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Archives for October 2018

A Hero

October 1, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

A Hero

My friend told me an incredible, inspiring, true story about a hero:

The Above YouTube Music Video Captures the Essence of a Hero: Ed Freeman

A 19-year old soldier is critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang valley, November 14, 1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam. His infantry unit is outnumbered 8 to 1. The enemy fire is so intense, from 100 to 200 yards away, that his own Infantry Commander had ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in. He’s lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and knows that he is not getting out. His family is half way around the world and will never see him again.

Then, over the machine gun blasts, he hears the sound of a helicopter, and looks up to see an Unarmed Huey. It doesn’t seem real because there are no MediVac markings are on it, and it’s flying directly into the machine gun fire.

Ed Freeman is coming for him. Ed is not MediVac, who were ordered to leave. It’s not his job, but Ed is coming anyway. Ed drops the Huey in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as 3 soldiers are loaded on board. Then, he flies them up & out to the Doctors and Nurses.

Ed kept coming back, 13 More Times, taking the 19-year old kid, and 30 other soldiers out, who would have been slaughtered.

Medal of Honor recipient, Ed Freeman, died on June 25th, 2009 at age 80, in Boise ID. Ed is a hero, deserving monumental, universal admiration and acclaim. But, we didn’t hear a word about Ed. Then, and when Ed died.

However, reporters wrote 24/7 breathless homage when Michael Jackson died. By comparison, Michael Jackson seems small and silly – a hologram of hoopla and self-indulgence. In the end, the icon of fame and fortune is reduced to the Vacuum of Vanity and the remnant of secular illusion.

Ed Freeman rests in the palm of God’s hand, and in the hearts of those he saved, and by those to which character matters. Ed Freeman loved others, as God had loved him. Ed cherished values that the Media and the Secular Culture can’t imagine.

BTW: The Word sacrifice does not mean “Loss“. The Word “Sacrifice comes from 2 Latin words: “Sacri” Faciam: To Make Holy. What Ed Freeman did was Holy. It was  also an Act of Love.

Perhaps, someone reading this blog post, and watching & listening to the above music videos, will help someone hurting, not to far from here?  Expecting nothing in return- realizing that the “Hero” that lies in you is the “Spirit of God”, who lifts you up to  more than you can be.

(The Antecedent to “You” is God)

ALL Veterans Served their Country with Valor during Time of War.

This Blog Post is a “Prayer of Thanks” to All Veterans, on Veterans Day.

 

An Ode to a Canine Companion

October 1, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

An Ode to a Canine Companion

My Friend recently visited a college classmate. The classmate’s dog died a few months earlier. There was a “marker” in the midst of the patio flower bed which read: “Sam’s Memorial Garden”. Below the marker was a placard with the message: “May the Joy & Happiness that Sam gave to “Many”, be shared, one to another, so that Sam’s Kindness & Love is his legacy to Humanity.”

That poignant placard was a vibrant paradox of a dog’s devotion to his companion, as opposed to man’s inhumanity to man. (My friend’s classmate purposely avoided using the term “Sam’s Owner”, because the relationship between a man and his dog is not that of a “Master to a slave”. The relationship between dog & man is best described as unconditional love. It doesn’t matter what the man does or did, his dog will lie down beside him with concern and devotion.

That’s the Gospel message: “Love one another, as Christ has loved you.” (with the unconditional love of the Redemptive Cross.)

Sadly, many men return offense with vengeance, rather than turn the other cheek. For example, “Road Rage” has morphed from a honing horn, to “The Finger”, to a gun. Perhaps, the world would be a better place if we lived accordingly to the message in Sam’s Memorial Garden’:

“May the Joy & Happiness that Sam gave to “Many”,

Be shared, one to another, so that Sam’s Kindness & Love,

Is His legacy to Humanity.

Actually the Unconditional Love of a Dog is Priceless. That’s the Message of this blog Post.

God help us all, if Sam’s message died with him.

“Success” that the Secular Mind Can’t Imagine

October 1, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

 

My friend discovered that our secular culture’s definition of “Success”, provided by Wall Street & Madison Avenue, is counter-intuitive to Emerson’s observation of “Success’:

“Success is to Laugh often, and much. To earn the respect of intelligent people, and the affection of children. And to know that even one life breathes easier, because you have lived.”

Emerson’s observation is congruent to Kipling’s poem, “If”, which profoundly advises:    

“If you watch the truth you’ve spoken, twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, And watched the things, you’ve given your life to, broken, yet stoop and build them up with worn out tools, You are a man, my son.”

Those poems reflect the Biblical exhortation: “To love one another as I (Christ) have loved you (unconditionally – on the Cross). Or, Solomon’s wise conclusion, “Vanity. All is Vanity.”      

Emerson’s astute observation is more about sacrifice, and less about self-gratification. The word “Sacrifice” does not mean “Loss”. The word “Sacrifice” come from 2 Latin words: “Sacri Faciam” – To Make Holy”. “Making another life breathe easier” is holy. It’s also an act of love.

Clearly, “Success” is not about the accumulation of money & stuff – as the Dali Lama and Desmond Tutu concluded in their “Book of Joy”. Or, even fame. In ancient Rome, the conquering hero rode in a singular chariot to be the sole recipient of the crowds cheers. But, his slave stood behind him, whispering in his ear, “Sic transit Gloria.” – “Fame is fleeting.” Fortune & Fame are not the solutions they promised to be. They are Illusions.

The Above YouTube Music Video Expresses the Essence of ths Blog Post”s Message

Sadly, many live lives of quiet desperation wondering, “Who moved my cheese?”  or, “Is that all there is?” Sex & drugs require more, more often to maintain the desired level of euphoria. The outcome is waking up so lost, in a place so dark. The quest for self-gratification can never be quenched. The suicides of the rich & famous are stark testimony to that reality. Or, as Shakespeare astutely described, “Lives full of sound & fury, signifying nothing.” And, “Lives that strut & fret their hour upon the stage, to be heard no more.”

External things are holograms of happiness, transient gratifications, subject to the whims “Du Jour” – so fragile, and gone with the wind. The answer all along is within. Peace & joy reside in the mind & heart. Pride, lust, anger, and greed fester in the soft underbelly of our humanity, resulting in bitterness & remorse. Accepting the love & forgiveness of the welcoming embrace, of the outstretched arms, of the Redemptive Cross, provides the peace & joy that the secular mind can’t imagine.

It takes humility, gratitude, and trust to experience the companionship God: The Humility of creature to Creator. The Gratitude of sinner to savior. And Trust that God is sovereign over all things.  My friend found that the above insightful, inspiring, profound wisdom of: Emerson, Kipling, Christ, Solomon, and Shakespeare, best define “Success”. The ROI of being God’s Friend is incalculable,

Above YouTube Music Videos Captures the Essence of what is “Success”

Perhaps, exchanging “What’s in it for me?” for “Sharing who we are and asking nothing in return”, will be a profound, life-changing experience. That’s the counter-intuitive answer to Both: “Why am I here?” & “What is Success?”:

“To know that even One life breathes easier, because I lived.”

 

Words to Live By

October 1, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

My friend’s “Words to Live By” were given to his daughter &^sons

at their graduations from H. S. & College:

Above YouTube Music Video Captures the Essence of this Blog Post Message

 

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion

to their commitment to excellence,

regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”                                  Vince Lombardi

 

“If you meet with Triumph and Disaster,

treat those two imposters just the same.”                                           Rudyard Kipling

 

“It’s the man in the arena, muddied and bloodied,

whether he has won or lost, who is honored,

and not the cold timid soul on the sideline,

who has tasted neither victory, nor defeat.”                                       Teddy Roosevelt

 

“Always do more than is required of you.”                                          George Patton

“Love one another as I have loved you.”                                                Jesus Christ

 

“Learn to write your hurts in sand,

and kindness to you, in stone.”                                                                  Your Dad

 

“Forgiveness is the fragrance

the violet sheds on the boot that crushed it.”                                     Mark Twain

 

“You are fearfully and wonderfully made

in the Image and Likeness of God.”                                                         Genesis/Bible

 

“We are spiritual beings expressed through humanity.                 Malone

“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.”            C. S. Lewis

“The Christian soul experiences peace & joy

that the secular mind can’t imagine.”                                                     Your Dad

 

“It’s not about you.

Focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose.

We were made by God and for God.

Until we understand that, life will never make sense.”                Rick Warren

 

Asking, “What’s in it for me?” –

is a selfishness that calcifies the heart,                                                  Your Dad

is “A life full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”                      Shakespeare

 

“Grant me neither poverty nor riches.

Lest I be full, and deny my God.

Lest I be desperate,

and by stealing defile the name of my Lord.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”                                        Psalms/Bible

 

“We make a living by what we get.

We make a life by what we give.”     

“Success is Not Final. Failure is Not Final”.                                       Winston Churchill

 

“The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.”   Albert Schweitzer

“Esse quam videri: To be, rather than to appear.”                          Anonymous

“Don’t forsake the good, in search of the perfect.”                         Your Dad

 

“We want power over experiences,

and control over outcomes.

We need to trade the control we crave,

for the companionship of God.”                                                                             John Eldridge

 

“Everyone eventually surrenders to something or to someone.

If not to God,

you will surrender to money, to approval, to pride, to lust, or to fear.

Surrendering your life to God requires:

gratitude, humility, obedience and trust.”                                                          Rick Warren

 

“God wants men concerned about what they do.”

“Satan wants men concerned about what happens to them.”                          C. S. Lewis

 

Success:         “To laugh often, and much.

To earn the respect of intelligent people,

and the affection of children.

To know that even one life breathed easier,

because you have lived.”                                                                                            Emerson

Above YouTube Music Video Confirms Your Companion Along your Journey with the Above Blog Post Messages

Success:        “To fulfill your calling, not to satisfy your ambition.                   Patrick Morley

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