FReeper Canteen ~ Sunday Chapel ~ GOLDEN MOMENTS ~ 27 October 2024

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

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

 

 

GOLDEN MOMENTS

Once upon a time, there was a little boy from "the wrong side of the tracks" who grew up admiring a beautiful house high on the hill overlooking his town. Fortunately, he never lacked for any of the necessities of life, but he hated being "poor." He noticed that people treated him differently, and it pained him to see his parents work so hard just to make ends meet. It just didn't seem right that some should be so favored and others should have so little. But his parents has instilled some rather clear "core values" in their son so that he grew up honest, persistent and a hard worker.

All the while, the boy kept looking up at that big old house on the hill. He noticed that, when the sun came up each morning, the windows seemed to turn to gold. And after a while, that house came to symbolize all that he had missed by growing up a "disadvantaged child." (He heard his counselor at school describe him that way once.) So, year after year, he grew more and more determined. Someday, he resolved, he would own that house with windows of shining gold! And life would be good.

After a while people began to take notice that the young man worked hard, learned quickly, and could be trusted with responsibility. They nodded their heads in approval, and reckoned that he would go far. Meanwhile, he just kept working... and looking up the hill.

Years passed. The boy grew to be a man. And those painful lessons of his youth, learned through years of sacrifice and self-denial, served him well. He developed a keen sense for business. And a heart of compassion for those less fortunate. He seized each new opportunity for advancement, saved his profits, and invested wisely. Before long, his ventures began to succeed beyond even his wildest imagination. And so it was that he finally realized his dream. He bought that house high on the hill. The one with the windows of shining gold he had admired so long.

But a strange thing happened as he walked through his new home that first time. Oh, he wasn't disappointed. It was a beautiful house...perhaps even more than he had realized. The rooms were large, the furnishings he had chosen were magnificent, and the view was spectacular. But as he looked down the hill toward the town, it was late afternoon, and the sun had begun to set in the west. Suddenly he spotted his boyhood home. And every window was gleaming like the brightest gold!

Can the destination be reached without the journey? Could this man have fully appreciated his status without the struggle? Or was that struggle really a "gift" in disguise, as much as health or opportunity or natural ability? Were there blessings he could have enjoyed all along? You decide.

And what about our journey...yours and mine? What struggles have stimulated our growth and development? How has pain and hardship been part of a process to make us stronger or better or more open to God? Could that be part of the reason the Bible tells us to "give thanks in all things"?

In his book, Invisible Lines of Connection, Rabbi Lawrence Kushner writes that, "The closer we are to what is happening, the more we believe we are in complete control. The farther away we get, the more we are willing to acknowledge the participation of something greater." May God guide us as we ponder, and discover His leading in our lives, and give thanks."

CAPT J. David Atwater, CHC, USN

[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]

Please join us for Sunday Chapel ~ GOLDEN MOMENTS, 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!

[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

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

A Blessed Lord's Day and Shavua Tov to you.

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

Hope you were able to fit in some rest today after your busy week.

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

I got more rest than I intended. Was going to mow but that plan was squelched by rain this afternoon.
I lazed around for a bit, then ran some errands.

Did you manage to get out today to vote?
A pretty day up there but it definitely required a coat. BRRRRR

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

Hope the weather was nice today.

Clear and cold here. They say snow Monday and Tuesday.

[luvie]

Dallas Christian Sound~This Is My Father's World

Glad~Before the Throne Of God Above

Cathedrals~He Cared That Much For Me

Casting Crowns~Praise You In The Storm

Bill Gaither/Velstal Goodman~The Lighthouse

The Trevecca Madrigalians~It Is Well With My Soul

Statler Brothers~Sweet Beulah Land

Have a Blessed Sunday

[Kathy in Alaska]

RAIN? Real rain? You need it so badly...hope it lasted a while and then soaked in.

I tried to vote both before and after work, but the line, both times was out the door and maybe 30 more feet. I’ll try again tomorrow.

[lightman]

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

A blessed Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost (Western; aka Reformation Sunday for some Protestants)/Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Orthodox) to all!

[radu]

Howdy, luvie.

How’s it goin’ down your way today?

Pretty low key here though I did have to run some errands today.

[radu]

Weeeeeelllll, it was rain. Not a whole lot but more than enough to make the grass way too wet to mow.
Late this next week, they say we have good chances for rain and that really can’t come soon enough.

The only way to avoid a long line is to get there before they open the doors. People here start lining up at least a half hour early but there aren’t a whole lot of ‘em. In and out quickly then. I wish you luck!

[luvie]

Hey there, radu!

It was quiet here...and pretty cool. I didn’t do much. Story of my life. And I like it this way! LOL!

I’m glad it was a good day for you to do errands. Is the smoke dissipating at all?

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

Thank you for the hymns.

[luvie]

Thank you, Kathy! I hope you have a blessed Sunday, too! AND some well-deserved rest!

[radu]

Aaaaah, it was cool again? I thought it was going to be hot. Glad you got another day’s break.

It was cooler here, thank goodness, and sunny when I woke up this morning. But around noon it rained for a few minutes and kept Champ in the garage. *sigh* Maybe tomorrow.

Still pretty smoky, unfortunately.