I received this in email, and couldn't resist posting it in memory of our troops who have, and are serving all over the world. It clearly was written in times of deployment to an Arab Nation.
Here is a new way to look at a deck of cards!!
It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, and land mines for some reason hadn't been heard. The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week. As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk.
Just then an army sergeant came in and said, 'Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?'
The soldier replied, 'I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord.'
The sergeant said, 'Looks to me like you're going to play cards.'
The soldier said, 'No, sir. You see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country, I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards.'
The sergeant asked in disbelief, 'How will you do that?'
'You see the Ace, Sergeant? It reminds me that there is only one God.
The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments
The Three represents the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.
The Four stands for the Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John .
The Five is for the five virgins there were ten but only five of them were glorified.
The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens and Earth.
The Seven is for the day God rested after making His Creation.
The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives -- the eight people God spared from the flood that destroyed the Earth.
The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy He cleansed ten, but nine never thanked Him.
The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone.
The Jack is a reminder of Satan, one of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell.
The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary.
The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings.
When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year.
There are a total of 52 cards in a deck; each is a week - 52 weeks in a year.
The four suits represent the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
Each suit has thirteen cards -- there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter.
So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for.'
The sergeant just stood there. After a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, 'Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?'
Please let this be a reminder and take time to pray for all of our soldiers who are (and have been) sent away, putting their lives on the line fighting.
Prayer for the Military. Please keep the wheel rolling.
It will only take a few seconds of your time, but it'll be worth it to read on....
Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them. Bless them and their families. I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
There have been two defining forces that have laid down their lives for you - Our Lord, and the American Soldier. If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you're reading it in English - Thank A Soldier!
Arlington Cemetary
at Christmas
It's been a bit since I posted something, so I have all kinds of stuff today.
And lastly, is another altered art kind of layout - this one for the Color Challenge. We were given Blue and copper as our colors, and this is what I came up with.
A couple of years ago Mom and I were talking and decided that it would be a great for her and dad to spend their 50th Anniversary on a cruise ship with their family. One year and 5 million emails and phone calls later, 15 of us boarded the Carnival Cruise ship Glory. Mom, Dad, my sister and brother, their significant others and children, and my husband and I and our children all managed to find our way every day to the dining room for the 6:30 dinner seating - otherwise we all pretty much went whichever way we wanted. 
This was my first cruise - and my husband Dan was very supportive of my having custom outfits made up for formal nights, and buying whole bunch of new clothes for both of us. This is a picture of us from in the Dining room on Formal Night. 
Siblings Through the Years
