Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it. Behind me and before, you hem me in and rest your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain.

Today is Veterans Day and I found it rather fitting that today’s response psalm is on the headstone of my father-in-law Ignatius Schumacher, an Army veteran.  Big Ig; Bodacious Ignatius.  In honor of our Veterans, I would like to share with you my favorite boot camp story.  For those whose have served, we all have experienced boot camp and I’m sure all of us could relate a story about that.  Mine comes from a dear friend of my Uncle Bob (Fr. Bob Dorhauer), Mr. Earhardt (forgive me if I’ve spelled the name incorrectly).  Mr. Earhardt attended boot camp in Fr. Leonard-wood Missouri, I believe during World War II.  He tells of the day everyone lined up in the morning to receive that work duty for the day at the base.  The company commander stepped forward and asked if anyone was skilled at driving a stick shift truck – if so please step forward and volunteer for this job.  Without hesitation, Mr. Earhardt stepped forward, eagerly excited to be able to drive the truck all day – a rather easy job in his mind.  The company commander thanked him for volunteering for this particular task and took Mr. Earhardt to the wheel barrow he would be pushing – all day – to relocate stones that were in the way of another project on base.  Not once that day did Mr. Earhardt see inside the cab of a truck – much less drive one.  Only then did he realize the wisdom somebody imparted on him before leaving for boot camp – never volunteer for anything.

A deep, heartfelt thank you to all who have served our Country with service in the Military.  I was able to find a prayer online, written by Joanna Fuchs,  that I offer to you now…

Dear Lord,
Today We Honor Our Veterans,
Worthy Men And Women
Who Gave Their Best
When They Were Called Upon
To Serve And Protect Their Country.
We Pray That You Will Bless Them, Lord,
For Their Unselfish Service
In The Continual Struggle
To Preserve Our Freedoms, Our Safety,
And Our Country’s Heritage, For All Of Us.
Bless Them Abundantly
For The Hardships They Faced,
For The Sacrifices They Made,
For Their Many Different Contributions
To America’s Victories
Over Tyranny And Oppression.
We Respect Them, We Thank Them,
We Honor Them, We Are Proud Of Them,
And We Pray That You Will Watch Over
These Special People
And Bless Them With Peace And Happiness.
In Jesus’ Name We Pray; Amen.

Do something great for our Lord today – hug a Vet.  Better yet – take them out and play 18 holes of golf with them.  That’s what I plan on doing today.  God Bless our Veteran’s; God Bless America.

God’s will, not mine, be done.

Be not afraid; just have faith.

Jesus, I trust in You.

He must increase; I must decrease.

But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,
devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
Compete well for the faith.