Southern Charm Miniature Aussies

09/13/2023

As I look back on the years since September 11, 2001, I see the chess game of life. I see how evil impacts and destroys but doesn’t ultimately win.

Hatred killed (Check). It also inspired people to show love with no equal – offering one’s life for the life and safety of another (Checkmate).

Evil destroyed. In response, the heart of man reverberated in courage unsurpassed.

Hatred meant to take faith away (Check). More people ran to it than from it (Checkmate).

Evil meant to irrevocably steal peace. It temporarily stole it. Man suffered great trauma and increased our desire for healing therapies. We have grown in healing from not only war but all trauma.

Hatred meant to instill only fear, but proved resilience.

Evil desired war. It worked. Death, fear, moral, spiritual and physical injury spanned decades. It also brought the fall of an evil dictator & terrorists, transforming some warn-torn neighborhoods into safer areas. Maybe it won’t last forever. Nothing does. For a time, for those people, it matters.

Hatred took the lives of the innocent, the noble, and the beloved. I see them all mounting up in heaven for an epic final battle where evil takes the final blow.

Looking back on the years since September 11, 2001, I see the worst in life. And I see the best of humanity and the human spirit. I see a messy, nuanced, complex world. It has never been and never will be the whole story.

We come together and fall apart. I see the temporary nature of it all. I have, at times, basked in the sadness of it all. I have, at times, shaken off the ashes like a phoenix ready to rise.

I look back with a newly found wisdom. This life is a grand adventure. We will, at times, grow weary. We will experience tragedy and triumph. None of it can be held too tightly. It ebbs and flows.

I look through the lens of eternity. This life is a chess match and an obstacle course. We run, climb, get stuck in the mud, encourage one another, get ahead, fall behind, get burned, and shake off the ashes to rise again. We discover our mettle, pass on our lessons, and watch the next generation do it all again.

On September 11, I see Check after Check, and I grieve. I see Checkmate after Checkmate and I dust off the ashes, ready to rise again.

#9/11

11/15/2022

10/02/2022

70-year-old Francis Romero was in a coma in hospital. His dog was allowed to stay with him, and did not leave him day or night. After a month Francis woke up from the coma with the words:
"Where is the white angel who constantly whispered that everything would be all right?"

10/02/2022

Never ever!

09/13/2022

Amen!

The horrors of September 11th, the deaths - the loss and the ripple effect of that day – the loss and ailments people still suffer from today…

They didn’t start on September 11. They peaked that day. They started with one act of hate. One act of division. One charismatic leader convincing another and another, that hate was the answer. One person with anger, convincing others to see the world through their angry lens.

This is how tragedy starts. Flippant comments. Partial stories. An unwillingness to see people fully with their own brokenness, hurt, pain, desires and disappointments simply because you don’t agree with them.

Violence is on the increase…. Negative energy – even when you cannot see it – reverberates. Scientific studies show violent music causing plants to wither. We are connected. Our actions matter.

The next time you are tempted to write something hateful, engage with someone hateful, or join in someone else’s anger not because of something you experienced, but because they see it through an angry lens… Stop. Consider if there is an opportunity to hear them.

When I hear pain or see division, I have a tendency to want to go into “fix” mode to help. I am learning the best way to help is to listen and repeat back to them what they feel in a loving way, “I see that. You’re hurt and you’re angry.” And then, let them talk some more. Let them have an outlet. Simply hear them. It turns out, that is the best way to let someone else empty their hurt. And that is enough.

Be aware when people ask you to join their anger. Consider what positive action you can take. What good energy can you put into the situation? Can you simply listen?

America is not getting more loving. September 11th did not start on the 11th.

In loving memory of all family members, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and children we lost on that day and in the aftermath. God be with them and all who will never be the same without them.

Today, love somebody well.

09/13/2022

In an interview, Lee Greenwood shared his thoughts with Fox News Digital about the Bible, his faith, our country and the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

09/12/2022

"I'm not over 9/11 yet." I wrote these words in my book, "Does God Still Bless The USA" just a few years after the attack on America. Twenty One years later, I'm still not over 9/11.

I walked through the twisted steel of the World Trade Centers a few days after 9/11. It was the day that the efforts switched from search and rescue to search and discovery. My wife, Kim and I went to Ground Zero with the USO to serve the first responders and to give them encouragement and gratitude on behalf of all Americans. I will never forget the rancid smell of the smoke, the anguish on all their faces and they worked day in and day out, the fear that permeated the air and the great pride in America that brought us together to rise up from the ashes. When asked to sing a few lines of my song, I was proud to stand on that rubble and sing for those workers who stopped for just a few minutes to sing with me and to honor all of those who were entombed there. I was humbled days later to sing for the fallen at memorial services at Yankee Stadium and Carnegie Hall and to meet and comfort so many families that lost a loved one on that day. I have cried with their families, saluted them with their buddies and held their children - 21 years later I would have never thought that Taliban forces would be returning to power again in Afghanistan, let’s honor that promise Not To Forget. Honor that promise. We can never forget the sacrifice of 2,977 innocent people, we can never forget that there are evil forces that want to destroy America and we can never forget what a powerful nation we are when the United States of America is truly united. May God Bless the USA on 9/11 and always.

02/20/2022

What we do in the evening!

08/13/2021

This came up on my timeline today! ❤️🐾🤗

Watch the Miniature American Shepherd from the Herding Group as it takes part in the 2016 National Dog Show.