Happy Memorial Day

[HappyChristian]

Exciting plans, anyone? I am planning on relaxing, but my son wants to go to some of the memorial services, so may go to one or two. Tomorrow (Sunday), there is a service at the VietNam wall in our town. We will likely go to that.

A friend of mine lost her son in Iraq in 2004 - just days after he arrived. He was with his unit when they were ambushed. His shooting enabled everyone in that vehicle to survive - except him. He had such a wonderful testimony. He knew God wanted him where he was, and was ready to die if need be. They filmed the funeral (the one in Iraq - the family had one here in US, too). It was really something.

His dad wrote a book about his son, about his salvation and his death - which was truly heroic. It has gotten into the hands of so many of the military! BJU did a dramatization about his life and traveled the country for a year performing it. We were thrilled when a church in the area had them come in - it was a chance to see his mom again (they moved from the area years ago) and the presentation was so powerful!

I babysat him and his siblings some when they were younger. His sister and her hubby and boys help us in our nursing home. Tomorrow she will be passing out the books to the soldiers and others who come to the memorial service. Please pray for that.

And to Jonathan and all the rest of our fallen heroes; to those who serve today: Thank you for your service. You have been unfairly vilified by many, you have faced horrendous enemies, you willingly put your life in danger - from the beginnings of our country to now. And I thank you. I honor your service and sacrifice for our country. God bless you.

"My Thanks is Not Enough" http://www.brooksmonk.com/videos

[tired]

Working as per usual. Have a good one everybody else.

[1Timothy115]

I had a great day at home and shopping for decking material with my wife.

[Wilchbla]

Going to my brother's birthday party being held at his church.

[candlelight]

Exciting plans, anyone? I am planning on relaxing, but my son wants to go to some of the memorial services, so may go to one or two. Tomorrow (Sunday), there is a service at the VietNam wall in our town. We will likely go to that.

A friend of mine lost her son in Iraq in 2004 - just days after he arrived. He was with his unit when they were ambushed. His shooting enabled everyone in that vehicle to survive - except him. He had such a wonderful testimony. He knew God wanted him where he was, and was ready to die if need be. They filmed the funeral (the one in Iraq - the family had one here in US, too). It was really something.

His dad wrote a book about his son, about his salvation and his death - which was truly heroic. It has gotten into the hands of so many of the military! BJU did a dramatization about his life and traveled the country for a year performing it. We were thrilled when a church in the area had them come in - it was a chance to see his mom again (they moved from the area years ago) and the presentation was so powerful!

I babysat him and his siblings some when they were younger. His sister and her hubby and boys help us in our nursing home. Tomorrow she will be passing out the books to the soldiers and others who come to the memorial service. Please pray for that.

And to Jonathan and all the rest of our fallen heroes; to those who serve today: Thank you for your service. You have been unfairly vilified by many, you have faced horrendous enemies, you willingly put your life in danger - from the beginnings of our country to now. And I thank you. I honor your service and sacrifice for our country. God bless you.

"My Thanks is Not Enough" http://www.brooksmonk.com/videos

A repeat of this. :smile Thanks - LuAnne for sharing this testimony. YES! Thank you for sacrificing your precious lives ALL across the globe so that WE Americans - and others around the world - can enjoy our freedoms as outlined in the "Declaration of Independence" - and "Constitution of the USA" so bravely established by our Founding Fathers of this Great Nation. Beginning with "The Preamble" - "We the people of the United States of America...

To Jonathan and all other fallen heroes of this great land - Hallelujah! My thanks and prayers are with your family's everyday! Again - no words can describe. I hope and pray that things went well for your friend and your family - HC.

Also, if OLB members can please keep in prayer - my closest friend (Shelley and her husband) whose only son (Christopher) will be shipping off to training and Afghanistan in 3 days. He is a USMC - going to the Middle East for the 3rd time. He is PROUD to serve this nation! Thank you.

This weekend?

My family went to a picnic at my second oldest brother's house yesterday. Some of our relatives were in from New Jersey. I enjoyed showing them my hometown - as we walked along the Lake Erie shoreline.

Church today was spectacular as we recognized our soldiers in the AM service. Our PM service every year is a memorial to those who has passed on - or gone home to be with the Lord Jesus.

An early day tomorrow for us. God bless everyone! Keep safe and HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!!

In Christ Jesus ~

Molly

[John81]

The Lord?s Prayer In Hell
by Col. Leo Thorsness

??deliver us from evil?? (Matthew 6:13)


On April 30, 1967, LeoThorsness was shot down over North Vietnam. He was held and tortured for six years. Today's devotional comes from Col. Thorsness' memoirs, Surviving Hell : A POW's Journey.


The first Sunday at the Hanoi Hilton, someone said, "Let's have church service." Good idea, we all agreed. One POW volunteered to lead the service and we started gathering in the other end of the long, rectangular cell. No sooner had we gathered than an English-speaking Vietnamese officer who worked as an interrogator burst into the cell with a dozen armed guards. Ned Shuman, our Senior Ranking Officer, went to the officer and said there would not be a problem, we were just going to have a short church service. The response was unyielding: we were not allowed to gather into groups larger than three persons and absolutely could not have a church service.

During the next few days we all grumbled that we should not have backed down in our intention to have a church service and ought to do it the coming Sunday. Toward the end of the week, Ned stepped forward and said, "Are we really committed to having church Sunday?"

There was a murmuring of the assent throughout the cell. Ned said, "No, I want to know person by person if you are really committed to holding church."

We all knew the implications of our answer. If we went ahead with the plan, some would pay the price -- starting with Ned himself because he was the SRO. He went around the cell pointing to each of us individually.

"Leo, are you committed?"

"Yes."

When the 42nd man said ?yes,? it was unanimous. We had 100% commitment to hold church the next Sunday. At that instant, Ned knew he would end up in the torture cells. It was different from previous Sunday. We now had a goal and we were committed. We only needed to develop a plan.

Sunday morning came and we knew they would be watching us again. Once more, we gathered in the far end of the cell. As soon as we moved together, the interrogator and guards burst through the door. Ned stepped forward and said there wouldn't be a problem, we were just going to hold a quiet, 10-minute church service and then we would spread back out in the cell. As expected, they grabbed him and hauled him off for torture.

Our plan unfolded. The second ranking man, the new SRO, stood, walked to the center of the cell and in a clear, firm voice said, "Gentlemen," our signal to stand, "the Lord's Prayer." We got perhaps halfway through the prayer when the guards grabbed the SRO and hauled him out the door.

As planned, the number three SRO stood, walked to the center of the cell and said, "Gentlemen, the Lord's Prayer." We had gotten about to "Thy kingdom come" before the guards grabbed him. Immediately, the number four SRO stood, "Gentlemen, the Lord's Prayer."

I have never heard five or six words from the Lord's Prayer recited so loudly or so reverently. The interrogator was shouting, "Stop, stop!" but we drowned him out. The guards were now hitting POWs with gun butts and the cell was in chaos.

The number five ranking officer was way back in the corner and took his time moving toward the center of the cell. (I was number seven, and not particularly anxious for him to hurry.) But just before he got to the center of the area, the cell became pin-drop quiet.

In Vietnamese, the interrogator spat out something to the guards. They grabbed the number five SRO and they all left, locking the cell door behind them. The number six SRO began, "Gentlemen, the Lord's Prayer." This time we finished it.

Five courageous officers were tortured, but I think they believed it was worth it. From that Sunday on until we came home, we held a church service. We won. They lost. Forty-two men in prison pajamas followed Ned?s lead. I know I will never see a better example of pure, raw leadership or will ever pray with a better sense of the meaning of those words.

[HappyChristian]

I read stories of the men at Hanoi Hilton and just weep.

We went to the Memorial service on Sunday. It was a good service. My friend and her hubby and kids came, as did another couple of folks from our church. We were able to hand out a good number of the books, all of which had a miliatry tract placed inside. Boy Scout troops took some and promised to share them with the other boys. The JROTC from another town was there, and my son was able to give a few to them, with the promise to share it with others in JROTC. Only one man that I know of refused a book, and that is probably because he'd either been given one before or seen it - and didn't like the spiritual tone of it. He was not friendly, and watched us handing them out with a very sour look on his face. Everyone else was happy to take one and promised to share it with others.

For the actual day, I stayed home and relaxed. My hubby golfed in the morning, and both my guys played ball the rest of the day. It's actually the only day in the year that they can both play ball - sometimes on July 4, but not this year, since it's on a Saturday.

Molly - will be praying for Christopher. Give Shelley this site: http://www.militarymoms.net/ It's a site for moms whose kids have been or are being deployed. Lots of encouragement. I don't like the songs that play on the opening page most of the time, but they can be tolerated long enough to get to another page...and, of course, she may like the song! :Green