WHERE IS HOPE AT TODAY-PART 4

WHERE IS HOPE AT TODAY- PART 4


"John?"  came the question from the Hope is a Weapon book box.  "John?  I am reporting for duty to be the next Hope volunteer.  I've got a great idea, I think", said the little Herbie.  The diminutive one ratlled of a number of reasons why he felt the Des Moines VA was the place he needed to settle in at. He cited that the organization came about when President Hoover signed an executive order establisihing the VA on July 21, 1930....and that today there are over 18.2 million veterans in the United States and some 9 million of those use VA services.  "Ok, dude", I said.  "You sold me.  Let's go".  A short time later we were meeting with Shirley Woolluums, Volunteer Service-Program Support Assistant in Des Moines and presenting her a copy of the book.  All in all, it was a perfect location.  So, where will Hope be next?  I can only imagine....      

Shirley Woollums accepting a gift of "Hope is a Weapon".

WHERE IS HOPE AT TODAY-PART 3

WHERE IS HOPE AT TODAY? PART 3

The music was blaring out of the sound bar next to the TV,  the Mercy Me song, "I Can Only Imagine".  The second verse had just begun as I tried to follow suit with the words.  "Surrounded by You glory,
What will my heart feel, Will I dance for you Jesus, Or in awe of You be still"... when a loud voice comes from the "Hope is a Weapon", book box.  "Can I  be the next volunteer?"   I sneak a look as Bud Jr. asks another way, "please, can I?"  "Sure", I fire back.  What you got in mind".  "I have a namesake, a Retired Maj. Gen. Warren G. “Bud” Lawson  who was the Iowa National Guard's 26th adjutant general.  He was a visionary during his 44-year career.  I  would consider it an honor to represent for us",  Jr. alluded.   "How about we go to the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum?", he said.   While Lawson did not have a direct involvement with the museum, his  hand prints and connections are all over it.  The choice was easy.   Within the hour, Bud Jr. and I were on our way to Camp Dodge.   Upon arriving , we connected with Sherrie Colbert, Museum Director and Michael Yogt, Curator and presented  a 5X7 bundle of pride to the Museum.  Sherrie mentioned a Book Festival that could be upcoming in the Spring and if we would/could come back.  "Uhhhh, for sure", I said.  "Would love tooooo.  Stay tuned.  Bud Jr. enjoy the new surroundings.  Now, it's time to start imagining ...Where will Hope be next?

Adding  a nugget to the Iowa Gold Star Museum 

WHERE IS HOPE AT TODAY-PART 2

Okay, first off I must offer an apology from last week.  I completely forgot to tell you the name of our brave little book that was willing to leave home on a quest for sharing "Hope is a Weapon".  It's Adam.  Sorry Adam for not mentioning you.  Truly I am.  Adam told he has this thing about being first.  He's always been first.  I get it.  So, as I'm getting ready to take my little buddy to new digs, he says, "hmmmm.  A couple of others want to come with me".  "Are you sure?", I reply.  "Do I need to repeat myself?", he responds.  "Mary and John are all in".  I shake my head being challenged by a 5X7 paperback book but hey...the four of us head out to the obvious place of choice,  Maybe so obvious, it's too obvious.  The Johnston Public Library.  In about a ten minute span, I meet director Ben Melton, gift him my three little starlets and take some photo ops of where they might reside.  Adam got his picture taken at the feature table, Mary and John slithered into a spot on the bookshelf.  It was a pretty special day despite the snowstorm outside.  Without saying I'm going miss these brave three.  I do know this, there's a whole lot of commotion in the book box today as to the whereabouts of the next "Where is Hope at Today".  I can only imagine.  Stay tuned...  

WHERE IS HOPE AT TODAY

Remember the song by Mercy Me, "I can only Imagine?"  What a powerful song in so many ways.  So, imagine this.  I'm looking at a box of my "Hope is a Weapon" books and thinking...okay, what's next?  We're in this thing together now guys.  I've breathed words into your covers and now we need to get those words out to people who need Hope.  As I sat there, I began imagining where would I want to be if I was a book and wanted to spend my life.  Then, I heard it.  I'm sure I did anyway.  Deep inside the cardboard walls, I heard a muffled voice.  Digging down, I pulled out a little rascal.  "So, you've got a thought were you want to go now", I said.  "Yup, no doubter", the little one stated.  With a smirk on my face I said, "Ok.  Where?"  "Why the ______, of course".  I shook my head back and forth several times.  "You are one smart cookie", I responded...."err book, I mean.  I'll go see if that's possible".  So begins the next phase of the project.  I'm going to let the books lead the way.  In the coming days, I'll share with you the first edition of, "Where is Hope at Today".  I can only imagine where this is going to take us.  Until then...  

As always.....YGG,
John

Looking to spread the word

HOPE IS A WEAPON LAUNCH

For some time now, I've been working towards the release of a book, "Hope is a Weapon". The significance to the writing is that "My Father's Voice", was an important part of much of the text that resides there.

"My Father's Voice", was launched in the fall of 2010 as my eldest son, Kristopher was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.  It all began as a Letter to the Editor directed to the Des Moines Register.  The words I expressed were those of a father about to see his son go off to war fighting an enemy thousands of miles away.   And why so?  Was there a real good reason?  Who knew?  Here were those words:

"A tear drop hit my pillow last night as I lay awake …..followed moments later by a second and a third. The last one was a long, streaming one, which I think had a more profound significance than the others. Certainly this was the one that forced me to choke back a real melt down.It has been two and a half months since I had really let my emotions come forth. It was tough saying goodbye to my oldest son, Charlie, that day at the Boone campus. He along with some 100 other National Guardsman boarded 4 busses and headed off to Camp Shelby in Mississippi. It was a day unlike any other I had known. Families being stretched to the greatest of emotional lengths. Some said goodbye to husbands, others to wives, sons and daughters. There were young spouses no doubt left with the responsibility of trying to explain what was going on and why mommy or daddy was leaving on a bus with a whole lot of other people. Another young lady, looking to give birth within a month or so, tried to hold back tears. She wasn't doing a very good job, but who was I to talk. Yet, looking around me, I could only think of how each of our lives would become different. Yes, our tears were real that day……..Last night though, my tears were different. They were bigger and they came out of nowhere. And they were much different than the ones back on July 30th. And they are different again today as I try to put my feelings down with words that don't do justice. Justice for me, my family and all the other men and women and their friends and families who are experiencing their loved one deploying to Afghanistan. Today, when my son leaves, and in the following weeks more than 4,000 Iowa Guardsman will be leaving our safe shores to DEPLOY. Not train, but deploy. What does deploy mean? I had to look it up to make sure. Google had a short definition which stated, "to move into a position of readiness or availability." Okay…that makes sense. Yet, I feel there is one important word that was left out. REAL. There will be Real bullets and a Real enemy for REAL. And it's all for Real life and Real death in a region that I'm still trying to get my mind wrapped around. Is Afghanistan all that important? Are we fighting on level terms? Those questions alone are enough to make a person tear up. So as you can see, my tears have been different. They were a "safe" tear when I knew my son was here in our country preparing for his duty. Now, it's the furthest thing from that. Safe tears have been replaced by scared tears, followed by proud tears followed by scared tears. It goes without saying,, that I have come to a greater appreciation for our military and our country through this whole deployment process. Men and women have taken to their responsibility and are making all Iowans proud. I won't kid you, it's going to be a long 9 months. What do my future tears hold in store for me? Will it be for someone who has a solider wounded? Or will it be for one killed in action? I can't even think of going there.It has been said that tears are good for the soul. It's our reaction to an experience. It has an awful lot to do with living, I think. If you've seldom let your emotions or experiences take you there, then today, think about those whose lives will be challenged from every angle possible. An old sixties song, "96 Tears" sure comes to mind right now. "Cry, cry, cry…96 tears, tears for the warm hearted, 96 tears." How many tears do I have left? I don't really know, but I do know this. The shortest and sweetest verse in the Bible is…. ''Jesus wept." Puts it all in perspective, don't you think?"

As I mentioned, many of the stories in this blog were used within the writing of the book.  It's those stories that led to the title of the book, "Hope is a Weapon".  Pre-sales are now available on Amazon at the following link:

Amazon Link

Although the book is written as a work of fiction, it is surely based on a very real story.  The character names have been changed and some embellishment has been added to the message, but here is  the skinny:

The year was 2010.  Private First Class (PFC) Charlie Martin, was getting ready for the ride of his life.  He was about to deploy along with some 4,000 other Iowa and Nebraska National Guard troops to the pit they call Afghanistan.  His days were numbered.  In other words.  He was leaving soon….maybe forever.  How would he handle war?  Would the first suggestion of bullets whizzing by his head cause him to duck and run?  Not likely.  Martin had been planning for this day for a long, long time. 

But his deployment wasn’t just about him, indeed the whole family was involved.  Charlie’s brother, Private Second Class (PV2) Eddie Martin idolized his older sibling.  So much so, he followed in his brother’s footsteps joining the Guard a year after Charlie had.  And then there was younger brother, Dan.  He was watching the whole thing way to up close and personal.  Both of his brother’s would soon be gone…off to military life. Then came Mom and Dad.  Hope and Rod Martin were part of the process too.  How would they navigate the coming year?  Would the family be able to handle all of the stress and uncertainty?  They were all about to find out.  In order to do that though, they needed something to arm themselves with.  They found the perfect weapon.  One that didn’t use ammunition.                   

YGG, 

John 

THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON

What's up with the issues of the leaders of the United States and Israel?  Are you keeping track of the going on?   Do you care?  Should you?  The simple answer to questions 2-4 are a resounding "yes".  The response to the first question is included in part of an article below from the New York Times....

JERUSALEM-"Israel appears headed to a record third straight election as a midnight deadline approaches on Wednesday with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his chief rival, Benny Gantz, edging back from the brinkmanship that has kept the country's future on hold for nearly a year. 

Barring an 11th-hour surprise, Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gantx, a former army chief who leads the centrist Blue and White party, will try again for a more decisive outcome in another parliamentary election on March 2.  Votes in April and September ended in a deadlock".

There was no last minute agreement, so....Netanyahu will remain prime minister until the next election.  He will do so as a defendant in three criminal cases against him.  He was indicted on November 21st of bribery, corruptions and trading favors.  Was this a stay?  Only time will tell.

Back home, President Trump is facing some serious issues of his own.  Democrats in Congress are closing in on a scheduled vote on articles of impeachment of the President due to high crimes and misdemeanors, abuse of power and obstructing Congress.  To say the heads of the two governments are facing the fire, is an understatement. 

Beyond their shared political style, the two leaders have forged a tight alliance.  Trump has sided with Israel on key issues related to the conflict with the Palestinians, and Netanyahu has boasted of his close ties to the American President, saying they have brought about unprecedented gains for Israel.

So just what could be working against these two leaders in a bigger form?  How about four little letters.  E..V...I...L  If you don't think there is a war being waged against them, then think again.  Just yesterday, church leaders and pastors laid hands on President Trump in the Oval Office.  They know what's at stake.  It's not just our country, but the world at large.

The importance of spiritual intervention can't be understated 

In the end, there will be only one winner in this all.  If you given a blind eye to what's going on in the world, look again.  Which side are you on?  The fence railing is not a good resting place for what lies ahead.


YGG,

John

ABC SIMPLE

I've been mentioning for several weeks now that we're in the midst of some big, actually bigger than big, more like humungous events taking place.   Just today, we raised our heads off the pillow to the following news report from the Washington Post.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli army said it attacked military targets in Syria overnight Wednesday following a missile launch into Israel the previous day.  An independent war monitoring group said 11 were killed, mostly non-Syrians, raising the specter of retaliatory strikes between the regional rivals. The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement it had struck dozens of targets belonging to Iran’s elite Quds Force as well as the Syrian army, including surface-to-air missile sites, headquarters, munitions warehouses and military bases. Israel said the strikes were in response to four reportedly Syrian-based missiles launched into northern Israel early Tuesday, which were downed by Israel’s air defense systems. Officials said Iran was behind that launch.

“I made it clear that whoever hurt us — we will hurt him,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a tweet. “This is what we did tonight against military targets of Iranian Quds force and Syrian military targets in Syria.”

So.  What should we do?  Most of us will continue to go on with our lives with little or no concern on the event.  And that's sad.   The wise thing to do, is to get on your knees and ask God for wisdom, direction and understanding.  He will provide a course.  I'm certain of that.  If you're reading this and don't have a relationship with God....I would suggest you do right away. 

JD Faraq, Pastor of Calvary Chapel in Kaneohe, Hawaii offers a very simple approach.  It's way beyond easy.  Check it out below and make the commitment. 

A- Admit you're a sinner in need of the Saviour- Romans 3:10, 3:23, 6:23

B-  Believe in your heart Jesus is Lord- Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and rose again in paying in full our death penalty for your sin. -Romans 10:9-10

C- Call upon the name if the Lord-  Confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe, and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. -Romans 10:9-10, 10:13

Simple as you can get  

If you've taken note and read the ABC's with a thought that you want change in your life, then the next likely question would be, "what's next?"

First off, now that you are willing to let the light from Jesus' word and from His life shine over your own life....realize that a conversion has taken place.  You need to get rid of the old baggage that you've been holding on to for far too long.  Dig into the Bible.  All your answers are there.  Check out Revelations for what's in store.  If you have questions, ask someone you trust that is keen to God's teaching or hit Google for some opinions on the matter.  Be thankful that you've made this choice.  And with Thanksgiving Day right around the corner, I couldn't think of anything better.

YGG,

John