Memorial Day

To Adam, and to all other men and women who have so selflessly sacrificed all that they had:

Thank you. We will never forget.

"Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being."

– Kahlil Gibran

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

– John Stuart Mill

"Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

- John 15:13

"All gave some and some gave all
And some stood through for the red, white and blue
And some had to fall
And if you ever think of me
Think of all your liberties and recall
Some gave all"

http://amor_diosa.webs.bikers-engine.com/veterans.html

Tributes to U.S. soldiers on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGX42NQTFDs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdS5E5ijxaI

http://g.dwgsee.com/wake/index.htm

What will I be when I "grow up"?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

Sometimes I wonder if I would be happier if I had less. Fewer of certain things that are not inherently bad, but can get in the way of life nonetheless. I’m not talking about the obviously bad things in life such as grief, doubt, fear, health problems, traffic, or bad coffee. I believe most, if not all, people would want less of those things.

Rather, things such as talent, potential, ability, insightfulness, efficiency, productivity, well-roundedness. At what point does the possession of these qualities become more of a burden than a privilege? At what measure does the scale tip from advantage to responsibility and inconvenience?

At times I wish there were only one or two things that I had a talent for, or an interest in. Then at least I’d know what I’m good at, and that would give me some type of direction in life, when it comes to career choices. I try very hard not to compare myself to anyone, because I know that is a nasty trap to fall into. But sometimes I cannot help but envy those people who, with unwavering assurance, know exactly what they were made to do in life, and are able to pursue it whole-heartedly. Many know from childhood what they want to be – doctor, firefighter, lawyer, teacher, architect, mother, nurse, businessman. They have a talent and a passion for that line of work, and they strive virtually unhindered toward their goal. I don’t envy their passion or their determination – I have plenty of both. What I envy is the fact that they are able to narrow their interests and passions down to one thing (or even two or three), and create some sort of tunnel vision that keeps their focus on that goal.

I can’t imagine what life is like for people who are on one end of the spectrum. Those who have no passions, dreams, or goals to strive for. But I know that the same feelings of frustration, loneliness, and discontentment can result from having too many passions and goals. Too many interests and too much potential. Too many options. Knowing that you could create an entire list of career paths that you could pursue, randomly pick any one of those, and do just as well in it as you would in any of the others on the list. That is torture to me. I want to know that I’d be a much better nurse than a teacher. A better doctor than a lawyer. I want to know the one thing that I would be best at, and happiest doing. The field that would be lacking if I did not end up in it. Is there something that, if I didn’t invest my time and energy going after it, would result in someone’s life not being touched?

Maybe that’s a selfish way of thinking. But how haunting would it be to spend 30 years on one career path, and constantly wonder if I should have traveled a different path? I suppose that’s when we have to kick our faith into high gear and trust that God will put us on the path He wants us to be on. As long as we keep our focus on Him and trust Him to take control of every part of our lives, He will take care of the details. But sometimes trusting and focusing are very difficult things to do.

Third Base Coach

“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”
– Colossians 3:2

I have played softball for several years, and one thing all of my coaches have stressed to us is that we MUST keep our eyes on them when running the bases, especially when running to third. When running towards third base, you had better be watching the coach. She was never hard to pick out. She was the one right beside the base, jumping up and down, waving her arms and screaming like a lunatic. All of her enthusiastic waving and yelling had a purpose, which was to tell you one of two things. If she was franticly pointing at third base with both hands, it meant “get here ASAP and STAY HERE.” If she was waving you towards her with one hand, and using the other to point towards home plate, it meant “get here ASAP, turn the corner, and KEEP GOING.” If she waved one of us home, and we were tagged out at home plate, she never got mad.

But the quickest way to make her angry (and find yourself on the bench) was to look back over your shoulder to see who had the ball, and find out how close the play would be. She didn’t want us looking around the field, making base-running decisions for ourselves. She knew each of our running abilities, and she was going to be responsible for making the judgment call on whether or not we could make it. Our job was to run with all the energy we could muster, and do whatever her ridiculous hand motions told us to do. When running from second to third, your focus was on her, and nothing else. That’s the way we should be in life. We should live our lives as if we’re running towards third base, and never take our eyes off the coach. Because even the quickest glance over the shoulder to survey our surroundings can cause us to trip and make a mess of things, and miss what He had planned for us.

Who is your third base coach? Who do you focus on when you need guidance and advice? When you need to know whether to keep going or stay put? Is it a parent? A spouse? A close friend? Understand that no one other than Jesus could or should ever fill this role. Let your family and friends cheer you on from the bleachers. You need to focus on your Coach. He knows what is best for you and will give you clear instruction about what you need to do, as long as you keep your focus on Him.

Life's Deep End

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” - Hebrews 13:6b

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…” – Isaiah 43:2a

Below is a story from a book by Joyce Meyer:

"A little three year old girl felt secure in her father's arms as Dad stood in the middle of a swimming pool. But Dad, for fun, began walking slowly toward the deep end, gently chanting "Deeper and deeper and deeper" as the water rose higher and higher on the child. The girl's face registered increasing degrees of panic, as she held all the more tightly to her father, who, of course, easily touched the bottom. Had the little girl been able to analyze her situation, she'd have realized there was no reason for her increasing fear. The water's depth in ANY part of the pool was over her head. For her, safety anywhere in that pool depended on Dad. At various points in our lives, all of us feel we’re getting “out of our depth” or “in over our heads.” When bad things happen, our temptation is to panic, because we feel we’ve lost control. But the truth is we’ve never been in control when it comes to life’s most crucial elements. We’ve always been held up by the grace of God, our Father, and that won’t change. God is never out of His depth, and therefore we’re as safe when we’re in life’s “deep end” as we were in the kiddy pool."

I frequently hear (and read) people saying how important it is to be obedient to God in the little things in life. I have learned that God often reveals his plan little by little, step by step, as we obey him. Once He tells us to take step one, He is not going to tell us what step two is until we’ve obeyed him and taken the first step. I have always found this principle to be true, and I can appreciate its purpose. If we knew from the start what God had in store for us – all the steps we’d have to take - we’d probably be far too intimidated to even begin. When I think of this principle, I usually think in terms of small steps. However, while many times he does lead us one small step at a time, sometimes He requires a big step.

It takes so much faith to take big steps. If you fail when trying to take a small step, hardly anyone notices. You just jump back up and continue on your way. But if you fail while attempting a big step, it seems the world stops and everyone looks your way to see what just happened. Not only do people notice, but it’s much more difficult to get back up and back on track. I don’t think God will tell us to take big steps until we have proven that we can obey Him in the small ones. So I suppose we could consider it a privilege to be facing a big step – it means we have grown, and have demonstrated our ability to obey Him in the small things, so He is trusting us with more.

“Don't be afraid to take a big step. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps.”

I recently came upon this quote by David Lloyd George. When God does call you to take a big step, you have to be willing to take the risk and make a huge leap, trusting God to help you land on your feet and in His arms. When I was a child I used to love to play in the mud puddles in our driveway when it rained. There was one that was larger than the others, especially after lots of rain. That was the best one. One of the things I liked to do was attempt to leap over this mud puddle. The thing about jumping over something is you have to totally commit if you want to have any hope of clearing the obstacle (puddle of muddy water, in this case). If you stand right beside the puddle’s edge, all the while doubting your ability, and then half-heartedly hop towards the other side, there is no way you’re going to make it. You’re going to land right in the middle of that mud puddle. If you want to be able to make it across, you have to get a good running start, and put everything you have into hurdling across it. Even if you don’t believe you can do it, you better find a way to bury those doubts, ignore your fears, and give it your all. Now I realize that taking big steps in life is not the same as jumping over mud puddles, but I liked the analogy.

Know that God is with you during each step He asks you to take, whether it’s a tiny baby step, or a gigantic leap of faith. And remember that there is no “deep end” and no reason to be afraid because we are being carried in our Father’s arms.