Vietnam Veterans Still Remember

In 1970 I was in Vietnam for 16 months attached to the Swamp Fox 199th and worked on the Birdog and YO-A air crafts.I recently received and email from a buddy who was in Vietnam also(you remember that war time, don't you?) and he voiced his feelings some 40 years or so later concerning our unwelcome return. I thought I would post it as well as my own response which goes along with the former post I made back some time ago. I still remember the song, "The Times They Are A-Changin'" by Bob Dylan.

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From: Kurt
Date: 9/4/2009 7:06:29 PM
To: Lanny Camden
Subject: Re: Lanny Camden

Lanny,

It was a shame how Vietnam Veterans were treated. If our country had only said thank you to us loud and clear. If our country had not granted amnesty to the draft dodgers. If they had built us a memorial instead of a black headstone, I think a lot of Vietnam Veterans would not be bitter towards their country. Heck, we would probably tolerate the VA....


Kurt Olney
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Yeah Kurt!

I agree. It was bad enough that the government treated the Vietnam vets the way they did, but I think my biggest beef was the Dodgers (not the ball players) and intellectuals (??) who stood outside of Oakland CA when we returned in their arrogant, unsympathetic attitude that yelled, chanted,heckled and cursed the men who only did what they were asked.

I remember the Captain in charge at Oakland when I returned telling us about what was going on outside the gates with the college intellectuals yelling and throwing eggs and some one asked that we be issued base ball bats and we would scatter the mess. LOL We all had to laugh as brothers.

I think I just pushed most of it from my mind over the years, but there was a band of brothers closeness that only men like Vietnam, WW2, Korea and Mid East men and women soldiers understand. However, it may be the memories and experience of a foolish naive young man that causes me to still fly the American flag in my front yard and feel the pain our boys are feeling as they fight this war on terror when I watch the biased news media report it.

I was in Washington DC back in the 1994 and know that that Vietnam wall had a emotional impact on me as well as others whose memories still are stored in the far back of their minds. America has her faults in government, in its people and its decisions, but she is still the greatest country on the face of the earth because of the sacrifices, dedication and price that men like you and others paid in exchange for being FREE.

Now I fear the war is no longer over seas, but here in our back yard among our own kind in which every civilization that has reached any great status like America has found their end internally when they became divided. That division started back in the Vietnam war area and lost its purpose, it's sacrifice and it's united objective unlike WWI and WW2 which found strength in a country who supported each other including it's military.

The Communists won their objective in Vietnam and we retreated with our tail between our legs and as a minister I know of those missionaries who attempt to work in Vietnam and they tell me of the governments hard line against freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of travel. All we have to do is look at Japan's democracy and South Korea's and Europe's to know that the soldiers in those wars achieved their objectives and were welcome back as the heroes they really were.

When the windows of the eyes are darkened then the depth of the heart can no longer see the light of truth. It is summed up in the song, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” which is no longer acceptable is a materialistic callous society of people who have become ungrateful for the sacrifices we remember.


God Bless
Take Care

Other web site by me:
Lannys Blog Talk
Americas Corvette
Street Rod Memories
Flag Springs Church
5.1 Speakers



Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

Copyright ©1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music

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Its Not Love- Its Ions And Elctrons

I get into debates with the atheists and evolutionists in the Amazon forum constantly. I enjoy it very much as I see the intelligence and reasoning of these highly educated and Christian hating individuals. As I have told them I do love them whether they hate me or not.

The following is one response I gave to ones comments about evolution.

It can be found at Amazon Christian forum here.
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[Cancel] [Delete post]
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In reply to an earlier post on Mar 24, 2008 2:54 PM PDT
Stephen A. Haines says:
Curly,

False. What i state here is not a "belief" but relies on evidence. "Christians" have great difficulty with evidence, from what i've seen here. Plugging in a ghost where none fits is only the most glaring example of that.

What i deduced from your words [the evidence] was that i had been too sharp with your assertion. Your later words [more evidence] suggests that while the sharpness was likely not misplaced, i should have expanded on what i replied. It would seem my original assessment was correct, but my response wasn't complete.

The laws of physics and chemistry DO lead to how you think and the opinions you form. Do you know anything at all about how a brain works?? It's ions and electrons. They may interact differently with different individuals, but the fundamental process is the same for all. And that includes everything from the microbial world right down to H. sapiens. If you think otherwise, you have a great deal to learn.

What you said about "evolution being random and based on chance" was false. Although i tried to explain the reality to you, it doesn't seem to have sunk in. Your stress on "logic" and "reasoning" miss the mark of how natural selection works, since life doesn't operate in nice, clear niches that you can [or seem to be able to perceive].

LIFE IS NOT A LABORATORY EXPERIEMENT!!

i've typed that repeatedly on this forum, but it doesn't seem to reach even the retinas of "christians", let alone the cortex. I don't need to "defend" natural selection, since that's how life works. You want predictable results [based on "logic" and "reason"??] but that's a false foundation.

If you are unable to conceive of why that's so, we have a great deal of ground to cover.

the bunyip

You just replied with a later post

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Your post, in reply to an earlier post on Mar 24, 2008 5:05 PM PDT
HeyLanny says:


OH! Now I understand more clearly.

I need to change my dialog to "Honey, I LOVE you with all my brain."

Logical but not very romantic.

That must be how that little Amoeba in the primordial soup, struck by lighting then chemically energized and which was asexual in the beginning eventually adapted to either a highly evolved male or female (Not sure which came first) then divided into the other with the perfect body characteristics for sexual procreation. Since the female has larger hips and narrow shoulders and the male has larger shoulders and narrow hips for perfect sexual intercourse. Must of been the male that came first as he is responsible for the sex determination of the tadpole!

Anyone know what year did this begin to all happen??

Now If I have this right. Then LOVE has nothing to do with marriage but ions and electrons of the brain which force the evolutionary process into the bedroom to help produce little tadpoles. So any production through this natural selection can be easily aborted with no emotional consequences or after effects on the individual sexes.

That must be the reason why the more Intellect of the world came into the Christian forum to help us uneducated Christians understand our failure to grasp their intelligent reasoning. Faith and trust in the truth of Christ's words cannot be compared with the centuries of history in man's logic and natural section of war, hatred, raping, murder, bigotry, torture etc. etc. This definitely makes it a more acceptable reason for the stronger to survive and to eliminate those who are weaker and not of their education.

Like Adolf Hitler did concerning the German peoples acceptance of natural section of species,

Hitler Speech to the Doctors' Union in April 1933 on racial purification of the German people.

"The greatest achievements in intellectual life can never be produced by those of alien race but only by those who are inspired by the Aryan or German spirit. In view of the narrowness of the space within which German intellectual work and German intellectual workers have to live they had a natural moral claim to precedence and preference. If the number of foreigners admitted to take part in German intellectual life was out of proportion to the number of native Germans sharing in that life foreigners might interpret this as a recognition of the intellectual superiority of other races." (Quoted in N H Baynes, The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, Oxford University Press, 1942, Volume I, pp.728)

I wonder why he eventually blew his brains out. Must of been something with the ions and electrons he was having difficulty with.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
My other post

Your post, in reply to an earlier post on Mar 24, 2008 10:47 AM PDT
Last edited by you 6 hours ago
HeyLanny says:
Nah, LuvBaja

"product of Evolution" and the others have a right to criticize and hate. That is their free speech and all the reward they will have in life. All Intellect and no soul! Read their posts and you can see the conception and the birth of the contents of the heart. WOW! This just excites me that much more because it makes the words of Christ so much more real and meaningful.

Like James said.

James 3:10-11 The mouth cannot bring forth blessings and cursings at the same time any more than a fountain can bring forth bitter water and sweet water at the same time.

Besides. When they show contempt and hatred for Christ and those that LOVE him. It means that they recognize that we are still a light house in the world and on Christ's part he is cursed but on on our part he is glorified and honored.

I just think that "product of evolution" should change his name to "product of freak accident" because that is what evolution is. A very high mathematical calculation that resulted in two very complicated sexes that could reproduce and die like a spring flower during a cold freeze and soon forgotten by everyone.

Like Jesus time on this earth. He had 11 men who loved him but there was one among them whose intention was his destruction but instead brought about his own. Adolf Hitler, Mussolini, Nero were also prime examples. Free choice is each of our God given privileges. Just let the wheat and the weeds grow. Harvest time is getting closer.

I have jail ministry again tomorrow night. Remember these men and women in prayer guys. Thanks!

God Bless
HeyLanny

Beatles, Hippies, Drugs and Baby Boomers

I am going on 58 years old this April and clearly remember the 1960s. It was a time of the Beatles, Rock and Roll, fast cars and of course the drugs especially hallucinogenic LSD as well as the Vietnam war where I spent 16 months. I was a part of all of it with many of the same thoughts that a new, young generation of Aquarius people was upon us and we could change the world with free love, communes and peace signs.

Well Vietnam still lingers in the back of my mind, the bad trips on drugs still haunt me, and the long hair is now graying and thinning out but, one thing has not faded away and that is the same Gospel that changed so many lives down through the century's and is still changing lives today.

If nothing else is eternal or positive in our short time in this world we can be assured that the word of God remains the same today and forever. One thing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that it continues to work in the hearts of one individual at a time and leaves a continuing legacy and life changing force behind it. We never will fully know what influence we have had until that day in which all of us will stand before the King Of Kings and hear and see our recorded lives as it will be reveled to us.

No, we didn't change the world but, many things we did which we thought were good are still having the repercussions many years later by trying to do things our way. Fads, governments, cultures and styles are all a part of a world and a people that desire to live without the acknowledgment of their creator. History has shown us that it all changes and vanishes away but, the Gospel of Jesus Christ as he lovingly stated and the precious promises of God through his word will continue on when we are long gone.


That is what the following article is about.



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The Father of the 'Jesus People Revival' now Reaches Out in India
By Dan Wooding
Chuck Smith's verse-by-verse teachings have been translated into Hindi and will help train thousands of Indian pastors.


COSTA MESA, CA -- Back in the late sixties and early seventies, a quietly spoken pastor called Chuck Smith became the surrogate "Father" of thousands of hippies who flocked to the "Big Tent" at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, California, and found Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Out of this extraordinary move of God was birthed the modern-day worship music and contemporary Christian music when the converted hippies began writing their new music and then, after auditioning each song before "Pastor Chuck", they played it in the tent scores of Jesus People bands were born and soon Maranatha Music was born, which brought this music to a wide audience.

The hippies, many of who lived in communes around the church, were then schooled in the Bible by Chuck Smith with his verse-by-verse teaching through the Scriptures and many have gone on to pastor some of the largest churches in America.

But on Saturday, January 5th, Chuck Smith, now aged 80, got one of the biggest surprises of his life when K.P. Yohannan, founder of Gospel for Asia, presented him with a package of audio CDs of his teachings in the Hindi language and told him that these CDs would be used to train thousands of his missionaries and pastors in India.

After the "Meet the Missionaries" event at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, at which K.P. was the main speaker, the two of them met and agreed to talk about this historic moment in missions in India. And what made this even more special was that were just a few yards from where the "Big Tent" was pitched all those years ago.

I began by asking K.P. Yohannan, how many people speak Hindi in his country and he replied, "It's about six-hundred-million people," adding with a smile, "That's quite a lot of people."

I then asked him how this came about.

"We realized that one of the greatest crises we have when revival breaks out and millions of people turn to Christ and then, when there's not enough teaching of God's Word, usually they end up in all kind of extreme cults which happen in many nations," said K.P. Yohannan. "So we felt compelled to give to pastors something they can actually listen to and then be able to teach their congregations.

"I have to say that God's very special hand has been upon Pastor Chuck Smith because of His walk with the Lord and knowledge of the Lord. What he teaches is not just words, it is life, and it is very powerful.

"So we want at least a hundred-thousand pastors to get a set of these CDs and we'll be providing them eventually with a CD player so they can listen to a section of the Scripture, they can study it, and they teach it the next Sunday. So that way the Word of God will become the means for people to grow in their faith. So, for us, this is one of the most exciting things we have been involved in and, after one year of hard work, we have got it done.


"This project is Pastor Chuck Smith teaching through the Bible; Genesis to Revelation; chapter by chapter; line by line."

Chuck Smith, who by now was close to tears, then reacted by saying, "I'm absolutely overawed. It just touches my heart to realize that the Word of God which, of course He said, He would honor above His Name, is so important and, of course, for any lasting work to be done, the people have to be grounded in the Word.

"It isn't just receiving Christ; it's growing in Christ and that growth comes through the knowledge of the Word of God. So to realize the fruit of this will be in creating a lasting work for the Kingdom, thrills and blesses me."

I wondered if he had any idea this had been taking place and he replied, "I really wasn't aware that this was going on, but I'm so pleased."

Both men then paid tribute to their Godly mothers and the influence that they had on their respective lives.

K.P. Yohannan said, "Growing up in India, we had six boys in my family and I'm the youngest. My mother prayed and fasted for three-and-a-half-years, every Friday, that at least one of her sons would become a missionary. I didn't know this was going on, but this was her devout walk with the Lord, and her prayers were answered when God called me, so I'm so grateful for her life and now she's with the Lord."

Chuck Smith then responded by saying, "Well, in reality just before I was born, my sister, for all practical purposes, died as far as they could tell. She had stopped breathing; her eyes had rolled back and so my mother had taken her up to the church and the pastor said, 'Get your eyes off your little girl, and get your eyes on Jesus.' There and then, my mother made a vow to the Lord in which she said, 'If you give me my little girl back, I will give my life to serve you.' Well, that happened.

"Two months later, when I was born, the doctors informed my mother that she had a little boy and she said, 'Lord, I will fulfill my vow to you through my son.' So she started me, when I was very young, and she taught me how to read out of the large print Bible that we had. My bedtime stories were always Bible stories and so I grew up just surrounded by the Word and knowing the Word and being taught it.

"She didn't tell me of her vow, much like K.P's mother, until when she was dying and she was in our home and then she told me the commitment that she'd made of my life to the Lord when I was born. She didn't want to influence my decision; she wanted it to be the Lord that influenced me so it was just a mother who prayed that changed my life."

He added, "I can't remember waking up any morning at home, but that I heard her out in the living room praying. She was just a woman of prayer, a woman of commitment to the Lord and, really, she'll get the rewards in Heaven rather than me."

I then reminded Chuck Smith that we were standing close to where the "Big Tent" had been pitched and where so many hippies found Christ.

"Well actually those hippies are now grandparents, you know," he laughed. "So many of them are in the ministry and we've watched them grow up, but with the growing up, we have seen the Gospel continuing to just expand further and further. So the excitement of seeing the long-haired, bare-footed kids, is no longer there, but to realize that they have grown up and are doing a work that is reaching the world is just an exciting thing."

I pointed out to K.P. Yohannan that possible some bare footed kids in India where now going to be blessed with these teaching CDs.


He nodded and then I asked him what he would like to say to Chuck Smith.

"Well, somebody once asked me who were the people that have influenced me the most in my life and I tell them, my mother and then I say, Pastor Chuck Smith and the missionary George Verwer [founder of Operation Mobilization, for which K.P. once worked]," he said.

He then turned to Chuck Smith and said, "I do not know anybody on earth that I can say publicly and privately that I can follow and walk in your footsteps, but you, Pastor Chuck. This is not because of the largeness of the work, or the missionaries that have gone out around the world from Calvary Chapel. Yes, that is all wonderful, but it is just your quiet, godly, and devout walk with the Lord that has touched me and changed me and influenced me for us to start the church movement and I love you so much for that."

I then asked K.P. how large that church movement now was and he replied quietly, "We have 30,000 churches and fellowships in ten countries. When we say a church, we mean at least twenty baptized believers. In some churches, we have a thousand believers, three-hundred believers. A fellowship is anything that's less than twenty baptized people."

I concluded by saying to Chuck Smith that all this began in a tent across the way from where we were talking.

He smiled and said, "It is just so exciting what the Lord can do when we stay out of the way and let Him work."

Note to the media: A MP3 file of this interview is available for broadcast. Please send your request for it to be e-mailed to you to Dan Wooding at danjuma1@aol.com and add your name and the radio station or network you represent.

* I would like to thank Robin Frost for transcribing this interview for me.

© 2007 ASSIST News Service, used with permission

Christmas In The War Zone

The untold truth about Americans is being tested everyday in Iraq, and other parts of the world. America is a giving nation. A nation of people who have placed a sign at our New York harbor that welcomes, the world and to share in our riches if they are willing to abide and defend our code of ethics, and laws.

As a Vietnam veteran I can remember the headlines in 1979 and 1970 that screamed, "Baby Killers" and "God Bless Dead Soldiers".

However, I can also remember going to the orphanages in Vietnam and bringing back to the base small orphaned children in our trucks and providing them a day at Disney Land on our air field. The media seemed to ignore these gestures and efforts provided by the everyday GI s like myself. They seemed to focus on the mistakes and pain that war brings on everyone.

I remember one little girl with thick glasses about five years old that a buddy and I adopted for the day. After returning to the base under armed guard we tried to cater to her every need with food, some toys, clothes, laughter and a warm embrace. Her parents had been killed in one of the village skirmishes and only God know how and what she went through herself.

Although there is much I want to forget there are always some of those memories I can cherish and be thankful that I had a part in. Each of us can also do something for someone which will leave an everlasting impression in our minds. I don't know what ever became of her under the communist take over but I am glad I had more to do with touching a heart than killing a man.

The following article is a continuation of what American soldiers really set out to accomplish contrary to the news media and liberal anti war rhetoric that is flashed before the world.
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Iraqi Army Soldiers Deliver Season?s Tidings to Assyrian Christians in Kirkuk
Jeremy Reynalds
December 24, 2007

KIRKUK, IRAQ -- Coalition Forces enjoyed a Christmas party in Iraq recently.

The holiday cheer was courtesy of the 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, and was held at an Assyrian Christian School in Kirkuk on Dec. 15.

According to military officials, the theme of this year's celebration was ethnic and religious diversity.

"Kirkuk is a good place to be for Christians ... a place where all ethnic groups, Arab, Kurd, Turkman and Christian, are living in peace," the Christian school priest told the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA). He also ministers to 2-4 IA Soldiers who operate from Iraqi Army Base K-1 in Kirkuk.

Both IA and CF Soldiers, with the 2414 Logistics Transition Team at K-1, came armed with presents, which they passed out to the children who were clothed in various ethnic dress to represent the cultures that are trying to bring back some semblance of normality to this ethnic diverse area of northeastern Iraq.

"We want to live and work with our neighbors in harmony ... as Iraqis," Maj. Zyad Junaid Omar, 2-4 IA Civil Affairs officer, told AINA. Zyad, whose father is an Arab and mother a Turkman, said that he invites CF Soldiers along to show Iraqis that, "Americans are good people that want to help." He also wanted the Iraqi public to see how well the IA and CF work together.

"Maj. Zyad is a patriot in the true sense," Lt. Col. Greg Markert, 2414 LTT, told AINA. "He wants to make a difference. He is not concerned about the ethnic background of these children. He's concerned about Iraq's future . which they represent."

AINA reported that gifts the soldiers handed out were contributed by employers, friends and family of Pennsylvania Guardsmen Sgt. 1st Class Ken "Gunny" Ganiszewski, 2414 LTT, and Markert, both of Philadelphia. "What started out as a suggestion snowballed into 200 packages full of toys, candy, blankets ... the response has been tremendous," said the former Marine.

AINA reported that this was just one of the several ongoing civil affairs programs run by the 2-4 IA's CA team.

"We're honored to be a part of their program," Markert told AINA. "These children are the future of Iraq; they are the most important equation in our mission here."

"I fought as a Marine in the Gulf War against some of these Soldiers who I am now mentoring," AINA reported Ganiszewski said. "This brotherhood we've formed is making a positive impact on the children of Iraq ... its future."

He said that both groups of soldiers agree that what they are doing has a larger impact than "kicking doors down and brandishing weapons." He underlined the importance of getting involved by saying, "That child who is given a pair of shoes may return home and convince a relative not to place an IED out on the road. Or, if he sees someone trying to hurt an IA or CF Soldier, he'll report it."

AINA reported that the LTT team has 10 members. They hail from the 240th Quartermaster's Company, 16th Sustainment Brigade from Bamburg, Germany; 13th Combat Service Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, Ft. Benning, Ga.; the National Guard Bureau and its 28th Infantry Division's staff. All of the U.S. Soldiers are attached to the National Guard's 213th Area Support Group, Allentown, Pa., currently headquartered at Forward Operating Base Anaconda.

"We've come from all over the U.S. and Germany to form this team. We've since become a cohesive family, together with our adoptive family, meaning our fellow Soldiers with the Iraqi Army's 2nd Brigade, 4th Division,"AINA reported Markert said.

© 2007 ASSIST News Service, used with permission

Are You A "Suck It Jesus Fan"?

There has been some great attention brought to Hollywood by the foul mouth comedian Kathy Griffin during her Emmy Award when she bawdy stated. "While others might think Jesus for such an honor, I wouldn't consider it". "Suck It Jesus," waving her statuette in the air. "This award is my God now."

Immediately the outrage was also heard from the Christian community as they protested. After some college girls heard her exclamation the college atheists purchased a domain name at the web site suck it jesus.

Let me warn you in advance that this sight is not for the faint of heart and easily offended person. The language, hatred and criticism of Christians is the carrot that is leading to Church shootings like the one in CO the other day by a 24 year old man filled with hatred.

Hollywood embraces and condones such antics in the name of free speech which is why many in Hollywood think they are beyond the law of morals and live in a different world of Babylon. Jesus said, "If they hated me. They will hate you because you are not of this world as I am not of this world."

This type of rheteric and out spoken hatred for Christianity is not going to go away any time soon. The anger from the liberals and religious groups would have been tremendous if this had been "suckitmohammad" or suckitbudda" but Christianity is open season. One of the reasons is that many so called Christians join in the same foul mouth attacks as the atheists with name calling, hatred, and threats. The atheists then perceive that all Christians are the same.

Read what one of the posts I copied had to say.(Copied as written with misspellings)

Kathy Griffin Rocks. I've always loved her and her show "My Life On The D-List" since this so called scandal I love her even more.
It's truly amazing that these christians love to tell everyone that doesn't believe how they are going to hell etc, but should we say something negative about them or their fairy god, they start with the death threats and the profane language. They are laughable, matter of fact I laughed as I read some of the posts from the christians -- the o so loving christians. You people are hypocrites, liars, and sheeple. You are pathetic losers who can't think for yourselves, can't live for yourselves and if you don't have a fairy god in the sky to threaten you, you can't be decent..oh wait you are still not decent. Pathetic Losers.
SUCKITJESUS!

However there are also millions whose lives have been changed in homosexuality, prison, drugs and alcohol and terrorism through the gospel message. God does change lives and hearts if we will let him. As free agents in humanity, that is our choice and our decision, to either shake our fists at those who hate us or to kneel at the foot of the cross and realize that we are saved by grace and deserved to die there instead.

The recent display of the Kansas baptist church carrying signs with their stabbing at dead soldiers, killing homosexuals and God laughs at the destruction of individuals, has brought more disgrace to the Christian community. The fall of some great television evangelists and church sexual antics have added to the plight of hatred toward Christ and those who love him.

As I write this, I have Jail ministry tonight as I have for over four years. I want to give these men and women a chance to follow their own hearts or allow the Love of Jesus Christ to change the way they live. It should be their decision and their choice. But how can they know except first someone tells them and gives them the opportunity to make that choice.

Remember! As Christians. Our job is to keep the first commandment and the second will follow. I believe Jesus gave us the perfect parable when he talked about the wheat and the weeds. Let them both grow until the harvest time. Then I (Christ)will send in my angles to gather the wheat into my barn. Then and only then will I pull up the weeds, bundle them together and cast them into the fire. Our decision is to choose him and his decision is to separate what he wants in the hearts of men and who wants him because they recognize his truth which is shown in love. St John 3:16

The following is also a testimonial from the same web site copied as written. ______________________________________________________________________________
TESTIMONEY FOR THE LORDS GOODNESS

After 29 years as a gay activist, former lesbian magazine publisher Charlene Cothran stunned the homosexual community when she announced she had become a Christian.

She has renounced her homosexuality, and changed the format of her magazine to spread the Gospel to the gay community.

As a gay rights activist, Cothran was never afraid to fight for what she believed in. For 30 years, she was as vocal and in your face as they come.

She organized and marched with other lesbians in gay rights parades. And as editor-in-chief of Venus magazine , a national gay and lesbian publication, she wasn't about to change -- until something happened at a gay pride celebration that she never expected.

"In 2003, I was in Chicago at a gay pride event, in the middle of this beautiful park," Cothran recalled. "I took a panoramic view, and as far as I could see there were men with men and women with women, all just partying and having a good time. But a shame fell on me, I felt so out of place. I knew something in my spirit spoke that, 'this is that road that leads to destruction, and you're on it.'"

It took several years to come to terms with this vision, and during that time Cothran continued to publish her gay and lesbian magazine. But she couldn't escape the message she'd heard that day in 2003.

She said, "I kept myself busy with marches and activism and public appearances. But in the still of the night when everything is over, there was still that little voice, "You're not right with God."

Cothran says she longed for peace, but even in the midst of a long-term relationship, she felt intense loneliness. She'd grown up in a Christian home, and had come into the lesbian lifestyle at 19, after several bad relationships with boys.

"I didn't want anything to do with men anymore," she said. "I was away at college and that was a whole new world, and in that world there were many, many women who were attracted to me, and, of course, I was attracted to them. And these women were nurturing, wanted to get to know me intellectually -- they were organizers whom I found a lot of comfort in. It felt good, it felt right."

But it didn't feel right anymore. Then in June 2006, local Pastor Vanessia Livingston of Miracle Deliverance Church called Cothran, regarding an article in one her publications. She didn't know anything about Cothran's life and proceeded to talk to her about God.

Livingston asked Cothran, "What are you going to do about your life?" Then she told her, "'You need to get your life together.' Cothran said, 'I'm in the life.' I said, 'Yes, I know, that's why I'm talking to you, but you don't have to stay in the life. You can be delivered today, right now, right where you are.'"

They talked for awhile and Cothran remembers her words: "I can tell that you want to come back to God, but you feel unworthy, you feel that God can't use you because you've been marching and publishing and you've been such a proud lesbian all these years, but that's not true. He's waiting."

That day changed everything for Charlene Cothran, as she finally asked Jesus Christ to come into her heart and forgive her.

It was a personal transformation that she immediately wanted to share with her gay and lesbian followers. She wrote a front page article in her magazine called, "Redeemed! Ten Ways to Get Out of the Gay Life, if You Want Out."

"When the Lord saved me, I knew everything would change," she said. "All of the ads, the editorials, the mission of the magazine had changed. We're going to be calling people out of homosexuality."

Most of the response from the gay and lesbian community has been fierce and negative. But she says she knows that many of them are just as conflicted as she was.

Cothran said, "In order to fill up this empty space, they pretend to put on this wonderful face, 'how gay and happy I am,' when in fact -- there's a lot of loneliness in the gay community that's not talked about, and it's real."

But there has been positive feedback as well. Cothran says she gets lots of e-mails from people who say they struggle with homosexuality and want out.

CBN News asked Cothran, "I know people probably ask you, do you still have feelings for women, and are you dating a man?"

Cothran replied, "I'm living a celibate life. I'm so focused on the spirit right now, that I have no urges for anyone -- man or woman."

With a new outlook about herself and life, Cothran is still on the frontlines of the gay rights battle, only now she sees it as a spiritual fight to lead others to the freedom she's found.

"Our mission now," she said, "is to educate and to turn people away from the homosexual lifestyle simply by presenting the truth. We simply want people to question what they've learned through the pages of Venus magazine over the past 13 years."

Prior to Cothran's conversion, Venus circulated about 35,000 copies per issue which ran four times a year. But after the issue featuring her testimony, the gay political machine pressured advertisers to drop the magazine. And gay pride events and college campuses no longer subscribe.

But in her own words, Cothran has no regrets about her change.

She said, "There is a joy and a peace that you can't find in a club, I don't care how good the music is. You can't find it in the middle of a gay pride parade, I don't care if you have the biggest, prettiest float. I have a joy and a peace that I wouldn't trade for anything

Iranian Christian Couple Whipped

Christian freedom is taken much for granted in many democratic societies. However there is a culture war and persecution going on for those who let the world know that Christ is Lord of their life.

As I have written several times before that Christianity is persecuted much in countries governed by Islam and also in India where Hinduism is the major religion.

Iran has recently put more pressure upon those who refuse to accept Islam as the religion of choice under the administration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is a firm believer in the Islamic prophecy of the 12th Mahdi returning from a well.Compared to Jesus Christ who promised to return from the heavens where he ascended. Is it no wonder that those Christians there are being persecuted.

In July 2007, an Iranian Christian couple was sentenced by the Justice Court of Revolution to be whipped, two years after they were accused of attending a house church. (Read more about Christian persecution.)This page has an impact and a great article and video for teens.

According to the Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN), “The couple was arrested on September 21, 2005 by Islamic government agents. The couple had gathered in a house, in a town northwest of Tehran for their regular prayer and devotional time.”

FCNN news reported the woman was born into a Christian Assyrian-Iranian family, while the man converted to Christianity long before their marriage. The couple married seven years ago, but could not register their marriage due to legal restrictions on Christian marriage licenses. FNCC stated, “According to the Court of Revolution, the wedding of non-Muslims by Islamic Law is equivalent to conversion to Islam. So, the confession of faith by the wife was an indication of turning to Christianity again. She was announced Mortad (a person who turns away from Islam), in this case the sentence is death.”

Following their arrest back in 2005, the couple was required to check in with authorities on a regular basis until the court had decided their punishment for being Christians. FCNN reported that on one occasion, when the wife met with authorities, she was abused and had decided not to return again as demanded. According to FCNN, “After a few days, in September 2007, two female and four male agents went to the couple’s home and produced a letter written by the court saying they should execute the sentence of whipping right there in their house. The couple is under high mental pressure and fear for their future.”

Much of what you are reading here is slowing being implemented through a culture war here in America also by the same religious and political fanatics who desire to control and exterminate all references and reminders of God and his creation. The battle is taking place in our courts but could come down to more actual attacks on Churches, family and individuals one day soon.

The Voice of the Martyrs is providing assistance to the couple. They ask that Christians pray for them and other Christians in Iran who face great challenges simply because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Ask that the Holy Spirit will give them peace, health and protection during this difficult time.

Other Recommended resources can be found on the side.

Are You Dancing In The Rain This Thanksgiving?

I was sending out an email to family and friends this holiday season and decided to post a short message about why this is a more special day than ever before. I can smell the turkey cooking from the kitchen here in my office. Sniff, sniff. I really do appreciate that Wal-Mart turkey's sacrifice every year, even as I do the Lords sacrifice for me on calvary. It is a time to be grateful and thankful for our freedom, our families, our material things and our hope in Christ Jesus.

I have no reservations about proclaiming that Christ can change your life or that the family unit is still the plan of God for his marvelous creation. Look around you and see all the wonders of a gift that holds wonderful magic for those whose hearts are in contact with their God. Smell the sweet aroma of a blooming flower in the warm spring breeze. Hold a love one that you were responsible for producing and caring for. Watch a soft falling snow flake as it gently floats to earth and gathers with millions of others that are all different from each other. If it is snowing where you are at then build a snowman for all the world to see. Life is living and being in tune with it.

In Sept 2004 I had a series of 4 unexpected and sudden heart attacks in 24 hours. The last one took me out, stopping my heart, while my family stood in the doorway of the emergency room. As I understand by the Grace of God that 4 electric shocks revived me.

The first couple of years I was unsure that I would make it another Spring as cautioned by my doctors, but now I am having a 2007 Thanksgiving again this year with my wife of 36 years and 3 wonderful Children and grandchildren that I love more than ever.

I personally have very much to be thankful for and I am greatly blessed to live in one of the greatest countries on planet earth. So this holiday and each and everyone that follows including the warmth of a new Spring is another wonderful, "Dancing in the Rain" Thanksgiving for me. I hope it is for all you also as well as our troops.

Yes, we have so very much to be Thankful for so I just want to remind each of you about your short existence on earth. I also want to encourage you to leave a comment in the comment section for all the world to see at the end of this article if you feel you have something to be thankful for also.

God Bless
Rev Lanny W Camden
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