It's Memorial Day - A Tribute To Our Veterans

"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 Stuart Mill

I want to say "Thank you" to our troops. Regardless of what we think about politics or about this war, we appreciate you for doing what has to be done. You are heroes and we are blessed to have men who will defend our freedoms.

Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy

Almost Perfect...But Not Quite

I think this is one of Shel Silverstein's best works...I love the irony in the poem and the way he was able to get such a great point across to us through this simple poetry.

ALMOST PERFECT BUT NOT QUITE
"Almost perfect… but not quite."
Those were the words of Mary Hume
At her seventh birthday party,
Looking ‘round the ribboned room."
This table cloth is pink not white—
Almost perfect… but not quite."

"Almost perfect… but not quite."
Those were the words of grown-up Mary
Talking about her handsome beau,
The one she wasn’t gonna marry.
"Squeezes me a bit too tight—
Almost perfect… but not quite."

"Almost perfect… but not quite."
Those were the words of ol’ Miss Hume
Teaching in the seventh grade,
Grading papers in the gloom
Late at night up in her room.
"They never cross their t’s just right—
Almost perfect… but not quite."

Ninety-eight the day she died
Complainin’ ‘bout the spotless floor.
People shook their heads and sighed,
"Guess that she’ll like heaven more.
"Up went her soul on feathered wings,
Out the door, up out of sight.
Another voice from heaven came—
"Almost perfect… but not quite."
-Shel Silverstein

And yes, I regret to announce that I will be traveling AGAIN for the next two weeks, so I may not get around to the computer too much for a little while....


Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy

Hab Keine Angst Vor Menschen

Then I said, "Alas, Lord God! Behold I do not know how to speak because I am a youth." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you." declares the Lord. -Jeremiah 1:6-8

One of the many repeated lines in the Bible, is "Do not be afraid," or "fear not." I didn't realize the significance of this until very recently. I guess that the reason I did finally start thinking about this was because I was reading the verse in German ("Hab keine Angst vor Menschen") and I loved the sound of it, even before I stopped to figure out exactly what it meant. The German version sounds so powerful and authoritative that it made me pause and think about the verse. In doing this, I noticed something about the line "Do not be afraid of them": it doesn't stop there. It goes on to say "for I am with you." And I realized that nearly every time in the Bible God says, "Do not be afraid," He concludes, "because I am with you."

Seize The Day!

-StrongJoy