It’s Memorial Day 2012… A day set aside in America to honor those who have taken a sacred oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  Honoring this oath has cost many their lives and many more their own personal freedoms to allow normal American citizens (and others living among us) to enjoy the daily pleasures offered to us in this great Country of modern conveniences, plentiful food, and more.  So, with this post I pay tribute to war heros, veterans, and those currently serving in the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy and Reserves with a special call out to my own precious family members:  Captain Jim Phillips (USMC), Lt. Paul Dixon (USNavy), Lt. Abby Dixon (USNavy), Lt. Commander Allan Phillips (USNavy), Lt. Jenny Phillips (USNavy), and Lt. Elizabeth Burns (US Coast Guard).  You guys are incredibly awesome and I thank you for your service!

There are others who have layed down their lives to defend an oath they took to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I would like to pay tribute to the men and women who stood firm in their faith and were martyred, no murdered, for their unwavering comittment to proclaim their allegience with Jesus Christ.  The church that stands triumphantly today has a great debt to the early Saints.   So I cannot pay tribute to modern day heroes without pausing to honor the heroes of our faith that stand with Christ in heaven today, cheering us onward toward the goal we must each keep in site – the goal of following Christ with all that is within us.

Keep the faith!  Stand Firm!  Don’t slow down.  Don’t lose sight of the prize!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”  Hebrews 12:1 NLT