familybush.com

A few weeks ago I made a new friend. She told me about life being married to a soldier in Vietnam.

Naomi: It was a very different time. These days, the country supports the troops. It wasn’t like that when my husband was in Vietnam. Troops were yelled at, spit on, all kinds of things when they returned.

I lived in Memphis at the time. I didn’t tell anyone where my husband was. I just let people think I was a single mom raising 3 kids on my own. I knew army wives who were recieving hate phone calls.

People called them “baby killers”

Me: Why? Where did that term come from? What sparked that?

Naomi: Well, there was a picture that came out of Vietnam. It was a picture of a of a young girl running down the road, her clothes burned off by the napalm, screaming in horror. People reacted.

I knew the Vietnam War was unpopular. But, I had never considered what it was like in the U.S. for the spouse of a soldier fighting in Vietnam. The war in Iraq is unpopular, but nothing like what Naomi described to me. I wonder, could it get that bad?

Someone left this comment on my blog a few weeks back. I deleted it for obvious reasons, but thought I’d post its contents for your consideration and bewilderment.

Dear,

I’m a korean living in seoul.(name: Oh Minseok)
Korean special investigative team are investigating samsung
corporation.
But they do not work right.
Suspicious to be bought off.
samsung corporation has many crimes.
And the team investigates samsung corporation.
It contains korean companies samsung,huyndai,sk CEOs’ illegal issuing
stocks or bonds.
The quantity are plenty.
(Three company CEOs did(and are doing) many crimes to me.
Many koreans are knowing it.
But many koreans are bought off by illegal issuing stocks or bonds.)
The team are knowing it.
Korean special investigative team must investigate this.
But they are trying to conceal it.
I ask for asking for this criminal investigation to prosecutors in any
country.
And help the shareholders and me . . .

Ok. Alright. So, my Monkey Kick-Off score wasn’t as insuperable as I originally thought. First, Jen B (a girl) beat it.

Then, I get an email from my arch enemy good friend, Arnold Austin, IMB missionary in Peru. It contained this screenshot. The subject line read: Gotcha.

Ok, Mr. Austin. I concede (for now).

You might beat me, but I doubt it. Click here and give it your best shot.

I carried two Fuji disposable 27-exposure cameras. Here are my favorites from the two day, 18-mile trek.

Carlos wrote this a few days ago. It’s good stuff. Take a look.

I’m in verse 2 and I look to my left and am hit like a blind side pick and roll.
Swaying on the front row was a guy I later learned was named Matt.
Standing in front of him was another guy named Jefferson.
It was a moment that stands out above all else in my 11 years of leading worship.
You see Matt and Jefferson were worshipping God, together.
Literally.
Jefferson has severe cerebral palsy. He has little, if any control over his body.
Matt was standing behind Jefferson.
Holding Jefferson.
20 minutes.
Dancing with Jefferson and singing at the top of his lungs.
Jefferson was singing too. I think could hear him.
And it was the most beautiful song I have ever heard.

At 6am Easter Sunday I set the tent up in the living room and put a big camo tarp over the top of it to make it look more natural, more tomb-ish.  I put a white sheet in there too. Nothing else.

The girls came out of their hallways ready for breakfast and church.

“It’s empty!” I said excitedly as they came out.

Bewildered expressions.

“It’s empty! Go look!! It’s empty!!!”

By this time they were pretty interested.  I pointed to the ‘tomb’.

“Go look! There’s no one there!”

They hustled over to the ‘tomb’ not sure what to make of all of it.  They cautiously peaked inside not knowing what to expect (a lot like Peter and John did, I think).  They looked back at me puzzled.

“There’s nothing but a sheet in there, Mr. Ryan” they said.

“I know! That’s where they buried Jesus.  And now HE IS GONE!”

They smiled. It clicked.  Jesus is alive.

Honor isn’t passive, it’s active. We honor our wives by demonstrating our esteem and respect: complimenting them in public; affirming their gifts, abilities, and accomplishments; and declaring our appreciation for all they do. Honor not expressed is not honor.

Gary Thomas, Sacred Marriage, 63.

Easter isn’t about eggs, candy, rabbits, new dresses, spring time, flowers, family, peeps, cadbury eggs, easter baskets, fake plastic grass, et al.

It’s about the fact that two women went to decorate the grave of Jesus Christ and found it empty!

Lots of people don’t, but I choose to believe.

That being said, here are some pictures of the eggs, candy, new dresses, easter baskets, and fake plastic grass that we enjoyed yesterday.