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AND TO ALL OUR BRAVE TROOPS FIGHTING OVERSEAS WHO ARE NOT SHARING A THANKSGIVING MEAL WITH THEIR FAMILIES WE ASK FOR A SPECIAL PRAYER TO KEEP THEM SAFE.
FOR MORE ON WHY WE LOVE THIS COUNTRY AND OUR TROOPS, PLEASE READ MY FRIEND CATHERINE MOY'S STUNNING WORDS BELOW.
Filling the Empty Chair with Hope at Thanksgiving It is Thanksgiving and I am cooking for my family. Here in my heart is my extended family, America’s troops who are thousands of miles away from their family’s dinner table. At home, wives, husbands, children, cousins and friends pray for them, but emptiness looms at the table where an empty chair reminds them of their far-away loved ones. Folks like Debbie Lee, Joe and Jan Johnson, Pat Sheehan, and thousands of others will always have an empty chair. The Gold Star families carry with them in their hearts the ache that comes with losing a child. Many also exude pride that their loved ones gave their lives to make our country stronger and safer. Soldiers have given their lives for us since before this country was formed. During the Revolutionary War, the men with muskets didn’t know the future. Would the United States stand alone, an individual among countries? Would their blood mean something? Would their lives amount to a better place? Our soldiers have always had these questions. The War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, The Gulf War – and every one in between. What are we fighting for? But the soldier really knows. He suffers, his family’s heart breaks, and yet he hungers for the freedom that America herself offers to the world. He carries on for his brothers and sisters in arms. He wears the flag of the United States on his arm because he believes in her. America is the purest country in the world with the best political system. We would be nothing without our troops. They formed our country, snuffed out tyranny, destroyed Communism, fought terrorists, fed the hungry, and preserved our Union. They have given us rights to speak, criticize our government, and even stay at home and stuff ourselves with apple pie. They, too, have an army of strength behind them, just as they are the foundation for our country. Their parents, children, siblings, friends and spouses strengthen their souls so they can protect us. We owe them our lives, too. This holiday season, Debbie Lee has chosen to leave her family over the holidays so she can spread a message across the fruited plains that our troops are loved. Blue Star mother Deborah Johns, whose son has done three tours of duty in Iraq and is set for a fourth, will also spend the holidays on the road with move America forward’s “Honoring Heroes at the Holidays.” These women have already given so much, yet their patriotism inspires them to move forward and lift up our troops. MAF’s tour will end at the site of the Twin Towers, a place that forever memorializes the deaths of 3,000 innocents at the hands of radical Muslim Jihadists. (Please go to our home page at Move America Forwardfor the details). Others here at MAf and around the country sacrifice during the holidays to support our men and women around the world. MAF Chairman Melanie Morgan and others from the MAF family will then go to Iraq to deliver 100,000 holiday cards and other tokens of America’s love for our troops. At this time I ask every U.S. Senator and Congressperson to make a card and send it to us so we can deliver it. Because the people elected you to represent us, you should also collect cards from your constituents. We would be honored to carry them to our troops at Christmas and Hanukkah. Every soldier must know that we support them not only in words, but in action against our enemies within as they take out our enemies abroad. We are family. We are the United States. Debbie Lee will always have an empty chair at her table, but next to her sit thousands of Americans, her son’s brothers and sisters, who hold her when she misses Marc. We thank her for her sacrifice. It is the same for all military families. We love you. I am with all of you in prayer. Pictures of you are tattooed on my soul. You walk with me. I think of you as the sun rises every day. I am thankful for you.
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