USO Canteen FReeper Style Pray for the Troops and President Bush .... October 27,2002

FRiends of the USO Canteen FReeper Style ~Coteblanche ~Grantswank~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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The Chaplain's Corner

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

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KEEP YOUR HEAD HELD HIGH

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Frog and I peered eye to eye. Riveted. Don’t tell me those instinct-driven creatures don’t know what’s going on. They’re just like my three kids when they were little. They’d stare me right in the eye as if I were invisible—and they too were nowhere to be seen. Oh well, since I don’t grab hold of evolution, I leave other brains to figure out the connection on that one.

Anyhow, Frog spied me out and vice versa. Then as I leaned over to throw a small stick into the water, Frog hopped into oblivion. Splash. I yelled to the others, "I just saw a frog!" Dumb. As if we had never come upon a frog before. Why do we adults do that?

Autumn had come upon us. So it was time to praise the good Lord for His turn in season. With that, some of us Lakes Region believers took to the trail—Cascade Falls Trail to be specific.

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon for browsing the bushes and taking in those exceptionally spiked trees. Their heads reached far, far, faaarrr up there. A well-worn path spoke of fellow travelers who had enjoyed those same enticing environs.

Anna looked back at us, then put her hands into the air as if to conduct the choir. We got the message. It was time to sing a chorus or two. So we enthusiastically began: "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, I will sing. I will sing. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, of the mercies of the Lord."

Now some may call that a ditty. We called it "singing for fun in thanks to God for a day off from work—and hearts in tune with heaven."

Before long we came upon the falls and picnic area. Then there was the Cascade Brook with its mossy rocks and impressive descending waterway.

"Look at all this slate," someone pointed as we took in the gray bits and pieces strewn about our feet. "Reminds me of Monson," another responded, recalling the slate slabs characteristic of those north-of-us parts.

"Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid For the Lord my God is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation."

The singing continued—gladly so.

"There used to be a lion’s cage here," a seasoned pathfinder pointed out. "Many years ago walkers came upon a lion in that iron frame."

"I remember when they used to put bears in cages alongside the road," another reminisced. "As children we used to linger about them, mesmerized especially by the pandas."

"That could never happen today. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals would shut down those tiny confines."

Of course, all that was true. Yet on our trail the remains of a metal housing broken into pieces due to the ravages of time stared back at us from beneath the trees.

"God is so good to us," I thought. "Here we are with true friends, outdoors’ splendor and a few bare logs for relaxing alongside the falls. We are truly wealthy folk."

It doesn’t take much to make a soul happy when you’re head is looking up and your heart is in the right place.

Servicewoman and serviceman: remember: keep your head held high and your heart in the heart of God. Also, know that all of us love you and are praying for you.

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Click on the banner above to listen to this beautiful song.

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Our Canteen Chaplain,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.

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[BringingUpPatriots]

Nice! I love dressing up on occasions! Great transportation! This will be fun. It should be very relaxing!

[Snow Bunny]

ROTFL....OH I LOVE the french maid outfit Jen. This is great. tee hee.....Starman won't have a chance now. hahaahaha Yipeee Jen.

[BringingUpPatriots]

I can't believe you are up this late either! Hope you can sleep in tomorrow! Good Night, MO1! We'll have to talk another time! Sweet Dreams from Buppy

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good night and sleep well, radu. God bless you for your support of our troops and our allies. You're lookin' good there. Hope you get rid of your headache.

[Mo1]

Good grief, Mo, it's 3am at your house, (I think).

Good thing we had a clock change .. otherwise it would be 4 AM ... ROFL

OK .. I'm going to bed .. really I am .. watch .. see .. poof .. I'm gone

Sweet Dreams Y'all

[Snow Bunny]

Sweet dreams Jen,it is so wonderful to see you and spend some time with you.
Prayers for your doctor appointment tomorrow ,and for your son and mom too always.
Love you my lil sis.
(((( hug ))))

[Snow Bunny]

Goodnight Radu, sweet dreams.I hope you feel better tomorrow and no more headache.
(( hug ))`

[Mo1]

I can't believe you are up this late either! Hope you can sleep in tomorrow! Good Night, MO1!

Oh heck no, I have to get the kiddies off to school still

And yes I have lost all my marbles .. LOL

Sweet Dreams and thank you

[Kathy in Alaska]

Glad you're home safely, Buppy. Sleep well and good after you get all your clocks fixed. God bless you for your support of our troops and thank you to Quickdraw for his service to our country. ((HUG)) to you for your role as a military wife. See you tomorrow for Mail Call.

[Snow Bunny]

LOL......sweet dreams MO1. Your so cute.Thank you for being here and have a wonderful Monday.
(( hug ))

[Jen]

YAWN! Bedtime for me and the critters. Good night everyone. See you in the morning at Mail Call. {{{HUGS}}} and {{{NHH}}}

[Kathy in Alaska]

Kiddo, your Useless Tidbits are masterful. I am so proud of you! ((HUGS)) from Ma.

[radu]

I couldn't resist taking a peek at Mail Call before heading out. Sreaming head and all, I'll go to sleep with a huge smile on my face. I can't wait til tomorrow so I can answer the the e-mails. Snow Bunny, I'm so glad you've given our troops a place to relax and have a little fun. They have so much going on around them these days.

I'm off to the bat cave. I'll see y'all tomorrow. ((NHHs)) to the gals and real HUGS to the guys!

[firewalk]

Thank you Kathy. Happy Monday morning.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Are we predictable or what!! LOL!! Just one more peek, just one more, ok, just one more. Go take care of your headache.

[BringingUpPatriots]

GOODNIGHT, CANTEEN! This past month has taken me away a lot but things are going to calm down in a week or two and then I can spend a little more time and not run off every 2 posts.

Good night, Troops! I am so grateful for you! My husband may be on his way to retirement, but he'll always be a military man at heart. Even though the new status isn't active duty....our support for our military WILL BE active duty for as long as we live. Thank you for all you do.

Good night, Canteen. You all make USO Canteen a sanctuary for our warriors and their families. LOve, BUPPY

[Kathy in Alaska]

It is so good to see you this fine Sunday, Patty. I'm always late, but I get here eventually. Thank you for bringing the words to "A Mighty Fortress is our God" and sharing them with our troops. It is much appreciated.

[Kathy in Alaska]

LOL! Yes, I feel old. Too funny Mr_M.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Thank you all for another fun day in the Canteen! Looking forward to MAIL CALL MONDAY (which is quickly becoming my favorite day of the week) - sweet dreams to all of you, and we'll see you then!

(Lord, please bless our troops, and keep them safe from harm.)

xoxoxo,
Duchess

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thank you, maestro, for joining the USO Canteen on this Sunday for Prayer for our troops and our President.