December 13, 2004

Cave Man

Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low. —Psalm 142:6

Bible In One Year: Hosea 12-14; Revelation 4

David was stuck in a cave (Psalm 142). Some Bible commentators think this was when he was running from King Saul, who wanted to kill him (1 Samuel 22:1). Trouble and troublemakers hounded him. Hemmed in by his circumstances and smothered by danger, he turned to God for help.

David was frightened, so he poured out his complaint to God (v.2).
He felt alone and uncared for, so he cried out to God (vv.1,4-5).
His situation was desperate, so he pleaded for rescue (v.6).
David was trapped, so he begged for freedom (v.7).

What cave surrounds you today? A cave of despair brought on by grief or illness? A cave of difficulties caused by your own poor decisions? Are you stuck in a cave of questions or doubts that rob you of joy and confidence?

Here's what David did when he was trapped in his cave: He asked God for mercy, he sought refuge in Him, and he promised to use his eventual freedom as a way to praise God. In the end, he looked forward to the comfort of fellow believers.

Complaint followed by faith. Desperation followed by praise. Loneliness followed by fellowship. We can learn a lot from a cave man. —Dave Branon

When we experience suffering,
God's comfort will abound;
For tribulations teach us where
True comfort can be found. —Sper

In every desert of calamity, God has an oasis of comfort.

I put together a great page with all the Hollywood Heroes listed in it like these..

James Stewart Entered the Army Air Force as a private and worked his way to the rank of Colonel.
During World War II, Stewart served as a bomber pilot, his service record crediting him with leading more than 20 missions over Germany, and taking part in hundreds of air strikes during his tour of duty.
Stewart earned the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, France's Croix de Guerre, and 7 Battle Stars during World War II.
In peace time, Stewart continued to be an active member of the Air Force as a reservist, reaching the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in the late 1950s.

Audie Murphy, little 5'5" tall 110 pound guy from Texas who played cowboy parts?
Most Decorated serviceman of W.W.II and earned: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Star Medals, Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Star Medals with "V", 2 Purple Hearts, U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 2 Distinguished Unit Emblems, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France) World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar, French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre, French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier, French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Medal of Liberated France, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm.

Military families helping others

FAYETTEVILLE | Old hands in this military city have learned to cope when spouses and friends are called to duty with little or no notice.

As the holidays get into full swing, they’re also learning how to bring cheer to what could be a gloomy time for separated families.

Laurrie White invites soldiers and families to dinner during holidays when they’re away from their loved ones. Her husband, Norbert, a staff sergeant, has been deployed during three of the past four Christmases.

The Whites and their five children squeeze in holiday spirit when they can.

Last year, family members opened some gifts before Norbert White was deployed in early December. This year, the family rushed the wedding of one of his daughters, 19-year-old Tiffany.

“The Lord knew and made sure her dad was with her,” Laurrie White told The Charlotte Observer.

She said she worries more about younger wives who don’t have family around to comfort them. Some of the younger ones say they worry about wives who are raising children alone.

The advice from and for both: Ask for help.

Jane Bride learned that lesson over the past two Christmases, while her husband, Maj. John Bride, has been deployed.

The couple has spent much of their relationship apart: She is from Scotland and they met in Arizona, then decided to settle in New Hampshire.

Maj. Bride, a doctor, joined the military and was sent to Texas for training while his wife settled in Fayetteville. He had been on the job at Fort Bragg’s Womack Army Medical Center only three months when he received deployment orders.

While he was away, they exchanged frequent e-mail and spoke by telephone a couple of times a week – often about the difficulties of raising two children, under 4 years old, in an unfamiliar place.

“I felt alone and didn’t know what to do,” Jane Bride said.

She’s countered that feeling this time by becoming more active. She volunteered to call other spouses when the military passes along information. She’s also coaching another wife who is moving to Fayetteville while her husband is deployed.

And thanks to a cheap fare she found, she’s taking the children to her home – Glasgow, Scotland – during the holidays. Her excitement has given her husband something less to worry about.

“He realizes we’re going to spend New Year’s with family that we love,” she said. “It’s hard|er for them than it is for us.”

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2004 - One year after U.S. forces found him hiding in a
spider hole near his hometown of Tikrit, former dictator Saddam Hussein remains
imprisoned at an undisclosed location awaiting his trial on charges of war
crimes and crimes against humanity.

Saddam is in the physical custody of Multinational Force Iraq officials,
although the Iraqi interim government maintains legal custody, according to Air
Force Maj. Michael Shavers, a DoD spokesman.

The former dictator faced an Iraqi investigative judge July 1, and will be
tried according to Iraqi law, Shavers said. A panel of Iraqi judges will
determine his fate at the Iraqi Special Tribunal, yet to be scheduled.

Saddam's status as an enemy prisoner of war ended after an Iraqi judge notified
him June 30 that he was facing criminal charges under the Iraqi criminal code,
Shavers said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has visited Saddam twice since his
capture by U.S. troops : Feb. 21 and April 27, Shavers confirmed. Officials say
he is receiving appropriate medical care and is in good health.

The upcoming tribunal will bring closure to more than three decades of
brutality by the former dictator, who has been linked to hundreds of thousands
of Iraqi deaths. Removing him from power was a major objective of Operation
Iraqi Freedom, due to the threat he posed not only to the Iraqis, but also to
the region and the United States.

One year ago today, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, civilian administrator of
the then-Coalition Provisional Authority, uttered three words that brought a
close to the manhunt for the former dictator: "We got him."

U.S. forces captured Saddam, whom they found hiding in a manmade hole in the
ground inside a remote hideaway near the village of Adwar on Dec. 13, 2003.

About 600 members of the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, along with special
operations forces, had launched Operation Red Dawn after receiving intelligence
that Saddam was in the area. A tip from someone inside the dictator's secret
circle led the U.S. forces to him.

Saddam, who had eluded coalition forces since the war had begun March 19,
surrendered without resistance. No shots were fired during the operation.

He was discovered huddled with a pistol and $750,000 in U.S. currency. Also
with him were documents that outlined the structure of Saddam's network and its
financial network - information officials said offered valuable insights to
coalition troops.

President Bush said on that day the capture marked "the end of the road," not
only for Saddam, but also "for all who bullied and killed in his name." He said
during a televised national address that the capture "was crucial to the rise
of a free Iraq" and that it sends a clear message to Baathist holdouts in Iraq.
"There will be no return to the corrupt power and privilege they once held," he
said.

Bush assured the Iraqi people that "a dark and painful era in the history of
Iraq is finally over."

"You will not have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein ever again," he said.
"The former dictator of Iraq will face the justice he denied to millions."

Shortly after the capture, Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. Central
Command, called Saddam's capture "a huge psychological blow" to the insurgency
that he said "will pay dividends over time."

"We've got a lot of fighting ahead of us," Abizaid acknowledged. "But this is a
big win for the young soldiers that made it happen, and for the young
intelligence professionals that are smart enough to put the information
together to lead us to the right place."

During his recent Dec. 7 visit to Camp Pendleton, Calif., President Bush
praised the Marines for their role in Saddam's capture. "You drove Saddam
Hussein from his palace into a spider hole," the president told a cheering
crowd of Marines and family members. "And now he sits in an Iraqi prison,
awaiting justice."