Four years have gone by....

Lt. Noah Harris

a Hero among men

The day began as any day does in Iraq, it was hot and dry. half the platoon had to go to FOB Warhorse, it seemed like any Friday. But little did we know this day would stand alone much like the 14th of Feb, just a little more personal. Now the Plt. was split up into a "A" section and a "B" section, and sense B had just gone to Warhorse they also went on the night patrol. Things that night were a little different, Lt Harris never really went out with B section, and we had not prayed before we left. But away we went off into the night with nothing on our minds but having to go out on "Friday Night Fight Night". and with Lt. Harris' cry, "Bring em out, bring em out", we left the FOB and went to find the terrorists that were working in Buhriz.....a little more than two and a half hours later. Lt. Noah Harris and Clp. William Long had been killed.

Its been four years sense that day, and i struggle with it still. nothing is harder to live with than knowing that some of the greatest Americans are no longer here with us. But i live everyday for them. not a single day goes by that i don't think back to that fateful night. the pain comes back, but the fear of the unknown is always here with me. at the same time i have to press on, if not for myself than for them. God has given me the strength to get through every nightmare i have, all the sleepless nights i lay awake thinking of them, and the pain that i carry with me from one day to the next. June 17th 2005 will always be a day that i hate, a day i wish never happened, a day i hope does not come, and a day i lived through. and so every year at this time i will honor my fallen brothers.

if you have questions let me know. i would rather you ask, and be left to wonder.

WHY IS THE FAT CATCHER TRYING TO STEAL SECOND BASE

So this weekend my family had a "family meeting''. we try to have these every so often to just see where everyone is, sometimes there are things we need to talk about but sometime we just talk about life. But during this meeting my brother...the really smart one for those of you who know my family...told us the following tale....

With his team down by one run in the ninth inning, a fat catcher get a bloop single. knowing that he has to get to second for even a chance to score on a hit to the outfield, he thinks the best thing would be to steal second base. although he team knows he could never steal second base. but the catcher does not listen to the wisdom of his team and tries anyway, getting thrown out trying to steal second base. his teammates are disappointed that he made the choice to try and steal, but they support him knowing that he was trying to help the team.

now this tale was meant for a sibling of ours. but i have been thinking about it for two days and have come to see that often time we are all the catcher. we make choices that are base on what we FEEL, going against the wisdom of those around us. the body of Christ is to support each other even when we make choices that are not made with wisdom. but some time we turn our back on those that make these choices. because it is easier to see when someone ELSE make mistakes, than to see when we fall down. we need to understand that we all are lost, broken, and sinners. yeah we can say that we understand that but do we really act like we have been saved from ourselves? do we act with compassion toward those who are not walking in wisdom? oh but if you are walking without wisdom, but dont listen to those who love you, you are at your own peril. you must be willing to have people in your life that are going to tell you the truth always, people that are not going to pull punches. be willing to have people tell you that you are totally messing up and you need to get your act in line! there is nothing better than having people in your life that always tell you the truth. i just want to thank sally for always letting me know what is up!

just some of my thoughts the last couple of days. let me know what you think.