Goodbye, Daddy...

Engrossed with the task at hand, I was subtly aware of the soft silence that had creeped over the noisy chatter of the college classroom. Subconsciously aware that the atmosphere had changed I looked up to survey my surroundings. A student next to me asked, "Who's that man?" I looked in the direction that she referred to and saw a very tall and strong man in blue jeans and a buttoned shirt sporting boots and a cowboy hat. His hands were large and strong looking. His face and arms revealed that he was a person who had spent a lot of time in the strong Texas sun. The stranger's gaze was direct, almost piercing, definitely subjugating all who had turned to look his way. However it was obvious that he was there without malicious intent and held no ill will towards anyone. This tall Texan had a very self-assured stance, and it was clear that he was accustomed to having a commanding presence over all that he surveyed. In fact, one had a sense that this man was God's representative of honor, a person who had surpassed the simplicity of drawing a line in the sand between right and wrong. He was a virtual wall between good and evil, principles and deceit, justice and inequity. I felt a sense of pride and an indescribable sense of safety and warmth wash over me and simply stated, "That's my Dad."

Dad loved the land and appreciated the bounty that it brought forth. He was a dutiful steward of the earth and was a nurturer of the grasses, fields, and animals that were put in his care. A rugged individualist, Dad was an example of self-sufficiency and strength, drawing all that he needed in this life from God and what God had provided. Dad taught his children independence and gave us a sense of individuality, duty, and a strong knowledge of right and wrong.

My father, the protector and spiritual guide of my family, a tireless caregiver, a man of sacrificial love for his wife and children, and a true patriarch passed away Thursday, April 17, 2008, little more than a month before his 72nd birthday.

The heavenly hosts cried out in simultaneous sorrow and joy as they received God's faithful servant into Abraham's bosom. That night the heavens opened up and the welcoming tears of God watered the Texas Hill Country that Dad loved so much. Dad is now in a mansion on the most beautiful ranch that anyone could imagine. Fields full of grain and pastures of tall grasses. Fat livestock graze in meadows watered by gentle rains and they drink deeply from cool clear waters.

I would not want to take your reward away from you, but Daddy, I miss you terribly.

27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

Genesis 1:27-30 (NIV)

Today Needs Some Humor...

I thought that I would give you guys an update from Texas...

We will be leaving here in a little bit for Austin. Dad has his surgery today. It is the second one on this eye. The surgeon says that he won't repeat this surgery again because each time he goes in behind the eye the chances that Dad will be blind from the surgery goes up. So the surgeon says that he will remove a piece of bone from the orbit of the eye so that the melanoma will have a place to expand and not put so much pressure on the eye. It's important that the sight in this eye is preserved since Dad has already lost his left eye to retinal melanoma.

BTW...

Thank you for your prayers. They are greatly appreciated.

Now for something funny and cute...



God Bless.

later...

D-Day Prayer...

Today was the 63rd anniversary of D-Day, the Battle of Normandy.

Unbelievable numbers of young men lost their lives on that day.


The United States was unified.


We had a common cause...


A common belief.


We were all Americans.


Today, it seems that many have lost what it means to be an American.


To be an American you must have a strong sense of right and wrong...

And believe in justice.


To be an American you must be willing to help yourself by using your own hands...

Not holding your hands out for free help.


To be an American you must understand what it is to be a neighbor...

And how to be there when you're needed.


To be an American you need to have faith...

For that is what America is, a refuge for the faithful.


To be an American you need to believe in the Constitution...

And have faith that God truly guided the hearts of our Founding Fathers.


To be an American you must be able to pray...

Pray for our country and that our leaders use wisdom.

Pray for the safety of our soldiers...

And pray that we continue to be blessed.


To be an American you must realize what you have...

That your life in the United States is unique and rich...

Unlike any other on earth.


To be an American you must know that you live a life like no other...

Because of those who paid for it.


To be an American you owe a debt that you cannot repay.

America doesn't have a debt that is owed to you.


To be an American you must be respectful...

And honor those who gave you this country.


To be an American you must be willing to do what is necessary in order to guarantee that those who come after you will enjoy the blessings that you have enjoyed.


To be an American you cannot take...

And expect not to give back.



What will you do...

To ensure that the United States of America continues to exist and prosper...

Long after you are gone.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's Prayer

June 6, 1944

My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas -- whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them--help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too -- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God.

Amen.

A Prayer for the Lost...

Another act of homegrown terrorism has once again left our nation in a state of disbelief. It wasn't that long ago, just this past fall, when we were asking ourselves many of the same questions we're faced with today. The questions we asked when the innocent blood of children was spilled at an Amish school. It would seem that Americans would still be reeling from that horrific tragedy.

But the world had moved on. There were clever advertisements on the television to watch, shopping at the mall, and soccer games and jobs to go to.

Of all the questions that we had asked then, did any of us come up with an answer? It doesn't appear that we have.

And while we debated, for a short while, about the affects of stricter gun laws did any of us reach out to those who touch our lives? Those who are hurting, silently, in solitude?

Today we can now discuss the ills of our immigration laws. Now that we can blame a "non-American" for the Virginia Tech tragedy.

A question that I find myself asking more than any other is where have we gone wrong in showing those who are suffering how to find their purpose?

For it seems that those who are in despair, to such a degree as to commit a mass murder and suicide, cannot find their purpose in life.

Did we remove mankind's purpose when we took prayer out of the schools?

Did we eliminate humanity's vision by removing the images that reflect God from our public spaces?

And since it may not seem right by many to pray in public, it makes me wonder if we have quit praying altogether.

Have we successfully crippled our society and placed ourselves in a wheelchair that carries the brand name of "Political Correctness"?

Those who are lost and can't seem to find their way appear to be disconnected from those who surround them.

Where have we gone wrong?

It seems that maybe we have allowed ourselves to become spiritually ill. We are unable to overcome our societal diseases due to the lack of inoculation; protection that comes with faith and prayer.

For if we do not take care of our souls, and are actively watchful for the souls of others, how will we ever stop this pandemic of death?

The young man, Seung-Hui Cho, seems to have been living a life of inner turmoil and seething self-hate. How could he have been so isolated and alone in a society that seeks to satisfy "me... myself... and I"?

Was he unable to assimilate while looking for a deeper meaning to life itself?


Perhaps his actions were a well-rehearsed video game.


Or was it the training that he received from our modern age and the agendas that are pushed by the media. The communications that pound us daily. Words that tell us that babies are worthless fetuses, Christianity is wrong, do what feels good, and that there is no such thing as right and wrong.


Many will speculate and try to understand the meanings of the written words, "Ismail Ax", on his arm and will probably fail to see the obvious. Are those words in reference to Abraham's sacrifice, or to a city without a country?

We could reach for lofty hypotheses, but more than likely the answer will lie in the English student's writings. Perhaps the words are a personification of himself in an assignment that he turned in. A private, yet at the same time, public cry for help.

How could he have remained friendless?


It is hard for a society filled with self-love to love the un-lovely.


And while the parents of those 32 students who were senselessly killed make burial plans, we as a nation continue to die a slow spiritual death.


Who will make our burial preparations?

A Godless government agency?


At times it seems that we reek of putrefaction.


Are we willing to cease all life support efforts?

Are we willing to sign a DNR order?

Or are we willing to believe in, and pray for, a resurrection?


Are we willing to give up our will for God's will in our lives?


Granted, tomorrow some one's father will die of a heart attack...

A mother will be killed by a drunk driver...

And a child will die of cancer...


Murderers have been with us since the beginning of time...


But before these precious lives leave our tactile world can we say that we touched them?

That we prayed for them?

Were we there for them when they needed us?


Are we assured that they will be in their rightful place in Heaven?


Can we say that they had a purpose and that they lived it fully during what precious time that they had?


Can I say that I have?


later...

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
with your right hand you save me.

8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands. ~ Psalm 138:7-8 (NIV)