FReeper Canteen ~ Sunday Chapel ~ TRANSITIONS ~ 08 August 2021

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 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

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Please join us for Sunday Chapel ~ TRANSITIONS, and Liberty

Lt. Charles F. Suver, CHC, USN, 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division
"Mass at Iwo Jima"

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!

[lightman]

Keep the Lord’s Day in the Lord’s way.

A blessed Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (Western)/Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Orthodox) to all!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...and a Blessed Lord’s Day and Shavua Tov to you and yours.

Are you and Blue enjoying good weather?

At least 20 drops of rain today...maybe real rain by morning. If not, out come the sprinklers for the lawn.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Dear God:
I ask that no Airman, Coast Guardsman,
Marine, Sailor, Soldier, Reservist, National Guardsman, or Merchant Marine
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]

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]

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.

[left that other site]

It was really hot today. I ended up taking off my jacket and ridng around in a T-Shirt.

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

And a blessed Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (Western)/Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Orthodox).

[Kathy in Alaska]

Nice...so long as you are really watching out for stupid drivers and things in the road.

How’s your drywall doing? Penny holding up from all the activity?

[left that other site]

Still waiting on the drywall. meanwhile, in order to expose the walls that need work, I had to move my bed, up against the closet doors, which means i can’t wear any of my nicer clothes for church. This is the second week in a row i have worn the same shirt. I wouldn’t mind, except that I am up on the platform playing music, and want to look nice. Oh Well.

At least it’s freshly laundered.

[left that other site]

Penny just sits on her Big KONG Bed and watches the world revolve around her. :-)

[The Mayor]

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

August 8

Good Trouble

Bible in a Year:

• Psalms 74–76
• Romans 9:16–33

Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

Amos 5:24

When John Lewis, an American congressman and civil rights leader, died in 2020, people from many political persuasions mourned. In 1965, Lewis marched with Martin Luther King Jr. to secure voting rights for Black citizens. During the march, Lewis suffered a cracked skull, causing scars he carried the rest of his life. “When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair,” Lewis said, “you have a moral obligation to say something. To do something.” He also said, “Never, ever, be afraid to make some noise and get in good, necessary trouble.”

Lewis learned early that doing what was right, to be faithful to the truth, required making “good” trouble. He would need to speak things that were unpopular. The prophet Amos knew this too. Seeing Israel’s sin and injustice, he couldn’t keep quiet. Amos denounced how the powerful were oppressing “the innocent and tak[ing] bribes and depriv[ing] the poor of justice in the courts,” while building “stone mansions” with “lush vineyards” (Amos 5:11–12). Rather than maintaining his own safety and comfort by staying out of the fray, Amos named the evil. The prophet made good, necessary trouble.

But this trouble aimed at something good—justice for all. “Let justice roll on like a river!” Amos exclaimed (v. 24). When we get into good trouble (the kind of righteous, nonviolent trouble justice requires), the goal is always goodness and healing.

Reflect & Pray

Where do you sense the Holy Spirit might be prompting you to make some good trouble? How can you discern the godly way to do just that?

Heavenly Father, if I’m left to myself, I’ll likely play it safe, stay comfortable, keep quiet. But I know that You might ask something different. Help me discern what to do to honor You.

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

THANK YOU
for your service!

[Kathy in Alaska]

But...everyone at church knows what happened, AND it is clean. 🙂

[mountainlion]

Today is Purple Heart day started in 1782 by George Washington.

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

I hope you had a relaxing day.
I was hoping to see rain on the Lake Hood cam but all I see is gloomy skies. :-(

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

A Blessed Lord’s Day to you and yours.

Hope you are getting some good rest.