Free Republic

        ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE Good morning this rainy Monday! This morning someone asked me, "How do you like the lousy weather, Chaplain?" I thought a moment about the fact that my uniform was wet, my car had trouble starting, and about all those poor people stuck in the wall of traffic that inevitably occurs when Rte. 58 gets drenched. Then later I thought, how would we exist without the rain which makes all life on our planet possible? I remembered the old prayer in my prayer book, a blessing to God for the gift of wind...

Proverbs 31:10-31 "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and no evil all the days of her life. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ship; she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with...

        A HUMBLE SPIRIT It's always surprising to me when someone, in an honest and unguarded moment, confides that God could never use THEM. They may keep up appearances most of the time, but, down deep, they just don't feel worthy. Have you ever felt that way? If so, you're in luck; God places a high value on humility! In fact, your sincere recognition of your own need may just be the key that opens the door to a deeper, more genuine and rewarding spirituality. Isaiah wrote, "For thus says the High and Holy One Who...

Virginia’s Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell is catching flak from the ACLU because it does not like the fact that he has lifted the ban on police chaplains praying in Jesus’ name. Virginia’s former Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine had issued the ruling in 2008, and the ACLU gang charges that McDonnell is giving in to conservatives and Christians in revoking the Jesus ban. Well, maybe another former Virginia governor influenced McDonnell—Thomas Jefferson. The author of Virginia’s famed Statute for Religious Freedom, Jefferson never tried to suppress Virginians’ or Americans’ free exercise of religion. In fact, as president in 1802, Jefferson invited...

After months of lobbying by conservative activists, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) has quietly reversed a policy banning Virginia State Police troopers from referring to Jesus Christ in public prayers. McDonnell this afternoon sent Col. W. Steven Flaherty, the State Police superintendent, to tell the nine troopers who serve as chaplains about the change in policy. "The Governor does not believe the state should tell chaplains of any faith how to pray,'' McDonnell spokesman Tucker Marin said. "Religious officials of all faiths should be allowed to pray according to the dictates of their own conscience, and in accordance with their faith...

The Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell has restored the rights of six State Police Chaplains to pray publicly "in Jesus name," reversing the policy of his predecessor Governor Tim Kaine who forced the chaplains to deny Christ or resign from their jobs. "This victory comes after our two-year campaign for Jesus name," said Chaplain Klingenschmitt, who led a 1,000 person rally outside the Governor's mansion in 2008, then submitted up to 15,000 petitions to reinstate the chaplains jobs and free speech. "We faxed voter guides to 2300+ Virginia pastors last summer, comparing Bob McDonnell, who campaigned for chaplains rights to...

Story at link....also has a poll http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/244946

        AN HONEST DOUBTER The often heard quip, "He or she is a doubting Thomas," usually is given in a negative way. Someone who can't get with the program or is not a team player. The origin of this statement goes to the passage in John's Gospel. Thomas, who somehow missed the first appearance of the resurrected Jesus to the rest of the disciples, states he will not believe until he sees and touches the Lord. He is a realist, a man who is shattered in his faith after witnessing the arrest and death of Jesus....

        A FEW GOOD WORDS The accuracy of lie detector tests has never been completely decided upon. Although it is inadmissible as evidence in court, even the proponents of lie detector testing agree that it is not always accurate. Among the first lie detectors, considered by some to be the most accurate, was the donkey's tail! That's right, in ancient India, a suspect would be escorted to a darkened room. Only three would be present: the accused, the interrogator, and a donkey. The person being questioned was told that the donkey would bray if his responses...

        GESTURES OF LOVE Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love . . . and weep with those who weep. —Romans 12:10,15 Cards. Hundreds and hundreds of cards. Our mail carrier must have thought we were going for a world record. They came by the stack—day after day after day. It was just one of the many ways we knew that people cared for us as our family endured the painful first weeks after our teenage daughter Melissa died in a car accident. But it wasn't just the cards that provided assurance of loving...

4/7/2010 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- As the final rotation of the 732nd Air Expeditionary Group chaplain office draws to a close, the two-person team went on a final mission to neighboring forward operating bases around Baghdad International Airport. Although the purpose of this last trip was to provide pastoral care and help facilitate the best means of continued chaplain corps care for joint expeditionary tasking Airmen, Chaplain (Capt.) Steve Fisher and Staff Sgt. Dewey Landers, a chaplain assistant, focused on one squadron in particular, a group of individuals who put their lives in danger every time they...

Luke 24 He Is Risen Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you...

        THERE ARE NEEDS, AND THEN, THERE ARE NEEDS "The bird does not sing because he has an answer; he sings because he has a song." Old Chinese Proverb Peppermint Patty, of Peanuts cartoon fame, can be impatient at times. You Peanuts fans may recall one of those times. School was about to begin, and Peppermint Patty went shopping. She entered the store, and proceeded directly to the counter, and said, "Sir, I need some school supplies some pencils, some paper, a loose-leaf binder, and some answers. I need a lot of answers." Most of you...

        GENERAL CHARLES C. KRULAK SPEECH The word integrity itself is a martial word that comes to us from an ancient Roman army tradition. During the time of the 12 Caesars, the Roman army would conduct morning inspections. As the inspecting centurion would come in front of each legionnaire, the soldier would strike, with his right fist, the armor breastplate that covered his heart. The armor had to be strongest there in order to protect the heart from the sword thrusts and from arrow strikes. As the soldier struck his armor, he would shout "integritas", (in-teg-ri-tas)...

Note: Photos included. Note: The following text is a quote: Thursday, March 11, 2010 A Tribute to the Late Captain Stanford E. Linzey, Jr. By Chaplain James F. Linzey Special to ASSIST News Service ESCONDIDO, CA (ANS) -- A World War II hero, my father, Captain Stanford E. Linzey, Jr., CHC, USN (Ret.), survived the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Coral Sea. He was a sailor then, but a chaplain later. Captain Stanford E. Linzey, Jr. During the Battle of Midway in World War II, my father was a 21 year old Seamen Second Class, stationed on...

        ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM NOAH'S ARK 1. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark. 2. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone might ask you to do something REALLY big. 3. Don't listen to critics -- do what has to be done. 4. Build on high ground. 5. For safety's sake, travel in pairs. 6. Two heads are better than one. 7. Speed isn't always an advantage. The cheetahs were on board, but so were the snails. 8. If you can't fight or flee -- float!...

        GIVING IT ALL YOU’VE GOT Ever hear the expression "Giving it the whole nine yards"? Do you happen to know where it comes from? I used to think it was a sports term. "Not so" say several experts. But here seem to be at least two schools of thought on the phrase's origin. Both seem plausible. I'll let you decide. One explanation says that it's an expression from the construction trade. A full truck load, according to this rationale, will dump nine cubic yards of sand or gravel at your work site. In such a...

          THE REAL MEANING OF PEACE There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for the peaceful towering mountains all around. Overhead was a blue sky fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace. The other...

        PLAY YOUR PART So they came to John and reported to him, Rabbi, the Man Who was with you on the other side of the Jordan. . .notice, here He is baptizing too, and everybody is flocking to Him! — John 3:26 John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Lord. That was his purpose on earth and he knew it. But John’s disciples tried to incite him to jealousy over Jesus’ ministry! John replied, “A man must be content to receive the gift which is given him from heaven; there is no...

Washington D.C., Feb 19, 2010 / 07:49 am (CNA).- Proposed changes allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military could marginalize military chaplains from religions which consider homosexual acts sinful, a religious liberty group has warned.Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot said that if the military is forced to promote homosexual behavior there will be “open conflict between the virtues taught by chaplains and the moral message delivered by the military.”“In such a conflict, it’s obvious who will win and who will lose,” Theriot claimed. “If the state favors the demands of the homosexual activists over the...