Thank The Lord for Veterans

In deciding a topic for today’s blog entry, I was reminded of the reason for the holiday. Our nation has been blessed with people, men and women, who heeded our country’s call to protect our land.

We have had people give their lives for our nation. A former high school,now a medical training magnet school,  in Indianapolis bore the name of the first casualty (death) of the Revolutionary War. A highway in Indiana was named for a fallen World War II war correspondent, a Hoosier. A reserve Air Force base in the north central part of our state was renamed for an astronaut who died on duty when a fire broke out while awaiting lift off of a rocket.

On the yard of our city hall sits a monument to the local men who lost their lives in Vietnam. On the west side of town is a relatively new bridge named Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Two of the larger cemeteries here will have an avenue of flags lining their entry drives, in honor of those who are buried on their grounds. Our church will have flag poles set up, with the American flag waving from each one, on the hill where the church sits overlooking the intersection. The sight of multiple flags almost takes one’s breath away.

As I become older, I am aware of the importance of Memorial Day. Having had a grandfather who fought in World War I, a father in World War II and during the Korean War, and a husband who served in the Vietnam era, I have become mindful of the sacrifices the veterans have made.

At least two sets of friends of mine have grandsons who are planning to enlist in the military, one in the Marines, one in the Navy. They are or soon will be high school graduates.

My dad died last June. When the local newspaper published his obituary, there was an image of the Stars and Stripes below his picture. All veterans receive this recognition from the paper from the editorial staff as an honor to those who served our country.

On my mental “to do” list on Saturday was the task of purchasing some flowers and going to the cemetery and honoring him. Hubby and I bought flowers for Dad and for one of our brother-in-laws. I also hoped to borrow my son’s digital camera and take a picture of the flags at church. There is a group of men who put them up for Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veteran’s Day.

Have you thanked God for a veteran, today? Have you ever taken the time to thank a veteran?

He is Able

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more

than all we ask or imagine, according

to his power that is at work within us, to Him

be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations, forever and ever! AMEN

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)



Paul glorifies Jesus Christ in this passage. He describes how great His works are. The apostle can’t define the degree of magnitude Jesus’ works reach. Paul uses the word ‘immeasurably’ to tell us the degree to which He works when we ask for something and trust Him for the outcome.

We request Him to take care of something in our lives but Jesus goes beyond our parameters and does a greater work for us.

Do we always see this type of result from our prayers? Not always. A Sunday School teacher I had years ago said we had to pray believing. We have to pray knowing God is listening to our pleas and will answer those requests.

Paul is speaking words here for any of the future readers of this letter to the church at Ephesus. He is speaking to us in the 21st Century, we are to bring glory to God in all we say or do.

JOY In The Morning

Weeping may last for a night, but joy (rejoicing)

comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5 (NIV)





As Christians, we sometimes experience sadness in our lives. We lose friends or family because of death. A friend goes through a divorce. We lose our jobs. We lose our homes. Someone close to us goes through a time of tragedy.

When we experience loss, we mourn. Because of our interconnectedness, we grieve for the trials of others as well as ourselves.

However, when we mourn, our tears eventually come to an end. We come to realize God has been with us during our trial, stop, and give thanks for His presence.

When we reach the point of thankfulness, we receive joy in our spirits and are able to continue on with our daily lives.

Due to our humanity, all of God’s children have times of sadness. God allows these instances of despondency so we can grow in our faith. But, joy follows when we reach the end of our mourning.

His Compassions Never Fail

Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed,

for His compassions never fail, they are new every morning,

great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)



God loves us so very much. He gives us so many great blessing. We should not feel destroyed in the face of adversity. He gives us sunshine and clouds, rain, trees, and flowers. He created four seasons for our enjoyment. He provides food for our tables. He wants to have all the people He created become His spiritual children and to live with Him in Heaven. Each day, God desires to relieve distress from His children.

When we feel our backs against a wall, we need to realize that God is with us and will protect us whatever the circumstance.

God is love, He is also faithfulness.

Joy of the Lord

For the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)



When God looks upon us, His children, from above, He has joy when He sees us doing His Will. In fact, He receives joy from what we do for Him.

To continue that cycle, He rewards us with certain characteristics. We become stronger in our faith, receive a greater capacity to love, and have a calmer spirit. In essence, we grow spiritually as we work for Him, enlarging the Kingdom.

As we recognize God’s strengthening of our souls, we should give praise for what He has done for us. At the end of my prayer list is a section called “Praises”. In this section I try to list a praise of God’s working in my life. I strive for one praise a day, some days, I have more.

The Lord, High and Exalted

In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord

seated on a throne, high and exalted, and

the train of His robe filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1 (NIV)

Isaiah visited the temple. He saw God, Himself, lifted above the scene, raised up by the prayers of His people. God’s majesty was so great the train of His robe lay everywhere, engulfing all things in it’s path, and protecting whoever was present in His house.

This was a holy moment for Isaiah. He saw God, the creator of the universe. We all know what happened next. Isaiah felt unworthy to witness the scene of seraphim expressing God’s holiness. He expressed his state. One of the seraphs placed a hot coal on Isaiah’s lips, taking away his unclean state, forgiving his sin, another holy time.

God needed someone to go for Him, to work for His cause. Isaiah heard the call. This was a third holy time in this story.

Today, Christians have similar times when God speaks to us, when He answers a prayer, when we see His hand leading us or a loved one through uncertain times or protects us from danger. As 21st Century believers, we have to learn to recognize the holy times God gives us.

Even today, we can still learn of Him by spending time in prayer, by reading and meditating on His Word, and applying His message to our hearts.

Through Him

I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 (NIV)



We are able to function in the face of trauma, danger and uneasiness because God sustains us during those times.

When life pulls a mean surprise on us personally, we need to approach Him and ask for His guidance, and comfort. God chooses people to intercede for others who face difficult issues in their lives.

It is through God’s actions, that we are able to overcome problems in our lives. This conquering of issues comes from God’s grace and love for His children.

We gain His strength by spending time with Him through reading and studying our Bibles and through conversing with God through prayer. When we fellowship with like-minded believers.