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A Gift of Your Time
This weekend’s 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks brought a lot of reminiscing for America and individuals. “We Will Never Forget … “ Where we were, why did this happen and how we responded as a nation. The images just flowed through my head of the towers burning in New York, the Threat Condition Delta on our military installations, locked and loaded automatic weapons at the installation entry points, a command post full of very determined airmen and the President reading to a young group of children. So many to remember … As we were enjoying our coffee and breakfast this morning, I pulled out our calendar with special…
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The Blackberry Patch
Beautiful Michigan Blackberries!I think He understands and hears my prayers while in the patch. This is a favorite time of the year for me! I enjoy spending time in our wild blackberry patch which is now at its peak! The blackberries were a gift that we found behind our woods the second year we arrived after that last PCS! It was number 18 move and we looked forward to being grounded for a bit and being close to family after 30 years of being “transients”. But … back to the berries! We purchased a house that was placed on a hill overlooking the nearby river valley and deep in a…
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“I Will Not Say Goodbye” An Interview with Josh Gracin
Josh Gracin“I want to take everyBreath I can getI want to live” Josh Gracin “I Want to Live” I watched Dan struggle for breath, his pneumonia and infection making it so hard. He was sweating, the pain meds helping but the pain in his eyes was clear. We had traveled to be near Dan before the surgeons were going to help. Leading a church youth group service trip to Nashville, TN, Dan had fallen ill and needed urgent care. I saw him smile as his 2 year old came into the room and rocked his world… I had been looking forward to interviewing former Marine, Josh Gracin about the “Rockin…
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Volunteers of America – Redux “There Are No Limits to Caring!”
Preparing for the program at the Stand Down for Homeless VeteransVolunteers of America (VoA) Michigan showed me how people cared about our homeless veterans last week! I wrote about The Home Depot Foundation and how many others jumped in to make the veterans’ lives easier with the VoA Stand Down which provided resources and information to the veterans in Lansing, MI. VoA has a long arm with organizations in 400 communities in the US while helping over 2 million folks in need! So I decided to draw a picture of the event with my camera to show their efforts! Words can be helpful but pictures make it real! These are…
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Sermon Notes: We are Equipped
Many years ago (back in high school) I read a book This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti. I was never a big reader but this book captivated me, scared me, reminded me of the Protection that surrounds me. I can distinctly remember going into my family room while in the midst of this book one late night, turning on my parents’ new CD player, finding my dad’s good head-set and blasting the song, “Ashton” by Michael W. Smith…. (ok, maybe there is a reason I’m a little deaf. But I digress.) Ashton is also the name of the town that This Present Darkness takes place in. A town where…
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Win a Gift from Wire-A-Cake for your Military-Child
Doesn’t it feel good to receive a gift?Children find a lot of joy in the act of giving. I have homemade necklaces, paintings, and home decor from my boys as proof-positive! They light up as I marvel at the beauty of my newest gift; beaded necklaces, hand-drawn art for the frig, even painted rocks from the garden. Those gifts are a tangible expression of their love for me. With this in mind we, MilitaryAvenue, have partnered with Wire-A-Cake, a great military-support company, to help celebrate the Month of the Military Child! We want to send a military-child a cake as a thank you for their sacrifices! What do you have to do to win a cake for…
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Who is an advocate for your family?
Yesterday after church we headed to the zoo for the afternoon. As a family of six… sometimes we are our own little zoo, or at least circus… but I was really craving some family time. Away from the TV; Away from the video games; Away from the hustle and bustle of home life. We had a blast! We did the Rainforest first, completely indoors and a great place to see toads, snakes, bats, fishing cats, orangutans and much much more. We had such a good time that after touring the whole building we ventured over to the outdoor part. It was cold, below freezing, in fact, but we had jackets,…
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The Three Wise Men
I can appreciate a comment I read recently from MilitarySaves* A lack of planning can set you back financially and cause undue stress through the holiday season. Have a reality check with your money and plan accordingly before the temptation to overspend is here in full force. Who wants to be spending for Christmas in April? So before the holidays and all the “emergencies” in between, sit down and write down a separate plan for your holiday money and commit to sticking with it. My husband and I are thrifty. But I recognize the emotion that I tie to shopping. I LOVE getting out of the house on a Sunday…
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Peppers, Green, Banana, Hungarian Wax A’Plenty!
The garden just didn’t appear out there over night. And to my recollection, little gnomes haven’t been out there weeding, hoeing, rotor tilling, etc…. Especially the rotor tilling part… that machine is a monster that wants to go anywhere but where I feel is straight. (Yeah for Dale on this and so many parts of the pre-harvest work.) At the sound of our behemoth, those little gnomes would have jumped straight out of their gourds and be headed so far out of Michigan as to be fictional memories. So, maybe that’s the story!The beauty of a vegetable garden is that crops sweep in at their own pace and then demand…
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Changes in Iraq! Have Our Sacrifices Helped? Yes They Have! DoD Roundtable
We are withdrawing forces from Iraq and will be down to 50,000 military personnel in September in accordance with the plan for complete withdrawal by 2011. What are we leaving behind? What type of society and are the people better off? During a recent DoD Roundtable Major General Stephen Lanza, who is the United States spokesperson for Iraq mentioned two areas that I think are critical and reflect the progress of a society following war. First, how are women treated in the society and second, are the police and army apolitical, that is, do they respect the population and its political institutions? The March elections in Iraq were certified on…
