FReeper Canteen ~ Sunday Chapel ~ TRANSITIONS ~ 26 August 2012

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

 

 

 

TRANSITIONS

It's a "red letter" day at our household today...(and maybe a time for some "red eyes" as well). It is a time of real adjustment...so much so that my daughter asked to stay home from school. And my wife has been dreading the inevitable battle with emotions...one which she will probably lose. There were phone calls from family and friends, and parties over the weekend. Old scrapbooks were dusted off and passed around. Memories of other times and events were recalled and relived. There was some good-natured "ribbing" and some nervous laughter, all leaning inexorably toward the change that today would most certainly bring. And no matter how the scenario plays itself out, things will never be the same for our family again. It's a time for closing one chapter of life and beginning another. Today, you see, is the day my son leaves for "boot camp"! It's one of those times we call a "transition".

Transitions come in all shapes and sizes, but they all require us to change. And that's usually painful. Sooner or later, however, everything changes. We move from one place to another…or from one job to another...or even from one relationship to another. Sometimes we think that staying in one place will give us the stability we crave. And sometimes it does, but only for a while, because that's the way life is. Time moves on. And even if our geography stays the same, each of us will still face life's inevitable "passages"...from one age to another, from one responsibility to another, from one stage of life to another...each requiring a new way of relating, a new set of skills, and a new perspective.

There is a spiritual issue in dealing with such change, according to author and professor Bill Ratliff. It's hearing and responding to the will of God. "The scriptures and the lives of religious persons throughout history, have given witness to God's calling persons into new places", he says. "As God called Abraham, God calls us, 'Leave your country, your kindred, and your father's house for a country which I will show you' (Genesis 12:1)". It's a familiar quest, but the pilgrimage must be individually discerned and is always unique for each of us.

Ratliff also reminds us that to refuse this pilgrimage, to refuse to "enter the wilderness", to "play it safe" rather than following God out into the unknown, is (to some extent) to choose death, to abandon our "growing edge", to give up the destiny of who we are called to become. Better then we should go THROUGH the valley of the shadow, even when it is uncharted and scary. Because more often than not, the loneliness of the wilderness is where God has chosen to speak most clearly, where things are out of our control, where we have no choice but to depend on God's grace.

In one sense this transition is an easy one for my family. It's part of the process of growing up. Something every family expects to face. And we have every reason to expect positive results as this "fledgling" learns to fly (quite literally since he has committed to the Army Airborne). Still, it is comforting to know that whether we "take the wings of the morning" ... or "dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there (God's) hand shall lead" us and His "right hand shall hold" us. That He comprehends our path, and our lying down; and is acquainted with all our ways. The Psalmist was right: "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it." His responses are equally valid. First, to praise God and second to pray: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in thy way everlasting".

Can any of us afford to do any less?

CAPT J. David Atwater, CHC, USN

 

[HopeandGlory]

Good morning Troops, Veterans and Canteeners.

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Our Flag Flying Proudly One Nation Under God

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Lord, Please Bless Our Troops, They're fighting for our Freedom.

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God Bless Our Republic

I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic, for which it stands;
one nation UNDER GOD,
indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.

Prayers going up

[Diver Dave]

Great message!

Wishing all a Blessed Lord’s Day

[Kathy in Alaska]

Please join us for Sunday Chapel ~ TRANSITIONS ~ and Liberty

Please stop in and say a prayer of protection for the military.
Prayers from all denominations are needed.

Sunday Liberty starts after the Guest Military Chaplain's Service!

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

Off-Limits
August 26, 2012

As a 12-year-old, I was curious about the Bible my dad was given when he retired from the paper mill. It came in a special cedar box marked The Holy Bible, and I assumed that “holy” meant it was off-limits to me. But still I peered inside. In the center of the Bible was a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross, along with the words of John 3:16. There was also a see-through red film covering the page, which I assumed meant He bled and died.

Occasionally, when no one else was looking, I would gently pull the holy Book off the shelf, open the box, look at the picture of Jesus on the cross, read the verse, and wonder about this Man and why He died. I wondered if His love was meant for me or if it too was off-limits.

Several years later I heard a message about how God had provided access to His love through Jesus. Romans 5:1-2 tells us: “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” I believed and received Jesus’ salvation from my sin.

Aren’t you thankful that the Bible and God’s love aren’t off-limits? Receive His forgiveness—it’s meant for unholy people like you and me.

How precious is God’s holy Word—
Its pages every one!
They lead us to the Living Word—
To Jesus, God’s dear Son. —D. De Haan

The Bible is God’s love letter to us.

Read: Romans 5:1-8

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. —John 3:16

Bible in a Year:
Jeremiah 27-29

[Savage Beast]

Note tagline.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Dear God:
I ask that no Airman, Coast Guardsman,
Marine, Sailor, Soldier, Reservist, or National Guardsman
Feel alone or forgotten.

O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is loving kindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.

Psalm 130:7 & 8

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

Good Lord's Day and Shavua Tov to you!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Shavua Tov.
Wishing all our Jewish troops, veterans, families, allies, friends, and Canteeners
a peaceful and prosperous week.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Prayers for our troops, veterans, families, allies, friends, and Canteeners
for a safe and peaceful week ahead.

[Kathy in Alaska]

A Blessed Lord's Day to you and yours, Nana Hope, and thanks for today's Pledge...((HUGS)) Thanks, AfghanMan and Penguin Girl, for your service to America.

[Kathy in Alaska]

He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Force, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our G-d from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.

May HASHEM cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighting men from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.

May He lead our enemies under their sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is Hashem, your G-d, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.

G-d bless and keep your children safe, Alouette.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Dave....a Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours.

Feeling good these days? Having a good weekend so far?

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS))))

[SandRat]

Hi Kathy,...((HUGS))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thanks for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

A Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours. Hope you are having a nice relaxing Saturday.

[Kathy in Alaska]

God Bless our military men and women who have given their all.

Thanks, unique.

[ConorMacNessa]

Good evening, Kathy!

*HUGS*

Thanks very much for tonight's Sunday Chapel thread! And a Blessed Lord's Day to you and yours!



Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, Military Families, for your service to our country.

John Conlee ~ They Also Serve

[ConorMacNessa]

REST IN PEACE, FALLEN BROTHER!





Ltjg. Neil Armstrong, USN, died 25Aug2012

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7 (KJV)

Eternal Father, Strong to Save



Rest in Peace, fallen brother, rest in peace!
We who remain hold you in high honor.
Rest, fallen brother, in this sacred precinct;
We who remain keep this place sacred.
Rest, fallen brother, among these, your comrades;
We who remain keep the watch.
Rest, fallen brother, amid these who heeded the Nation’s call;
We who remain press the fight forward in your name.
Rest, fallen brother, lay down thy burden;
We who remain have taken up the torch.
Rest in Peace, fallen brother, rest in eternal peace!



Taps

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)