jonny, no problem with the Gomer/Mark comparison. I don’t agree but I don’t hold it against you. You just haven’t had a chance to see enough of Mark to see how deeply spiritual he is along with that comedy and underated voice. Definite peace here.

Hope you’re feeling well and staying warm.

Peace!

I enjoyed seeing the homes & decorations of those who shared…especially Tanya’s entry table. I took a few pics of my little dump but never got them posted.

Since this one seems to have ended on the subject of Mark, I must kindly take exception to jonny’s comparison of Mark to Gomer Pyle and agree with his prediction that we wouldn’t like it.

To get back on subject a little, did anyone read & watch the piece by Joe Bonsall I posted? I guess having been a child growing up during those years with several relatives who served and losing an uncle in the Pacific made it more meaningful to me.

I YouTubed Mark Lowry. You’re probably not going to like this, but, honestly, he reminded me of Gomer Pyle. Sorry. Both do have beautiful singing voices, though…

I’ve also heard him say many times that Gloria has a “masterful mind”………….and I’ve thought, well, it takes one to know one!

He also has a fabulous voice.

rockin robyn, I’m so glad you got to see Mark. I’ve never seen him solo and would so love to. From what I see on the net, on video, and read, he is definitely totally Spirit filled, and has done so much to help other GVB members. Who but Mark would have the mind to think of words like “Mary, Did You Know”. Love him!

Delighted, I’m glad you got to a concert but so sorry about the migraine because I know you couldn’t appreciate it fully in that condition. The reports on Twitter from the Gaither gang (I think it was Ernie who gave the report) said the Germans were enjoying like it was a rock concert. :o) You said you thought they’d be taller. Michael English for one is 6’4″. How tall were you expecting? LOL Did you get any pictures?

And thanks delighted for the up-date, feed-back on the show you saw!! Much appreciated!

There IS a big difference in seeing a video and hearing a concert in person! AND, you have a chance to actually meet them and shake hands! Or hug, whichever you prefer! Did you get to meet any of the artists?

I agree with Rachel—–next time, Delighted, I hope you offer your services as an interpreter! I’m sure you would be great!

Jonny, are you going to be able to attend a Homecoming concert near you during their European tour? I think you would like it!

Delighted I’m sure you would have made a great interpreter – apply for the job next time! We have to wait 2 more weeks until the European tour makes it to London. I Can’t wait. The only thing that would make it more exciting would be if Tori and Russ were coming with them!

Just a little incidental remark: the Gaither concert was simply overwhelming ! (yesterday evening) The atmosohere was great, as mesured by German standards. There’s such an immens difference between hearing them all recorded and live !

And you should be proud of your community in Pensacola for their support of our “kids” serving on military bases there!!! I am!!!

That picture of the little girl holding on to her dad is very moving indeed. Those who have never made that sacrifice of leaving home and family to fight and perhaps die abroad for something bigger than themselves will never fully understand it, but this little girls tears reveals a small fraction of the cost to those who do. And I love the commanding officer who allowed the little girl to stay with her dad until the last possible minute before he shipped out.

And I love this country! A country (and it’s allies) where there are men and women who will make that sacrifice so another little girl on the other side of the world can have some basic freedoms and rights that she could only dream of before! So that she can go to school, even though she is a girl, and have a future! So that she won’t have to fear an evil dictator’s henchmen pulling up to her home in the night and family members disappearing, never to be heard from again! Nor fear that her brothers may be enlisted to strap bombs on their person and blow themselves up, killing innocent civilians to make a political point! Nor fear that when she grows up, she will have no rights at all, and be at the mercy of her husband, be he cruel or kind. If we and our allies accomplish our mission of establishing genuine democracies and advocating basic human rights in Iraq and Afghanistan, (aside from other military goals), that little girl will have hope and the opportunity of a better life……like the little American girl in the picture above!

There is something special, something incredibly honorable about our young military personel to voluntarily sacrifice so much for people so far away and so helpless. AND HOW INCREDIBLY BRAVE THEY ARE! I don’t have any trouble walking up to them and thanking them for their service and their sacrifice, or making the sign we learned about in the video. It’s the least I can do.

No sane person likes war. But the reality is there are evil and violent men in this world who seek to destroy us and innocents in their own countries, and they must be stopped. Thank God there are brave and valiant men and women who go and put themselves in harm’s way to protect us and others they have never met. God bless ‘em!

Thanks, Tori, for bringing that picture and video to our attention. This blog is so edifying!

I’m a crazed Mom when it comes to the military – especially at airports. I talk to all of them – it’s like they’re my own kids and I’m the last one that’s going to “send them off”.

I was in Hawaii a few years ago for work and was waiting for my car at the hotel valet stand. A man in uniform was standing next to me and we started talking – he’s stationed in South Korea, been in the army for over 20 years. When my car came, as always, I thanked him for what he does for the rest of us. These tears welled up in his eyes, he touched his heart and said “It is my honor and pleasure to serve.” I got in my car and immediately pulled into a parking stall because I couldn’t contain my emotions. What a guy! What would we do without people like him? Be speaking German or Japanese, I guess.

My Dad enlisted in the Navy five days after Pearl Harbor, went to boot camp for 28 days, then on to the Pacific – for 5 years. The stories he is now telling us. None of us likes war, even our service personnel. One of his really neat stories, though…in the summer of 2005 we saw a movie called “The Great Raid” – about one of the greatest raids to free U.S. prisoners from a Japanese camp. My Mom died in August 2005, so while we were at their house after the funeral, I was telling my Dad about this movie. He stopped me in mid-sentence and said “We brought those boys home!” He proceeded to tell us that his ship, the U.S.S. Louisville, was on it’s way home to San Francisco when they got called to turn around and go back. They were to pick up a huge group of freed POW’s and bring them home. As they were bringing these guys on board – some having to be carried – one man on my Dad’s crew – Barnes – saw his brother coming aboard. He had gotten word that his brother was MIA and feard dead a few earlier. The brother had been captured and marched in the Bataan death march to this prison camp. So here he is – coming on board his brother’s ship – alive! My Dad said there wasn’t a dry eye on board! It was pretty emotional. The captain came over the loud speaker and asked if anyone would be willing to give up his bunk for one of these guys — everyone did (except the Barnes brother – they made them stay together to catch up!). My Dad said he and his crew slept on deck all the way to San Franisco. At the end of “The Great Raid”, they show actual photos and news footage of these guys coming in to San Franciso. I had to watch that movie again, realizing it was my Dad’s ship!

I have an uncle I never knew buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery in Margraten in The Netherlands. Shot down in a B-17 over Germany, July 31, 1943. He was 21 years old. He was stationed in Ridgewell, England.

So I’m a mess when it comes to the military and photos like this. I know the stories of those who come home and the pain of those whose loved ones don’t.

Thanks for the reminder…

rockin robyn – Aren’t those two guys from the “Band of Brother”?

In my family there has been alot of service men… My dad was a marine, my brother in the army, my uncle served in Korea and many members of my family (before I was born) served their country in the armed forces. My take on it is everyones life has a purpose. If God placed it on your heart to want to serve than that is what and who you are. Not everyone is cut out for that. I look back at my brother’s pics when he was in the army and he looks like a “boy”. So young. I hated when he’d come home on leave and than had to go back. That was so hard on the family. Emotionally it’s hard and he didn’t even serve in war times. Today “so far” there isn’t a draft so all those who are serving are there because they made a decision to serve this great country of ours and that just makes them more of a hero. Because what would this country be without them.

I love the idea of the gratitude gesture to honor current soldiers but also remember to thank a vet. I was so honored to be in the same room with, when a few years back, the company I work for held an event and invited two of the members of the “company of heroes” – Bill Guarnere and Babe Heffron. Two very very special men.