[The Mayor]

Jonathan again caused David to vow, because . . . he loved him as he loved his own soul. —1 Samuel 20:17

A true friend helps you keep going when you feel like giving up.

[Pippin]

Good Morning, (((TM))!

and everybody else!

My after action report coming up later!

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Mr. Mayor.

[The Mayor]

May 3, 2004

The Power Of Two

Read: 1 Samuel 20:12-17,41-42

Jonathan again caused David to vow, because . . . he loved him as he loved his own soul. —1 Samuel 20:17

Bible In One Year: 1 Kings 14-15; Luke 22:21-46

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In G. K. Chesterton's novel The Man Who Was Thursday, an undercover policeman infiltrates a lawless group that is dedicated to throwing the world into chaos. He is gripped with fear until he discovers an ally within the group.

Chesterton writes of the policeman's feelings at finding a friend: "Through all this ordeal his root horror had been isolation, and there are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. It may be conceded to the mathematicians that four is twice two. But two is not twice one; two is two thousand times one."

When David was being pursued by the jealous and irrational King Saul, he had a friend who risked great danger to stand with him. Jonathan, Saul's own son, pledged his loyalty to David and warned him of his father's intention to kill him (1 Samuel 20:31-42). Later, when Saul pursued David into the wilderness, Jonathan "arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God" (23:16).

What a wonderful gift we give by standing faithfully with a friend in need! There is incredible encouragement and power when two people are allied in life. Whose hand can you strengthen by being a friend today? —David McCasland

Lord, help me be the kind of friend
That makes my friend secure;
So he can find new strength and hope
His trials to endure. —D. De Haan

A true friend helps you keep going when you feel like giving up.

[RepubMommy]

Good morning to all and thank you for including my brother, who is set to grdauate from his AIT, Intelligence this Weds at Ft Huachuca. Since this thread is so well rec;d, I hope noone minds that I ask for some prayers for my grandmother. She has been hospitalized due to respiratory problems (a longstanding history of emphysema) and was set to go home on Saturday. On Friday night, she fell in her patient home while walking to the bathroom and broke her arm. She is set to have surgery this morning and due to her respiratory condition, I am concerned about her respiratory status. A group of my family, including myself, ironically enough, is heading west to AZ to see my brother graduate, we will be back the end of the week. Needless to say we are torn about being excited and proud that our soldier is grduating, yet we are leaving our loved one right after her scheduled surgery (other family will be here). I am asking for my fellow Freepers to pray she makes it through the surgery uneventfully and heals as quickly as she can. On a minor note, I am not a fan of flying and have to even deal with a layover (with my 2 small kids in tow). Thank you and God bless.

[The Mayor]

Source Buffalo.com

By JIM KRANE

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Former American hostage Thomas Hamill, who escaped from his Iraqi captors over the weekend, has left the country en route to Germany and the United States, a senior U.S. official said Monday.

Hamill 43, of Macon, Miss., pried open the doors of the house where he was being held late Sunday morning and ran a half-mile to a military convoy that was passing by near the town of Balad north of Baghdad.

The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hamill would go first to a U.S. military hospital at Landstuhl, Germany for a checkup before proceeding back to the United States.

A hospital spokeswoman said Hamill was to be reunited with his wife Kellie Hamill on Monday in Germany.

The military has said Hamill is in overall good health, but a gunshot wound to his left arm might be infected. "We have doctors and nurses prepared to give him a medical evaluation as soon as he arrives," said spokeswoman Marie Shaw.

Hamill, a truck driver for a subsidiary of Houston-based Halliburton Corp., was captured April 9 by gunmen who blasted the convoy he was driving on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[The Mayor]

I have to go for the day.
Mrs Mayor made a doctors appointment for me at 8:45

I don't mind the time on any other day but Military Monday.

Have a great day everyone, see you tonight.

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody ! Happy Monday !

________________________________

Updated with TeRAYza in the pic now ....

[FreeTheHostages]

This one's about Heaven -- I think you might have been an angel! -- and it looks just like you!

[Temple Owl]

Good Morning Freepers, please join me in celebrating a wonderful May 3.

[Billie]

Good afternoon to my Finest Family. A big thank you to our Finest Military Family on this Military Monday. We appreciate each and every one of you, and for those who are on active duty right now, our prayers are with you. Thank you for your bravery and your love of country. God Bless You, and please come home safely.