Reasons to be a PROUD American!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Caribbean Children's Foundation
Once in a while, I am listening. Occasionally I am quiet enough to hear God talk to me. Today is one of those days.
Psalm 37:7 (New Living Translation)
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.
Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.
I wrote very briefly about Nora one other time. Her work merits more than a half of a paragraph. Again, I want to say I don't know her and she doesn't even have a clue who I am. You can find her blog here and on this page you will see some of the faces of the children who are helped by her foundation.
She is one of my heros and she doesn't even know it. If you read her blog long enough you will see she has the patients of Job. Goodness where does that saying come from?
Job's story, told in the Old Testament is that of a God fearing man who suddenly found himself in a succession of events that brought terrible loss, with lasting distress and severe affliction. A bunch of disasters which striped him of goods, children and health, yet he remained faithful to God. Later it is revealed that it was a test of his faith. But because of his steadfast faithfulness, Job is blessed by God and he becomes more prosperous than ever before.
That's Nora and the Caribbean Children's Foundation! They proudly declare on their web page...
The "Children of Israel" Orphanage (of Les Cayes, Haiti) is currently drawing up plans for a permanent orphanage that will house both the boys and the girls. The Izidor family is waiting on the Lord for funds to make this permanent home a reality.
I will continue to pray for their permanent orphanage. It's hard for me to read that when it rains the boys must move to a safer place to sleep and the girls live in three rooms of the school.
I will continue to pray YOU the supporters will be quiet and listen to the Lord. Shh... listen and HE will tell you how to help...
...this is what HE told me
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Be All That You Can Be
This is an open letter to my son who called me from Navy bootcamp yesterday.
Ryan,
Another typed letter, sorry. At least you can read it. I was so happy to be able to talk to you. You had me a bit worried when I answered the phone. I know bootcamp is hard, but I want to tell you some things. I want you to re-read this letter when you are feeling like you are alone.
I am the mom and I am confident that my son is in good hands. You are warm and fed and you are working your butt off and when you come out of bootcamp you will be a very proud sailor, like many, many, many before you. You will be special. Even more special than you were when we brought you home from the hospital. You will have joined the ranks of the men and women who protect our country. And even though we sometimes feel like our family is the most important. Try to remember, that before our families can be safe, we must have a safe place to live. There are people all over this world who are not safe because of the country they live in. You are one of the men who will make sure that your wife and child, I, dad and all of our family can go to sleep at night safely.
All of the things that you are doing right now are for a reason. Thinking about your day…
Get up early every morning. Shower, shave and get ready for inspection by making your bed, straightening your locker, and cleaning the barracks. Marching with your company to breakfast, drilling, physical training, going to classes, taking tests. All those things are to see where YOU will be best in the United States Navy. Don’t think for a moment that leaders are just pulled off of some farm in Ohio, Illinois. They are groomed into leaders. As parents, (as your mom) I gave you the basic knowledge of the world. I tried really hard to show you what was right and what was wrong. I taught you how to love and be loved and be a strong person. I hopefully taught you that you are loved by not only me and your family but by God also. There is a greater purpose in life than to “just be”. Everyone has their destiny. Destiny is a big word that is hard to understand. But everything you are doing right this moment/minute is, well, to be, it’s meant to be. You have to do what you are doing right now to be the person that you will be until the day you die.
By doing the PT and going to classes and all the other things, you are learning that you may not be the strongest, or fastest or the smartest, but you are part of a team that IS! Together as a team you become a force to be reckoned with. Of course you are military. So one day you may need to depend on one of those other team members. They won’t be those same guys that you went to bootcamp with but they will be one of the guys who went through the same bootcamp that you went through. It is about a team. Just like being part of a family is like being part of a team. Think about it. In our family everyone has their roles. Some of us are good at some things and some of us are better at other things. You are learning about team work in bootcamp. You’ve always been a part of a team, now you are just learning to understand how a team works.
You are learning that there are rules and regulations that govern the military and the Navy…in particular at this moment. BUT, in life there are also rules and regulations. To have a happy family life and happy country, there are rules. You are learning all of them. You will also be able to take this information and apply it to your family and to your whole way of life. By LEARNING all this stuff, you will be able to PROUDLY represent your family and your country. YOU will also be able to DEFEND your family, your relationships and your country. Every thing you are learning in boot camp is applicable for ALL OF LIFE!
Don’t worry about not being able to call home. That’s also is for a reason. Several reasons I am sure. When you first get to bootcamp, it's the worst thing that could possibly happen to a human being! You said that yourself. It’s MEANT to be that way. You’re thinking…there is no way a civilized human being can survive such treatment!!! You’re thinking you will never….ever complete this!
Everyone is mean, remember everyone has orders to follow from someone, they aren’t just being mean to be mean! The food is terrible! Ha, ha you thought Steph didn’t cook very well…Where do you think the saying comes from that, “No one cooks like mama!” comes from? The hours are terrible, but remember you LIKE being up late!!!! You may be thinking that there is no way they're going to be a sailor for the rest of your life. But, sure enough in just a couple more weeks, you’re going to forget all those things. Just like having a baby. Women say all the time 10 minutes after birth, “I’m never doing that again”, and ha ha, there they are doing it again in no time. So the Navy doesn’t want you calling home and getting a “Oh poor Ryan” from mom or anyone else from that matter! I am a proud, proud, proud Navy mom. I’ve given both my sons to the Navy. I believe in all the values they teach you. I believe in being tough, I believe my sons can be great leaders! Don’t worry that you can’t call. Because I know you are growing and changing and it’s just like before you’re born. You need time to grow, give it time. Those waiting for you know that you are getting ready to come out. And when you march across that room on May 8th it’s going to be just like a birth! You just have no idea how proud you and your family will be!
When you are done with bootcamp you will be a trained Navyman! You will be like hundreds of thousands before you! You will be our future leader and YOU will then have to teach those young boys (and girls) who joined the Navy, just what the Navy is all about. You will be well prepared. You will have skills that make YOUR family, and Navy family strong!
I am really proud of you. KNOW that YOU are doing your family and your country proud.
Yep, I sound like a Navy commercial don’t I? Well, it’s because I believe in YOU and our military. Truly, there is a reason the Navy says, BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE!
Ryan,
Another typed letter, sorry. At least you can read it. I was so happy to be able to talk to you. You had me a bit worried when I answered the phone. I know bootcamp is hard, but I want to tell you some things. I want you to re-read this letter when you are feeling like you are alone.
I am the mom and I am confident that my son is in good hands. You are warm and fed and you are working your butt off and when you come out of bootcamp you will be a very proud sailor, like many, many, many before you. You will be special. Even more special than you were when we brought you home from the hospital. You will have joined the ranks of the men and women who protect our country. And even though we sometimes feel like our family is the most important. Try to remember, that before our families can be safe, we must have a safe place to live. There are people all over this world who are not safe because of the country they live in. You are one of the men who will make sure that your wife and child, I, dad and all of our family can go to sleep at night safely.
All of the things that you are doing right now are for a reason. Thinking about your day…
Get up early every morning. Shower, shave and get ready for inspection by making your bed, straightening your locker, and cleaning the barracks. Marching with your company to breakfast, drilling, physical training, going to classes, taking tests. All those things are to see where YOU will be best in the United States Navy. Don’t think for a moment that leaders are just pulled off of some farm in Ohio, Illinois. They are groomed into leaders. As parents, (as your mom) I gave you the basic knowledge of the world. I tried really hard to show you what was right and what was wrong. I taught you how to love and be loved and be a strong person. I hopefully taught you that you are loved by not only me and your family but by God also. There is a greater purpose in life than to “just be”. Everyone has their destiny. Destiny is a big word that is hard to understand. But everything you are doing right this moment/minute is, well, to be, it’s meant to be. You have to do what you are doing right now to be the person that you will be until the day you die.
By doing the PT and going to classes and all the other things, you are learning that you may not be the strongest, or fastest or the smartest, but you are part of a team that IS! Together as a team you become a force to be reckoned with. Of course you are military. So one day you may need to depend on one of those other team members. They won’t be those same guys that you went to bootcamp with but they will be one of the guys who went through the same bootcamp that you went through. It is about a team. Just like being part of a family is like being part of a team. Think about it. In our family everyone has their roles. Some of us are good at some things and some of us are better at other things. You are learning about team work in bootcamp. You’ve always been a part of a team, now you are just learning to understand how a team works.
You are learning that there are rules and regulations that govern the military and the Navy…in particular at this moment. BUT, in life there are also rules and regulations. To have a happy family life and happy country, there are rules. You are learning all of them. You will also be able to take this information and apply it to your family and to your whole way of life. By LEARNING all this stuff, you will be able to PROUDLY represent your family and your country. YOU will also be able to DEFEND your family, your relationships and your country. Every thing you are learning in boot camp is applicable for ALL OF LIFE!
Don’t worry about not being able to call home. That’s also is for a reason. Several reasons I am sure. When you first get to bootcamp, it's the worst thing that could possibly happen to a human being! You said that yourself. It’s MEANT to be that way. You’re thinking…there is no way a civilized human being can survive such treatment!!! You’re thinking you will never….ever complete this!
Everyone is mean, remember everyone has orders to follow from someone, they aren’t just being mean to be mean! The food is terrible! Ha, ha you thought Steph didn’t cook very well…Where do you think the saying comes from that, “No one cooks like mama!” comes from? The hours are terrible, but remember you LIKE being up late!!!! You may be thinking that there is no way they're going to be a sailor for the rest of your life. But, sure enough in just a couple more weeks, you’re going to forget all those things. Just like having a baby. Women say all the time 10 minutes after birth, “I’m never doing that again”, and ha ha, there they are doing it again in no time. So the Navy doesn’t want you calling home and getting a “Oh poor Ryan” from mom or anyone else from that matter! I am a proud, proud, proud Navy mom. I’ve given both my sons to the Navy. I believe in all the values they teach you. I believe in being tough, I believe my sons can be great leaders! Don’t worry that you can’t call. Because I know you are growing and changing and it’s just like before you’re born. You need time to grow, give it time. Those waiting for you know that you are getting ready to come out. And when you march across that room on May 8th it’s going to be just like a birth! You just have no idea how proud you and your family will be!
When you are done with bootcamp you will be a trained Navyman! You will be like hundreds of thousands before you! You will be our future leader and YOU will then have to teach those young boys (and girls) who joined the Navy, just what the Navy is all about. You will be well prepared. You will have skills that make YOUR family, and Navy family strong!
I am really proud of you. KNOW that YOU are doing your family and your country proud.
Yep, I sound like a Navy commercial don’t I? Well, it’s because I believe in YOU and our military. Truly, there is a reason the Navy says, BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE!
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