USO Canteen FReeper Style Pray for the Troops and President Bush....October 20,2002

FRiends of the USO Canteen FReeper Style ~Coteblanche & Snow Bunny~

[Snow Bunny]

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Although we are always aware
that the Canteen is operating
in Cyberspace, we want the troops
and anyone who is on the receiving end
of prayers at the Canteen,
to know that these prayers are very real.

I hope the troops and Canteeners
alike, will view this Canteen Chapel,
as a place where you might go in times of
trouble or times of joy to be with your God.

"Come unto me all ye who are weary and
burdened,and I shall give you rest." (Matt: 11:28).

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George W. Bush: A President of Faith

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A Man of Prayer

A reporter on CNN was asked

"What did George W. Bush do
on his first morning as president-elect?"

This was Tony Clark's answer:

"He attended a prayer service with family,
friends and staff members."

George W Bush's priorities were established
on the first day of his Presidency.

The President Takes His Faith to Work

President George W. Bush looks over to Thomas Martello, 6,
during the signing ceremony of the Victims of Terrorism
Tax Relief Act in the East Room Jan. 23.
"We're joined today by families who have lost loved ones
in the great acts of evil," said the President.
"As you draw on faith and personal strength to cope with your grief,
I hope you'll also find comfort in the knowledge that
your nation stands with you and prays for you.
We mourn those whom we've lost, and we face the future together."

The President Lives his Faith

President Bush says he prays every day
in all kinds of situations,
and has been seen to quietly bow his head and pray
before news conferences and important meetings.
"I pray for guidance. I do not pray for earthly things
but for heavenly things, for wisdom
and patience and understanding."

"For strength and support, Bush turns to
the same things that have sustained
him for two decades: his faith and his family . . .
Bush prays and reads the Bible every day.
These days, aides say, they often spot
a Bible on his desk in the Oval Office.
In conversation or meetings, he often refers to
passages of Scripture that he has just read."

"There are prayers that help us last
through the day, or endure the night.
There are prayers of friends and strangers
that give us strength for the journey.
And there are prayers that yield
our will to a will greater than our own."

George W. Bush September 14, 2001
National Day of Prayer and Remembrance.

Listen to President George W Bush
in an Inspiring Song by Russ Lee

Don't miss this.

I'm Going To Live What I Believe

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Music for a Sunday

How Great Thou Art (Elvis Presley) ......A Mighty Fortress

Amazing Grace (Statler Brothers).....Praise Adonai (Steve Israel)

The Lord's Prayer.....Ave Maria

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Hymns of the Military

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Army Hymn: "God of Our Fathers"

Navy Hymn: "Eternal Father Strong to Save"

Air Force Hymn: "Lord Guard and Guide the Men Who Fly"

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We, at the Canteen, offer these prayers 
to those serving their country 
today. God Bless you all.

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Psalm 59:1,16&17
(Patti Vaillant)

"Deliver me from mine enemies,O my God:
Defend me from them that rise up against me.
But I will sing of thy power;yes I will sing
aloud of thy mercy in the morning; for thou
hast been my defence and refuge in the day
of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength will
I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of 
my mercy."

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Our Prayer
(Celine Dion/Andrea Bocelli)

I pray you'll be our eyes, 
And watch us where we go.
And help us to be wise 
In times when we don't know.

Let this be our prayer, 
When we lose our way.
Lead us to a place, 
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe. 

I pray we'll find your light,
And hold it in our hearts
When stars go out each night,
Remind us where you are.. 

Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace 
Give us faith so we'll be safe.

We ask that life be kind
And watch us from above.
We hope each soul will find
Another soul to love.

Let this be our prayer,
Just like every child,
Needs to find a place, 
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe.

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Introducing .....

Today we are introducing a new feature to the 
Sunday Canteen - The Chaplain's Corner - with our 
very own FReeper chaplain, Grant Swank. 

Grant has been a regular contributor at the Poetry 
Branch, and we have come to know and appreciate his 
talent and his sincerity. Besides that - he is a 
genuinely nice guy :-).

Let me introduce you to Grant:

Grant Swank is pastor of the New Hope Church. 
He has pastored for 40+ years, 
ministering in Calgary, Alberta; Indianapolis; 
Kansas City; Manchester CT; Akron OH; Fishkill NY; 
Walpole MA and presently in Maine. 

Grant also finds ministry in writing for various 
Protestant and Catholic publications, including 
CHRISTIANITY TODAY, DECISION and THE PRIEST. 

Presently, Grant is providing columns for websites 
such as CHALCEDON, INTELLECTUAL.CONSERVATIVE, 
MENSNEWSDAILY, MICHNEWS and WOUNDEDSHEPHERDS. 

He also writes a weekly column, "Lakes Religion," 
for the PORTLAND PRESS HERALD newspaper, Portland ME. 

He and his wife, Priscilla, have traveled extensively, 
including the Middle East, Europe and South America. 
The Swanks have three adult children: Crystal, Jay and 
Heidi Jo.

We are very fortunate that Grant has agreed to give 
us a brief message every Sunday at the Canteen. We 
hope it will be a comfort to you, and to every serviceman 
and servicewoman joining us.

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The Chaplain's Corner

J. Grant Swank, Jr.,
Pastor, New Hope Church

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WHEN NOTHING WORKS, GOD IS

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How many times in life do you sit yourself down and say, "Nothing is happening. Maybe even God forgot to punch in today."

Oh really?

Go figure, as the teens say today. Go figure what happened with Joe seated in Egypt's jailhouse cell. Nothing was going on. Nothing. Rats ran across the floor. Water gathered flies in the corner bowl. But God had failed to punch in.

Go figure what was going on with Job seated on an ash heap. Nothing was moving but his squirrelly wife who wound his ear drums up tight. "Curse God and die!" Nice woman. Really one sweety pie of a gal. In other words, from all appearances, nothing at all was happening in that man's life but the worst of times.

Go figure with Dan being led to the den. Hands tied with rope. Burly soldiers tossing him about the footpath. An empire breathing down his slender throat. And lions salivating all over the cave floor. Obviously, God had forgotten to punch in.

Go figure with Noah and Mom Noah and three sons with daughters-in-law. Nothing really was happening but more sweat pounded into a backyard boat. And for what? For a "rain" that had never been? For "drops from above" that were mere fiction? Noah had ringing in his ears night and day due to the clamor of neighbors' pans clanging ridicule till dawn. Evidently God had forgotten to punch in.

Go figure with Paul, stoned and left for dead. For doing what? For preaching love, joy and peace. For showing a village how to find their ways to heaven. For befriending Jews and Gentiles alike for Jesus' sake. The end of it all was a ministry of stones pounded into his flesh. God--why don't you remember to show up for work when Paul needs you?

Go figure with you--vacuum, nobody loves you, nothing is going right, friends have betrayed you, enemies are screwing up their ammunition fire for another round, skies are loaded with rain clouds, and a dentist appointment stares you in the face for l o'clock this afternoon!

Do you not believe that when nothing works, God is? Have you not committed yourself to blind faith in His doings, whether you can understand them or not, whether you feel anything religious or not, whether anyone else cares about your mission or not?

Do you not reckon that the journey can be a lonely one? The way of the cross? The pilgrimage of an alien here below?

Then look back particularly on one who--go figure--had all the reasons to conclude that Father had forgotten to clock in on that particular Thursday night, moving into Friday's bloodletting as well.

There He hung--messed up, unsightly, belly bellowing to the Calvary winds, flies buzzing about his crusted brow, arms sagging beneath nails punched into his skin, an army of cowardly disciples hiding out in nighttime's shelters. Nothing was going on. Nothing.

Go figure.

[GatorGirl]

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle, be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do you, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the divine Power of God, thrust into Hell Satan and all the other evil spirits, who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Hey, I like that!

[SAMWolf]

This is dedicated to all of our troops. All of the brave men & women that are going to place and are placing their lives on the line to defend our country. Without our fearless, determined, reliable military, where would we be? We would not be where we are now.



To all the brave men & women who are going to travel overseas into unfamiliar territory to fight for our country, I applaud you. My thoughts and prayers will be with you every day that you have to spend overseas.

May God Bless & watch over you all. For each and every one of you is a true hero.

GOD BLESS AMERICA
and
OUR TROOPS

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Pastor Swank, I would like to join the others in welcoming you to the Canteen, and in thanking you for the message this morning. What a pleasure! I will look forward to reading your insights each weekend.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Hey, that was a good joke! Thanks. : )

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good afternoon Troops, families, veterans, Canadian and Israeli allies (and everybody else). Thank you for taking such good care of the USA.

Today in Anchorage, Alaska:

Sunrise 8:56am
Sunset 6:30pm

Hi 49F
Lo 41F

Cloudy (BUT IT'S STILL SPRINKLING--STOP!!)

Actual yesterday in Anchorage:

Hi 45F
Lo 40F

State Hi 61F Metlakatla
State Lo –8 Barrow

[SAMWolf]

Search Ends for Missing Pilots
Sun Oct 20,12:44 PM ET

(KCBS)--The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for four missing U.S. Navy pilots off the coast of Big Sur.

The U-S Navy identified the missing officers as 31-year-old Lieutenant Stephen R. Nevarez of New Orleans;
30-year-old Lieutenant Joel A. Korkowski of Phoenix;
27-year-old Lieutenant Matthew S. Shubzda of Dallas;
and 26-year-old Lieutenant Stephen N. Benson of Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The water where the Navy F-18s crashed during a training exercise is about 11-thousand-500 feet deep.

There were four naval aviators in the F-18 Super Hornets when the planes went down 10am Friday, 80 miles southwest of Monterey.

The Super Hornets were based out of Naval Air Station Leemore in Kings County. Navy says the jets were taking part in a routine training exercise and were not carrying weapons. This is the first crash involving Super Hornets since the Navy launched the jets.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Bless This House sung along with this morning, twice because I love this song for our USO Canteen, and Prayer of Protection said for all who enter the USO Canteen Freeper Style, including our troops, our veterans, their families and our allies. Welcome to all who come to honor our troops, for whom this USO Canteen was created.

A PRAYER OF PROTECTION

The light of God surround you

The love of God enfold you

The power of God protect you

The presence of God watch over you

Wherever you are, God is,

And all is well.

Amen.

Wherever you are, God is, and all is well!

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

That breaks my heart, Sam. Prayers for all who loved them.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning, Duchess.

Yes, it does. I also can only imagine how the search and rescue team has to feel upon getting the word to quit rescue attempts.

[tomkow6]

A client brought a litter of golden retriever
puppies to my veterinary clinic for inoculations
and worming. As the look-alike pups squirmed
over and under one another in their box,
I realized it would be difficult to tell the
treated ones from the rest. So, I turned on
the water faucet, wet my fingers, and moistened
each dog's head when I had finished.
After the fourth puppy, I noticed my talkative
client had grown silent. As I sprinkled the
last pup's head, the woman leaned forward and
whispered, "I didn't know they had to be
baptized, too."

[SAMWolf]

LOL! You can never go wrong with a puppy joke Tom.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

'Morning, Sam - I thought of that, too. That has to be killing those guys. They're in my prayers as well.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good afternoon Eastbound. Thanks for stopping in the Canteen this fine Sunday of Prayer for our troops and our President.

[tomkow6]

At least, I'm trying to stay on a religious theme today, since it's Sunday!

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

That's a good Sunday joke. Very cute. : )

[tomkow6]

I just wish I could reach out & shake the hands of those who ARE visiting our troops, not to mention a bear hug or two!

[SAMWolf]

LOL! Good job.

[SAMWolf]

While I don't agree with Robin Williams' politics, I will give him credit for enteraining the troops.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

One Sunday morning, a little girl and her mother go to church. Halfway through, the little girl tells her mother she's going to be sick. Her mother tells her to go in the bushes behind the church. The girl leaves and comes back after about five minutes. Her mother asks her if she threw up.

''Yes," the girl says. "But I didn't have to go all the way 'round the back. There was a box near the front door that said 'For the Sick.'''