Memorial Day 2005

I get lots of junk mail. I look at all of it, throwing most of it away. A few years ago something caught my eye. It was a brochure about building a memorial in Washington D.C. on the mall for veterans of WWII. Amazingly, with all the memorials there, there was none to those who fought and won the biggest, most horrible war in history. My Dad served on a submarine in the Pacific and my uncle on a transport hospital ship in the Atlantic. My mom sang to wounded troops in hospitals near Walla Walla, Washington and her and her family had soldiers over for dinner if they met them on the street! She wrote these guys after they shipped out and I have letters they wrote back, one from a foxhole in Guadalcanal. All that went through my mind that day as I reached for the checkbook and made a modest donation. Yes, it was time to truly honor my parent's generation.

Last year, I received an invitation to attend the dedication of the memorial as a charter donor. I began to think and pray about it and last year at this time I found myself on the National Mall, listening to President Bush, Tom Hanks, Tom Brokaw and others as they dedicated an awesome structure, made of towers and fountains , with the Washington Monument towering behind and the Lincoln Memorial respectfully watching in the distance. I was there to honor my father, my uncle and my mother and all those who died and fought so I and my children could have the life we now have. I watched with pride and tears in my eyes as the old veterans, most in their 80's, wandered around and took it all in. There was a guy with a Pearl Harbor hat, another showing the insignia of P-47 pilot (one of my favorite planes as a kid.) Most had their families with them, grandchildren in tow. I saw two old sailors jump to attention and salute a modern day officer in dress whites, half their age. He returned their salute smartly and they all grinned.

It truly was a day of celebration and I was so glad I was there. But I wanted to help, do something to be a part of it. I had prayed for God to give me some small way to honor these men and women, but how? And then I saw it. All these families wanted a picture with their veteran, but someone had to step out and take it. So I offered and was met by one delighted "thank you" after another. Later I helped these elderly heroes figure out the computer terminals where you can see their records (families put them on at wwiimemorial.com) One old sailor thanked me after I helped him get his camcorder working. I asked him where he served. A tear came to his eye as he told me of his experience on a destroyer off Okinawa. Many of his shipmates were killed , and he was so glad they were being honored this way. Incredible. I shook his hand and walked away before he could see the tear in my eye!

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Some years I ago, I started a tradition with my kids. We go to the local cemetary and look for flags on the graves of Veterans (I think the Boy Souts put them there) We bring flowers and lay them on the graves without them, forgotten for some reason. We read the headstones and remember the great sacrifice they and their families made, so we could stand in the sunshine, free. I will hug my children and we will pray, thanking God for men and women brave enough to die for us. And one day, I hope, they will go to Washington DC, perhaps with their own children, and look up their grandpa and grandpa and uncle on the computer terminals....and say a quiet " thank you."

Where are the Older Marrieds on the Question?

Thanks to all who have responded to the Question below-but we need more answers! Where are all the older people who have been married awhile? (e.g. the Kepples, the Rondas, the Redels, the Davis's-are you out there?)We can all benefit from your answers! I hope you will respond soon! But first, two important points:

1. No, my wife is not planning on skydiving! (...yet) Maybe I should add the familiar phrase Any resemblence to persons living or dead is purely coincidental...

2. This is a greater issue in microcosm. This is really about two ways of thinking. Perhaps it is actually about postmodernism (which emphasizes individual desires and self actualization) and the older modernism (rational thought and the "right thing to do").

You have until the end of this week and then we are moving on to other thoughts!

Question: Submission or Manipulation?

Today I have a question for all my readers (I know there are a few!) As our culture debates gay marriage, the long simmering debate on roles in marriage still goes on. Sadly, we all have heard that at least 50% of Christian marriages fail, mostly due to unresolved conflict. Regarding roles in marriage, there are two basic camps in the church today, including Christian counselors: equal roles and authority in marriage or male headship. Do you find yourself in one of these camps? Here is a question I would love to get many responses on-and you can be anonymous so your spouse won't find out! (You can read the comments yourself you know) So please comment on this:

A wife and mother of young children suddenly gets a passion for sky diving. Her husband is less than excited about this, forseeing a higher probability of becoming a single dad and widower. He asks his spouse not to engage in such risky behavior for the children's sake (and takes out a bigger insurance policy.)

Question: Is the husband being a dictator here? Does he have the right to ask (even demand) his wife not engage in the sport? Should the wife give in to his request, knowing the husband loves both her and the children and wants her around for awhile? Or should she go ahead and tell her husband he has no right to manipulate her that way?

Let me know ! I will tell you how a Christian marriage counselor answered when the vote is in!

Two Degrees of Seperation

*Note: I have changed the settings so now anyone can leave a comment without having to be a blogger too. I didn't notice before-sorry! I am still very new at this!

The say there is only six people between an individual and someone they don't know, or something like that (I heard this somewhere and am about to listen to an audio play by that title.) But sometimes there is less! Here is a recent letter we recieved from a pastor's wife. They lived here in Cache Valley for many years and moved to Vermont last summer. The world is indeed small!


Dear Miriam,

James and I returned a few hours ago from having been in Bennington,
VT, (SW corner), with about 25 others from 8 different churches, who were
cleaning out an old parsonage and the basement of a very, very old
church--beautiful architecture. The church had been abandoned--and it was
deeded to Southern Baptists, who are in the process of doing a complete
renovation (will take about two years) and in that process planting a
new church.
We stayed at an incredibly spacious, lovely Christian school. As we
walked into a room which some of us were going to occupy, a fella said to
me (because I was wearing a sweatshirt that said Mission Trip to
Brigham City, Utah), "Did you go to Brigham City?"
When I said that I had lived there, he was surprised. Then went on to
tell us that his son goes to school at USU--we talked about Logan, etc.
Then he said something about the church his son attends--when we asked,
"Maranatha"--he was giddy. Then when we told him we had started that
church--he was amazed. He could not more highly praise the church or
those who had invested in his son, including Rob and Miriam Gunn. The
young man--Chris Perry. His brother Josh has been going to school in So.
Carolina, but he'll be going to USU in the fall. Our hearts were lifted--though our bodies were exhausted! What a
blessing from the Lord to meet this man (his wife teaches at the school) and
to know that Maranatha is having such an impact! When we asked how it
was that his son went to USU, that story was another God-thing.
I love getting real mail! And still do a lot of the real thing! Love,
Georgia