Outing to a natural spring pool and a make your own pancakes restaurant
Uncle Randy took Ellie, Gavin and me to the Gulf Coast
Spending time with family
Miranda was here when we had this for dinner. She thought it was delicious! I thought so too and made it again today with penne noodles.Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender’s poem. You are men who in your “lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.” I think I know what you may be thinking right now — thinking, “We were just part of a bigger effort; everyone was brave that day.” Well, everyone was.
All of these men were part of a roll call of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore: the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland’s 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England’s armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard’s “Matchbox Fleet” and you, the American Rangers. Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.
The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge — and pray God we have not lost it — that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt. You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you. The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They thought — or felt in their hearts, though they couldn’t know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.
Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.” Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died. Thank you very much, and God bless you all.
"Knowing that you are living between the already and the not yet tells you where you are located in God's story of redemption...Already God has given us his Word as our guide. Already he has sent his Son to live, die and rise again for our salvation. Already he has given us his Spirit to live within us. But the world has not yet been restored. Sin has not yet been completely eradicated. We have not yet been formed in the perfect likeness of Jesus. Suffering, sadness, and death are not yet no more. It is hard to live in the middle, but that is exactly where we live. We live in a world that is still sadly and terribly broken."
-Paul David Tripp
There are many examples of how this world is fallen, but right now the area of marriage is foremost in my mind. God created man then He created woman because it wasn’t good for the man to be alone. God created women to bring glory to Him through being wives and mothers. Getting married though or even meeting a Christian guy is quite difficult.
WORLD magazine recently printed several articles on dating and marriage that reminded me I am not alone in waiting for a husband. One female student was quoted as saying, “I am extremely frustrated by the dating process. I’m traditional. I believe in the man asking the woman out. Women don’t get asked out.” The article continues with quoting Ellyn Arevalo, “They don’t ask anyone out. It is alternately frustrating and extremely painful. Your hands are tied.” I have experienced this even with on-line dating. Men simply don’t initiate and so the wait gets very long.
Then one day a guy did ask and I was absolutely thrilled. He is a Christian, likes to read, didn’t play video games and treated me so well. I have been on a lot of first dates and turned many guys down, but this one was different. I actually liked him. He said he would meet my family, we dated for a couple months, talked about marriage and then he sent a text to say he was moving on. In the end I think it came down to one issue that I didn’t realize was an issue until shortly before he sent the text. Having been so careful about dating it was completely unexpected to end up with a broken heart.
Even though I liked him a great deal I never let my standards for physical purity down and to his credit he never pressured me. For that I am thankful. I felt bad that we even held hands. That was something I had saved and I gave it away to someone that I didn’t end up marrying. If we had kissed it would have been more difficult.
The hardest part to get over was being emotionally attached to him. “If you are dedicated to emotional purity, you are afraid. You either risk nothing or you risk everything.” (Hannah Farver, as quoted in WORLD Magazine) I didn’t mean to date, for so long, someone I wasn’t going to marry. Casual dating is not what I do, so I was attached. In the end that made it a hard fall.
So, what is a girl to do? Always risking nothing is not an option if you want to get married. I didn’t go into this relationship thinking it was short term. I went into it asking myself if I would marry him and when the answer was yes then I risked it.
The following are dating principles that will help keep the heart aches to a minimum and leave you the most to give your husband.
Wait until you are ready to marry to date.
Only date a Christian and be sure to ask how they believe you are saved.
Talk more than you text.
If you are going to hold hands save the rest for after you are engaged and married.
Spend time in real life situations (visiting family and engaging in conversation).
If you wouldn’t marry them then don’t date them.
Let a gentleman be a gentleman – allow him to open doors and do others thing to treat you like a lady. Thank him and be respectful.
Wait for a godly man – he will be more than worth it.
Settling for someone who is rude, pressures you in unbiblical ways and doesn’t treat you well is not a good idea.
Guard against thinking that there is always someone better. Once you are married you will not want thoughts like that in your mind and they start from dating around.
Keep your relationship always before the Lord in prayer.
Should you need to end the relationship refrain from sending a text. Take someone with you or call if that will not work. Even though texting is common it is not a kind way to end a relationship.
There are regrets I have about this relationship. I didn’t catch that there was something we needed to talk about and I did not pray consistently about it. Yet by God’s grace nothing happened that I would be ashamed to tell you and for that I am grateful.
It is overwhelming to be back waiting for my husband, however, God works all things for the good for those that love Him – even long waits!
“The real things haven’t changed.
It is still best to be honest and truthful;
to make the most of what we have;
to be happy with simple pleasures;
and have courage when things go wrong.”
~Laura Ingalls Wilder
Visit to Mount Dora, Florida
