Friday, April 18, 2008

mid-month tgif.

Thank you, God, today for . . .
  1. a PC miracle worker who found and restored all my email (bless him!).
  2. the anticipation of being an Apple owner (was waiting to see whether I might get my email back; I've got an appointment to purchase Monday afternoon).
  3. evocative songs (for me, life is just one big mix-tape/iPod playlist).
  4. requited love.
  5. my middle-age liberal crushes — Jon Stewart, Keith Oberman & Barack Obama.
  6. the pause button.
  7. real mail.
  8. adding a new sitter to the list.
  9. being too exhausted to get too stressed about anything at all.
  10. the flip side — sleep, blessed sleep (coming soon to a blogger near you).
And I missed it, but yesterday was officially Blah Blah Blah day . . . I hope yours wasn't! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! :)

4 comments:

Diana said...

So glad that you have #1 for which to be thankful! Gee - I can't believe I missed Blah Blah Blah day ... hmmm ... wonder if I was Blah Blah Blahing yesterday -- likely, huh?!

Pam Rush said...

...for our young men and women in the armed forces who are sacrificing their lives for our safety and freedom.

This past week, a good friend of my son-in-law's who was in the Corp with him at A&M and went on to graduate from West Point and then joined the Army, was killed in Iraq. A sad and sobering event normally, but even more tragic when it is someone you knew or loved. My son-in-law, Ismael, wrote an amazing tribute to this young man, which my husband, who is an officer with APD, said gives him hope and encouragement for our young people - given that he usually sees the worst in mankind. Hope it inspires you, too.

From Ismael (who also has two brothers in the Marines): "This guy was a fish buddy of mine. I will be going to his funeral Thursday in Houston. Pray for him and his family.

Tim was a guy that was a great spiritual leader who motivated and encouraged people to talk about God frequently either, one-on-one, through bible studies and other ways. I remember he picked up a guitar to try and learn to sing praise. He learned rather quickly.

He was a firm believer in the fact that with God all barriers could be broken. This could be interpreted in many ways. In this case, he said it when, as a fish, he was able to address an upperclassman by his first name. (he wrote it in a bible as a gift). I remember some cadets being a little frustrated, because the punishment for addressing an upperclassman by first name would be shared with all the fish buddies and those weeks had already been physically demanding.

H was the type of person that had something to say when something needed to be said to put things in perspective and he usually did it through prayer. He always had a lot of things on his mind and school was one of them because he also studied a lot.

I just feel like I have to share this with everyone because I know everyone has different beliefs about what is going on in the world, particularly in Iraq. Freedom has a high price. Men and Women with equal valor or more suffer the same fate. Their families feel it the most. People like Tim set the bar very high and are impossible to replicate.

Appreciate what we have and make the most of it, as it comes. If you have the power to solve things peacefully do so. Otherwise the price is brutal.

We are so blessed that we have a country that is worth fighting for, and men and women who are willing to defend it to the death. Thank you for your service Tim. We honor you and your family.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13

Voltaire said, 'I do not agree with a word you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it.'"

http://www.aggienetwork.com/InMemoriam/Cunningham/

Anonymous said...

I'm thankful for those young women in Oregon who carried their opponent around the bases after she hit a home run and blew out her knee.
What an example for not only young people, but all of us, for doing the right thing. Is it because girls are less competitive than boys? Absolutely not. Maybe it's a sign of the social change that is afoot. I'm still one big goosebump over this story.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful stories -- thank you for sharing them. :)