Support Our Troops

One would have to be living near the center of the earth not to know about the wars that are raging across the world today. Although the campaigns are considerably different than they were during WWII, it's important to know that one thing has remained the same...........the need to support our men and women in the armed services, regardless of your opinion of the war.

Technology has made a global impact on the way in which we communicate with those overseas and even those who are stateside. Just think about it, during WWII, snail mail was the main contact between a solider and his loved ones back home. If something were to happen, imagine the anguish that a family had to endure in order to find out their loved one's fate.

Regardless, a veteran that has served his/her country should be showed respect and love upon returning from war. This hard lesson was not learned well when troops were returning from Vietnam in the 1970's as most of them were treated as if THEY were the ones for the blame of the war. What we learned then was that regardless of your opinion of the war, troops are doing something more than any of us would ever think of doing....putting their lives on the line for their country.

Before you go to bed tonight and every night after, say a prayer for those who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and remember how they are away from loved ones who miss them on a daily basis.

May God richly bless the USA and her troops!

Compassion

Compassion is a commodity, it has value. The problem with compassion, is that in today's world there seems to be less and less of it to go around. The problem with compassion is that when you commit your heart to a cause, or a person, or whatever the case may be, it's hard to draw your heart back to prevent from becoming hurt.

I have discovered that compassion, even when it's not warranted or needed, can do so much for the spirit as well as the soul. When you place yoruself above your own needs and focus on others, you realize that God has purpose for everyone on earth. With all of the distractions we are sometimes subjected to, we tend to forget what our purpose is.

Self-help books are fine, but the Bible provides the answers that we need to deal with our problems, our emotions, etc. Compassion teaches us that we need to "read between the lines", in other words, to see what maybe others either can't see or refuse to see. When we help those who are having trouble, we get a sense of Jesus and the reason to do what we need to do.

So, remember that compassion requires the best of us, which is the best of Jesus!

Friendships That Mean Something

You know, as a child in school, I had several friends that I could count on in times of need,of course, back then, my problems mainly consisted of things like, "How did we get so much homework?" and "Do you think so and so really likes me?". These were the major problems in our lives then and as we became older, our problems grew with us. And along the way, our friendship changed with us.

As adults, our friendships were mainly based on the clubs we frequently visited and wasn't really the ones we could count on in times of dire need, only when were we going out the club again. And even then, those friendships faded after some internal arguments over a guy, over clothes, etc. These were not dependable and usually would leave a bad taste in our mouths, making it hard to trust people around us.

I have discovered in my 40's now, that having a good, honest, dependable friendship is, other than having a relationship with God and family, the key to living well. I have several close friends that I know without the shadow of a doubt, I could call and reveal my thoughts and secrets to without fear of judgement. This is based upon the fact that each of them has a true, deep, relationship with God that allows them to trust Him for guidance and strength through the hardships of their lives. A simple dinner at a local eatery brings a fellowship that I have always longed for and it makes me want to work that much harder to keep our friendship alive and going.

It is vital in today's world to have and maintain friendships with those you can trust, but also who have a strong relationship with God.