Thank You to all those that are or have been in the Armed Services!

On Veterans Day we recognize the sacrifice made by so many of our young men, and women, to guarantee our freedom and way of life, but why should we have to set aside one day a year to recognize them? Why not recognize them everyday? It takes a special kind of person to willingly offer their life to protect thousands of people that they will never even meet, to possibly leave their children fatherless or motherless so that your children, and mine, can grow up safely with us in our home, or to leave their spouse widowed so that we can grow old with ours. Allot of them are young, never having the chance to really experience life before they are handed a gun and sent into a dark building not knowing if they will come back out. Can you really imagine the stress, adrenalin, and fear that are running through their young minds at those times? Many of us can! Many of us have been in those dark buildings, hot deserts, or dense jungles. Looking into the face of their own mortality and wondering if they will ever see the ones they love again but trying not to think of it. Trusting in the guy to your right to cover your back, or get you to safety if you get wounded.

I for one am grateful everyday for those men and women, those kids that have stood up as a wall to block us from the dangers that threaten to destroy us. In them lay our hope for a safe and familiar future. May God keep and protect them always!

For many years Psalm 91 has been considered the Soldiers Psalm or Soldiers Prayer because it gives hope and strength to soldiers in the uncertain times of their service, such as the last few hours before they get deployed to a hostile area or the moment before going into battle. It is a Psalm of trust and is in three main sections.

1.      A confession of confidence in the Lord.

2.       Assurance that those who trust in the Lord need not fear evil.

3.       Promises of Gods protection

Psalm 91

 ¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
   will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
   my God, in whom I trust.”

 ³ Surely he will save you
   from the fowler’s snare
   and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
   nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
   nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
   ten thousand at your right hand,
   but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
   and see the punishment of the wicked.
 ⁹ If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
   and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
   no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways.

Don’t wait for November 11^Th to thank a Veteran! Thank one everyday for the service they gave or are still giving to our country and its people, and PLEASE remember, many soldiers carry more than physical scars home from the war they were in. Say a prayer for them and their families!

Picture is from: “Solemn ceremony honors war dead” by Courtney Kube, NBC News’