And if you think God did it to you, remember the Homeless Jesus statue

'Homeless Jesus' statue attracts double takes, compassion

CBC News 
Sandra Abma 
Posted: Oct 10, 2018

"I just noticed the wounded feet," said Damien Morden, who often passes the statue on his lunch hour stroll."If you strip Christianity back to its basics, it's about Jesus helping people out and taking care of the disadvantaged."

Homeless Jesus in the forecourt of Christ Church Cathedral on Sparks Street. (Sandra Abma/CBC)

At first glance, it looks like a homeless person huddling for warmth beneath a blanket, lying on a park bench along the west end of Sparks Street. A closer inspection reveals nail marks in the feet. This is Homeless Jesus, one of a series of life-size bronze statues from Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz. It's been sitting outside Christ Church Cathedral since late spring and it's been getting a lot of love from passersby.  

"There have been people who have left flowers on the statue, one person actually placed coins in the wounds and someone put a blanket on it," said Shane Parker, dean of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa. Parker says the statue reflects the church's ongoing work to help the homeless. read more here

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That is what a lot of people get wrong, especially if the church they attended ended up doing them more harm than good. The truth is, the Son of God did not come as a rich man, but spent His ministry as a homeless man among the people He came to lift up.

Yes, He lifted them up by getting down to where they were in life. Some were ill, some had been suffering from demons. Each one with their own struggles, yet all of them needed the same thing. HOPE!

Hope that they were not worthless than anyone else. Hope they were not unworthy of better days. Hope their pain could stop. Hope they would go to sleep without feeling the pain of hunger. Hope that everyday from the moment they heard His voice, it would all be better than the moment before was.

Right now, there are people here in Florida who just lost every possession they had with Hurricane Michael. They have no idea where they will live or how to rebuild their lives.

Hurricanes are horrible! We went through Charlie, Frances and Jeanne in Central Florida. None of them caused as much damage as Michael.

This is drone footage of Mexico Beach,


‘It’s all gone’: Tiny Florida beach town nearly swept away by Hurricane Michael


Things can be replaced and they can find another place to call home. They can find new jobs if their business was destroyed. It can all be replaced by something else including the thoughts they have.

There are many more people who witnessed the destruction of this monster hurricane. The key word they need to keep hearing is, they are not victims, but are survivors!

This is more about being proactive in beginning to heal. First, allow yourself time to grieve. Rest as much as possible. Above all else, talk about what is going on with you.

As a survivor of multiple traumatic events, that is the way something like PTSD is prevented. Do not hold in your feelings! That is the worst thing you can do. It allows the horror to gain control over your future.

Keep in mind that you could not prevent what the wind and water did that horrible day but you can prevent it from taking control of tomorrow.

If you need help, ask for it. If you need to talk, find someone who will listen. Dismiss any stupid thing they may say when they do not know what to say. Keep talking and know, they do care about you, but it is above their ability to understand what you are going through now.

And if you think God did it to you, remember the Homeless Jesus statue you just read about. Remember what He did as much as what He said. YOU ARE LOVED!

Guardians help veterans on Honor Flight

Guardians help veterans on Honor Flight visit to war memorials

WLOS ABC 13 News
by Frank Kracher
October 12th 2018

Some guardians were veterans, like Iraq War Marine Kevin Rumley, who was on his fourth Honor Flight..."As much as I'm moved by the experience every time, my focus as a guardian is always on the veteran and anything they need to just make their day better," Rumley said.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Blue Ridge Honor Flight took to the air last weekend for the 35th time, and the trip was a first.

Veterans of Vietnam, accompanied by Honor Flight guardians, who helped get them through a whirlwind day in Washington, D.C., were the focus for the first time.

Honor Flights are free for veterans; guardians pay for the privilege.

That group of volunteers is our Persons Of The Week.

From Asheville Regional Airport to Reagan National, the trip was the start of a "welcome home" experience so many Vietnam vets never had.

Among them, 71-year-old Yancey County native David Letterman.

First stop was the Lincoln Memorial, for a color guard flag ceremony and group photo.

read more here

Veterans in other news on October 12, 2018

Disabled Army veteran rescues flag being run over by cars

KXXV News
By Holly Stouffer, Reporter
October 11, 2018

TEMPLE, TX (KXXV) - Chris Ellenburg was driving home from work on FM 1237 Monday afternoon when something in the road caught his eye. "I honestly could not believe it," Ellenburg said. "I figured it was normal trash, but as soon as I saw the flag open up as it flipped over into my lane, I knew." Ellenburg was heated. He immediately pulled over and hopped out of his truck to rescue the tattered flag that was being run over by other drivers.

"You're dang right I stopped traffic," Ellenburg said. "And there were still disrespectful people driving by as I had this flag, picking it up off the ground in the middle of a freaking road." He said some drivers even honked at him to get out of the way. As a disabled Army veteran, Ellenburg was trained to leave no man behind. He sees his fellow soldiers each time he looks at the flag. read more here

Veteran's family fights to bring long lost sister from Vietnam to NC

WECT news October 12, 2018 WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - In the wake of Hurricane Florence, a lot of us know what it’s like to feel displaced.

Anne Puangprasert, Wayne Lipford and Kumaune (WECT)

Anne Puangprasert has known that feeling her whole life, having overcome abuse, loss, and even a falsified death. Anne is the daughter of a Vietnam veteran who moved to Wilmington after the war, and her family is now trying desperately to bring her home. Pete Lipford met his sister Anne for the first time last year. He is 45. She is 48. Pete knew he had a sister, but thought, as did his father, Wayne, that she had died decades ago. read more here

Army nurse recounts her service in Vietnam, impact on her life

Jennifer Horbelt, Mike Spissinger
WPSD Local 6 news
October 11, 2018

PADUCAH — The Wall That Heals is coming to Paducah from Oct. 25 to 28. There are more than 58,000 names on this traveling replica Vietnam Memorial. They are the men and women who never came home.

Marj Graves stands at the nurse’s station in the 24th Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh during her tenure in Vietnam.

Those who did very likely were cared for by army nurses like Marj Graves. When the chance to help soldiers in Vietnam presented itself, she didn’t hesitate to go, but she saw and experienced things that cut deep and nearly took her life. She has spent decades learning to care for herself as much as she cares for others. “We may not have carried a gun, we may not have been on the front lines of combat, but some of the things that we saw and that we experienced were horrific. Horrific,” Marj said. From the time Marj was old enough to play with dolls, she knew she wanted to be a nurse. “I never wanted to be anything else but a nurse,” Marj said. read more here

Son of dead Quincy veteran attacks Rauner in new Pritzker ad

WGN 9 News
BY TAHMAN BRADLEY
Octobr 11, 2018

CHICAGO — Hours before the final gubernatorial debate in Quincy, the J.B. Pritzker campaign launched a blistering new attack ad featuring the son of a veteran who died after contracting Legionnaire’s disease at the Illinois Veterans Home. Eugene Miller is one of 14 residents of the Quincy home to die during the Legionnaires’ outbreaks since 2015. His son, Tim Miller, appeared in the television commercial titled “Heroes.”

“Gov. Rauner was more interested in protecting his image than he was the heroes who protected our country,” Tim Miller says to the camera. As Miller describes visiting his dying father in the hospital, the spot cuts to a graphic on screen that reads, “For six days the state of Illinois knew of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak and said nothing.” read more here

Widow of Army veteran receives home makeover thanks to Home Depot and HomeStrong USA

Fontana Herald News

October 11, 2018

The widow of a U.S. Army veteran received a very special home makeover in Bloomington on Oct. 4. The Home Depot Foundation partnered with HomeStrong USA to transform the home of Maria Rowe, the widow of George Rowe, who served more than nine years in the Vietnam War.

Originally tasked with renovating the Rowes' bathroom, the Home Depot Foundation increased its support to cover renovations needed throughout the home after Maria Rowe unexpectedly lost her husband last year. More than 90 members of Team Depot, the Home Depot's associate-led volunteer force, completed the work on their day off. read more here

Family reunited with missing soldier's remains, visits lab that identified him

KETV News

Sarah Fili

October 11, 2018

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. — An American hero is home. Army Sgt. Melvin Anderson was killed in World War II and was listed as "missing in action. His remains were recently identified in Nebraska. Thursday, his family got to see the lab that reunited them. “He’s just been a part of our family. And even though he’s been missing for that long we've always had hope we would find him,” Maureen Herzberg, Anderson's niece, said. Anderson died fighting in Germany in 1944. He was buried in an American cemetery overseas but was never identified. That changed when his skeleton was exhumed and sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency laboratory at Offutt. read more here

Baird Asher from Air Force, to homeless veteran, to discovered artist

Homeless Air Force veteran and street artist receives national attention after stranger buys his work

ABC 13 NEWS

Deborah Wrigley

October 11, 2018

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As cars travel over a creek on a Katy Freeway service road, yards beneath out of view, a homeless vet applies paint to plywood, creating art.

It is where Baird Asher has lived for two months after he caught a ride to Houston from New Orleans, where he was a street artist. As an Air Force veteran who was an aircraft mechanic, "I can put an engine together," he said, but his real calling is his art.

"I'm an artist, and this is what I do," he said. "I don't necessarily refuse to do anything else, but this is what God gave me the talent to do."

Technically, Asher is homeless.

"I live under a highway bridge," he said with a laugh. But he needed the kindness of strangers to eat.

Two days ago, he was standing at an intersection with a sign that read, "Hungry Vet." That caught the eye of Suzanne Coppola, who was stopped at the light. At his feet was one of his paintings. It got Coppola's attention.

"I parked illegally and talked to him," she said. "He had an amazing story, and he's an amazing artist and I put it on my Facebook page, asking the creative community if we could do something for him."

The response amazed Coppola.

"I have artists contacting me about ideas they have for him, and a gallery owner from Dallas, who also has a gallery in Miami, asked to buy all his paintings," she said.
read more here

Freak bullet killed Marine Veteran sitting on porch

UPDATE: 17 year old charged

The bullet was fired at a street sign. It killed a retired Marine on his porch, SC cops say

The State
BY NOAH FEIT
October 11, 2018

The 48-year-old was a retired Marine major, and his family had recently moved into the Hodges house, the Index-Journal reported.

A retired veteran was killed Wednesday when a bullet fired at a street sign went through it and fatally struck him while he was on the porch of his South Carolina home, according to law enforcement.

Greenwood County Coroner Sonny Cox said Joe Darius Black was killed by a gunshot wound to his upper body, WYFF-4 reported.

He was a retired United States Marine, according to the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, which said Black “served his Country for 20 plus years.”

When sheriff’s deputies arrived around 11:30 p.m., they reported Black’s family was “administering CPR,” which they continued, along with Greenwood County EMS personnel, but the veteran died on the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.
read more here