I have been so busy traveling in so many states and overseas. I have been thinking of all of you and try to keep all of you in my prayers. Most veterans of Vietnam era are now coming up on retirement years. As you grow older you will find that you have more time to think and this can become very dangerous if you have PTSD… So I want encourage all of you to seek help if you find yourself thinking thoughts that could be harmful. These years can be good for this is now the time you can enjoy your families. It is good time to spend with the grandchildren and take the wife out to dinner. I would also want to encourage you to stay away from the suds.. as this can also make you feel depressed. Find a hobby, something that you can enjoy. Get involved in community projects.. find a place of service. It is also a good time to get involved in your church or synagogue.

It is our generation now that must lead the younger generation. We need to lead by example and with courage. Many of our grandchildren and children are now serving in the Armed Forces and they need our prayers and confidence in them.

Please remember if I can help you, I am just an E-Mail away:
pastor777@hiswordoftruth.com

Dearer Than Life

In the forests of Northern Europe lives the ermine, a small animal known best for its snow-white fur. Instinctively, this animal protects its glossy coat of fur with great care lest it become soiled. Hunters often capitalize on this trait. Instead of setting a mechanical trap to catch the ermine, they find its home in a cleft of a rock or a hollow tree and daub the entrance and the interior with tar. Then their dogs start the chase, and the frightened ermine flees toward its home. But finding it covered with dirt, he spurns his place of safety. Rather than soil his white fur, he courageously faces the yelping dogs who hold him at bay until the hunters capture him. To the ermine, purity is dearer than life!

The Lord wants us to be a people who will keep ourselves "unspotted from the world."

Have a Blessed day,

Dr. David N. Smeltz
Chaplain