Psalm 116:12

"What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?"

The Lord has done many wonderful things for me! The greatest being that He lived, died on a cruel cross, and rose again from the dead that I might have life! There is nothing I could ever do even in a million years for Jesus that could compare to that! Then even after Jesus did that for me, He still loved me while I was a sinner. He was always there while I called out for Him to become real in my life.

After sitting down and thinking on this verse, I have come to understand what Jesus wants me to render:

My will, that His will be done in my life. Matthew 6:10 Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

My life. Dying to myself, allowing Him to purge my sins so that I may be a clean and useable.II Corinthians 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

Offer Him Praises and Thanksgiving, in all things He is worthy of Praise! Psalm 147:1 Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

Service, to be the witness He has called me to be. Acts 22:15 For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.

My complete love and adoration for a God that is so Merciful, Gracious and Loving! Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might.

Military Wives-same can be said for Military Husbands

The following is an e-mail that has been circulating around. It was written by a lady who wanted to express her thanks to military spouses. Please read on…

Dear Military Wife,
I am an American woman that has no idea what is going on in the military other than what I hear on the news. I have never had to let go of someone so that they could go fight for people that they didn't know, people that sometimes do not appreciate
or understand what they are fighting for. I have never had a sleepless night of worry because of a report that another bomb has exploded and I still haven't heard from my husband. I have never had to wait for months on end to hold the one that I
loved so. I have never had to tell my children that daddy wasn't coming home
tonight because he was so far away fighting for something that they aren't yet old enough to understand. I have never had to hold my head high and suppress the tears as I hear that it will be at least another six months of separation before my
loved one gets to come home. I have never had to deal with a holiday away from the one that I thought I would share every day of my life with. And I have never had to feel the panic rising in my heart at the sound of a ringing phone or knock at the door for fear that it is the news that everyone is terrified of getting. For the reasons listed above, I can not tell you that I understand how you feel. I can not tell you that you must be strong. I can not say that you shouldn't be angry, because you "knew what you were getting into when you married a military man". I can not say these things because I have never had to walk in your shoes. What I can say for certain is that because of your unselfish acts of bravery and your husbands willingness to stand up for those who see him as "just another soldier" - - I will never have to walk in your shoes. I do understand that as a military wife you are expected to uphold a certain amount of control, but I never understood how you could do it, until now. I have figured out that you are not like other women. You are of a special breed. You have a strength within you that holds life together in the darkest of hours, a strength of which I will never possess. The faith you have is what makes you stand out in a crowd; it makes you glow with emotion and swell with pride at the mention of The United States of America. You are a special lady, a wonderful partner and a glorious American.
I have more respect for your husband than I could ever tell you, but until recently I never thought much about those that the soldier leaves at home during deployment.
Until this moment I could never put into words exactly what America meant to me.
Until this moment, I had no real reason to.... Until I heard of you. Your husband and his military family hold this nation close, safe from those who wish to hurt us...but you and those like you are the backbone of the American family. You keep the wheels in motion and the hearts alive while most would just break completely down. Military families make this nation what it is today. You give us all hope and you emit a warming light at the end of a long dark tunnel. Because of you and your family...I am able to be me. I am able to have my family. I am able to walk free in this great land.
Because of you and your family, I can look ahead to the future with the knowledge that life is going to be okay. Because of you and your family, I can awake to a new day, everyday. I realize that you are a stronger person than I will ever be because of these things and I just wanted to take the time today to say thank you to you and your family for allowing me that freedom. I will never be able to repay this debt to you, as it is unmatchable. However, I hope that you know that no matter where you are...
what you are doing… what has happened today… or what will happen tomorrow… Your husband will NEVER be "just another soldier" to me.... And you, dear sweet lady, will never be forgotten. You are all in my prayer's everyday and I pray that God will bring you back together with your loved one safely.

Civil Air Patrol

Our son has joined the Civil Air Patrol. This is a non profit auxillary of the US Air Force. My sons Squadron meets every Saturday. The program is to provide leadership skills to young folks ages 12-18. CAP also helps with Emergency Rescues, Natural Disaster relief efforts, and Aerospace Education.

Austin joined in September and has already received his first promotion! Cadet Airman. The minimum time to bear the Airman rank is two months, so you know he is already gearing up to receive his promotion to Airman First Class.
Saturday there was an Air Show and they volunteered to help out at the show. The picture is of our son in an C-47. For a donation, he was also able to sit in the cockpit and nose of a B-25. (2nd pic) While he was in line, he didn't really show any enthusiasm for being able to just see the cockpit, he wanted to see the whole inside of the plane, but as emerged from the plane he had a broad smile across his face. He decided it was pretty cool!
President Bush's helicopters were there too, and my husbands battalions Black Hawks escorted Marine 1 and Marine 2.
For me the best part was the two F-16 Falcons flying by.
For more information about the Civil Air Patrol check out their site. And if you, or your son/daughter join, please let them know you heard about it from us! My son is working on receiving his recruiting ribbon.