America pauses to remember its military heroes (OneNewsNow.com)

America pauses to remember its military heroes (OneNewsNow.com)
“Only fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!” Psalm 53:1

Dear Father,

I pray for the families that have lost loved ones that serve this great nation.  On this Memorial Day, when we pause to recognize the courageous service of both veterans and the men and women in uniform who are currently fighting to protect our freedom, as well as the freedom of those around the world.  Father comfort those families of those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.  And comfort the families and armed forces that still are serving to protect our freedoms.

In Jesus' name. Amen

Obama to skip Arlington Memorial Day wreath laying

Since Barack Obama took office on January 20, 2009 three hundred American soldiers have given all in service to this nation and more than a dozen were murdered by terrorists on American soil. In March of 2010 the Commander-in-Chief, took a surprise junket to Afghanistan and, while there, told troops that the sacrifice the military makes is "absolutely necessary to both America's safety and world security."

In that spirit, Memorial Day is a national holiday where Americans pause to honor those who sacrificed life and limb to ensure our nation's security and freedom. It is a day that commemorates the sobering truth that liberty and security is won with blood and treasure. This Memorial Day America's air will be thick with patriotic knowledge that beneath the earth rest the bones and ashes of many a mother's child whose sacrifices bear testimony to valiant soldiers lost too young to a cause far greater than life.

Situated in the center of Washington DC's Arlington National Cemetery is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, engraved with the poignant words: "Beneath this stone rests a soldier of Washington's army who died to give you liberty." Each Memorial Day mental images are conjured up of statue like honor guards standing at attention 24 hours a day, 365 days a year alongside that very tomb.

Formerly known as Decoration Day, the last Monday in May also calls to mind the President of the United States being saluted by the U.S. Military Honor Guard. Then, to symbolize deference to those who lost in service to the nation he leads, the President slowly approaches the Washington Square gravesite and solemnly lays a flowered wreath on the sun-bleached crypt.

Although somber and respectful, this Memorial Day will be different because, one week following the death of five troops in Kabul, Barack Obama has decided to forgo the Arlington Cemetery tradition of commemorating dead soldiers and instead intends to fly to Chicago for an extended weekend.

According to a White House press release,

President Barack Obama and his family will travel to Chicago, where they will spend the weekend. On Monday, the President will participate in a Memorial Day ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.

Also on Monday, the Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden will host a breakfast for Gold Star Families at the White House. Afterwards, the Vice President and Dr. Biden will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

After witnessing two brutal terrorist attacks, one at Fort Hood and another at Little Rock and after six-hundred soldiers killed in Afghanistan grew to nearly 1,000; and as the U.S. military prepares for the biggest battle against the Taliban to date --Obama downsizes his personal Memorial Day observance, skips town and kicks back for a holiday in Chicago.

Unfortunately, the Afghanistan and Iraqi war heroes buried in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, whose ceremony Obama has chosen not to attend, will not be returning home for a barbeque this weekend, or ever, for that matter.

Although absent from DC, there is a good possibility epicurean adventurers Barry and Michelle will honor dead soldiers this Memorial Day by visiting a trendy Chicago eatery or two, trailed by a gaggle of paparazzi.

It's great to know Barack Obama will be relaxing during a "casual" weekend with friends while Operation Hamkari Baraye Kandahar gets underway and as Joe Biden lays a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for a vacationing President who seems unwilling to suffer the smallest inconvenience to honor those who sacrificed everything.

Dear Father,

I pray for this nation and for all our leaders, that they may find compassion for those who serve to protect our freedoms. And for those who gave their lives to protect our freedoms we have in this great nation. Father forgive us and our leaders, because you Lord gave the ultimate sacrifice your death on the cross for everyone. Jesus we praise you because by your sacrifice that you were raised from the day so that we may be also, if we believe in you.

In Jesus' name. Amen

Heaven

 I lost a very dear friend of mine David Cruise after his 7 month battle with leukemia.  I wanted to write something to share with everyone about David.  Really didn't know what to tell since it was a shock that he was even sick.  You would never have known it before he was diagnosed with leukemia.  I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts on Heaven since I know that is were he is now, and the fact that he is standing before our Lord with a perfected body for all eternity.


“Heaven: this is the torch before which the vivid appeal of earthly things fades, the light that, by transforming our judgments, makes us cherish poverty, sickness, and the insignificance of our state of life as a good, and makes us regard riches, the glamour of honors, the favor and praise of the world as an evil.  The thought and expectation of heaven impelled Paul to face the most arduous labors and the most formidable perils, giving him a superabundance of joy amidst his sufferings and afflictions…

“Heaven is something that we have not seen.  We travelers, wandering in this valley of darkness and tears, are reduced, like captive Israel on the banks of the Euphrates, to hanging our harps and zithers upon the weeping willows of this wretched, human life.  No human voice, no lyre can ever succeed in producing songs and tunes in unison with the melodies and sweet harmonies with which that indescribable city resounds…
“Even the inspired word itself cannot rise to realities that extend beyond the bounds of reason and surpass all the strength and capacity of our nature.  Let us listen to the great apostle Paul, immersed in the most exalted raptures, conveyed in spirit as far as the third heaven, and into splendors more profound and ineffable than those experienced by the Eagle of Patmos, as he exclaims: Heaven is not as you tell us; it is a thousand leagues above the analogies and descriptions you are offering us. ‘Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love him…’ [emphasis in the original]
“Heaven is God’s ideal, the repose of His intellect.  Let us add: it is the repose of His heart.  The heart goes further than the mind.  It has aspirations and impulses, unknown to genius, which go beyond all the bounds of inspiration and thought…  The transports that the divine vision will arouse in the elect will make their hearts superabound in the most unutterable joys; it will be a flood of delights and raptures, life in its inexhaustible richness and the very source of all good and all life.  It will be, as St Augustine goes on to say, like a gift from God of His own Heart, so that we may love and rejoice with all the energy of the love and joys of God Himself… The contemplation of God will not mean immobility but, above all, activity, an ever-ascending progression, where movement and repose will be bound together in ineffable harmony… They will go from glory to glory, from joy to joy…
“How sweet it will be to contemplate at a single glance all the marvels of the Most High God in the realm of nature as well as in the order of grace and glory… In heaven we shall see and recognize one another; and in heaven we shall love one another… All the objects and causes that captivate our hearts and arouse love in this world will act with an intensity a thousand times greater, and without encountering any obstacle, on the hearts of the elect…
“In heaven… their awareness of happiness is not distinct from their awareness of God… the effect of this multifarious delight is not to induce them, by reflection, to withdraw into excessive preoccupation with themselves and the perfection of their nature, but rather to inspire them to soar upward with inexhaustible energy and lose themselves in the ever-closer embrace of God, who imbues them with His fullness through all their senses and penetrates every pore of their being.  On their lips the cry of joy blends with the cry of adoration and gratitude… they exclaim, ‘Holy, holy, holy is God Almighty…’
“In heaven, happiness is stable, since the elect, confirmed in glory, are beyond all fear.  The ages will succeed one another without diminishing their happiness, without a single line creasing their brows.  The certainty of eternally possessing the benefits they hold dear multiplies their sweetness a hundredfold.  What a source of jubilation when, after thousands of centuries have elapsed, they reflect upon the day in the distant past when they made their triumphant ascent, and say, ‘Nothing is finished yet; I reign today, today I am in possession of my happiness, and I shall possess it as long as God remains God—forever and ever!’”
Those are just a few snippets of this long chapter, which the author himself admits is just a crude and rough sketch.  But doesn’t it make the furtive and fleeting pleasures of this life—that is, those pleasures that are not part of our life in God—pale into complete insignificance and even wretchedness?  No wonder the Lord said, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?”  He came from Heaven; He knows what it is like; He has been inviting us there for millennia and warning us how grievous a loss it would be to forsake his Kingdom for the sake of selfish gains in this life.  Heaven will be the super-superlative of every good thing we can imagine or desire, and the experience of joys and wonders we can’t even begin to imagine.  The more we fix our minds on Heaven, the more free we will be in relation to things of this Earth, and we will do whatever it takes to join that blessed company who enjoy the utter fullness of life and blessing, the superabundance of love in the Light of the Face of Him who loved us first, and who awaits us in his heavenly Paradise.

Dear Father,
Thank You for loving me.  And thank you for the time I have got to spend with David and his family.  Today, I realize that I do not have an endless supply of days here on this earth. Help me to use my days well and to make everyday count. Help me to be a blessing to You and others with each day that You give to me.  Thank You that You took the time to die for me so I could be forgiven. May I now take the time to live for you so others may know the joy and purpose I have found. Help me daily to stay focused and live for You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A song for my friend.

Every time I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It goes by, like dusk to dawn
Isn't that the way
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay

Yeah, I know nobody knows
where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
You got to lose to know how to win

Half my life
is in books' written pages
Lived and learned from fools and
from sages
You know it's true
All the things come back to you

Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away

Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away

Dream On Dream On Dream On
Dream until your dreams come true
Dream On Dream On Dream On
Dream until your dream comes through
Dream On Dream On Dream On
Dream On Dream On
Dream On Dream On

Sing with me, sing for the year
sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away
Sing with me, sing for the year
sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away......
by Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

Dear Lord,
Teach me not to be sad over my my dear friend who is losing his battle with leukemia.  Lord you know our families have been through so much over the last few years.  The death of my mother in-law, the death of my mother.  Lord I know you saved me.  And I know it by grace that I was spared my live on March 22, 2008, when you saved me from a near death accident on my motorcycle.  Lord I ask that you be with David and all is family through this trying time in their lives.  Give them the peace in knowing that David will be with you in heaven, with a perfect body.  No more sickness, no more sorrows, no more pain.  Lord let me continue to encourage him with the word and the fact that he will soon stand before our Lord with a perfected body for all eternity.  In Jesus' name. Amen 

Lynda Petty Beats Cancer

 

Let your love radiate out to all you meet

On this day, God wants you to know that your love is a gift to the world. Let your love radiate out to all you meet. Let your love touch the hearts of people you don't even know. Let your love reach to the far corners of the earth. Love is what is saving the world.

Dear Father,
Teach me to love, Lord, as You love, Make it unconditional, honest, and kind, To ask nothing back in return, Lord, To encompass the whole of mankind. Show me how to forgive, Lord, as You do, To not burden another with guilt, To not play the role of the martyr, To be a rock on which trust may be built.  Make my love for others be greater by far Than any love that is offered to me, Led by the Spirit, Inspired of God, As forgiving as Jesus...and free. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Prayer for a Friend

On this day, God wants you to know that how bad things may look right now means nothing, - it's how good they can be with God's help that counts. In life you can absolutely count on one thing, - everything can turn around in one day, in one minute sometimes. Don't you dare to give up, - you might be a moment away from a windfall.

 

Dear Father,
Thank You for loving me. Thank You for the opportunity to decide what I am living for. Today, I realize that I do not have an endless supply of days here on this earth. Help me to use my days well and to make everyday count. Help me to be a blessing to You and others with each day that You give to me. I am choosing to commit myself, my life and my time to You once again. Thank You that You took the time to die for me so I could be forgiven. May I now take the time to live for you so others may know the joy and purpose I have found. Help me daily to stay focused and live for You. I join with the community of faith to be a kingdom-builder and a world-changer. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
 

My Favorites playlist by Dot Dude

My Favorites playlist by Dot Dude

Mothers Day Holiday

 

My daughter SARA & My Mother LOTTIE & My daughter JENNIFER.  Mother we miss you! Mother went on to be with the Lord August 2008.

In its present form, Mother's Day was established by Anna Marie Jarvis, following the death of her mother Ann Jarvis on May 9, 1905, with the help of a Philadelphia merchant called John Wanamaker.^[2] A small service was held in May 12, 1907 in the Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where Anna's mother had been teaching Sunday school.^[2] But the first "official" service was in May 10, 1908 in the same church, accompanied by a larger ceremony in the Wanamaker Auditorium in the Wanamaker's store on Philadelphia.^[2] She then campaigned to establish Mother's Day as a U.S. national holiday, and later as an international holiday.^[1][2]
The holiday was declared officially by the state of West Virginia in 1910, and the rest of states followed quickly.^[2] On May 8, 1914, the U.S. Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day and requesting a proclamation. On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation, declaring the first national Mother's Day,^[9][10] as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.^[9]
In 1934, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved a stamp commemorating the holiday.^[11]
In May 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives voted twice on a resolution commemorating Mother's Day^[12][13], the first one being unanimous so that all congressmen would be on record showing support for Mother's Day.^{[citation needed]}
The Grafton's church, where the first celebration was held, is now the International Mother's Day Shrine and is a National Historic Landmark.<sup>[14]

This article was copied from Wikipedia @http://ow.ly/1ILV2</sup> 

Do we still have a wise government?

"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government." Thomas Jefferson

A Life Worth Living by Pastor David McGee(original author)

1 Corinthians 7:19 “For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.” NLT
Life Lesson: Serving and keeping God’s commandments is not only a commitment but an act of love as well.
Friend, you have unique talents and abilities that God wants to use for His glory.  Your act of love for God is expressed when you serve and keep His commandments. Don’t be dissatisfied with your giftings, but obey God and walk in them.
Serving God with your gifts and obeying his commandments should be a high priority in the life of the believer. This is not to say that you are under the law, but because of His amazing love for you, you can respond in love by serving others with your talents. While you are not trying to earn your righteousness, you should desire to be obedient to Him. Not because you are earning your salvation but because you love Him.

1John 5:2-3 “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” NKJV

You are to love God with all of your heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37). Serving and obeying God should not be burdensome because He loved you first. There are a lot of things I do not feel like I want to do, but because of my love and commitment to God I do them. When I take flowers to my wife, I do not do so because I am married. I do this out of love. In the same way, show your love and affection for God by being committed to witness, read the Bible, pray and love others.

Do you express your love to God by serving Him and others? Remember how God told us to discover a life worth living? Feel safe and secure in the arms of God’s redeeming power and undeniable love. Step out in obedience to Him and share the hope and love of God to this cold, dark world that does not have anything worth living for and sure does not offer anything worth dying for.

Dear Father,
Thank You for Your love that sets me free when I ask you to forgive me of my sins. Thank You for allowing me to come to You. Lord, I thank You for the talents and abilities You have gifted to me. Forgive me where I have envied someone else’s gifts while neglecting to use and give away my own gifts. Help me to be grateful for the call You have for my life so that I can discover purpose and meaning the way You intended. Lord, thank You for Your patience with me. Help me bring hope to a lost and dying world— to be a kingdom-builder and a world-changer.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.