Posted on 05/21/2006 6:33:09 PM PDT by The Mayor
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T.G.I.F. at the Finest |
Every Thursday at the Finest  |
May 22, 2006
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The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. —Psalm 24:1
You’re not the boss of me!” Have you ever heard a child make this statement to someone in authority? It’s the child’s attempt to assert his or her independence.
It’s not just children, though. No matter what our age, we don’t like having someone tell us what to do. After all, that person might ask us to do something we don’t want to do, or put us in a situation we don’t want to be in.
Therein lies the fear of trusting God. Afraid of putting control of our life into His hands, we prefer to dig in and say, “You’re not the boss of me.”
There’s a serious problem with that line of thinking: It’s not accurate. In reality, we cannot tell God that He’s not in charge. In Psalm 24, David said, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein” (v.1). God is the boss of “those who dwell” in the world. That means all of us.
Our response, therefore, of trusting Him and turning our life over to Him comes when we acknowledge His authority. We say to Him, “Lord, You are the boss of me! I acknowledge Your ownership, and I want to work with You to accomplish Your will.”
We are God’s. He is in charge. Our job is to trust in Him and live for Him.
Thanks Dave, a great link to post here too.
Pentagon urged to do more to help service members with financial needs
By: MARCY GORDON - Associated Press
WASHINGTON ---- The Defense Department needs to do more to help with the financial needs of those in the military, many of whom pay exorbitant prices to borrow or invest and fall deep into debt, a congressional auditor and a lawmaker said Thursday.
Lawmakers are concerned about financial companies that target members of the military with high-pressure sales tactics and charge excessive fees. In addition, a recent report by congressional investigators found that nearly 900 Army soldiers wounded in war ran up $1.2 million in debt because of a military pay system said to be complex and cumbersome.
Many in the military report having difficulty covering their expenses and saving for the future.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a member of the House Financial Services Committee's investigative panel, said at a hearing that the Defense Department has not done enough for military personnel. "I've not seen anything that's been done to protect them, to educate them," she said.
Waters cited the proliferation near military bases of payday lenders, from whom an estimated 9 percent to 12 percent of members of the military borrow money at high rates against their paychecks.
Valerie Melvin, an official of the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, said the Pentagon has taken several steps, including financial management training, but more needs to be done. Some junior enlisted members have not been receiving the mandatory training, according to the GAO.
The Pentagon has said that it is working to resolve the problems. A Defense Department spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, declined comment Thursday.
Serious financial problems can distract people in the military in performing their duties and affect military readiness, officials say. That can lead to the loss of security clearances and even discharge from the military.
For soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the GAO has noted that limited Internet access, the cost of calling from overseas and delays in mail delivery have contributed to financial problems.
In February, securities-industry regulators, alarmed by the abusive marketing to military recruits of overpriced, unsuitable mutual funds and life insurance, started a campaign to educate service members and their spouses on financial matters.
The National Association of Securities Dealers' $6.8 million program provides financial training programs for military spouses and financial counselors located on bases.
The sessions, which include seminars on stock scams, predatory lending and college savings plans, have been held in Honolulu, on U.S. bases in Japan and on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.
On the Net:
Government Accountability Office: http://www.gao.gov
National Association of Securities Dealers: http://www.nasd.com
Defense Department: http://www.defenselink.mil
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Woohoo! In early.
God bless our Military! For all that you do --We Salute You! |
Bob, that is Beautiful..
TThank you.
Evenin, and early in you are..
Evenin Luv, Thank you!
Good evening Mayor! Hope you had a wonderful weekend with your family.
Thanks for our beautiful lesson from God's Word. We DO know whose we are!
Thanks for the thread and devotion.
You're very welcome, Rus. You know that Military Monday is my favorite day of the week, after Sunday! ;o)
Yes, good weekend did some work for myself for a change.
Hope yours was a good one too.
My pleasure Dub.
Good for you doing work for yourself.
We are on vacation and I am writing from Northwestern Missouri. It's just beautiful up here. My hubby's aunt had a surprise birthday party for my MIL--which was really no surprise LOL!--and we will be here till Tuesday.
| "... love is the only thing that makes people willing to sacrifice for each other. I remember flying home as the sun was rising over the desert, thinking how odd it was that in the middle of a war, love was what motivated us. "
REPORTER'S NOTE: I have read many poignant reports from the battlefields of Iraq, but I must admit this one stirred my heart unlike any other. It is well worth reading in its entirety! -- Teresa Neumann, BCN.
The following are excerpts from an interview with Major Givler by reporter Jamie Glazov: FP: Tell us your thoughts on our troops, what they are doing, and the magic it takes to illustrate what things are like for you/them. Givler: On my first deployment I flew 31 sorties as a crew member on a surveillance aircraft. Most of the flights were quite long - well over 10 hours - and often, at a moment's notice, we went from mind-numbing boredom to being so busy it seemed we barely had time to breath. ...People made sacrifices all the time, and put personal issues aside in order to work together more effectively. I was thinking about that one morning as we were flying home. It had been our longest and most difficult sortie yet - we'd been supporting ground troops all night long who had been under fire, and some of them died while we were trying to help them - I was wondering what enabled us to keep it together, and to work more closely together than I would ever have thought possible. Training is certainly part of the answer, but the biggest part, I believe, is love. Our love for our nation and what it represents, our love for each other, and for the men and women we were supporting - love is the only thing that makes people willing to sacrifice for each other. I remember flying home as the sun was rising over the desert, thinking how odd it was that in the middle of a war, love was what motivated us. I saw the same thing over and over again. On my second deployment I was able to get into Iraq on the ground, instead of flying over it all the time, and I spent some time working with soldiers and Marines. I got stranded in Taqadam with a bunch of young Marines who'd been wounded in Fallujah, received treatment, and were doing everything they could to get themselves back to their units so that their buddies would not be shorthanded. Those were great young men, and I was proud to be with them. I think people probably assume that wars are fueled by hate, but from what I've seen, love is what motivates our people. These things are hard to get across to those who haven't experienced them, and many times, I wrote home worried that nobody would understand what I was talking about. But people seemed to understand. I think these themes resonate with Americans. I think that, even as far as we have gotten from our roots, there's still enough of the Founding Fathers' America in us that we understand and admire sacrificing for others, sacrificing for freedom. Maybe that's why I came home feeling so profoundly changed, because I'd caught a glimpse of that kind of selflessness, and once you've seen it - once you've served with kids half your age to whom you've entrusted your life without a second thought - I don't think you can help but be affected by it. That really became a major reason for writing this book. Having seen such heights of performance and sacrifice, I was worried that I would get back to my daily life and forget about them. I didn't want to forget what I had seen, so I started writing about it. FP: Can you talk a bit about interactions with coalition forces? Givler: On my second deployment I got to talk to representatives of over a dozen coalition nations. This came as a shock to me, because, as you know, our actions in Iraq are "unilateral." I was talking to a Japanese C-130 pilot, and I told him we were thankful for his nation's support. He said, "Oh no, we are honored to be participating." That didn't sound to me like a member of, how did the press put it, "the coalition of the bribed?" In the book I mention some of the time I spent with members of the Australian Air Force - some of the warmest, friendliest people I've ever met, despite the fact that I couldn't understand a word they said to me. The most important moment I spent with foreign forces though, was the time I had lunch with members of the Iraqi National Guard. They were eating at a chow hall near Camp Victory, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk with them. I asked them what they thought about the fact that merely by putting on their uniforms, they made targets of themselves and their families. They told me without hesitation that they were willing to give their lives if it meant that Iraq would be free. That was an important moment for me. Prior to that time I had known we could win militarily, but I didn't know what would come next. After that conversation though, I realized that they got it, that they understand what the stakes are, and that they are fully invested in forging a free country. I left that meal more encouraged than I had been in a long time. FP: Kindly shed some light for us on your, and other troops', experiences with loneliness, what it means to leave your families for extended periods. Givler: I worry some times about not being a good father because this job takes me away so often, but in the end it comes down to the fact that I know I'm making a long-term investment here. I'm sacrificing some of my time with my family for the present in order to secure their future, and I have to believe they understand that. Loneliness is a tough part of the job, but we work hard, and we work long hours; often, there's just not time for it. Also, and I suppose this may sound strange, but there were times, one time in particular when I was stranded in Baghdad, and couldn't get where I needed to go. I was tired and frustrated, and the conditions were perfect for me to start feeling lonely and sorry for myself - here's the strange part - I was walking to my quarters and I was thinking about how far away my family was, and right at that moment I was absolutely certain that someone was praying for me. There was no other way I could explain the feeling that came over me. I felt at peace. And I should mention something else while we're talking about loneliness, and about prayer. The chaplains who are over there serving our troops are the most tireless, selfless ones of all. Those guys are always there for the troops, always visiting them where they work, making them cookies, praying for them, keeping them grounded. You don't hear very much about our chaplain corps, but those guys are essential to what we do. FP: What is this war in Iraq about? Are you optimistic we will win? What do we need to do to prevail? Givler: Iraqis enjoy greater freedom and prosperity than they have in generations. Terrorists from half a dozen different nations are obligingly concentrating themselves in a few small towns, and our forces are killing them there, which is much better than our families having to face them over here. I'm optimistic that we will win because of all these things that we've accomplished. I'm optimistic that, unless we are prevented from doing so by people who've lost the will to defend our nation, we will stay the course long enough for the Iraqis to take control of a new, free nation, and when they do that, the Persian Gulf, the Middle East - will never be the same because freedom is contagious. |
Missouri, I have cousins and an Aunt that live there.
Don't know where exactly, just Misery is all. : )
Well, who knows. They might live close to where I am. We are in a rural community near St. Joseph. It's pretty and pleasantly cool here. I just saw the temperature for back home and it's still 91 degrees. I dread going back home. :o(
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Major Steven Givler is a career intelligence officer in the United States Air Force who has flown more than 30 combat and combat support sorties in surveillance aircraft in support of the war on terror, and has traveled the length and breadth of Iraq on the ground. He is also the author of the new book Notes of Joy and Sadness, Letters and Paintings from Operation Iraqi Freedom.