Month: May 2025

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants. Psalm 116:15

This weekend, we as a nation pause to remember and honor our veterans. It is important for us to remember every veteran-past, present, and future for many reasons but especially because service in the military changes lives. These men and women give the best years of their lives in service to their country. Some give the ultimate sacrifice,but all military personnel sacrifice whether they are stationed during a time of peace or a time of war.

We, as a thankful nation, should never forget to remember those who have made the sacrifice for us and our freedom. Memorial Day is a day to remember those who died while serving our country, but many Americans will be too busy to stop and remember. We are eager to celebrate the holiday, but we forget why we are celebrating!

It reminds me of a story about a guy named John who had a serious memory problem. One day he ran into his friend Bill, who he hadn’t seen in a long time. “Bill,” he said,”do you remember what a bad memory I had?” “I certainly do,” said Bill. “Well,” said John, “I went to a seminar that taught us how to remember things! It was great and now I have a wonderful memory.”

Bill replied, “That’s great! What’s the name of the seminar?” “Well,” John said, “just a minute, my wife went with me. I’ll ask her.” He turned and saw his wife nearby by. Then he turned back to Bill and asked, “What’s the name of that flower with thorns, a long stem, and red blooms?” Bill guessed, “Do you mean a rose?” “Yes, that’s it! Thanks, Bill.” John said, “Hey Rose, what’s the name of that seminar we attended?”

Some people just forget. We get so busy or distracted that the sacrifices made on our behalf just get overlooked. I think the best way we can honor those who gave their life for our freedom is to live a life worthy of their sacrifice.

First, live a life that an American ought to live as a follower of Christ. If we don’t remember, let me remind you that we were founded on Christian principles – One Nation Under God. President George Washington said, “It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible.”

Next, we need to be aware of the price of freedom. Many times we take this freedom for granted and mistakenly assume that every country lives this way. We have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but that’s a rare thing in this world.

Finally, we need to remember that we have an obligation to teach our children and grand children what our freedom cost so many. Many of us have lived through some horrific wars, but most of those that are coming behind us have never been taught the price of our freedom.

Memorial Day is about remembering. It’s about remembering our heritage, our roots, and our heroes.

General George Patton said, It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.

Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. Eleanor Roosevelt

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. Ronald Reagan

It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf

Thank you to all the brave men and women who have fought unselfishly for the freedom of America. God bless you!

O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life. America, America, May God thy gold refine; Til all success be nobleness and every gain divine. America the Beautiful by Katerine Lee Bates

I know what I am doing. I have it all planned out. Plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. Jeremiah 29:11

It is so hard to believe, but the end of the school year is here! Seniors in high school as well as college are celebrating the end of not only the year, but also a milestone in their lives. At this point, many parents,grandparents, teachers, and friends are pondering the words of wisdom they should pass on to their seniors.

We are excited to have another graduate in our family. Our grandson, Cooper, is setting out on his life path this week, and we are among the group of proud grandparents who are looking for words of wisdom and encouragement to pass along to him.

In the midst of World War II, Oxford University asked then Prime Minister Winston Churchill to speak at its commencement exercises. Dressed in his finest suit, he arrived at the auditorium where the service was to be held with his usual props; a cigar, a cane, and a top hat. As Churchill approached the podium, the crowd rose in appreciative applause. Standing there looking very dignified, Churchill silenced the crowd and asked them to be seated.

Standing confidently before this crowd of great admirers, he removed his cigar and placed his top hat on the podium. Then Churchill gazed at his waiting audience which included some of the most noted scholars in the world. With an authoritative tone in his voice, he began with three words, Never give up! Several seconds passed without him saying another word. Finally, he repeated those same three words again, Never give up. There was a deafening silence as Churchill reached for his hat, steadied himself with his cane, and left the platform. His commencement address was finished!

Making it through twelve years of school and looking forward to college involves facing some very real challenges. We can all testify to the continuous challenges that we must meet, but the wonderful thing is that we can meet them with some victories already under our belt.

Just think, we have made it through birth, infancy, pre school years, kindergarten, pre adolescence, teen years, and now graduation and adult years are ahead. So, what advice or words of wisdom do we share with these special graduates?

First, face your fears. Fear of the unknown is always daunting, but the Bible is full of “Fear Nots” for He is with you. God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear but rather a spirit of power, love, and self control.

Next, forget your failures. There will be failures. None of us are perfect, and the only ones who never do anything wrong are the ones who never do anything! When we fail, we have to put those failures behind us, learn from them, and move forward. We should never allow failures to make us quit trying. Paul said, “Forget that which is past and reach out to that which is ahead.” Phillippians 3:12

Finally, follow your faith. It’s easy to become distracted and influenced that first year in college, but remember that there are “a great crowd of witnesses” who have gone before you that are rooting for you. Your greatest challenge will be to follow your faith and know that Jesus has your back! Remember whose you are!

The song The Impossible Dream from the musical Man of La Mancha which was inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ novel, Don Quixote. The song is sung by Don Quixote to express his quest to achieve noble and unattainable goals. The lyrics reflect hope, perseverance, and the pursuit of one’s dreams even in the midst of overwhelming odds.

The following lyrics to the song can be seen as a metaphor for the faith of Christians who believe in the power of God to make the seemingly impossible possible. It is said to mirror the life of Jesus as He sought to do good despite great hardship, while he fought adversity, and while he strived for seemingly unattainable goals.

To dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe; to bear with unbearable sorrow; to run where the brave dare not go. To right the unrightable wrong, to love pure and chaste from afar; to try when your arms are too weary; to reach the unreachable star. This is my quest, to follow that star, no matter how hopeless, no matter how far; to fight for the right without question or cause; to be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause. And I know if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest, that my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I’d laid to my rest. And the world will be better for this; that one man scorned and covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars.

To all our graduates, follow your dream and never give up! Congratulations! We love you, Coop, and we can’t wait to see all that you will accomplish!

When Jesus got into the boat with the disciples, the next thing they knew, they were in a severe storm. Waves were crashing into the boat, and Jesus was sound asleep. they roused Him saying, Master, save us. We are going down.” Jesus reprimanced them saying, “Why are you such cowards..such faint hearts?” Matthew 8:23-25

We are all familiar with the above scripture, and the suddenness with which the storm came up while the disciples and Jesus were crossing to the other side after addressing the multitudes. Storms can come up without notice at any time. The sun is out and all is beautiful when suddenly, the clouds appear and the storm follows.

Sometimes we feel like our lives resemble the onset of a storm. Life is cruising along. Our work is good, our health seems good, friends are good, and all seems almost perfect. We feel good about life, no cares, no worries, then out of nowhere, it hits – the most absolutely perfect storm imaginable, and this time, it’s our storm.

We didn’t ask for it, we didn’t want it, but somehow, it found us. It didn’t ask our permission, it didn’t ask if this was a good time, it just came like a guided missile with our name on it, and Boom! We’ve all been there when we find ourselves crying out to the Lord, “Ok, God, this is getting ridiculous!! Why am I being hit with this storm?”

There is a cartoon where Charlie Brown works for hours to build the most beautifully perfect sandcastle ever! Finally, he stands back and looks at it. It is wonderful! Just as he is admiring it, a person walks by and steps on it destroying his masterpiece. Now, he’s standing where his masterpiece once stood wondering, “I know there’s a lesson in this, but I’m not sure what it is.”

Everyone of us has had our own “sandcastles” stepped on and destroyed at one time or another. Every once in a while, we have to back up and say, “Why am I being hit with this storm?” No one is immune to the storms in life, they fall on the good and bad, and the just as well as the unjust.

The good news is that Jesus is in the boat with us. When God is with us during the storm He teaches us a few things. First, sometimes we have to walk alone for a while in the storm. Jesus was with the disciples, but they had to experience the storm to test their faith.

Next, we have to rely on God ‘s help when the storms come. We must live with that sense of dependence on God. Finally, we have to realize that it’s God’s power, not ours that makes the difference in weathering the storms of life.

In 1945, Rodgers and Hmmerstein released produced the broadway play, “Carousel”. The play and subsequent movie portrayed a troubled young man named Billy, and a young girl, Julie, who was devoted to him despite his flaws. The plot follows the stormy love story of the two. In the end, Billy is killed, and Julie’s Aunt Nellie comforts her with these words from the song, You’ll Never Walk Alone by Oscar Hammerstein

When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high and don’t be afraid of thedark. At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky, And the sweet silver song of a lark. Walk on through the wind, Walk on through the rain, Tho’ your dreams be tossed and blown, Walk on, Walk on, With hope in your heart, And you’ll never walk alone. You’ll Never Walk Alone.

There’s always a lesson in every storm. Just like the disciples in the boat, we are in training for greater things to come as well as things we will have to overcome. When we walk through a storm and question if God cares, we can unequivocably know that He cares about every detail. He is our shelter and strength, and we can fully trust Him during our storm.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. Proverbs 31:28

It is that time of year where we offer our love, thanks, and appreciation to the Mothers in our lives. We all have a mother whether she be biological, adoptive, foster, or just a person who exhibits the qualities of a Mom to us. This year, our extended family is fortunate to be able to welcome a brand new Mom as we celebrate the birth of our niece and nephew’s first baby. Litte Daphne has made her entrance, and she has caused us all to celebrate the joy of new life and motherhood.

When God created male and female in His own image, He made them different and unique. That uniqueness doesn’t make one more important than the other, but it simply helps them to complement each other. And so, within the woman God created the ability to create children, and the deep desire to nurture. When a woman doesn’t have a family to nurture, she often uses that gift to nurture others.

This nurturing instinct explains why long before women were accepted as doctors, they were nurses. Before they were accepted as professors, they were teachers in school classrooms. When someone was needed to hold an office together, women were employed as secretaries. Only later when their full talents were recognized and honored did the world realize that women are both nurturers and intelligent business people.

Erma Bombeck is famous for many things, but she was very sensitive to Mothers. She wrote of mothers who for one reason or another don’t get to fulfill the traditional role, and she wrote of Mothers who have lost a child and the loneliness they feel on this day. She also wrote of the attributes of Mothers. One of the best tributes she wrote is entited When God Created Mothers, and I’d like to share it today.

When God created Mothers, He was in his sixth day of “overtime” when the angel appeared and said, “You are doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”

And God said, “Have you read the specs on this order? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic. Have 180 moveable parts… all replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a lap that disappears when she stands up. A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointing love affair. And six pairs of hands. “

The angel shook her head slowly and said, “Six pairs of hands – no way.” “It’s not the hands that are giving me problems,” remarked God, “It’s the three pair of eyes that Mother’s need to have.” “That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel. God nodded.

One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, “What are you kids doing in there?” when she already knows. Another in the back of her head so that she sees what she shouldn’t, but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front so she can look at a child when he or she goofs up and say, ‘I understand and I love you’ without so much as uttering a word.

“God,” the angel said, “get some rest, tomorrow…” “I can’t,” said God, “I’m so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she’s sick…can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger…and can get a nine year old to stand under a shower.”

The angel circled the model of the mother very slowly and sighed, “She’s too soft.” “But tough,” said God excitedly. “You can’t imagine what this Mother can do or endure.”

“Can it think?” asked the angel. “Not only can it think, but also reason and compromise,” said the Creator.

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger over the cheek. “There’s a leak,” she pronounced. I told You that You were trying to put too much into this model.”

“It’s not a leak,” said the Lord. “It’s a tear.” The angel asked, “What’s it for?” “It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, loneliness, and pride,” said the Lord. “You are a genius,” exclaimed the angel.

Somberly, the Lord said, “I didn’t put it there.”

Happy Mother’s Day to each and every Mother! It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it!! God has equipped us, and what a rewarding job we have been given!