With Liberty and Justice for All...

I listened to Chuck Swindoll today while a shopping expedition that rendered very little. He told a very interesting story about Senator John McCain. As a school teacher and as an American it had special meaning for me.


From a speech made by Capt. John S. McCain, USN, (Ret) who represents Arizona in the U.S. Senate:

As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.


One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian.


Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama. He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School. Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967.


Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country-and our military-provide for people who want to work and want to succeed. As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt.


Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.


One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.


The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room. As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag.


He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to pledge allegiance to our flag and our country.


So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.


"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."


John McCain

All Plus One- The Permanent "It"

I love finding new stuff. One of my favorite webpages is Family Life. They have such a wide variety of resources for singles. I get disappointed at times with ministries that quickly clump "College and Singles" together because the older I get the more I don't fit in that puzzle. Family Life has done an excellent job providing quality resources and texts for single adults- minus all that college business. I ran across this fun article today though- here is the link.

Loneliness- Wanting an "It"

This article made me both laugh and cry- it sounds alot like something Christy and I would do. Naming the odious missing "It" in our lives. It harbors a very interesting concept though. The meaning of the word alone means 'all plus one'. So to make it personal you can interpret it as "All of Him plus one of me" (read the article). The article hit home though... over and over again. Hopefully the link will remain active for a while. This concept was taken from Wendy Widder's book Living Whole Without the Better Half. Might make a good read sometime. One of my other favorite things from Family Life is the Singles Suggestion list. I love this- I don't know why- I'm wierd that way. Here is the list though.

Singles Tips

Some of these could be fun... pottery(#1)? Try imagining Heaven(#31)! I'm committing to number 11 this week. I'm jumping around in the list though- it's a little bit more fun that way!

At It Again- A Word of Warning...

Just in case... someone is reading this... don't expect some profound thought or revelation. This place is a place for me to 'gather' things together to revisit and keep up with. You are welcome to look and even interact- but don't come holding ANY expectations! Those last two YouTubes are some of my favorite current songs. Take a minute and soak in the words- it could change your day!

Lol...

On that happy note (or disclaimer) I am going to provide a link to a message I heard last week and this on WMIT. It was very good- from the "Covenant of Grace" ministry from a church in Matthews NC. It is called "We Three Kings- The Magi". I don't know how long the messages will be available at this link, but maybe someone can benefit from it. It really makes you reconsider the Magi- who they were and what they really meant for you and me. I guess it was really special too because as I listened to the message on the radio I gazed at my advent calendar in the dim light of the multi-colored Christmas lights on my tree. My advent calendar depicts the Magi and the Christ Child. What a memory to have... I hold it in a special place. Here is the link... the message is a two parter.

"Covenant of Grace"

Joy Williams- Here With Us

This is one of my new favorite Christmas songs. The image of Mary rocking her Savior is one I that burns in my memory.

Give me Jesus

Operation Christmas Child

I had the most amazing experience on Friday. Rather than fighting the Christmas crowds in shopping centers or camping out at my local Walmart, I ventured with a group of 10 others to the Operation Christmas Child collection center in Charlotte, NC. Words can not describe how moving and emotional the experience was for me. The center and our day was filled with people, shoeboxes and prayer. I made so many friends that day- and have learned a lot more about Samaritan's Purse and about how I can become involved year round in this unique ministry. The size and magnitude of this project grows with each passing year. Last year OCC touched over 8 million children in 100 different countries. Hopes are to exceed that number this Christmas. After my visit last Friday I have decided to pack a few more boxes with my classroom and church. I had only packed one box as an individual, however after my visit I wanted to do more- and I wanted my students to be involved. Lord willing I will be heading back to Charlotte within a week with a few more boxes and perhaps a few more hands to volunteer. If you have not ever taken part in OCC I encourage you to do so. Each box- isn't just a gift- it's a child and their opportunity to accept Christ. By the way- the more than 70 boxes that I myself touched and packaged will be heading to Peru and Zambia.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I put up my Christmas tree tonight and felt the need to officially begin the holiday season with one of my favorite Christmas songs. This is "Born in Bethlehem" from Third Day's Christmas Offerings album.

Beyond The Gates of Splendor - Part 1

This is a video that Steven Curtis Chapman shared at a concert a few years ago. I ran across this after searching for videos from the "This Moment" tour online. I first heard the story of Jim and Elisabeth Eliot from Focus on the Family and Family Life Today during a series of interviews on missions and missionaries. "Gates of Splendor" is the novel written by Elisabeth Eliot about her and her husband's mission experience in Ecuador. The novel and movie "The End of the Spear" is the same story told by the surviving son of one of the other missionaries. I wanted to keep this onhand because I have not yet had the opportunity to read either book. Being familiar with both the movie and the interviews- I was drawn to this video and feel certain that I will search it out when I do find time to read each book. Be sure to also watch Part Two below.

Beyond The Gates of Splendor - Part 2

See above for Part One

East to West by Casting Crowns

Everything

Life is hard- but without a Savior it is impossible. As I watch the world in this video- I watch with tears in my eyes. I realize that I often want to be someone to everyone- however all that matters is that I am everything to someone. Christ would have come if and only I had been the only one. He gave it all for me. He didn't need me, but He wanted and would not forget me. Isaiah 49:13-15


This video was taken at Winterfest in Knoxville, February 2007.

Better Hands Now by Natalie Grant

I love this song so much. It reminds me of those faithful hands that never let go- even when I run, ignore or forget. Thank you Lord for your grace, mercy and love. Thank you for your faithfulness...

Breaking Down the Walls

I've been reading a lot of C.S. Lewis this summer. Lots of Narnia, but also bits and pieces of his various works. The following is taken from Mere Christianity:

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of- throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

I must say Lewis makes a viable point here. Christ was the original carpenter... and there have been times when I have handed the keys to my house over to the Lord, while denying Him access to my personal blueprints. Even though I knew He loved me and wanted the best for me as His child- there have been so many times that I have underestimated the plans He has for my life. There is a lot of beating and banging going on right now in my life. Walls are coming down, and blueprints are being rewritten. As the song goes, "He's still working on me..." Please pray for me as I remember each of you.