Memorial Day

I kissed my wife and laid my son down to sleep today, and on TV the local news was a feature about what Memorial Day means to different people. As I look over all the blessings to happen in my life in the last 5 years (and longer), I keep coming back to the fact that men and women who never knew I existed chose to put themselves in danger and pay the ultimate price so that we could live in a free country and that I could enjoy what God has given me. When you are given to, the best thing to do is give back.

Top 5 things you can do to honor those who have fought for you

5. Thank a veteran, or the grieving family of someone killed in action. Remind them that their loved one is with God, and offer to help them any way you can.
4. I do this one, and it's a personal favorite. I buy prepaid phone cards from Operation Uplink to send to troops overseas. You'll never see the smile on a soldier's face when he or she gets to talk to their spouse and kids, but you still did your part to put it there.
3. Vote. Just like the old commercial said ... give a damn. Sure, the system might be filled with dipsticks who are more interested in the money and interns than how a bill becomes a law. But we're talking about the country here. If it's good enough for people to be drafted, be separated from their families, fight in jungles, deserts and blizzards, be held captive and watch harm come to their friends (and it is), then support it. VOTE.
2. Teach your kids the Pledge of Allegiance. Include UNDER GOD.
1. Contribute to something greater than yourself - every time you volunteer at some charity, or give money to support something, or say a prayer for the safe return of our troops, you are helping to maintain the cause and concept of what those soldiers died for. They deserve that ... and even though they'll never see it, perhaps it matters the most.