Judgement

If you have been shrewd in finding out the defects in others, remember that will be exactly the measure given to you. Life serves back in the coin you pay.

The one who criticizes another is guilty of the very same thing. God looks not only at the act, He looks at the possibility. We do not believe the statements of the Bible to begin with. For instance, do we believe this statement, that the things we criticize in others we are guilty of ourselves? The reason we see hypocrisy and fraud and unreality in others is because they are all in our own hearts. The great characteristic of a saint is humility - Yes, all those things and other evils would have been manifested in me but for the grace of God, therefore I have no right to judge.

We have judged our fellow men as sinners; if God should judge us like that we would be in hell. God judges us through the marvellous Atonement of Jesus Christ.

This is bits and pieces taken from today's devotional that I am following. I find myself constantly in the pitfalls of judgement. Being aware of our own heart and putting it up and out and in motion while we measure another's actions or words will always allow us to be discriminant and make righteous decisions with discernment. A long sentence, but reading and rereading, it makes perfect sense to me.

Loose Change

I have a new way to get rid of my loose change.

For years I have observed a tall old man walking up and down the same five or six mile stretch of Route 9. He is always carrying a plastic bag and it appears to be filled with some form of scrap. Once in awhile I see him bending over, he picks up something and puts it in the bag. I have never seen what he is collecting. A number of times he has been in front of Citta Elementary School around 8 am every Sunday.

What I have started to do...is throw my loose change on the side of Route 9. Friday I left three quarters on the median in front of the Citta. When I picked up the Sonrise sign after church on Sunday I went over to look for the quarters. They were gone.

I have now begun to throw my change out of the window on either side of Rt. 9. I do this over the 5 mile span that I have observed this gentlemen walking. One of these days I know God will open the door so I can ask him the question." what are you doing?, where are you coming from?, What is your goal?, and of course....Why? and maybe one day....Can I help?

Why am I doing this? I guess I am just giving the old man something to find. I pray he will be blessed. Especially if he is just exercising and wasting time because if he has nothing else to do. I will keep you all posted. One day I will post a pic!

Today is Alexis' Birthday

My Daughter, Alexis turns 18 today. The second child to become an adult. Alexis has extraordinary challenges ahead but God has made her very resilient. I know she will succeed despite her kidneys working against her.

Alexis' will succeed because of Sue. Sue does not allow her to feel sorry for herself and most of the time is able to get Alexis off her butt. Go Sue! Go Alexis!

It is interesting to watch her brothers. They all love her but during the angst of sibling rivalry it is never allowed to appear. The truth is very well hidden.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

On Jeopardy the other night, the final question was How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns ------ All three missed it ---

This is really an awesome sight to watch if you've never had the chance Very fascinating.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier


1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the
tomb of the Unknowns and why?

21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the
highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.


2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his
return walk and why?
21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1


3. Why are his gloves wet?

His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the
rifle.



4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time
and if not, why not?

He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb.
After his march across the path, he executes an about face
and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.


5. How often are the guards changed?

Guards are changed every thirty minutes,
twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.


6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?

For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be
between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30." Other
requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the
tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on
or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the
rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in
any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on
their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only
400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their
lives or give up the wreath pin.
The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat
and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the
top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.
There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty
in front of a full-length mirror.
The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor
watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid
to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are
and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe
E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most
decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame.
Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for
guar d duty.


ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, our
US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC
evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the
hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of
the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They
respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!" Soaked to the skin,
marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding
the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be
afforded to a serviceperson . The tomb has been patrolled continuously,
24/7, since 1930.

New Post

Going to try Blogger. Hopefully I will post somewhat more. I really like Blogger. Seems User Friendly..

Home

Home

Christmas 2006

Here are the kids Christmas 2006. It is amazing the changes that have undergone in just 18 months. Nick weighs 149lbs in this picture. The low point in his bout with Chrones disease. He came October 2007 weighing 198lbs. He is down again to 178lbs. He is always complaining about his stomach and he chooses not to eat.

I must say that Alexis has adjusted well to having three brothers. You would swear they have all been siblings their whole lives. Alexis teases and torments both Justin and Andrew and she has a fairly close relationship with Nick. He does use her as his confidant and I have seen him be protective over her.

Well, I will post a more updated photo. Maybe you will see the differences.