Don't Forget!

Today is Memorial Day - the day we remember and honor the sacrifices of the men and women who have fought and died for our country. When I think of this I get all choked up, as a mom with a son in the military, I do not take this for granted.

There is another man that gave His all for all mankind ... Jesus Christ! We tend to forget what our freedoms cost. We forget the sacrifice of many on a boot hill. We forget the sacrifice of one man at the hill of Calvary. Jesus asks us in 1 Corinthians to "do this in remembrance of Me." Even though this passage is speaking about taking communion, I wonder how many times we have to have a special occasion such as communion Sunday to "remember" the sacrifice?

Do we need a special day to remember our fallen soldiers or the blood of Jesus? May we never forget the sacrifice and love that was given so freely so we can live free. Take time today to reflect on what was lost so we can live! Don't forget!

Happy Memorial Day!

Our Father is the Pilot!

The following story served as a reminder to me that no matter what turbulence rocks my world, I have a daddy (my Heavenly Father) who sits in the pilot seat and makes sure my trip going home is a safe one!

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A pastor had been on a long flight between church conferences. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: Fasten Your Seat Belts.

Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."

As the pastor looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive.

Later, the voice on the intercom said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us." And then the storm broke . . .cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightning! lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.

The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm."

"Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat; she was reading a book and everything within her small world was calm and orderly."

"Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid." The minister could hardly believe his eyes.

It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, our pastor lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time.

Having commented about the storm and the behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.

The child replied, "Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home."

There are many kinds of storms that buffet us. Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into apparently uncontrollable movement. We have all known such times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be at rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being tossed about a darkened sky.

Let us remember: Our Father is the Pilot. Don't be anxious - don't worry! He is in control and He's taking us home!  -Author Unknown

THANKFUL THURSDAY...do you remember?

MEMORIAL DAY USA. Hamburgers, hot dogs, parades, homemade ice cream, a long weekend. We can do it up right when it comes to a 3 day weekend. We open up our pools, we get the boat out, we go camping, we enjoy some rest and relaxation. But do we actually take time to remember?

Do we remember what we are celebrating and honoring on this weekend?

An Army helicopter lost. Two Marines go into their foxhole but don't make it out. An Air Force fighter plane shot down. A Coast Guard ship sunken. Lives lost. Not just anybodies life..but someones husband, someones wife, a son, a daughter, a brother  - maybe a sister. A child's mother or father taken.

Lives given sacrificially so you and I can live in freedom. Free to enjoy a 3-day weekend. But with all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday weekend, so many of us forget and we don't take time to recognize the lives given. We forget the spouses, the parents and the children that have been left behind.

Today, on this THANKFUL THURSDAY, the eve before the start of another Memorial Weekend, I give thanks and praise to all the men and women who have served our country! On a personal note: I am so proud of my own son, who has served the past 4 years in the Air Force, spending a year apart from his bride ...thank you son for your sacrifice! I will always remember your bravery and sacrifice!

PSALM 33:12 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance."

This weekend, take a moment of silence, in honor of those fallen brave men and women. What a great way to remember such a sacrifice!

Dear Lord: May we never forget the great sacrifice of the men and women of our great country who have given their lives so we can be free. Most importantly God, we thank YOU for the greatest sacrifice given ...Your Son, Jesus Christ ... so we can be forgiven! - AMEN

Next week, find us over at Iris's place as she will be our TT hostess for the month of June! Today, you can join your grateful heart with ours below, link up your TT post in Mr. Linky. HAPPY TT!

WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...mission impossible

Have you ever looked at a dog and because of its size or how it looked, said, "I could never love that!" I have not only thought it but I have said it out loud.

Many times we look at people the same way. Just because others are different from us or rub us the wrong way, we decide it is impossible to love them. But is it really an impossible task to love everyone?

True love comes in the form of unconditional love (or Agape love) - this is the kind of love that comes straight from your heart. But this kind of love is really impossible to come straight from our heart because we tend to look at people like we look at unlovable pets - we don't look thru the eyes of Jesus.

I'm not talking about being kind to others or being considerate or thoughtful. I am talking about loving someone totally unconditional and unselfish. How can we love people with this agape love?

We can't! Not in ourselves that is...agape love is not something that we can do, it is only something that God can do! We can love others because He loves us so much that He chooses to express His love through us. This is how we love and accept others like He does. Without His love, we cannot love others in such an unconditional manner.

1 JOHN 4:7 "Love is from God."

It is nearly impossible to give something that you do not have. If you are looking for a kind of love that is able to withstand every pressure and you look within yourselves, you will not find it. Only those who have allowed God into their heart are able to tap into love's real power source. ("Apart from me," Jesus said, "you can do nothing." -John 15:5)

In last week's YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question: "What seems impossible for you today?" The top 3 answers were...

1. 25% of those voting said that getting out of debt seemed impossible.
2. 20% voted and said that nothing really seems impossible to them.
3. 12% responded and said that saving their marriage seemed impossible today.

What seems impossible with man is possible with God. Getting out of debt, saving marriages. It is possible! The truth of the matter is, we cannot live without God and we most certainly cannot love without Him either. Put your trust in Him today and see if your mission impossible doesn't turn around into something incredible!

A PIECE OF MY HEART...talking animals

DO YOU EVER TALK TO YOUR PETS? Often times I talk to my 3 dogs. I like to imagine what my dogs are thinking as they look up at me with their ears perked and their cute faces cocked. How shocked I would be if one day one of them just blurted out, "Yo - lady! How about getting us something to eat!" How crazy would that be?

Disney can make animals come alive and talk so why do we question that God could actually make an animal speak to us? I would definitely listen up if animals spoke to me verbally because the Lord instructed them to. Look at how God used a plain donkey to talk:

"The Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. It asked Balaam, 'What have I done that deserves you beating me 3 times.' " (Numbers 22:28)

Sometimes we just don't listen to God and He has to use extreme measures to get our attention. If you seek Him, you will find Him - but don't be surprised at the extreme measure He might use to get your attention. He may not use a talking donkey - but you never know!

And this has been a piece of my heart today;

Kindness matters!

KINDNESS. When is the last time you had someone act kind to you? More importantly, when is the last time you did something kind for someone else?

Kindness is a choice. When we feel happy or generous, it is easy to be kind but what about those days when we feel discouraged and tired? Sometimes it is difficult to even find the energy to muster up a "good morning" or "have a nice day"! God's commandment is clear to us on this subject of kindness...

MATTHEW 25:40 "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me."

The least? Does this even mean those I dont' know? or those I don't like? Kindness with a godly twist is making a conscious choice to treat others with kindness and respect - no matter what our circumstances are, no matter how we feel and no matter who comes across our path.

In the busyness and confusion of life, it is so easy to lose focus and become frustrated. When we become distracted and disappointed, we tend to neglect others and neglect this charge to us from God  - to be kind to others. This oversight not only hurts others, but it hurts us as well.

A smile. A hello. A kind word. A helping hand. A compliment. Today, slow down alittle bit and share some kindness in your world - you may not realize it but kindness really does matter!

Finding TRUST in the midst of tragedy

Tragedy hit our small community yesterday. Today, on the morning after, people are still in shock of the events that unfolded in our city, just 2 blocks from my home.

A routine traffic stop (a possible drug related stop) turns bloody and deadly as two men in the vehicle armed with high power firearms shoot and kill 2 police officers. The suspects venture to our local Wal-Mart Super Center where they engage in another shootout with officers, wounding 2 more officers. The 2 suspects were shot and killed.

Almost sounds like a "shoot em up" show on television, but for our town and community, this was reality. We have some facts, but mostly we are all asking the same question, "WHY?"

WHY? did the suspects shoot up our town?
WHY? did the officers have to die?
WHY? WHY? WHY?

PROVERBS 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend upon your own understanding."

The WHY questions may never be answered or even understood. It is in times like this that we must trust God. Even when we don't understand why bad things happen to good people, there is one thing I am sure of ... God is in control even in the midst of tragedy.

Please remember the friends and families of the 2 fallen officers in your prayers. All of the officers involved were our heroes but the ultimate heroes were BILL EVANS and BRANDON PAUDERT who sacrificed their lives to protect us.