'D-Day…………66 years ago today

 

An extraordinary Prayer for D Day

FDR’s prayer:

My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest -- until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, thy heroic servants, into thy kingdom.

And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas -- whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them -- help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too -- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons where so ever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment, let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances'. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace, a peace invulnerable to the scheming of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.

Let’s talk about me………..

1. I don’t wear a watch, even though I own a 50th anniversary gold Mickey Mouse watch, my life is no longer ruled by a clock.

2. I thoroughly enjoy sleeping, especially in the middle of my bed on my favorite 400-thread count sheets, freshly washed.

3. I’m judgmental and ashamed of it.

4. I love to laugh until there are tears running down my face and my cheeks ache and my lungs hurt.

5. I want to be less materialistic, but then I see something that I really want and being less materialistic goes right out the window.

6. I have no time for people who are phony or who lie. I guess it’s the judgmental thing, but I can’t be bothered.

7. I’m very self conscious.

8. I can’t swim

9. I am very easily distracted, maybe to the point of having ADD.

10. I have a tattoo.

Enjoy life there is plenty of time to be dead.

It is hard for me to accept my limitations and I am sure it is hard for others to recognize them and accept them too.
I think about death alot. Some days I wish it would be soon because I am so tired of fighting to breathe and so frustrated with wanting to do so much and not having the energy and the air to do it. At those times I mostly worry about how I will die. Will it be gasping for air, in pain or extreme anxiety or will someone know to make sure I get good meds. I have a living will but I worry that my wishes won't be carried out. I know how hard it is for families of dying patients to let go. Most days I just carry on, trying to make it better. There's good in every day, I just have to look for it. I'm looking forward to getting that feeling of well-being despite the limitations. Instead of this feeling of helplessness in the face of the limitations.

I hate this disease. I hate what it does to people. I hate that because we smoked and "did this to ourselves" I hate being called a "burden on society".

I spend many hours alone thinking about death. I know it's inevitable, unpredictable and certain. I accept that. It may be sooner for me because of the COPD, and most likely will be. But I could also be hit by a truck tomorrow. You just don't know. But I think about it while I breathe in my oxygen and pant after everything I do.

So now that I contemplate my own death, it's not so scary for me - really just the nuts and bolts of it.
For now, I just feel good to be alive. I work hard to accept the limitations I have had imposed on my life and to be grateful that I am so much better than some others.

Yet I am still thinking about death.

40 Years down the tubes

Al Gore and wife Tipper are separating:

Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, are separating after 40 years of marriage.

According to an email circulated among the couple’s friends and obtained by the Associated Press on Tuesday, the Gores said it was “a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration.”

Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider confirmed the statement came from the Gores but declined to comment further.

I swear to God if I find out he has some young thing waiting in the wings, I am turning on every air conditioner, light bulb, and television in my house. Carbon footprint be damned.

On Respect.

* You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
* You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
* You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
* You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
* You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
* You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatreds.
* You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
* You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence.
* You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

Recycled words

Lilacs and Peonies

When I was a kid my grandma and I would go to the cemeteries every Memorial Day. She would begin worrying in early May if the lilacs and the peonies would be blooming. We would cut giant bunches of flowers; load them in her old car along with glass canning jars and a small shovel. Off we would go, first to the Star City cemetery. It was my job to dig a small hole, place the canning jar in the hole, pump water from the well and carry it to the gravesite and fill the jar and place the flowers in the jar. Also I was to pull any weeds that grew up around the headstone. All the time I was doing that my grandma was talking with other people who were also placing flowers on the graves of their loved ones. It was a busy bustling place. My grandfather was buried there. (My grandma now rests beside him) He died 3 years before I was born. But my grandma always told me how much he would have loved me. After several hours we went on to another cemetery. My grandma would visit with others and that cemetery even had benches for folks to sit and chat. I wish I had listened closer to her stories. She was the one person in my childhood who was always kind to me. To this day come spring time I hope the lilacs and peonies are ready for Memorial Day. Today I drove past the cemetery, and it dawned on me... we are all just passing through this physical life. I know I know.. I am slow to catch on. We will all die and turn to dust, sooner or later. We can fight it but we can’t change it. One day our bones will lay forgotten, and all the things we worked so hard for will be laying in some landfill. All of our things will be lost and forgotten, this made me question what will I leave my children and grandchildren and some day great grand children? I hope I leave a legacy of fighting for what I believe in. I hope I am leaving some thing real something worthy and not just stuff. These days, I can't physically visit those cemeteries any longer, but I can still recall all those stories and the good times I spent with someone whom I know in my heart cared about me. Perhaps that is the best gift that I can leave my own loved ones. I will try harder to do that.

. This is recycled from last year.