No Higher Honor!--Condi Rice

Condoleeza Rice has now come out with her 2nd book. The 1st book was about her family, and I got an autographed copy when she came to Kansas City. It was entitled, Extraordinary, Ordinary People.

Rice's latest book is entitled, No Higher Honor and it is about her 8 years in the White House. She shares a lot in her interview with Hannity in the above videos.

Previously:
Lunch with Condoleeza Rice!

The Pacific!--Part 1

A little boy asked me, he said, "Mr. Tatum," he said, "are you a hero of Iwo Jima?" I said, "No, son, I'm only a survivor, we buried all the heroes."--Chuck Tatum

Awhile ago, I watched the mini-series Band of Brothers, which was based on a book written about the fighting in Europe during World War II. A companion mini-series was done entitled The Pacific, which I just finished watching. It was based on stories of men who fought in the Pacific. There is an official website dedicated to the real marines whose lives were portrayed in the series.

Several men wrote books on their experiences, Robert Leckie wrote, Helmet for My Pillow. Eugene Sledge wrote With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. Chuck Tatum wrote many books, one of them being about John Basilone, and one about Iwo Jima entitled, Red Blood Black Sand.

It was amazing, and so well done. It is not for the faint of heart, and not for children. Yet, it gives you, maybe, just a glimpse of the hell that the World War II veterans went through on our behalf. I don't know how we ever thank them enough for what they did. And, to think that when they came back, they were just expected to resume their life in society.

The above video is of one of the real life veterans who was portrayed in the movie. His video touched me the most. I liked a lot about the series, so I will be posting more.

Facebook pages:
Chuck Tatum
R.V. Burgin
Sidney Phillips

10th Anniversary of 9/11--Part 3

A powerful video done by Media Research Center. I found it at NewsBusters. All the more moving when you see our beloved Tony Snow, who is no longer with us.


Rumsfeld weighs in on the attacks on the Pentagon!

The First Annual Jeremy Katzenberger Memorial Triathlon was held yesterday at Weatherby Lake in honor of Jeremy. I did a post on him awhile back. He was killed in action in Afghanistan on June 14 of this year, fighting for our freedom. A friend of mine participated in it, and blogged about it.

Previously:
10th Anniversary of 9/11--Part 2
10th Anniversary of 9/11!

10th Anniversary of 9/11--Part 2

Mike's America...Ten Years Since 9/11: We Will Not Forget the Attacks and the Sacrifice of Those Who Keep Us Safe Today

Gateway Pundit...George W. Bush at Flight 93 Memorial: “One of the Lessons of 9-11 Is That Evil Is Real and So Is Courage” (Video)


Bush quotes:

On 9-11, “The most lives lost on American soil on a single day since the Battle of Antietam.”

“One of the lessons of 9-11 is that evil is real and so is courage.”

“At the moment American democracy was under attack our citizens defied their captors by holding a vote. The choice they made would cost them their lives. And they knew it. Many passengers called their loved ones to say good-bye. Then hung up to perform their final act.”

“The Flight 93 heroes led the first counter attack in the WAR ON TERROR.”

“The temptation of isolation is deadly wrong.”

Previously:
10th Anniversary of 9/11!

10th Anniversary of 9/11!

I've been watching lots of shows commemorating the 10th anniversary of September 11th. National Geographic Channel has especially done a phenomenal job. Below are just some of the programs they have aired, and it looks like they will re-air all of them on September 11th:

--Giuliani's 9/11
--George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview
--9/11: Where Were You?
--Witness DC 9/11
--Inside 9/11-Zero Hour
--Inside 9/11-War on America
--Inside 9/11-The War Continues
--Inside Al Qaeda

Rich Lowry's A Decade of Heroes:

When there’s a danger — and especially when there’s a war — there’s no substitute for the courage that has been the stuff of legend and of national honors down through the centuries. The brute fact is that most of us aren’t capable of it — for us courage is, in Miller’s words, “a glorious and admonishing phantom.” We can only stand in uncomprehending awe of the acts of the truly courageous.

Why did Jay Jonas and his unit in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, evacuating as it was on the verge of collapse, stop to carry out a distressed woman even though it slowed their escape? Why did a band of passengers on Flight 93 storm the cockpit of their hijacked plane? Why did Jason Dunham, Ross McGinnis, and Michael Monsoor — all Medal of Honor winners from the Iraq War — throw themselves on grenades to save their comrades?

Ask a firefighter such a question and he’s liable to answer, “That’s just what we do.” What we do, in turn, is express our astonishment and gratitude.

Previously:
2010--September 11th --May We Never Forget!!
2009--Remembering 9/11!!
2008--September 11th--May We Never Forget!!
2007--September 11th--My Generation's Pearl Harbor
2006--9/11 Tribute To Christina De Laura
2005--Remembering September 11th

President George W. Bush's 9/11 Interview!

"George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview" premieres this Sunday, August 28th, at 9:00 PM Central on the National Geographic Channel. Tune in to see the interview and never-before-seen photos and videos from the George W. Bush Presidential Library. The above video is a sneak peek of President Bush's personal account of his experience on September 11th, 2001.

More details at National Geographic!

--George W. Bush's facebook page

--Freedom Alliance is promoting it as well

Remembering Jeremy: A True American Hero!!

 

“Jeremy was the epitome of a Ranger squad leader; he is a hero to our Nation, the Army and his family.”--Col. Michael E. Kurilla, commander, 75th Ranger Regt

My heart is heavy today as I go to the funeral of an Army Ranger!

We went to church with a wonderful family that had 4 sons. My husband and I worked with their boys in the youth group, and I went with their youngest, Jeremy, on a missions trip to Monterrey, Mexico.

Three out of their four sons decided to join the military. I remember talking to Jeremy not long before he left to join the Rangers. Tragically, on June 14th, Jeremy was killed in action.

Special Operations Press Release:

FORT BRAGG, NC – A U.S. Army Ranger was killed in action on June 14 during combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Jeremy Andrew Katzenberger was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

He was killed by direct fire from enemy forces during a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in Paktika Province.

A native of Weatherby Lake, Mo., Katzenberger enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 2004. For more than six years, Katzenberger served as a rifleman, automatic rifleman, team leader and Ranger squad leader in 1st Bn., 75th Ranger Regt.
The 75th Ranger Regt. has been continuously deployed to Afghanistan since October 2001.

“Staff Sgt. Katzenberger was a phenomenal Ranger who died while leading his men in an assault against our enemies. He died while protecting our Nation and we will not forget his sacrifice,” said Col. Michael Foster, commander, 1st Bn., 75th Ranger Regt. “He was universally respected by every member of this command and was a devoted, loving husband and proud father. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Katzenberger family.”

Katzenberger previously served on four deployments to Iraq and this was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan.

“I wish the American people could truly understand the dedication and sacrifice that Staff Sgt. Jeremy Katzenberger made for his country. Since early 2005, Jeremy has either been in combat or training for combat. This was his eighth combat deployment,” said Col. Michael E. Kurilla, commander, 75th Ranger Regt. “Jeremy was the epitome of a Ranger squad leader; he is a hero to our Nation, the Army and his family.”

Katzenberger is survived by his wife Colleen A. (Montgomery) Katzenberger, son Everett James both of Richmond Hill, Ga., and his parents Robert and Peggy Katzenberger of Weatherby Lake, Mo.

...Shades of Gray's pictures of Jeremy's processional

...Gov. Nixon orders flags to half-staff in honor of fallen soldier


My thoughts and prayers have been with the Katzenberger family ever since I learned of his death. May God comfort them during this time of tragic loss!

Sites in honor of Jeremy:
Remembering Jeremy
Remembering SSG Jeremy Katzenberger

A Review of A Place of Yes!

The Myth of Normal!
There is no normal. People and families are who they are, and each one is unique. Your childhood was what it was, and your life now can be whatever you want it to be. Don't seek out normal. Seek out functional. Seek out successful. Seek out happy. To do that, you have to find what works for you, never what you think is supposed to work for people in general.

Don't look to others to show you what you are supposed to be. There are no people "in general." It doesn't matter what anybody else thinks of your life. All that matters is what you think of it, and what you decide to make of it.--Bethenny Frankel

The latest book I finished reading was A Place of Yes, by reality star, Bethenny Frankel. The above quote was my favorite from the book, although I highlighted a big portion of it. While, I would've never imagined reading a book by one of the Real Housewives, Frankel is my favorite. She is very real and genuine. She is open, honest and inspirational in a way that others can't be.

I found her personal story compelling and her words of advice motivating. Her Act on it chapter was one of the reasons that I decided to step out in faith and go to Africa! I highly recommend it!

My 2011 Book List!

As you can tell from the lists, I indulged in my criminal justice side at the beginning of the year. Ann Rule is a phenomenal criminal justice writer.

I am now trying to finish Bush's memoir and I have a zillion other books I'd like to get too, as always.

Here are the books that I have read:

1) 365 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism--Rachel Laferriere
2) September 11, 2001--Wilborn Hampton
3) Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder--Ann Rule
4) Praying Successfully--Charles Spurgeon
5) Every Breath You Take--Ann Rule
6) The Pastor's Wife--Diane Fanning
7) Senegal--Elizabeth Berg
8) Senegal--Tanya Mulroy
9) Day by Day with C.H. Spurgeon--Al Bryant
10) A Place of Yes--Bethenny Frankel
11) Mary Slessor--Sam Wellman
12) The Power in Prayer--Charles Spurgeon
13) The Kingdom of God in Africa--Shaw
14) Genocide in Rwanda--Frank Spalding
15) The Attack Against the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania--Amanda Ferguson
16) Door of No Return--Steven Barboza
17) The Oklahoma City Bombing--Geraldine Giordano
18) The African-American Slave Trade--R.G. Grant
19) David Livingstone: The Pathfinder--Basil Matthews
20) The Attacks on the World Trade Center--Carolyn Gard
21) Murder at the 1972 Olympics in Munich--Sonneborn
22) The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103--Doug Wicker
23) Sudan--Charles Piddock
24) John Wesley's Awakening--James Richard Joy
25) Dashing Through the Snow--Mary and Carol Higgins Clark

Here are the books on CD that I've listened too:

1) Green River, Running Red--Ann Rule
2) Kiss Me, Kill Me--Ann Rule
3) The Stranger Beside Me--Ann Rule
4) Too Late to Say Goodbye--Ann Rule
5) Epic--John Eldredge
6) Men in Black--Mark Levin
7) Flags of our Fathers--James Bradley
8) The Skinnygirl Rules--Bethenny Frankel

I am Going to Senegal, West Africa!

I have been horrible about neglecting my blog lately. I have tons of stuff I want to post, its just been hard to find the time. I am hoping I can find a balance between work, writing and everything else and still find a little time to blog.

I am very excited about the subject of this post. For about a year or so, I have felt this nudge from God about going to Africa on a short-term missions trip. I have been studying the countries with my son in school and praying for different countries via Samaritan's Purse's Prayer Points.

An opportunity arose recently for me to go, and the more I checked into it, the more it seemed right up my alley. I prayed about it and talked to my family and stepped out in faith. God has been amazing. I found out about the trip a little late, so I needed to raise $2,100 in a little over a week. I knew that if God wanted me to go, He would provide. And that He did. He waited up until a couple days before, but He provided. The whole amount was $3,500 and I am almost there. Amazing!!

I have been reading and learning a lot about Senegal. Its definitely going to take me out of my comfort zone. I will be in the "bush" a big part of the time. And its a Muslim country, so I will have to wear covered attire.


Yet, I am excited about what an opportunity God has provided. Jeremy Camp's song, Walk by Faith is my theme song for the trip and the summer. Stay tuned for more posts!!

Books:
Senegal--Tanya Mulroy
Senegal--Elizabeth Berg