If you are in the military, I need your help!

I need a lot of people (50+) to fill out a few short surveys. The only stipulation is that you are in the military.

The results of these tests will be used in my senior research project. Your anonymity will be maintained at all times. You will not be informed of the nature of the project prior to filling out each survey, due to maintaining accurate results that are not skewed. However, if you have any questions after returning the paperwork to me, feel free to ask.

If you are willing to help, please send me an e-mail or leave me a comment with your e-mail address in it and I will send you the packet!

Two More Reasons to Support Our Troops

Each of us has our own reasons for supporting our troops, but regardless of if you actively do or have not yet taken that first step (which I encourage you to do!), this is a definite must read here.

If you would like to support our troops, but simply don't know how, please visit www.help4threcon.com.

Thank You, President Bush

My father's friend, who is a pastor, sent this out this morning...

This week The United States will inaugurate it’s 44^th President, Barak Obama. The mainstream media has been quick to overlook faults in Obama and has given him seemingly every benefit of every doubt! The reasoning is complex but can ultimately be summed up in the fact that Obama, by and large, shares their same worldview. In that we also see why such utter contempt has been leveled against President Bush for the past eight years. The mainstream media and President Bush do not share the same worldview. History may vindicate President Bush, but it may not. Ultimately it will depend on the worldview of those who write the books and also on what happens in decades to come. There is a strong possibility that even in the near future it will become clear, even to the star struck media elites that the “good old boy” from Texas was not so bad after all!

I thought it appropriate at this moment in history to simply say a word of thanks to our Commander and Chief so…thank you Mr. President for your painstaking efforts to keep America safe after the horrendous attacks on 911. Thank you for measures and policies you put into place to keep terrorists plots from being carried out on our soil. Thank you for your unapologetic efforts to destroy the Taliban, and destroy terrorist training camps. Thank you for making the tough decisions to send enlisted men and women into harms way for the good and safety of our nation. Thank you for taking the fight to our enemies rather than letting them continue bringing it to us.

Thank you for being unapologetic in your resolve that enough is enough where Saddam Hussein was concerned. He was an evil man the likes of Hitler and Mussolini and you never backed down until he was caught and put on trial then executed. Thank you that you went against opinion polls and much of congress and followed the advice of military leaders on the ground and sent a troop surge which turned the tide of the war, even though the media hated you all the more for it.

Thank you that you and your administration had the wisdom to see years ago that America was headed for financial crisis. While Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd, Nancy Polosi, and Harry Reed were fighting you off as being an alarmist, you and your administration saw this coming. When crisis was near you stepped out to urge action on the part of the congress.

Thank you for cutting taxes and letting us keep more of our own money. We appreciate the stimulus checks and your doing your best after the bubble created by the last administration. When a donkey has been in the barn for eight years it takes a while to get it all cleaned out!

Most of all Mr. President we thank you for your personal moral character. After an administration of moral repugnance, you restored order and decency to the office of president. You modeled a strong marriage; strong family values where your daughters were concerned and always were paying homage and tribute to your mother and father and the values and work ethic they instilled in you.

Thank you for being unapologetically Christian. You were candid about earlier points in life where you struggled with substance abuse but demonstrated again and again how a person can overcome obstacles in life through a reliance upon Jesus Christ as Savior. Thank you for being so open about your daily practice of prayer and reading from the Bible. What a challenge to us all!

Thank you for your professional character. Even when the media came after you like ravenous wolves, you never took the bait. Instead you smiled and disarmed them with your class and Texas charm. Mr. President, it has been said that a true gentleman considers it enough to know in his own heart that he is right even if all others are convinced he is wrong. Sir you have never lacked the courage of your convictions!

Thank you for your service to this great nation. The American Presidency is almost certainly the most thankless and loneliest jobs in the world. Some have noted that only a glutton for punishment would aspire to the office. Your motives get questioned, your loyalty gets questioned, and even your concern for your own country gets questioned. Most of what you do is never known. We know you have done far more than we even know about to preserve us and protect us. Sir, you give us pride in the nation that we love!

We are thankful God gave us a president with your wisdom, tenacity, character, love of country, valor, conviction, metal, determination, grounding in scripture and prayer, and willingness to serve. As you move into the next phase of life, which is one of the greatest American success stories in history, we wish you Godspeed Sir. Thank you President Bush, our Commander and Chief!

In Christ,

Pastor Allen Raynor

First Baptist Church, Broomfield, CO

On a personal note...

For those who keep up with my soap opera of a life, I thought I would provide a little update in the new year. As many of you know, I took the summer semester off, which was going to push my graduation date back to August. However, I was able to take three electives from another college and with a full load this past fall and this coming spring, I will be graduating in May. I'm extremely excited, but for one month I had ten classes at one time. From the other school, they cater to the military and offer a "holiday semester" so yes, that is what I have been doing. I have done homework every single day except for Christmas day. As much as sometimes I want to quit, I know it will all be worth it in May. I had to get a waiver to graduate due to your last so many credits have to be taken at your school, but somehow everything worked out.

I will be starting my Masters in Counseling in the summer semester at a local school. I have a decent job prospect while I pursue my Masters, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that. I had an outstanding prospect, but it was a five year contract and I would not be at liberty to pursue what I truly want to do. I'm happy with the decisions I've made and think they're for the best. I figure when I finish my Masters, I can actually work in my field while I pursue my doctorate.

Happy New Year to all of you!

More on War

This morning someone asked me what my political convictions are based from. I said war and the military. Although to me this is what is important, I don't think this is standard thinking. In my experiences with other people, personal gain seems to be the key aspect. I realize a lot of people's political convictions are based off religious convictions, etc., and that is understandable as well, but seriously, when I hear "Well I'm a democrat because of the economy," I want to slug someone. Is there anything more selfish? I actually spoke to a person who told me that he voted for Obama because "I'm going to get a lot of free money. He's going to pay off my bills for me." Aside from the ridiculousness of this statement, it's sad that it's so common. Another individual recently told me that she voted for Obama due to "I just think McCain is another Bush." That in itself is willful ignorance because A) He's not, and B) Tell me what's wrong with it if he was. I got into a lengthy discussion with one of my professors who voted for Obama and at the end of our discussion he concluded, "I honestly don't know why I voted for Obama."

This is not just about Obama or the recent election. It's about a thought pattern, a way of life, and love of country more than one's self. It's about understanding and valuing the important things in life more than personal temporary gain. I don't think this is something just anyone can readily understand, as it took life changing events for me to fully understand.

I used to hate country music, but in recent years I've come to find country music as one of the most patriotic of genres, as a whole. A band who was in Iraq serenading our troops about one week ago wrote a song that I at first hated due to the "country" sound, but the song really hit home to me when I heard it a few days ago. The Zac Brown Band talks about the simple things in life... something I have a hard time accepting (see video). One verse reads,

It's funny how it's the simple things in life
That mean the most

Not where you live, what you drive
Or the price tag on your clothes

There's no dollar sign on peace of mind

This I've come to know

The next verse says...

I thank God for my life

And for the stars and stripes

May freedom forever fly, let it ring

Salute the ones who died

The ones that give their lives

So we don`t have to sacrifice

All the things we love

Don't get me wrong, my political convictions are more widely based than simply on war, but that's the primary beginnings. We could not enjoy even the most simple things in life as that song says, if it were not for those who sacrifice daily for our freedom.

My friend and fellow blogger brought this quote to my attention, and it sums it up quite accurately:

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. --John Stewart Mill

This Christmas...

Yesterday as I was driving off post, I noticed several cars parked along the side of the road, and they were putting up a sign. I smiled, for some reason thinking it was a welcome home sign. How wonderful it must be to have fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters home just in time for Christmas.

After running my errands on my lunch break, I headed back to work. At this point, every lamp post had a sign on it... the first one said "In Memory Of..." and each lamp post held a name. As I drove on, my eyes began to fill with tears. As I got near my turn off, there were a group of Soldiers putting up yet another sign. After work, more signs were up. They continued for miles. The farther I went, the more names I saw of Soldiers from our fort who had sacrificed their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's so heartbreaking, but for me, it hits so close to home.

This Christmas, appreciate your family... and thank those around you protecting our freedom. I frequently think back on a Christmas that I would give anything to have made a different choice. My family adopts a unit of Marines each Christmas now, but it will never make up for lost opportunity. Love them and thank them during this special time of year. You never know when it may be your last opportunity to do so. Also, take the opportunity to thank a few soldiers who you don't know.

Blogs of Interest

Three people you may (or may not ;) find interesting who recently starting blogging...

A friend from school fellow psychology major and Army wife.

A friend from boot camp who was also medboarded.

And a Marine recruit who could use encouragement.