Thursday, March 22, 2007

RED FRIDAYS

I heard about a person who was in Atlanta , Georgia attending a conference. While they were in the airport, returning home, they heard several people behind them beginning to clap and cheer. This person immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest act's of patriotism they had ever seen.

Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camo's. As they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly on their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When they saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for it hit this person......

"I'm not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families."
Of course they immediately stopped and began clapping for these young, unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal.

Just when they thought they could not be more proud of our country or of our service men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said "Hi." The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try; and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now As the mom was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up. When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her. "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." Then he hugged this little girl that he had just met, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying, "Your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything, and he is coming home soon." The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably, and, as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. This person was standing no more than six feet away when this entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As they stood there applauding they
looked around. There were very few dry eyes, including their own. That young soldier, in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember every day all of our soldiers and their families, and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.

RED FRIDAYS.......Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing RED every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called "the silent majority." We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love of GOD and COUNTRY and HOME in record-breaking numbers.

We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV to reflect our message or our opinions. Many Americans like you, me and all our friends simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Americans support our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect STARTS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16th AND CONTINUES EVERY FRIDAY until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that: EVERY RED-BLOODED AMERICAN SUPPORTS OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN THE MILITARY and will wear red.

By word of mouth, in the press, on TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a SEA OF RED , much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this email with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once "silent majority" is on their side more than ever.....certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers.

Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday.

WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE.

THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED......SO WEAR RED!! MAY GOD HELP AMERICA TO BECOME ONE NATION, UNDER GOD.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU; AND HAVE A GREAT DAY.

If this doesn't get your attention, nothing will!

Note:
As a company, Southwest Airlines is going to support RED FRIDAYS.......................

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Deployed!


Our son has deployed...
For those of you who do not know that term, he is a United States Marine, and has left for Iraq...
Nick is a Lance Corporal and his mom and I are VERY proud of him... Because of security issues, we have been asked not to publish deployment dates, deployment locations, etc. on the Internet...
As you can ask the relatives of ANY of our brave members of the Armed Forces, it is a "Double Edged Sword". Of course we are proud, but at the same time we worry about their safety, and pray daily for their safe return.
God tells ALL of us to put on our armor daily - (Ephesians 6: 10-17)
"...be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. "
Each of our brave men and women put on physical armor when they go to war - but they should also put on the Armor of God to protect them from the ULTIMATE enemy, as should we all! In these days of international conflict, moral decay, and national dis-unity, we all need protection and help from God!
From the day we are born, we are "Deployed" into a world of sin and battle. Just as we worry about our Armed Forces fighting the "Enemy", we should also worry about the rest of the world who is in CONSTANT battle with "The Enemy".
Please pray for our son Nick, each of the Brave Marines that are fighting for our freedom, and each member of our Armed Forces that help to physically protect us EACH DAY from those who want to hurt us. Pray constantly for protection from "The Enemy" who wants to hurt us every day and put on your "Armor of God" each and every day!

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Who Am I?

Ron Bishoff is a guy who has seen and done lots of things in his life!

I have been a bad guy, I have been a good guy...

I have had money, I have been poor...

I have been alone, I have been married...

I have been without God... I have been saved!



To go through all the phases of my life would probably take up more time than anyone would ever want to spend, but there are very few things I cannot relate to - and if it had not been for God and my family, I am sure I would not be where I am today, and it is very possible that I would not be here on earth and probably spending the rest of eternity on Hell...



Sounds a little drastic and dramatic? Well, it is... and it is true...



Fast forward to today...

I am married to a wonderful woman who puts up with my crap day in and day out - Jennifer...

I have 2 wonderful sons (actually my step-sons - but to me they are no different than if they were my "Bio" sons) - Nick and Jake

I have a beautiful daughter- who I love and adore more than life itself - Shelby

I have wonderful parents who live in Tennessee, but are preparing to move back to Ohio to live out their retirement years ( Personally, I would have moved farther south - AWAY from the cold and snow)

I have an absolutely awsome sister - who I took for granted for many years - but I am so glad we have become close again - and she is a tremendous Aunt to Shelby and wonderful friend to Jennifer!



Jennifer, Shelby and I live in Kentucky and are preparing for Mission Work in Central America with an organization called "On The Wings Of Doves" - (The Story of On The Wings Of Doves" is for another day)



Nick is a Marine based at Camp Lejeune, NC and set to deploy to Iraq in March. This is a "Double Edged Sword" as we are very proud of him, but yet we do not want to see our son in harm's way.



Jake is preparing for college and his future... He is contemplating several colleges, but has yet to decide... He has also become a awsome "Man Of God" and we could not be more proud of him!



Shelby is in Kindergarten and learning faster than we could ever have imagined... She has been blessed with beauty and brains, and will probably end up being our translator in Central America...:)



Jennifer is a absolutely wonderful human being... She is a wonderful wife and awsome mother. She cares so much for not only for her own kids, but for all kids... She is a teacher by trade, a gymnastics guru, and a brilliant "Woman of God". Plus ...she TRIES to keep me in line which is a totally hard job!



We all belong to the family of God - We were all Baptised as a family (and Shelby was "Dedicated") November 13, 2003 by my dear and long time friend Brad Allred... (Brad swore to me along time ago he would never be a pastor, but he is now ordained and living a life for God. He and his wife Pat are partnering with us in "On The Wings Of Doves" - But more on them at another time)



We have attended and been part Cedar Creek Church in Ohio and now attend and take an active part in Southland Christian church in Kentucky.



Over the past 10 years, God has brought us all together... brought us back to Him... brought us wonderful friends... Humbled us... Humbled us... Humbled us... performed miracles in our lives... taught us how to live for Him... and is always there when we need Him! He is now preparing us for the next leg of our journey - Missions Work!



If you would have asked anyone 20 years ago if I would EVER have been in this kind of life, they would have totally laughed! (I probably would have too) But I cannot express the happiness, the peace, the fulfillment and the love I have inside - which I had never felt before... Its AMAZING!



As this blog continues, you will probably hear much more about my family, my life, my friends, "On The Wings Of Doves", "The Panama Project", and get a better feel for who I am, and who God is!

You could also catch up on the "Going On's" of On The Wings Of Doves at that blog site -
www.OnTheWingsOfDoves.blogspot.com