THANKSGIVING 2008

Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Psalm 103:1
Bless the Lord, O my soul,and all that is within me,bless his holy name!2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,and forget not all his benefits,

“In order to our return of praises to God, there must be a grateful remembrance of the mercies we have received from him: Forget not all his benefits. If we do not give thanks for them, we do forget them; and that is unjust as well as unkind, since in all God’s favours there is so much that is memorable.” (Matthew Henry Commentary)

Leaders honor Warrior Brigade during transfer of responsibility

Leaders honor Warrior Brigade during transfer of responsibility

http://www.drum.army.mil/sites/postnews/blizzard/blizzard_online/hnews.asp?id=2


Col. David Paschal, 1BCT commander, steadies his unit's guidon as Command Sgt. Maj. Corbly Elsbury, 1st BCT senior enlisted leader, ties the protective casing shut following the brigade's transfer of responsibility ceremony Thursday at FOB Warrior in Kirkuk, Iraq. Photo by Spec. Josh LeCappelain

By Spec. Josh LeCappelain
10th Mountain Division Journalist
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – Nearly 150 miles away from the farthest reaches of his command, Maj. Gen. Michael Oates, Multinational Division – Center and 10th Mountain Division (LI) commander, traveled to Kirkuk and Forward Operating Base Warrior to pay tribute to 1st Brigade Combat Team.The Warrior Brigade completed a transition of responsibility to 18th Engineer Brigade on Thursday after more than a year of support for Operation Iraqi Freedom.“I am very proud Maj. Gen. Oates is here with us as well,” said Oates’ counterpart at MND-North, Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling (who also commands 1st Armored Division), to the gathered crowd.
“I wanted him to know the kinds of things his Soldiers have done. “I say ‘his Soldiers’ with a little bit of pain,” he continued, “as we hate to give them back.”
Hertling spoke to the crowd about the impact Warrior Brigade had in stabilizing security and partnering with Iraqi Security Forces in Kirkuk Province.
He highlighted their accomplishments, noting that Kirkuk had seen better security, better economic prospects for residents, a better-trained and more functional ISF, as well as a close relationship with U.S. State Department counterparts, which had not been the case before 1st BCT’s deployment.Col. David Paschal, 1st BCT commander, thanked colleagues of the brigade who helped them throughout their deployment, highlighting contributions of the Provincial Reconstruction Team and 506th Air Expeditionary Group, as well as significant strides that had been made by their Iraqi partners in Kirkuk.“I am truly honored to be among you,” he said, before transitioning into some of the highlights of the brigade’s tour. “We worked alongside the Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police to reduce violence in the province by 70 percent. The IA continues to grow in capabilities and capacity.”Leaders also discussed 1st BCT’s involvement in significant economic developments, infrastructure improvements and improved stability in Kirkuk Province.
“I remain confident that the best days of the Kirkuk Province lie ahead,” Paschal added.
He also called for a moment of silence for the 15 Warrior Brigade Soldiers who gave their lives in support of an improved Iraq, as well as numerous Iraqi martyrs who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country’s future.Col. Matthew Russell, 18th Engineer Brigade commander, thanked the leadership and staff of 1st BCT for a smooth, easy transition. He said he hoped his unit was able to build off the numerous successes that 1st BCT Soldiers accomplished during their tour of duty in Iraq.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_Engineer_Brigade_(United_States)

Kirkuk Memorial

thank you for serving our country and preserving freedom

1BCT10th MTN-heading home 11/08, thank you

In the words of the great poet Walt Whitman,
“The moon gives you light,
And the bugles and the drums give you music,
And my heart, O my soldiers, my veterans,
My heart gives you love.”

As veterans, you have confidence in freedom's cause -- because you have seen with your own eyes the power of liberty to transform nations and secure the peace. The men and women gathered before me took an oath to defend America -- and you upheld that oath with honor, and decency, and valor. You humbled tyrants, liberated continents, and freed millions from unspeakable oppression. And because of your service and sacrifice, the world has been transformed in once unimaginable ways. Today, across Europe and Asia, former adversaries in war have become allies in the cause of peace. And in towns and villages on both continents, there are still men and women who talk of the day when the Americans arrived to free them from tyranny.
I thank our nation's veterans for the fine example that you have set for our country. I thank you for your courage and your patriotism and your devotion to duty. I thank you for standing up for the men and women of our Armed Forces -- and I thank you for all you do to support the families they leave behind during this time of war.
May God bless and keep all who have made the ultimate sacrifice. May God bless and keep our brave and honored veterans. May God bless those who are in harm's way. And may God continue to bless our nation. Thank you. (President Bush 2007)

Welcome Home.. Matt

WELCOME HOME MATT

10/31/08

watching and waiting...

Psalm 130:6
My life's on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching till morning, waiting and watching till morning. (The Message)

Col 4:2
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

(Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude.)

Welcome Home.. cyndi

WELCOME HOME CYNDI

10/30/08

watching and waiting--

Psalm 130:6
My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning-- Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

"no other song"

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
2 Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.

Sixpence None The Richer & Jars of Clay - With Every Breath

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt5ibMqAL6k
Thanks Lord For EverythingHallelujah from the heavens
Hallelujah in the heights above the earth
Hallelujah all His angels
Hallelujah for the last will be first
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
Hallelujah in the morningHallelujah for the beauty of His scars
Hallelujah in the twilight
Hallelujah sun and moon and shining stars

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
When the night seems so long (throw your hands to the sky)
You can sing a new song (wipe the tears from your eyes)
When you're weak, He is strong
He can heal your wounded soul
And calm the storm inside

For all your times of laughter
In every hopeful prayer
When the world weighs on your shoulders
Through sorrow and your despair
With everything, with every breath, praise the Lord
Let everything, let every breath praise the Lord
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord
Let everything, let every breath praise the Lord
When the night seems so long (throw your hands to the sky)
You can sing a new song (wipe the tears from your eyes)
When you're weak, He is strong
He can heal your wounded soul
And calm the storm inside

"Waiting, waiting for the return of Matthew and Cynthia to the USA

We have had some delays ---

Impatient waiting---

At times I start to doubt the wisdom of God's timing or the goodness of his guidance.

I know that God's care over me and my loved ones is something far greater than i can conceive but walking it out is a hard road at times.

"Are you waiting for something? I mean really waiting with deep longing in your soul for something beyond your control? Are you waiting for God to answer? If so, you are in a good (though hard) place.
God highly values the fruit produced in the soul that learns to wait patiently for him. So he takes pains to cultivate it in us. "

Source:

http://www.desiringgod.org/AboutUs/MonthlyNewsletter/2006_11/

Luke 21:19—"By your endurance [patience] you will gain your lives."
Romans 2:7—"To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, God will give eternal life."
Hebrews 6:12—"Do not be sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Excellent article by John Piper to Battle Unbelief of Impatience

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1988/659_Battling_the_Unbelief_of_Impatience/

As Long As You Are Glorified
Mark Altrogge

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings
Yet not welcome any pain

Shall I thank You for days of sunshine

Yet grumble in days of rain

Shall I love You in times of plenty

Then leave You in days of drought

Shall I trust when I reap a harvest

But when winter winds blow, then doubt

Oh let Your will be done in me

In Your love I will abide

Oh I long for nothing else as long

As You are glorified

Are You good only when I prosper

And true only when I’m filled

Are You King only when I’m carefree

And God only when I’m well

You are good when I’m poor and needy

You are true when I’m parched and dry

You still reign in the deepest valley

You’re still God in the darkest night

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him” (Psalm 62:5)

UnderOath - A Love So Pure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUDPo21Bdd4

Always did it on my own then one day I realized

I was blind,, nothing I could do on my own

Turn, we have found a way to see, look up... feel the Almighty

Take control as we gaze into your eyes

We're just the tool you use to bring this world to you

Oh, Lord, how we love you

With your grace, take away the hurt and the bruises inside,

reach down let your glory reside

The cross carried for all of us, paint the image in my mind

So I will never think I am something,

but nothing am I but you, you are something

Lord you keep me alive, you give me rest at night

When there seems no way to find calmness in the storm you come and

take me in your arms and then the waves drown me no more

With you I'll last this battle and many others

Through the ages your name will reigh forever... never to be replaced

In these trials I face, I pray you humble me

Humble me I want to be like you Jesus more and more like you

I was crucified on that day with Christ

Nailing you there with sin, accepting you

I nailed my soul to the cross and now my life begins

This world so cold but your love keeps me warm

My father holds me in his nailed scarred hands which I put there

But for some reason he still loves me with all his heart

Even through I betray him constantly

He always keeps his arms open waiting, till I give up my old

was

God my father, you are the only one that can give me comfort

You touch my heart in such a way that all I can do is cry your name

Jesus Christ I love you

My heart aches for your love

Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long,and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders." Deut 33:12

U.S. Army soldiers at Forward Operating Base Warrior, Iraq (army.mil)

Give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! —Psalm 107:21

Jeremy Taylor was a 17th-century English cleric who was severely persecuted for his faith. But though his house was plundered, his family left destitute, and his property confiscated, he continued to count the blessings he could not lose.
He wrote: “They have not taken away my merry countenance, my cheerful spirit, and a good conscience; they have still left me with the providence of God, and all His promises . . . my hopes of Heaven, and my charity to them, too, and still I sleep and digest, I eat and drink, I read and meditate. And he that hath so many causes of joy, and so great should never choose to sit down upon his little handful of thorns.” (Daily Bread)

Soldiers are beginning to return home from Iraq and the First Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division

http://www.wwnytv.net/index.php/2008/10/07/returning-home-in-time-for-thanksgiving/

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

cyndi's promotion 1st Lt

Psalm 31:14-18(Message)
Desperate, I throw myself on you: you are my God! Hour by hour I place my days in your hand, safe from the hands out to get me. Warm me, your servant, with a smile; save me because you love me. 24 Be brave. Be strong. Don't give up. Expect God to get here soon.

(this one is for mike and matt )

"From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised."

Psalm 113
1 Praise the LORD.
Praise, O servants of the LORD,

praise the name of the LORD.

2 Let the name of the LORD be praised,

both now and forevermore.

3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the LORD is to be praised.

4 The LORD is exalted over all the nations,

his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the LORD our God,

the One who sits enthroned on high,

6 who stoops down to look

on the heavens and the earth?

7 He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap;

8 he seats them with princes,

with the princes of their people.

9 He settles the barren woman in her home

as a happy mother of children.

Praise the LORD.

Mac Powell/Fernando Ortega - Our Great God

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c0jJt_XKbw&feature=related

Prayer For Home lyrics
Artist - Fernando Ortega

Grant them peace, most precious gift of all

Keep the worried world far away and small

When they return, may quiet fill their souls,

Dearest Lord, keep them safe within it's walls.

May the stone be cool beneath their feet.

The canyon breezes circle soft and sweet

When darkness falls, the stars and opal moon

Find them wrapped in each other, ever warm.

Chorus

May it be a refuge for their love,

A harbor for their deepest prayer.

May they come to flourish in the grove,

Grow ever nearer to You there.

Many a burdened friend in their company rises,

A heavy heart is soon released to fly.
May their table be blessed with laughter and with grace

And by the comfort of kinship be surprised.

Chorus

May the cold wind blow far from their front door

May the winter rains never bring them harm

May their hearthfires burn throughout the night

Grant them peace until morning's perfect light.

"His gifts are beyond measure precious, and are as freely given as the light of the sun."

"While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease." (Genesis 8:22)

You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. —James 4:14

Our Daily Bread Oct 2,2008

On a crisp October morning, our local newspaper featured a stunning photo of sun-drenched aspen trees whose leaves had turned autumn gold. The caption read: FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY. The irresistible invitation to take a drive through the mountains to savor the brilliant colors conveyed the urgency of doing it quickly. Autumn leaves that are golden today are often gone tomorrow.
Our opportunities to obey God’s promptings are also fleeting. James warned against an arrogance that assumes endless days will be available to carry out our good intentions. “You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. . . . Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (4:14,17).
Is there an act of kindness or encouragement that God has urged you to do for someone in His name? How long has it been since that first prompting? With so many demands on our time, the urgent tasks demand our attention while the important things can be postponed. But a time will come when even the important can no longer be done.
When we follow God’s urging with our action now, today will be golden. — David C. McCasland

If God is prompting you todayTo help someone who has a need,Don’t hesitate, the time is short;Tomorrow is not guaranteed. —Sper
Doing what’s right today means no regrets tomorrow.

Reader, how blessed it is as years roll round, and the leaves begin again to fall, to enjoy such an unfading promise as this, "The Lord will give grace."( Morning and Evening 0ct 1 CHS)

"Give me your Eyes" - Amazing Grace

(John Newton's Attic View)

Give me your eyes

(Brandon Heath)

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." Is 52:7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFF-bELjXLw

Giving the gospel away is one of the best ways of experiencing its power in your own life. The best way to taste the power of God for your own soul is to venture something on it. It's the great old truth of the Lord himself when he said, "He who loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it." The more ready we are to move with the gospel, the more life and power and joy and security we will know in the gospel.
In giving we will receive. In dying we will live. And in telling the gospel we will hear it again with O so much more depth and power and joy. (John Piper)

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/BySeries/33/639_Ready_to_Move_with_the_Gospel_of_Peace/

Amazing Grace: The Sermon Notes









http://www.johnnewton.org/Groups/32665/The_John_Newton/Amazing_Grace/The_sermon_notes.aspx


John Newton based his hymn Amazing Grace on this passage in 1 Chronicles 17:16-17

16 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: "Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 17 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O LORD God.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Chronicles%2017:%2016-17;&version=31;

He took his 3 sermon points for the New Year from this passage of Scripture:

look back
look around
look forward

1. Look back

The Lord reminded David what he had been, I took thee … from following the sheep (verse 7). David marvels that God has brought him from such a lowly position, Who am I, O Lord God? So Newton is astonished:

Amazing grace…
that saved a wretch like me.

2. Look around

The Lord tells David, I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and cut off all thine enemies from before thee… (verse 8). David considers how the Lord hast brought me hitherto. So Newton reflects:

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come.
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far…

3. Look forward

The Lord promises that He will build thee a house… I will raise up thy seed… I will establish his throne for ever (verses 10-12). David is overawed that God has spoken of thy servant’s house for a great while to come… thou... hast promised this goodness unto thy servant (verses 17, 26). So Newton rejoices:

The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
… God who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

http://www.johnnewton.org/Groups/32664/The_John_Newton/Amazing_Grace/The_Scripture_texts.aspx

we remember 9.11

Bush marks Sept. 11 with moment of silence
By DEB RIECHMANN –
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush said Thursday that history will look back at America's response to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and conclude that "we did not tire, we did not falter and we did not fail."
Bush marked the seventh anniversary of the deadliest attack on U.S. soil with a moment of silence at the White House at 8:46 a.m. EDT, precisely the moment when terrorists crashed a hijacked airliner into the World Trade Center in New York. A second plane struck the trade center shortly thereafter. Another was flown into the Pentagon and still another crashed in a field at Shanksville, Pa.
Bush also helped dedicate a memorial at the Pentagon honoring those who died there. He said the terrorists could not break the resolve of the U.S. armed forces.

He said that "since 9/11, our troops have taken the fight to the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home." Bush added: "Thanks to the brave men and women, and all those who work to keep us safe, there has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days."
The Pentagon Memorial, built at a cost of $22 million, contains 184 benches that will glow with light in the night, as well as trees and trickling water. Each bench is dedicated to an individual victim, and the structures are organized as a timeline of the victims' ages, moving from the youngest, 3-year-old Dana Falkenberg to the oldest, John D. Yamnicky, 71. Nearly 3,000 flags are arrayed in a Pentagon parking lot.

Pentagon Memorial 2008

PROGRESS IN NORTHERN IRAQ

Iraqi Army Posts Colors, CF Retires Colors at PB Pickett in Northern Rashaad Valley

http://www.1ad.army.mil/story/sept08/colors.htm

Patrol Base Lion’s Den transferred to Iraqi Army

http://www.taskforcemountain.com/images/stories/mountain-view/September-2008/tmv_20080910.pdf

Isaiah 51:5 On mine arm shall they trust.

Police cars patrol Canal Street on Sunday night as wind and rain from Gustav arrive in New Orleans, Louisiana.

thinking of you-
As Hurricane Gustav hits Louisiana - We pray for deliverance from this storm and safety for all in the area.

as i read in my notes on this page in Morning and Evening from the last few years- i'm reminder that there are those times that I'm so grateful for answers to prayer and also those times i have to rely on the everlasting arms of our Lord cause i don't yet fully understand as someday we will- 9/1/06. 9/3/07,9/1/08
love DAD

August 31
Morning ...
http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/morningandevening/551080/

Isaiah 51:5 "On mine arm shall they trust. "

In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on his God alone. When his vessel is on its beam-ends, and no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God.

Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this!

O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God and God alone!

There is no getting at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends; but when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nowhere else to turn, he flies into his Father's arms, and is blessedly clasped therein! When he is burdened with troubles so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of his Lord then than at any other time. Oh, tempest-tossed believer, it is a happy trouble that drives thee to thy Father! Now that thou hast only thy God to trust to, see that thou puttest thy full confidence in Him. Dishonour not thy Lord and Master by unworthy doubts and fears; but be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Show the world that thy God is worth ten thousand worlds to thee. Show rich men how rich thou art in thy poverty when the Lord God is thy helper. Show the strong man how strong thou art in thy weakness when underneath thee are the everlasting arms.

Now is the time for feats of faith and valiant exploits. Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as surely as He built the heavens and the earth, glorify Himself in thy weakness, and magnify his might in the midst of thy distress. The grandeur of the arch of heaven would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on anything discernible by the carnal eye. May the Holy Spirit give you to rest in Jesus this closing day of the month.

"One of the Best days of our lives" - 30 August 1984

Matt ,Happy Birthday

You are a great son, husband, grandson, leader and friend.
The day you were born was a joy and a blessing.

Proverbs 23:18There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Proverbs 23:17-19 (in Context) Proverbs 23 (Whole Chapter)

Psalm 144:12

Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.

"I hope I am deeply thankful to the bountiful Giver of all good for having granted me in you a son to whom future course I can look with so much humble hope and even joyful confidence." (William Wilberforce 1897)

Come weary saints

http://www.sovereigngracemusic.org/albums/category/sovereign_grace_music/come_weary_saints

May your faith and joy in the Savior be strengthened for the challenges you face, now or in the future.

Like Red on a Rose

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBVG7qNq6Ww

" looking back with gratitude and looking forward in faith"

wonderful visit and vaca

visit to NC

Visit to PA was much appreciated!
What a Blessing!

Time with relatives and friends.

Went to a Harley Shop with Don

Remember the CROSS-BONES

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/2009_Motorcycles/2009_Motorcycles.jsp?locale=en_US#/model/flstsb

Woods Spa with friends - refreshed

2yr anniversary- Aug 5th

"Gratitude exults in the past benefits of God and says to
faith, “Embrace more of these benefits for the future, so that
my happy work of looking back on God’s deliverance may
continue.” (Future Grace - John Piper)