A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....01-05-04....Military Monday

01-05-04 | Billie, The Mayor

[Dubya]

ALL TOGETHER NOW
LETS BACK OUR PRESIDENT
PRESIDENT BUSH

[MeekOneGOP]

LOL ! Sorry 'bout that.

Just trying to help our side with that pic. I can't imagine mainstream America
being for LGBT 'Civil Unions', can you ?

[dixie sass]

What's up? Looks as though you, Dubya and myself are the only ones home tonight!

[dixie sass]

Love the posters.

[dixie sass]

Nope, sho' can't!

[Dubya]

I was checking out the Houston, Texas VA web site and found them there. Intresting that they are using the Marine Posters.

[Dubya]

Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie will discuss an ad posted on the Moveon.org website comparing President George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler. Tune in Today and catch Chairman Gillespie, on:

4:00 p.m. CNN's Inside Politics

7:00 p.m. MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews

They emailed me this kind of late, sorry.
DUB

[dixie sass]

Marines have the best posters. Straight and to the point, but then aren't all Marines like that?

[Dubya]

Come to think of it most Marines are that way.

[Dubya]

Reservist Rides in Tournament of Roses Parade
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2003 -- Dillon's Bar in Loganville, Ga., erupted into cheers and applause when the Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve float flashed across the television screen shortly before 10 a.m. during the Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 1.

A crowd of about 50 revelers at the bar cheered on Capt. Kris Marshall, their friend and coworker, as he rode by on the rose-covered "Orchestrating Freedom" float.

Marshall, his wife, Jennie, and employer, Dan Weidmann, won an all-expenses- paid trip to the event after Marshall's mother, Lynn Kaley, wrote an award- winning essay in an Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve contest.

Air Force Reserve Maj. Tami Rougeau also won a seat on the float.

Marshall arrived just in time to ride the float along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Calif. He had left Afghanistan four days earlier, landing in four different countries and getting stranded in Kyrgyzstan awaiting a flight. But Marshall arrived in California Dec. 31, spending New Year's Eve with his wife, who traveled from Georgia to see him.

Weidmann, a partner at Weidmann Remodeling-Renovation and Marshall's employer since 1998, called the opportunity to ride in the Rose Bowl Parade an experience of a lifetime. "It was unbelievable when we turned the corner along the route and saw so many people looking at the 14 of us on the float," he said.

Weidmann said he was moved to see an estimated 1 million people in the stands arise as the float passed them, saluting, waving and giving the "thumbs up."

He acknowledged that having a member of his small business called to active duty for the past year hasn't been easy, but said he's reorganized the company until Marshall's return.

"He knows that his job is here and that we're anxious for him to come back," Weidmann said.

Weidmann called the float "a great starting point for spreading the message" about the importance of the reserve components and the vital role employers play in supporting their Guard and Reserve employees.

Marshall's mother, who also has professional ties to Weidmann Remodeling- Renovation, said she never realized what a stir her essay about her son and his unit would create in the "Heroes Among Us" contest.

Kaley said she wrote of her son's dedication to the Georgia Army National Guard and about how he and soldiers of the 221st Military Intelligence Battalion's A Company had adopted the village of Jarchi in Afghanistan. Twice a month, Marshall and his troops deliver 15 to 30 boxes of food, medicine and clothing to the village.

In her winning essay, she described her son as "full of boundless love, embracing all who are fortunate enough to enter his life."

"I'm so proud of him and his unit, and simply wrote what I felt," Kaley said.

In mid-December, she said she learned her essay had been selected as a winner, and that the military would fly her son home from Afghanistan to ride in the parade. "We were so thrilled," she said. "We jumped around here and hooted and hollered."

At the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve float for this year's Tournament of Roses Parade are, from left, Maj. Thom Rougeau, Maj. Tami Rougeau, Jennie Marshall, and Capt. Kris Marshall.

Courtesy photo by Dan Weidmann

[dixie sass]

Great article!

[Diver Dave]

Falling in for late muster. Wasn't AWOL - just completing a previously assigned mission. :)

Salute to our Armed Forces, Past and Present, at Home and Abroad.

Salute also to those who have worn the uniform and have passed from this life.

[The Mayor]

Here is the latest update on our friend Russ Spengler....

Greetings to all from the snowy state! I hope that you all have the best year yet of your lives in 2004 and that God pours out his bounty on you during this year.

Just a quick update that we are still waiting for the antibiotics to run thier course on Russ's urinary tract infection (UTI) and then they will do a culture. If all is clear the surgery will happen. The end of the week his meds will be done and the culture takes a few days to get back from the lab. Meanwhile, Russ has made no progress mentally and physically he is getting stronger and able to move his upper body with no problems. A recent CAT scan shows that the fluid continues to build in his brain. His right foot wiggles and yesterday he felt something under his left leg...He has had no sensation with that leg until now.

On a personal note, the girls have had an exciting Christmas and have really come to understand that a whole lot of people love them. The outpouring of generosity truly floored me and the kids! Thank you to all of you who made such a miraculous Christmas for us. Our New Years Party was fun, we had tons of food and the kids had a ball...by midnight the party dwindled down to me and the kids, danielles sleepover girl friends and my brother and his fiance. We popped a bottle of sparkling juice and hit the hay about 3am after cleaning up. Thanks to all of you who came by it was great to see you!!! I had a great surprise and started my year out with a visit from a good friend of mine and his lovely wife over the weekend, from my hometown Charleston, SC! We had a great time catching up and trying out some restraunts around town (I dont get out much!) Thanks Todd and Mary!!


Now, here is an updated prayer focus points:

Temporary prayer point: PRAY THAT THE LORD WILL REMOVE THE UTI (urinary tract infection) FROM RUSS AND BRING DOWN HIS WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT DRAMATICALLY AND QUICKLY
1. That any infections OR SEIZURES of any kind will be kept out of his body. (with a new invasive procedure coming up, I am leaving this on)
2. That God would promote Russ's rehab through a responsive Dr. management and clear communicating team working for clear goals.
3. That whatever stage Russ is in, that he would be able to understand at some level how much he is loved and that he is safe.
4. That Russ's spine would regenerate at a vigorous pace.
5. That Russ would be at peace with and understand his limitations. (this is being answered daily, and we need to leave it on)

Thank you all again for your prayers, they are truly holding us up! God Bless!

I remain,

Under His Wing!
DAWN

[dutchess]

Wow...thanks for the update on Russ...prayers being sent on all the directions.

Sorry I wasn't able to be here earlier....serious work issues....

Thanks for posting the Monday Thread. You're the best!

[Diver Dave]

Thanks for the update. Will surely continue to remember Russ and family in our prayers.

[Calpernia]

***runs into the Finest, waves and hugs all***

Goes back to terror threads...desparately waiting to see news on what the HECK they are looking for in the water!

Deadhead, Firebrand, have you seen all the activity? Have you heard anything? What are the military and salvage people looking for in the NY Harbor? And why no news coverage?

[Dubya]

To the Point
A Moment of Thanks

by Franklin Graham
A few weeks ago in Argentina we completed our last stadium Crusade of the year. But the worldwide programs of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association never stop. Right now, at this very moment, it is likely that someone somewhere who has been touched by our global ministries is praying earnestly in response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That's a humbling thought -- and a reason for us, too, to pause and pray. Through late November, we knew of more than 472,000 people -- each of them a precious soul in God's sight -- who had made life-changing decisions in conjunction with our ministries during 2003. That's an average of almost one every minute. God has truly blessed us to be witnesses for His mighty work.

If you associate our organization mainly with stadium preaching, you may be surprised to learn that four out of every five decisions happened somewhere else. Thousands have responded to the Gospel messages in recent issues of "Decision" magazine. Thousands more this year have accepted Christ or rededicated their lives in response to our telecasts, World Wide Pictures films, our Internet site, the Billy Graham Training Center and our prison outreaches.

But nothing is more exciting than the grassroots evangelism that you may not think about. In the past year, our training programs helped more than 300,000 Christians learn how to share their faith. And our "My Hope" project -- which mobilizes families to invite neighbors to see Gospel telecasts -- have resulted in more than 334,000 decisions for Christ. In Venezuela alone, more than 180,000 have made first-time commitments to Christ. These are disciple-making programs, sowing seeds for what could be even greater harvests in years to come.

God continues to bless us with strategies and technologies to tell the old, old, story in fresh and relevant ways. We've been told that the new Billy Graham library in Charlotte could attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, and you can be sure that we will present the Gospel to them in unique and compelling ways. We also want to develop programs in conjunction with Operation Christmas Child to help teach the children who pack shoe boxes how they can share their faith with their friends.

The methods may change, but we will always preach the Gospel. My father, who celebrated his 85th birthday in November, is eagerly looking forward to more Crusades as God gives him strength. Associate Evangelist Ralph Bell and I also are planning several major evangelistic events.

As we begin 2004, please pray that God will guide our steps and empower our work in His holy Name. We have an opportunity to change the world through the power of the Gospel -- "the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16, NIV).

Bible verse marked NIV is taken by permission from The Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society, Colorado Springs, Colorado. ©2003 Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

from the January 2004 issue of "Decision Magazine"

[Dubya]

How do I make a new start in the new year?" Read Billy Graham's answer

My prayer as we enter this new year is that you will begin it with God, and allow Him to direct your life during the coming months.

Let me use an illustration. Suppose this Christmas someone gave you one of those new digital cameras. Then suppose you tried to take pictures with it -- but none of them ever turned out. You even asked others how to work the camera but they couldn't figure it out either. Something was clearly wrong with the camera, and unless it was fixed it would never work properly. What would you do? You'd probably have it sent back to the factory because the people who made it would be the best ones to fix it.

And that is what we need to do: to return to God, who made us, and seek His help to make our lives right. God knows all about us, and He wants to help us because He loves us. He wants to come into our lives and change us from within. He wants to forgive our sins and put us on His path instead of the one we have been following.

How can this happen for you? Begin at the start of this new year by asking Christ to come into your life. Turn your life over to Him and ask Him to guide you during this year. Then take time each day to discover His will, through prayer and the Bible. God's promise is true: "Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust. ... I desire to do your will, O my God" (Psalm 40:4,8).

[Billie]

Just posting some links...

Tuesday..."And the Good News is....."

Correcting the Weekend Link:

Week in Review 01-03,04-04