Memorial Day

(Children saluting a fallen soldier's funeral procession)



The words to "Taps" are:
Day Is Done,
Gone the Sun,
From the Earth,
From the Hill,
From the Sky,
All Is Well,
Safely Rest,
God Is Nigh

When Taps is played at dusk, it has a completely different meaning than when Taps is played during the day. No soldier really wants to hear it played during daylight. For when the bugle plays Taps in the daylight...that means a soldier has fallen...There is a belief among some that Taps is the clarion call to open the gates of heaven for the fallen warrior and letting them know to "Safely Rest"...

Memorial day is about remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Many say it is disrespectful the way we celebrate, with our grilling, boating, playing with our children… Disrespectful? I believe that we should take time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and the families they left behind as we enjoy the freedom they paid so dearly for. Enjoying your freedom and understanding it's value is the best way to honor their sacrifices. I believe that's the way they'd want us to spend Memorial Day. What better assurance to them they did not die in vain?

Women Thought Dead Is Alive After All

You have got to check out this story...

Death came for Val Thomas at 1:30 a.m. in the morning Saturday, when her heart stopped at home. Paramedics managed to revive her, but she didn't look right. As paramedics rushed Val to Thomas Memorial, family members scrambled into action, beginning to pray and ask God for a miracle.

Video and rest of story

Dottie Rambo, Singer and Songwriter, Dies at 74

Dottie Rambo, a singer and prolific songwriter who was one of the most successful women to write songs in gospel music, died early Sunday when her tour bus ran off a highway near Mount Vernon, Mo. She was 74 and lived in Nashville.

More of the story

An interesting thought

This was sent to me today, I had to share it. It sure made me think....


Do you have any idea how many princesses have gone unrecognized by their prince, because of logic? Or, how many princes have gone unrecognized by their princess, because of pride?

How many dreams were dashed when the handmaiden answered the door? Or when the gatehouse was mistaken for the mansion? Or when the calm before the storm of abundance and good fortune was viewed as a sign to retreat?

It's never too late to see what one's missed, remain focused on the dream instead of the "hows," and move with unwavering faith.

Closing The Door on Negativity

Do your negatives always seem to counteract your positives? Try hooking up jumper cables to the wrong positive/negative terminals (actually, don't try it--just trust me!). The result is not good.
In order to close the door on negativity and walk through the door of positive living, we must "hook up" to the right influences, relationships, and attitudes:
· Eliminate negative influences such as your environment, what you listen to or what you watch.
· Hang out with Joshua and Caleb types: "no fear/we can do it" type of people. Eliminate relationships that drain you dry. Minimize time spent in neutral relationships. Maximize relationships that replenish, encourage, and stretch you.
· Change your attitude by hooking up to God's word and being in His presence.

Ok, Ok.....I am back again

When you take on a BLOG you take on certain responsibilities, like regular posting. But the day comes and the day goes and somewhere in the middle life happens. It seems to never be any one thing, they just add up a little at a time and “suddenly” you are dragging or lagging behind. I appreciate those who have contacted me and ask, “where you at” I am here and getting back on track. The water is coming back down, and who knows we may get to boat this year.

I haven’t written about it on the Blog, but we have been working for the past few weeks on getting a new church building. We had found a warehouse style building in a great location, but after a lot of work and going through all the city rules and regs, we discovered the cost to renovate would be too great.

At the same time this was going on, we had two new start up churches wanting to rent our present building. We are talking to one of the groups about sharing our current facilities on off days from our services.
I don’t know were we will end up, but do feel that a move must and will happen. Will keep you posted…..

Stress Awareness Month

Did you know that? Focus on the family said:

The Health Resource Network, a non-profit health education organization, has designated April as Stress Awareness Month for the 16th consecutive year. Health care professionals, health promotion experts and caregivers across the country will join forces to raise public awareness about the cause and cures for our modern stress epidemic.

For this reason Community Chaplains of America, which provides care for individuals during difficult and stressful situations, have offered 10 simple suggestions on how to provide care and essentially reduce stress, according to christianpost.com.

·Provide a listening ear. Often, those who are going through stressful times simply need someone to talk to. Make an extra phone call or meet a friend for coffee and offer the opportunity for them to talk.

·Send an encouraging note. Words are powerful. In the age of emails and text messages, handwritten notes show that you took time and effort to show you care.

·Say "thank you." Offer your gratitude for people. Thank a coworker for his or her hard work or a waiter for serving you dinner. Everyone wants to feel appreciated.

·Laugh with someone. A good hearty laugh can relax you both and mentally lighten your load. Tell a joke or rent a funny movie with a friend.

·Perform a random act of kindness. Surprise someone with the unexpected. It can be as simple as paying for a friend's coffee or offering to watch the kids so a mom or dad can have that extra time to relax.

* Help someone organize. When the places and things around us are in order, we feel a little more put together. Take time to help a friend clean out a closet or scrub the bathtub.

·Take a walk. Exercise releases endorphins and makes us feel better all around. Walk around the mall with a coworker on your lunch break or meet a friend at a park after work and enjoy the fresh air.

·Share a smile. This contagious act can easily brighten someone's day. Smile to a passing stranger; it may make a big difference in his or her day.

·Get away. Get away from the everyday circumstances that may be causing stress. Plan a weekend getaway or a day trip with a friend.

·Pray. Say a quick prayer for your friend and put his or her stress in the hands of the Ultimate Provider and Healer.

Did you think we floated off?

Nope, we made it through the flood, and it wasn't to bad this time. We believe that the annual Memorial day flotilla will probably not happen this year, just too much rain. Oh well, maybe July 4th...I do have faith ;-)


Picture of Big Dam Bridge Raft up 2007

Water coming down? Maybe...

We should be seeing the water go down over the next day or so. Parking lot flooded, but still able to drive a pick up to the ramp. You got to love it ;-)

How high is the water?

I know that this picture means nothing to you, so let me tell you what this means to me. We are in for a ride over the next few days. We expect the river to rise over the next 24-36 hours to over the point it was a few weeks ago. We moved the cars tonight from the parking lot, (just in case) and expect to be taking boats to the cars by tomorrow night. They are predicting almost 400 thousand cubic feet per second by Saturday. In comparison we would normally be around 50,000 or less for this time of year. Oh well, the adventure of river living, will keep you posted.
And the week continues ;-)