please pray for Him to open doors. I had a lot more to write up, but this morning has been kind of crazy... if something comes to mind again later I'll tack it on. :) God Bless... Verse for today: Luke 12 : 16-21, ESV And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

On rappel !

Well my long drill weekend is over. It was fun, but long and my body is a little sore and a lot tired. :) Friday morning the bus that was contracted to take us down to AP Hill did not show. It turned out that there was a miscommunication between the bus company and whoever in my chain of command that arranged it. So to cut that long story short we arrived over two hours late. We were taken straight to the "zero range". That is where the soldier takes their weapon and put bullets down range in groups of three. After each group you walk down range to look at the target and then make adjustments as needed. It took me two roations through to get the weapon where I wanted it, but that is mostly because on my first rotation I wanted to zero without using the sand bags to steady my aim. My thinking was it would better prepare me for the qualification range (more on that below). Well, once I used the sandbags I had no trouble. But I still, fired up all 18 rounds that I was provided. I just really like target shooting and I never get to do it in my civilian life. Because we arrived later than we were supposed to that was all we got accomplished on Friday. On Saturday I got over to the qualification range. The entire brigade was on post so I knew that if I wanted to do anything else for the day I had to get quailified on my rotation. But due to the sheer numbers of people on the ground it took me until 11:45 to even get my chance. While waiting around I ran into my brother. He had joined up about a year ago to finish out his 20 years (he did 15 active before deciding to get out). He was on the rotation prior to mine so I paid attention to his lane number and listened for his score as he was coming off. He scored a 28. Not great, but it qualifies. To be fair he usually scores in the 30's (at least that's what he tells me). So I told my partner that I had better score at least that much. :) I got down into the foxhole and set up the sand bags, but to hit the right 50 meter target I had to really contort my body. Good thing those targets are fairly easy to hit. When the qualificaiton began I was aiming too high. When I first joined the Guard back in '86 the M16a1 you aimed about neck level for the 250 and 300 meter targets so I sent several rounds sailing too high, but after about 5 shots I realized what I was doing wrong and adjusted. They did not break down how I did in each group so I am not sure how well I did. After that I climbed out and got set for the prone unsupported portion. I settled in and began pretty well. Then the weapon tried to feed two rounds into the chamber. Quite frustrating, but with some guidance from my partner I got it cleared up. In the end I too scored a 28, but I brought three rounds back to the tower unfired. So I just had to tell my brother, "I didn't want to show you up in front of your 'boys' so I scored a 28 as well and brought three rounds back to the tower." I loved that. By this time it was after noon. I got the group of soldiers that were from my battery and had qualified so far. We were given the option of either hitting the land nav course or the rappel tower. No choice to be made there - the rappel tower! :) There's not really too much to get into, but I did my first Australian rappel on Saturday. That was a blast. The first time I went out over the edge and was horizontal to the ground - looking straight down - I had to take a deep breath. One guy snapped a picture on his phone and said he would e-mail it to me, but I am not all that hopeful. If he does I promise to post it. It was a lot of fun, but I have a couple of new 'tattoos' to show for it. A small rope burn on one arm, and a good bruise and rope burn on my belt line. I am going to miss this when my retirement becomes official. Updates: None Verse for today: 1 Corinthians 1 : 18-26, ESV For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Catfight

This Sunday will pit my favorite football team, the Carolina Panthers, against the Cincinnati Bengals. A few years ago I might have had a little more confidence in the Panthers chances but the Bengals look fairly impressive the past couple of years. Last yeart hey won the AFC North title, and this year they are doing a good job at repeating that feat. The 'line' favors the Bengals by 3 points, but that is a given amount for homefield advantage. Basically the odds makers are saying that this is a pretty even game. ESPN has pointed out that the receivers for the Bengals, Chad Johnson and Houjzmanzada (I just know I murdered that spelling) have both been big playmakers for the Bengals this year. Julius Peppers will be facing off against a rookie so I am liking that match up. One area I am a little concerned about it the Panther's receivers and Jake Delhomme against the Bengals secondary. I have read that the Bengals have interceptions in each game so far this year. With me having drill this weekend (no I am not retired yet) I will have to follow this game via my cell phone. I am hoping that the Panthers will break the trend of losing the last game of a 3 game run against the AFC (this is the 3rd time in the Panthers history that this has happened). I pray that you all have a wonderful weekend as I will not be back until Monday. Updates: None Verse for today: Revelation 22 : 1-7, esv Then the angel [1] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life [2] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants [3] will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. Jesus Is Coming And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

The consequenses of poor choices

A co-worker came into work this morning and shared a drive-through story. You know those stories. You just want to grab a quick meal/snack/whatever and then something happens. What you thought should only take a minute or two turns into ten minutes or more. In his story the car in front of him contained two "very large" people and the amount of food they were getting was a lot apparently, "and of course they had a handicaped license plate". Now I am not sharing this story to comment about people buying a lot of food, or how the driver or owner came to be handicapped. What I am commenting on today is how many times am I 'suffering' because of a poor decision I have made? Today I have a pair of bad shoulders and knees. Both are the result of poor choices I made when I was younger. My shoulders are the result of an attempt to lift a pair of very heavy objects into a helicopter one handed (one in each arm). I was full of adrenalin and youthful arrogance. Instead of setting one item down and putting the other in, then getting the next one I attempted this stunt - which did not work anyway. The next day I could not lift my arms abouve about a 25 degree angle! And today I still have trouble with them. My knees are the result of pushing myself in a 2 mile run in Air Assault school. When I went through this school the Army still required the candidates to run the distance in boots. I have never really been a very smooth runner anyway, but in boots there was no shock absorbtion. Both my knees swelled up and I went to the medics. When I was told that if they reported my knee problems I would be going home. Well, there was no way I was going to quit so I popped two asperin every night and elevated my knees with pillows from the guys that had been washed out. Today my knees still ache and it has caused back problems and everything. My point is this... none of us make good choices all of the time. I'm willing to be the sun will not set without us each making at least one bad decision. There may or may not be any consequences to them, but they are all there. Updates: None Verse for today: Romans 3 : 21-26, esv But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.