military

Memorial Day

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

For some reason, Memorial Day always sneaks up on me. It’s not like other holidays where I’m counting down the days weeks and months in advance. Even on Memorial Day weekend, I feel like I should be prepped and ready to go to work on Monday.

Lately, Memorial Day has become a kind of National Cookout Day. While I do enjoy a good BBQ as much as the next guy, that’s not really the purpose. It’s about honoring all those who have laid down their lives in service to this country.

As I learned, the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day is that Memorial Day is for all the military members who have passed away either from being killed in the line of duty or who passed away after service. Veterans Day honors all military veterans living or dead.

It’s easy to take for granted the freedoms we have in the United States. It’s equally easy to forget that that freedom was bought with a price. Men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice for us to be able to vote, to participate in the governing process, to speak our minds freely, and to live our lives as we choose.

I remember something about sometimes what we take for granted can be taken from us. When we fail to appreciate the cost of our freedom, it becomes easy to discard or to let slip away through carelessness. But to lose our freedom would be dishonoring and disrespectful to those who died fighting for us.

I’m praying tomorrow that we can all remember those veterans at some point tomorrow. In the midst of all the partying and picnicking, may we all take a moment to pause and reflect and give thanks for those who died so that we could live in freedom.

Remembering

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

“And I ain’t no communist

And I ain’t no capitalist

And I ain’t no socialist

And I ain’t no imperialist

And I ain’t no democrat

And I ain’t no republican

I only know one party

And it is freedom
I am, I am, I am

I am a patriot

And I love my country

Because my county is all I know” (as recorded by Jackson Browne)
Today is the day we spend remembering those men and women who gave their lives defending the freedom and values we hold dear in this country.

It’s more than just another three-day weekend. It’s more than just another day to get together with family and friends and grill out on the patio.

This day, we remember those who didn’t get to come home– who will never get to come home– because they chose to fight for a way of life that many of us take for granted every day. That I take for granted every day.

I’m not a prophet. I don’t know what the future holds for this country. I hear a lot of the doomsday-ers saying that this country is headed to hell in a handbasket. I don’t know about that.

I do know that when we take our gifts for granted for too long. what we’re granted often gets taken.

So I’m expressing my thanks to all of you who have served in the military, are married to someone in the military, or are sons and daughters of those in the military. Thank you.

 

 

Fathers And All That

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

stjoseph

I can imagine Joseph on a break from his carpentry job, hanging around the water cooler that just happens to be on the construction site. Go with me on this.

He’s listening to the other guys brag about their sons:

“My son made the honor roll again. That boy is just plain smart.”

“Yeah? Well, my boy is All-State in both football and basketball. He’ll be getting a free ride to any college he wants.”

“My boy is going into the ROTC and into the Army after he graduates from college. He wants to dedicate his life to defending freedom.”

Then Joseph can’t resist any longer. “My boy is Savior of the World.”

They all roll their eyes. One of them says, “Yeah, yeah. We know. Jesus is soooo great. He can walk on water. He’s the perfect Man, God incarnate, yada, yada, yada. You don’t have to keep reminding us of how great your son is.”

OK. That probably never happened. But I do think Joseph is a good example of a good father.

He’s the one who raised a child he didn’t father. Sure, it was a miraculous event, but still, Jesus was not his biological child. But he was man enough to take responsibility. He did the best thing any good father can do by loving his wife, Mary, day in and day out.

Also, he raised Jesus in the right way. Jesus knew how to work hard with his hands and was taught the importance of integrity and honesty. When the Bible says that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, Joseph had a part in that.

Actually, the Bible never records any of Joseph’s actual words. It merely says that when Joseph heard what the angel said, he obeyed. Jesus learned obedience from a human perspective by watching his earthly father. Joseph knew that most of the most important life lessons are caught rather than taught, so he lived out his faith and his integrity and back up what he said by what he did.

Fathers, take a few notes from Joseph. Learn to lead by example and to be the man you want your son to become and your daughter to marry.