Wisdom for Commanders

Prepare plans by consultation, And make war by wise guidance. -Pr 20:18


Scriptures

-Pr 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

-Pr 8:14 �Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine.

-Ec 10:10 If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.

-Jas 1:5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

-Pr 21:31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But victory belongs to the LORD.

-Pr 24:6 For by wise guidance you will wage war, And in abundance of counselors there is victory.

-Zec 4:6 Then he said to me, 'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.


Prayer:

Lord, counsel and sound wisdom is yours, You are the God of all the earth, there is nothing that is hidden from Your sight. We come to You Lord and ask for Your wise counsel to be with our military leaders.

We acknowledge Lord, that apart from You we can do nothing. Please give our commanders the wise guidance they need, and the wisdom they need for success.

Confound the wisdom of the wicked Lord, and give Your strategies to our troops. Guide them with Your eye upon them and bring them through to safety and peace. In Jesus name, amen!

Don't Forget Our Homeland Security
Pray for: Protection for Americans overseas


Source: http://prayercentral.net/engage/militaryprayer/daily.php

Ten commandments for wives

Ten commandments for wives

1. Expect not thy husband to give thee as many luxuries as thy father hath given thee after many years of hard labor. (Phil 4:11; Amos 4:1)
2. Thou shalt work hard to build thy house with the husband that you have, not fantasizing about "the one that could have been". (Prov 14:1)
3. Thou shalt not nag...hit him with thine frying pan, it is kindlier. (Prov 27:15; 21:19)
4. Thou shalt coddle thy husband and be a warm wife. (1 Cor 7:3-5)
5. Remember that the frank approval of thy husband is more to thee than the side glances of many strangers. (Ezek 16:32; 2 Pet 2:14)
6. Thou shalt not yell at thy husband but will be a gentle and quiet spirit. (1 Pet 3:1-4)
7. Permit no one to assure thee that thou art having a hard time of it. (1 Pet 5:9)
8. Thou shall not fail to dress up for thy husband with an eye to please him, as thou didst before marriage. (Sos 4:9-11)
9. Thou shalt submit to thy husband from thy heart and allow him to be head of the household. (Col 3:18; 1 Pet 3:6; Eph 5:33)
10. Thou shalt assure thy husband and others that he is the greatest man alive. (Phil 2:3; Sos 5:9-16)

Thank You

Thank You
By Kristin Spurlock

During my husband's yearlong deployment to Iraq, we received many words of encouragement from friends, family and a surprising number of strangers. In fact, it was a person I had never met who gave me the boost I needed to endure the long separation and endless, worrisome nights.

In Iraq, part of Brian's job was to locate contractors to make necessary repairs to the public facilities in his unit's area of responsibility. One of those facilities was the Hiba Down's Syndrome School. It was a school founded by Mr. and Mrs. Mansur, whose daughter Hiba was born with Down's syndrome. The school had been damaged in the war, and the teachers hadn't been paid in several months.

Brian visited the Hiba school frequently to ensure that the repairs were being done and that all the needs of the school were addressed. On one particular visit, he had the great pleasure of giving paychecks to the teachers and Mrs. Mansur, the headmistress. He told me about the joy and gratitude they expressed to him on that day. In fact, with that little bit of money, Mrs. Mansur purchased a small wrapped package, which she gave to Brian on his next visit. But the gift was not for him. Instead, she instructed Brian to send the little gift to me.

Me?! What did I do? Nothing! I just stayed here hoping and praying that Brian would survive another day. The gift wasn't anything expensive or exotic. It was a simple bracelet and necklace made of the thinnest metal I had ever seen. But the short handwritten note that accompanied the gift brings tears to my eyes each time I think of it. It read: "Thank you for your husband." That is the kind of encouragement we all need. We know that it's worth it; it's just nice to hear that somebody else appreciates it.

Reprinted by permission of Kristin Spurlock (c) 2004 from Chicken Soup for the Military Wife's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Charles Preston and Cindy Pedersen. In order to protect the rights of the copyright holder, no portion of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent. All rights reserved.

Warrior

I never wore the uniform,
no medals on my chest.
The band it doesn�t play for me,
I am not among �the Best.�
I do not march in cadence,
I do not rate salute,
I stand among the silent ranks,
our devotion absolute.

If you�ve not worn my shoes,
you do not know my story.
I live a life of sacrifice,
my reward a private glory.
I�ve wept many silent nights away,
and I�ve kept the home fires burning.
I�ve worried and I�ve waited,
as world events were churning.

I�ve moved more times than you could fathom,
left more people than you�ve known.
I�ve planted gardens �round the world --
Very few that I�ve seen grown.
I�ve grieved with new-made widows,
and had my share of scares --
when a ship or plane or man was down,
and all I had were prayers.

I�m not asking for your sympathy,
(although appreciation can be nice)
I did it quite on purpose though --
I chose to sacrifice.
I�ll tell you a secret now,
one you�d never guess.
About the one glory that is mine,
it�s just enough � no more, no less.

When you and I stand together
as our national anthem plays,
I�ll fill with reminiscences
of how I spent those days.
I�ll know the pain and joys again,
I�ll know that freedom isn�t free,
I�ll know I�ve helped to pay the price �

and that the anthem plays for me.

Elizabeth Soutter Schwarzer
Wife of a United States Marine 

I was sitting and watching the football game, eating my whole wheat cereal with soy milk, contemplating what I should do next (hubby and son still snoozing) and I thought - did I ask God to bless this food I am putting into my body??

Growing up, my dad would pray at every meal - breakfast, lunch, dinner - and he would always ask "Bless this food to nourish our bodies". WOW - do I always think about the food that passes my lips as something to NOURISH my body?? Or am I feeding a craving or a want.....

nour~ish transitive verb
1. to provide with food or other substances necessary for life and growth; feed.
2. to keep alive; maintain: nourish a hope

That hit me like a ton of bricks because I have NOT been praying that the food I eat be nourishing to my body. I have NOT written a shopping list and thought "is this food going to help nouish my family?" My dad was never overweight - he was over 6 foot and kept his military weight until he got really sick before he died. He was always about 200lbs to 215lbs. He was lean and strong. Why? Was it because he prayed for each bite he put into his mouth? My dad didn't eat junk food. Oh, he had dessert - trust me! No man loved home-made apple pie ala mode more than my daddy....lol But he ALWAYS asked God to BLESS the food!!

So today - I am going to take inventory of my kitchen. What do I have in there that is NOT going to nourish my body or my family ...and then I will remove it from my house. I want to create nourishing meals for my family as I minister to them in this way. That is MY mission field, Ladies, my kitchen is my mission field.

As many of us set goals for ourselves this year - let's remember to bring God into each decision...no matter how small we think it is. Let Him help us to achieve those goals so that we will be successful.

God Bless Us this year - may 2006 be a year of Thanking God for His daily blessings of life, food, family and friends.

Cathy - MilitaryWives4Christ.com Member and Moderator