Is It Mean To State The Truth?

In the following article the author hits the nail on the head about why we as Christians cannot condone what God calls a sin. Why then do I always feel like I am hurting peoples feelings if I should mention this?

If we saw someone we know and love trying to rob a bank would we not think to try and talk them out of it? Is this particular sin any different because it involves sex? I have some friends who are not persuaded that this is one of the issues God cares about . . . but I believe God cares about all sins equally and for us to remain silent is just wrong, and we will be judged for that silence. I think it is just too convenient for us to remain silent, and silence can be interpreted as agreement.

I'm certainly not saying to go out and harass homosexuals. I myself, am much like the dinosaur in the movie Toy Story; I don't like confrontation! But we should be able to state an opinion when asked, gulp, about gay marriage. How does one engage in that type of dialogue without being considered "homophobic, intolerant, wingnut, etc., etc." I don't know, but I am working on it!

Why sin cannot be condoned by state

On Being American With No Hyphen

Just a short thought:

Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas on being an AMERICAN in 1907. “... it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.” - Theodore Roosevelt 1907

My evening with the patriotic Mr. Park, who came to this country in 1977 and stayed and became a citizen who knows the history of this country and why it is a great nation, and is not a Korean-American, but an AMERICAN, reminds me that we should never take for granted the humble beginnings of all who came here. My own mother is a naturalized citizen, from Germany, and has never taken her rights, or responsibilities, for granted. She votes in every election. She stays current on what is happening, and of course her blood pressure goes up watching the nightly news. She has never been a German-American. She is an AMERICAN with proud German roots.

An Evening With Mr. Park of Lawrence, Kansas

We are lucky again in this assignment at Leavenworth in that Ward and I get invited to all of the International events. Last night was the quarterly dinner in which all participants bring a dish to share. It is an international potluck! With over eighty countries represented, there was everything from ceviche to Korean glass noodles to Canadian moose milk. But although the cuisine is sublime, it is not the best part of the evening. Meeting new people, that's the sublime part of the night!

Mr. Park, of Lawrence, Kansas, was my dinner partner to my left. And because the gentleman to my right was the director of the event he was kept busy with keeping things running smoothly, I found myself for the most of the dinner, engaged in conversation with this TaeKwonDo philanthropist from the university. Mr. Park provides trips for foreign students to tour the university and to get into games, play golf and if they and their host country are interested a way to attend the university for a year after attending CGSC here at Fort Leavenworth. He was telling me how many foreign students had done this in the past and had gone on to become heads of state.

As the evening went on we spoke together about Seoul, where I have lived briefly and where he was from originally and how he came to come to the U.S. and become a citizen. We talked of the differences between Japan and Korea. And Mr. Park amazed me with his candor, but also his love of his adopted nation. He is an American now and a patriot! Wow, his knowledge of history and his point of view in that our country is one that, "never asks for a fight, but when called out goes in full force. And we never nationalize those countries we defeat! We help them rebuild and then get out." Of course he went on to say that did you know that Japan has never apologized for Pearl Harbor, and that we need to keep an eye on them even now. I also remember that not only did they never apologize to Korea for the atrocities that took place even before WWII, there was a controversy even when we were there in 2000-2002 over that part of history in their textbooks. I am amazed that the two countries were able to share hosting the World Cup!

The dinner portion was over too soon, and a DJ began playing tunes and the one thing that seems to be truly universal among the students began. The dance! I was mesmerized be a particular Italian officer who, being single, took over the floor with any available female dance partner he could find. Ah, to be twenty (OK, thirty!) years younger and to do the salsa! Ay carumba! Next time I am going to bring a camera to capture the sheer fun of this . . . did I mention that the students were all dressed in their native costumes?

Home Sweet Army Home

Here is a photo taken yesterday of our home at Fort Leavenworth. Great old Army house. Looks very nice doesn't it? Inside there is roughly 4700 square feet of wife killer dusting, vacuuming and stair climbing. Let's play word semantics and call the interior charming and rustic. Or as Betty commented on the kitchen the first time she saw it, "wow, Mom, you could so decorate retro!" Yes, I surely could. My moniker is June Cleaver, but I'll cast my pearls away if they would tell me they'd remodel the kitchen!

Plectranthus

I have a new favorite fall plant--Plectranthus--or Mona Lavender. I don't have anything against the ubiquitous fall mums, except they are so ordinary and common. The Mona is stunning! I paid as much for it as I would have for the boring old mum, but the colors are magnificent in their light purple flowers and deep green leaves, the underside of which are variegated deep plum. I took the plastic wrap from around the body and this plant just unfolded into grandeur. And if I am careful I can winterize it and keep it for next summer.

I hope I can keep it alive.

Blooming Where You Are Planted

Army spouses have long used the phrase "bloom where you are planted" to help us feel good about being constantly uprooted and replanted.

The last couple of moves I think the Lord has expanded that and used flowers to help me know that we are where He wants us. Five years ago when we moved from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to Fort Knox, Kentucky he used a sunflower. The sunflower is the Kansas state flower and I came to love that simple yellow bloom, probably because I really enjoyed our time in Kansas. It was a good fit for our family. The sunflower became symbolic of a warm, folksy community, where kids still gathered in the summer for pick-up baseball games. And I adopted the sunflower as my logo. It was on my business cards, stationary and even in a potted plant in our home.

That made the move to Fort Knox a little painful for us. We had been in our new home for about three weeks and I was still feeling a bit glum about it. I was walking the dogs and when returning from the walk I happened to notice a small sunflower in among our bushes. There were no other flowers planted in that area. It was a fluke. Or as I took it, a sign from God! That one lone sunflower said to me that we were where we needed to be at that time. From that point on I looked for what He wanted me to do there at Fort Knox.

Then when our time at Fort Knox was supposed to come to an end after two years, Ward was asked to do an overseas assignment. He didn't have to go. We prayed about it and the decision was made. Still, last August, when I was out on a run and feeling lonely and overwhelmed, I questioned that decision. And then I looked up and saw an entire field of sunflowers! It was an affirmation that what we were doing was right. And this field of sunflowers had not been there the year before! I asked and it was due to some construction and new dirt in the field . . . or was just placed there just for me at a time when I needed it!! Because that's the way the Lord works.

This year we made a move again. This time away from Fort Knox and the wonderful friends that He had provided for us there. It was made even more heart-wrenching by the death of a dear friend and the timing seemed impossible.

We've been here at Fort Leavenworth almost two months and I'm still a bit dazed by the move and leaving those close ties. But here's the thing. Last week I was walking in our yard after clearing some land mines (hey, they are big dogs!) and coming along the side of our house I see a single yellow rose. This on a nearly dead rose bush that Ward and I had just weeks before thought about removing because it looked so bad and stubbly. We had cleared away most of the weeds but just hadn't gotten around to the hard digging out part. But there it was! And how I love yellow roses . . . so once again the Lord gives me a sign that this is where we need to be! The bush is a scrappy, haphazard mess. But zoom in on that beautiful single yellow blossom and tell me that doesn't give one hope. It's going to be okay.

Great Blue

Yeah, I finally get to post a pic of the Great Blue Heron that I see almost daily on my walk around Merritt Lake here at Fort Leavenworth.

Isn't he something? Ain't he a beaut!? He cooperated so very nicely in August when I went down to the lake, without the dogs!
I made a special trip back down to the lake hoping to find him and capture him on film. It took several attempts, as I usually spot him when walking the dogs in the early morning or after dinner time. I would get home, leave the dogs, grab the camera and usually by the time I got back to the lake he would be done with his morning feeding and off to the river, I'm guessing.

Anyway, this morning in late August he was feeding around the edge of the lake and I just followed. I stayed well back and didn't seem to bother his searching for fish at all.