Mailing address:
November 2, 2001 |
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Stephen Pape |
Email: Speak to me. |
Stay tuned over the next few days for more in depth examinations of the ruling as well as my commentary. Beginning Friday, if not sooner.
Several Glenn Heights families have joined together for a large garage/yard sale to raise funds for Cole Burgett. Cole is the young son of Mike and Kim Burgett, two individuals that have sacrificed tremendous time and energy helping Glenn Heights area people. Mike has served as Mayor, Fire Chief, and currently as a Glenn Heights Councilman and both he and Kim were very active in providing emergency medical services when the City was unable to afford full time paramedics. Their son Cole has brain injuries thought to be related to a lack of oxygen in the berthing process and has undergone Oxygenated Hyberbaric treatments with great results. The proceeds from the garage sale is to help offset costs associated with Cole's special needs.
Please take time to drop by Saturday. You can't miss the location which is on Westmoreland Road just north of Bear Creek. This is a multi-family sale with clothing available for infants through all ages as well as all types of additional garage sale type treasures. Drop by and purchase some junk, uh treasures, or leave a contribution.
Thank You!
Stephen Pape
I am sitting here this morning, Thursday October 11, 2001, beaming with great pride as I watch the mighty men and women of our nation pay tribute to those that fell exactly one month ago. A Memorial service is underway and "God of our Fathers" has just been sung. The entire world is watching as military men have come forward and quoted powerful excerpts from God's unchanging Word.
Today demonstrates a great shift in the attitude of our nation. Over the days of the past month my disbelief, my helplessness, my depression has all given way to this pride.
I am proud to be an American. I am proud to be a citizen of the greatest nation in the history of mankind.
Why are we great? The answer is really very simple. It is not because of our excellent schools for they may not be as good as others. It is not because of our superior intellect for we hold no patent on futuristic thinking. It is not because of our goodness for we have often been cruel.
The reason we can take pride today is because we have not forgotten our Rock, The Almighty God, The God of Abraham, The God of our forefathers. From the highest office in the country to the youngest of our school children, we as a nation have turned to God in this our time of need. We are now a changed people because we have heeded the wisdom of those that founded our country and we have called on God in our time of need. Today, there is no doubt that He has heard our prayers.
Today, we can say with complete certainty that even though the pillars of our Country have been attacked by evil doers, our foundation has held. We have been tested by fire and we have withstood the test. The world watched us on September 11 and we have lived a great testimony of faith for every man, woman, boy, and girl of the world to see. I am proud because we have proven to the world that our strength is not manmade but rather is due to our willingness to place God in his proper place of respect. While the twin towers of the World Trade Center have collapsed along with a portion of the Pentagon, this Nation has never been stronger and we have neither a single friend or enemy that has any doubt that this is true.
It is 10:56 AM and the President of the United States is speaking to our Nation. Words are being spoken this moment that our grandchildren will study in World History. The authors of the accurate history books will note that America went from soft to strong because Americans got on their knees, humbled themselves and prayed. America held fast to the Rock when under attack and America was strengthened. We have not wavered because our Rock has not wavered. As we succeed in our triumphs let us not forget to give credit where credit is due. To God be all Glory, Laud and Honor.
To God and God Alone Be the Glory!
Stephen
For those of you that are like me and often enjoy perusing news headlines and reading the most recent opinion of a nationally recognized columnist I recently have added a link to "Matt Drudges Links Page". I don't know if Matt actually does the work but someone spends a lot of time keeping that page as close to real time as any I have found. Enjoy!
Home of the Free and the Brave!
A couple of weeks ago, Becky and I took the kids to Vicksburg Mississippi to view the location of one of the greatest struggles that has ever occurred in our nations history. It was at Vicksburg that the American spirit was evident on both sides of the Civil War lines. Vicksburg sat upon the great Mississippi River and President Abraham Lincoln had ordered his army to seize Vicksburg at all cost. The Confederate Army had been ordered by President Davis to hold Vicksburg at all cost. It was a classic struggle. Union soldiers, against tremendous obstacles, were willing to charge up the hills as cannons and Minnie balls rained down on them. Confederate soldiers, though surrounded, held their positions for months until they finally ran out of food and ammunition. The citizens of Vicksburg were also defiant as they withstood several months of siege. It made me sad but also proud to see how each side had hundreds of stories of how men and women rose to the occasion when heroes were needed. They were America's Brave heroes of those days.
There have been times in our history that heroes were not so easy to find. I join with many who remain extremely critical of those that first responded to the calls for help in Columbine Colorado. How many lives were lost due to the lack of action by those that should have acted? They refused their assignment in history by establishing a perimeter even though they knew innocent lives were being lost within the school building. At the time and every since, I have wondered what might go through the minds today of those armed police officers that could have made a difference but chose to hold back while the killing continued. They missed their calling. History will remember them as something else. But even that day heroes existed. The young lady that refused to deny her Lord was a hero. The teachers and the students that comforted each other were heroes. The afflicted were America's heroes on that day.
Sometimes our heroes rise in unlikely places. On a Wednesday night in Ft. Worth Texas, shots were fired in the crowded Sanctuary of Wedgwood Baptist Church. A murderous maniac had charged into the church with the intent to kill as many people as possible. A young man refused to run and began confronting the shooter distracting him as an off duty police officer charged into the Sanctuary with his gun drawn. The last life lost that night was that of the shooter. He killed himself to avoid facing what he had done. His time had run out and many were saved because a hero stood his ground while another rushed into the danger. They were America's Brave on that day.
All of these tragic stories were eclipsed in the annals of History last Tuesday September 11, 2001. We cried on that day but it was not for lack of heroes.
As America and the world watched, America's Brave fought with valor and with as much selfless commitment as all the other heroes in our Nations history.
Tuesday we saw police and firemen running down the street and into the World Trade Center. We hear of how they stood their post and lost their lives while saving the lives of others. We hear of able bodied people that could have had time to exit but chose to stop and help strangers in need. We hear of people risking their lives by calling authorities from the hijacked planes alerting of the danger and hastening the decision to close the sky to air traffic. We hear of Father Michael Judge who rushed to the scene of the Twin Towers and lost his life while praying with a fallen fireman. We hear of doctors, nurses, and other emergency workers that also rushed into help. We watched with horror as the towers one by one came crashing down onto all of these heroic lives. In Washington, heroes were also risking their lives by crawling through the smoke and wreckage on each of the five floors of the Pentagon helping the injured and guiding the survivors away from the areas that soon would be engulfed in flames.
America's enemies had planned additional harm, but just like in Ft. Worth, their time had run out. America's finest were already organizing and fighting back.
A fourth plane had now been hijacked and the passengers of that plane, like those before, defied their captors by calling for help. From those calls, the passengers learned of the other attacks. Tuesday's heroes on Flight 93 chose to take deliberate action that led to their own death but thwarted the plans of the evil terrorist. Even though War had not yet been declared, the passengers on Flight 93 enjoined the battle and saved no doubt countless lives.
As America mourns the loss of Tuesday's Heroes, our President and other leaders have now taken the time to seek the wisdom of God and unapologetically call on His Righteous help. Without this humble approach, our actions of the future might not have God's Blessings. Our Nation has prayed for yesterday's heroes as well as tomorrows. We now honor our firemen, police, emergency workers, iron workers, dump truck and crane operators and a host of others that have converged on New York and Washington. Many of these brave will prove to be heroes as well.
Today, the heroes of the past are joined by courageous teachers that risk loosing their jobs by sharing God's love and His Word with their students in our public schools. These brave teachers, just as all the others, have chosen to defy the enemy. There is a war raging between good and evil. Even our most powerful leaders have shown us the importance of seeking God in this, our time of need. God has heard all our prayers and we find comfort knowing He has promised to never leave or forsake us. By humbling ourselves to Almighty God our nation's leaders and good people around the world have already launched the most powerful weapon against evil.
May God continue to Bless America as we rely on God to provide for tomorrow!
Don't be fooled by false prophesy.
The following prophesy was relayed to me today as being factual. I had my serious doubt so I did a little checking.
With a little effort, I found the following link which labels the prophesy a hoax.
We should be suspicious when we hear of prophesy only after the event has occured and we should be careful to whom we look
for hope and inspiration.
It would be wise for us to be as suspicious of internet claims as we would be of a supermarket tabloid.
False Claim: A 1654 Nostradamus prediction said World War III would begin with the fall of "two brothers," a reference to the destroyed World Trade Center towers.
"In the City of God there will be a great thunder,
Two brothers torn apart by Chaos,
while the fortress endures,
the great leader will succumb,
The third big war will begin when the big city is burning"
Nostradamus 1654
I AM THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
I am the flag of the United Stated of America.
My name is Old Glory
I fly atop the world's tallest buildings.
I stand watch on America's halls of justice.
I fly majestically over institutions of learning.
I stand guard with power in the world.
Look up and see me.
I stand for peace, honor, truth, and justice.
I stand for freedom.
I am confident.
I am arrogant.
I am proud.
When I am flown with my fellow banners,
My head is a little higher,
My colors a little truer.
I bow to no one!
I am recognized all over the world.
I am worshipped- I am saluted.
I am loved- I am revered.
I am respected- I am feared.
I have fought in every battle of every war for more
than 200 years.
I was flown at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Shiloh and
Appomattox.
I was there at San Juan Hill, the trenches of France,
in the Argonne Forest, Anzio Rome and the beaches of
Normandy, Guam, Korea and KheSan, Saigon, Vietnam know
me.
I was there.
I led my troops,
I was dirty, battle worn and tired,
but my soldiers
cheered me
and I was proud.
I have been burned, torn, and trampled on the streets
of countries I have helped set free.
It does not hurt,
for I am invincible.
I have been soiled upon, burned, torn and trampled on
the streets of My country.
And when it's by those whom I've served in battle-
It hurts.
But I SHALL overcome-
for I am strong.
I have slipped the bonds of Earth and stood watch over
the uncharted frontiers of space from my vantage point
on the moon.
I have borne silent witness to all of America's finest
hours.
But my finest hours are yet to come.
When I am torn into strips and used as bandages for my
wounded comrades on the battlefield,
When I am flown at half-mast to honor my soldiers,
Or when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving parent
at the grave of their fallen son or daughter,
I am proud.
--Author Unknown
I am sitting here this morning, Tuesday September 11, 2001, staring in disbelief and helplessness as the world watches our Nation under attack by an unknown enemy. The twin towers of the World Trade Center have collapsed and a portion of the Pentagon is in flames.
Commercial air planes carrying hundreds of lives have rained down terror. The nation is in shock. Symbols of our great nation have collapsed in rubble and tens of thousands of lives may have perished.
No one knows what today holds or how the events today will forever affect our lives but we have one direction to turn.
Please join me in petitioning Almighty God for our Nation.
Dear God,
Please restore your ring of protection on our Nation.
Please intervene as thousands of people fight for their lives and as many others strive to save them.
Please cause additional attacks to be unsuccessful.
We have strayed from your teachings in many ways but we ask for Your forgiveness. We are Your people. We proclaim this to
the world.
Please protect us from the actions of these that would harm Your people.
You are our Rock.
Thank you for never leaving us or forsaking us. Please let us see your hand and feel your presence.
In Jesus name I pray.
Amen
Pray America Pray! Almighty God is our ROCK
If you want to have a good neighbor you must be a good neighbor.
Other articles from Stephen's Desk.