Category: personal comments

Making It All Real

 

“[The LORD Is My Fortress] I live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful.”

 Psalm 91:1 CEV

We must grasp this down deep.  He shelters us in a place that no one can reach.  He is a rock of a fortress, and evil will never penetrate him.  Our position is wonderful, and we rejoice in it, and yet a shield has been put into place that will never waver.  We are the “apple of his eye” and we stand very much protected.

The entirety of Psalm 91 is a confidence builder.  But it does so without us grasping truths that are vague or confusing.  It is a Psalm that states reality, without any anesthesia.  When we truly read it, the natural tendency is to be overwhelmed or confused by it.  But that isn’t its real purpose. It is there to communicate “security” in every perspective of life.  I am “safe” and nothing will ever change that.

As we shelter ourselves into his presence, we will end up drawing his “life” directly into our life.  Our blood now flows with his.  Our life, has been transfused or mixed with his.  He has gone the extra mile to make us one with him.  We are “blood brothers.”

Try as you may, you will not ever shake yourself free of this.  If you truly believe in Him, he goes ahead and puts his mark or seal on you.  At this point, you might as well surrender.  You have become his, and he will most definitely take control.

Psalm 91 points out so many issues.  Reading it, we find it takes us to a place where we trust him far beyond anything else.  He begins to comfort us, He soothes us into the very place, that we start bringing a grace that is quite exceptional.

A List of Alaskans Who Died in the Vietnam War

I would like to post this list of the KIA during the Vietnam War.  This is a complete list of everyone who died from Alaska in combat during this difficult time.  We can question this war, but we cannot challenge or impugn their honor and sacrifice.  I intend to do this, on Memorial Day, 2011.

I simply don’t want their names to be forgotten.

Name– Rank– Branch– Hometown– DoD

  1. ANDERSON THOMAS EDWARD CPL MARINES SPENARD 6-Oct-62
  2. BANTA MICHAEL DEAN PFC ARMY CORDOVA 2-Oct-70
  3. BARR EDWARD NASUESAK SN NAVY BREVIG MISSION 3-May-69
  4. BARR THOMAS M SP5 ARMY ANCHORAGE 12-May-69
  5. BAUER RICHARD GENE SP5 ARMY ANCHORAGE 4-Nov-69
  6. BETTS LARRY LE ROY 2LT ARMY EAGLE RIVER 21-Nov-69
  7. BROWN CHARLES EDWARD PFC ARMY THORNE BAY 6-Dec-67
  8. BROWN DAVID DEE JR PFC MARINES WRANGELL 16-Apr-68
  9. BULLOCK GARY EDWIN SP4 ARMY ANCHORAGE 31-Jan-67
  10. CHILDERS WILLIAM STEVEN WO ARMY FAIRBANKS 3-Jan-69
  11. CHMIEL DONALD GEORGE SSGT ARMY CHUGIAK 25-Aug-70
  12. COOK CLINTON ARTHUR SGT ARMY HYDABURG 28-Apr-70
  13. COX DANIEL FRANKLIN SP5 ARMY ELMENDORF A F B 15-Jan-71
  14. DUNCAN WILLIAM BRADLEY WO ARMY ANCHORAGE 31-Jan-68
  15. EATON WILLIAM ALBERT PFC ARMY SOLDOTNA 18-Apr-70
  16. ELISOVSKY DAVID HENRY SGT ARMY CORDOVA 23-Jan-66
  17. ELLIOTT ROBERT THOMAS III 1LT ARMY ANCHORAGE 9-Sep-68
  18. FERRY DAVID LYNN SP5 ARMY FAIRBANKS 22-Aug-68
  19. FLEENER NICK ULYSSES SP5 ARMY SPENARD 29-Jul-70
  20. GAMBLE CHARLES F JR SP4 ARMY JUNEAU 28-Oct-69
  21. GRIFFIN DALE ANTHONY LCPL MARINES ANCHORAGE 14-Mar-68
  22. GULLIKSEN HOWARD WAYNE SSGT ARMY SEWARD 30-Jan-68
  23. HARMON DANIEL LEE SP4 ARMY KODIAK 2-Jun-67
  24. HIBPSHMAN WILLIAM EARL SP5 ARMY ANCHORAGE 25-Jun-69
  25. HOKE MICHAEL THOMAS PFC MARINES ELMENDORF AFB 21-Dec-67
  26. HORN JERRY VERNE SP4 ARMY SOLDOTNA 16-Sep-67
  27. INT-HOUT KURT SP4 ARMY KODIAC 29-Jan-72
  28. IVEY SAM PFC ARMY MC GRATH 16-Sep-65
  29. JONES WAYNE ELMER CWO ARMY FAIRBANKS 17-Aug-67
  30. KETZLER GILBERT JR PFC ARMY FAIRBANKS 10-Oct-69
  31. KILBUCK GEORGE GREGORY PFC ARMY BETHEL 27-Aug-65
  32. KITO DONALD HARRY LCPL MARINES PETERSBURG 8-Jul-67
  33. KOSLOSKY HOWARD MARK AN NAVY ANCHORAGE 2-Oct-69
  34. LA BELLE KERMIT HAROLD JR PFC MARINES FAIRBANKS 28-Jul-67
  35. LANG MICKEY DANIEL PFC ARMY ANCHORAGE 19-May-71
  36. LAPE DAVID ALEN WO ARMY CORDOVA 27-Nov-67
  37. LEE ROBERT EDWARD SP4 ARMY FAIRBANKS 17-Feb-66
  38. LINGLEY NORMAN LEWIS PFC ARMY DOUGLAS 6-Nov-66
  39. MC INERNEY PATRICK M PFC ARMY FAIRBANKS 12-Mar-69
  40. MILLHOUSE KENNETH BRUCE SP4 ARMY SPENARD 18-Dec-68
  41. PAULSEN WARREN BM3 NAVY VALDES 23-Jun-69
  42. PIASKOWSKI WILLIAM FRANCI SP4 ARMY ANCHORAGE 14-Mar-68
  43. PLETT LARRY JOE PFC ARMY ANCHORAGE 20-Jul-70
  44. PRENTICE DAVID SHELTON GSGT MARINES ANCHORAGE 29-Jul-67
  45. RAINEY LLOYD STEVEN CWO ARMY ANCHORAGE 12-Dec-71
  46. RICE ANDREW WILLIAM JR GMG3 NAVY FT RICHARDSON 23-May-69
  47. RICHARDSON FLOYD WHITLEY COL AIR FORCE ANCHORAGE 4-Oct-79
  48. RIDLEY NORMAN FRANKLIN AA NAVY METLAKATLA 8-Jan-69
  49. ROBISON DONALD ROBERT CAPT ARMY COLLEGE 12-Mar-68
  50. SANDERS DONALD RAY PFC ARMY ELMENDORF AFB 25-Mar-67
  51. SIMEONOFF FREDERICK M WO ARMY SPENARD 17-Apr-70
  52. SPERL DONALD WALTER CPL ARMY JUNEAU 8-May-68
  53. THOMPSON WILLIAM ARTHUR CPL ARMY KETCHIKAN 12-Jul-68
  54. VANDERPOOL JOE WAYNE PFC MARINES ANCHORAGE 1-Mar-68
  55. WALTERS WILLIAM FRANCIS CWO ARMY ANCHORAGE 12-Jun-70
  56. WHITNEY ARTHUR JOSEPH JR PFC ARMY KETCHIKAN 5-May-6
  57. YOUNG DAVID REESE JR 2LT ARMY FAIRBANKS 15-Mar-68

I served in the U.S. Army as a Combat Medic, from 1979 to 1982.  I understood my heritage, and I honor those who served and all those who went before me.

Date: 1966
Title: A Medic and fellow soldier of the First Cavalry Division.
Source: Photo by Henri Huet, REQUIEM By The Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina, Random House 1997

Source, and more right here on: http://www.ngl.org/Home/tabid/40/Default.aspx

A Response to “Missing It”

Someone made a real good effort to put up this billboard. Essentially it expresses a lot of humility without any compromise. My gut feeling is that it touches a lot of frayed thinking in a very good way. Ministering grace can be a definite challenge, especially when the scorner and mocker are heavily involved.

I think it not only speaks to the person who doesn’t believe, but it connects to the believer who thought that this could very well be true. And actually, humility beautifies the Church very wonderful way. (I would submit that perhaps this was the real reason this unfolded the way it did?) This is a perfect time for the Church to admit a definite humility of heart and mind. This is never easy, but is always good.

CCM Classic Spotlight on Ken Medema

“Mr. Simon,” Click the youtube link

Ken Medema (born December 7, 1943 as Kenneth Peter Medema in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a composer–singer–songwriter who has been performing in the United States, Canada, and Europe for more than thirty years. Ken Medema was born almost blind; his eyes let him tell light from shadow and look at outlines of major objects. He began playing the piano when he was five years old, and three years later began taking lessons in classical music through braille music, playing by ear and improvising in different styles. In 1973, he began performing and recording his own songs. His lyrics generally provide social commentary on themes such as justice, hunger, poverty, homelessness, and Christian charity as it pertains to them. He has published a total of 26 albums, the first of which he recorded for Word and Shawnee Press, and then went on to found Brier Patch Music in 1985. Through Brier Patch Music he organizes and schedules his events, as well as publishes his music. Performances regularly include songs improvised both musically and lyrically by accepting audience recommendations, sermon topics, or guest speaker stories as their basis. He performs in national and worldwide (church) congregations, campuses, youth gatherings, and annual assemblies. He lives in San Francisco, California. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Medema This featured song, “Mr. Simon,” is based on the words of Jesus as found in Luke 18:10-14, ESV. 

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Bryan’s note: I guess there is a touch of sarcasm in this song, but never delving into cynicism.  He communicates the very real world of hypocrisy and acceptance in the life of the believer.  This is not a classic worship song, but is a song that starkly reveals the iniquity of our hearts as we approach the presence of God.  Perhaps this touch of sarcasm is a definite weapon of choice in exposing the hypocrisy that confuses us. The CCM Music Index on Brokenbelievers can be found at:  https://brokenbelievers.com/classic-christian-music-index/