1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

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I wish you joy.
I am thinking of you today
because it is Christmas,
and I wish you happiness
and tomorrow, because it will
be the day after Christmas.
I shall still wish you
happiness...my thoughts and
my wishes will be with you
always.  Whatever joy comes
to you will make me glad.
All through the year...
I wish you the spirit of
Christmas.
Henry Van Dyke

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I'll Be Home For Christmas - Home Free - YouTube

This beautiful video includes military reunions

I'll be home for Christmas;
You can count on me.
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents under the tree.

(vocalizing)
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams.
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.

I’ll be home, I’ll be home

If only in my dreams

I’ll be home, I’ll be home

If only in my dreams

I'm dreaming tonight of a place I love,
Even more than I usually do
And although I know it's a long road back
I promise you

I'll be home for Christmas;
You can count on me.
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents under the tree.
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams.
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.
I’ll be home, I’ll be home

If only in my dreams

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Each year, I do a tribute blog to those serving in the military and their families. The family and friends of service men and women pay a huge price during the holidays. Their loved ones serve in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard, as well as in special units. States vary, countries vary, assignments vary. I thought about the stories I’ve used spanning the decades, and I wondered, what happened to Betty. Here is her story

Santa is Coming to Town
Betty Tisdale

I will never forget the Christmas in Vietnam when Santa Claus truly came to town.

It is always very-very hot in December. The temperatures were over 100 humid degrees and we were in the middle of the war.

I was working at An Lac Orphanage, started by Mme. Vu Thi Ngai in Haiphong, and through the book "Deliver Us From Evil" written by Dr. Tom Dooley, was able to give a home to thousands of children.

After Dr. Tom's death in l961, I took over the orphanage and sustained it until l975 when I evacuated 219 babies.

Our orphanage had been adopted by the 121 Signal Battalion, the 1st Infantry Division. The men were stationed ten miles from our orphanage.

The children were at the annex in the country.

(There was a lot of Vietcong activity around the area. Shortly after all the fruit trees were defoliated and we could not use the annex.)

The Infantry decided to surprise the orphans and give them a Christmas party.

The men wrote to their wives, sisters and girlfriends over seas and asked if they would mail gifts for the children.

Well, gifts started to arrive, all wrapped in brightly colored holiday paper.

On Christmas day the Signal Battalion arrived in several trucks. The trucks where piled high with hundreds of colored gift wrapped parcels. Just then we heard the whirl of a helicopter overhead. We all looked up. This sound meant our men were flying off into combat and the sound was not a happy one for us.

But, this time the helicopter landed in a field across from the orphanage and out came Santa Claus.

Walking towards us, waving to the children, in 100 degree humid heat, in full regalia, complete with beard, and with more gifts came the first Santa any of the children had ever seen.

A three piece orchestra from the 121st Signal Battalion was playing "Silver Bells"........it was so moving.

The children soon joined in with Jingle Bells - as I had taught them.

They also sang Auld Lang Syne in Vietnamese - there wasn't a dry eye in the audience of soldiers. Maj. Bill Hilsman (now a General) and Sgt. Deeble and Lt. Fisher put it all together. These were the true angels of An Lac.

We brought all the children back over to the annex and I remember them lined up. Almost 400 children lined up - only the babies were not there.

Rows and rows of children. The children were not in rows facing us, but rows facing the building and all the soldiers, all ranks, all ages, sat on the steps with the piles of gifts stacked up beside them handing the gifts out to the children.

As each child came up to receive their gift they put their hands across their chests and said "Cam on"... Thank-you.

That is when I looked up. And saw a sight that I will never forget. On the flat of the roof of the Annex at Di-An were our soldiers standing around the circumference of the roof -- guns in readiness protecting the children and the orphanage staff of volunteers from

snipers.

The children of An Lac owe their lives to this wonderful group of solders that came to protect them.

At 4 PM the An Lac soldiers had to leave us and return to their base at Bien Hoa, it was time to go back into the field of battle.

It truly is a Christmas I will always remember.

Betty’s Note: Twenty 20 years later, in 1995 when I returned to find the ones I had left behind - we had a reunion of about 60 of the grown children and the first thing they did - was sing Jingle Bells.

Betty gave me permission to use her story in 2001. She was known as the “Angel of Saigon” after she helped airlift 219 orphans from Vietnam in the days before the fall of Saigon. She went on to support orphans and at-risk children around the world through her nonprofit, Helping and Loving Orphans. Betty died in 2015 at the age of 93. She is survived by 10 children. Betty was a service woman who never took “no” for an answer. If she was here today, she would be striving to help those who are the victims of war. ~~ Military wives play a huge part in the support of their family at home as well as those on assignment. With the increasing role women play in the military, there are many husbands left behind as well.

When God Created the Military Wife

extracted from When God Created the Military Wife (tngenweb.org)

When the Lord was creating a military wife He ran into His sixth day of overtime. An angel appeared and said, "You're having a lot of trouble with this one. What's wrong with the standard model?"

The Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order? It has to be completely independent but must always be sponsored to get on a military installation. It must have the qualities of both mother and father during deployments, be a perfect host to 4 or 40, handle emergencies without an instruction manual, cope with flu and moves all around the world, have a kiss that cures anything from a child's bruised knee to a husband's weary days, have the patience of a saint when waiting for its mate to come home and, have six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands? No way." The Lord answered, "Don't worry; we will make other military wives to help. Besides, it's not the hands that are causing the problem, it's the heart. It must swell with pride, sustain the ache of numerous separations while remaining true, beat soundly even when it feels too tired to do so, be large enough to say 'I understand' when it doesn't, and say 'I love you', regardless.

"Lord," said the angel, gently touching His sleeve. "Go to bed. You can finish it tomorrow." "I can't," said the Lord. "I'm so close to creating something quite unique. Already it can heal itself when sick, on a moment’s notice it will willingly embrace and feed total strangers who have been stranded during a PCS move and it can wave goodbye to its husband understanding why he had to leave."

The angel circled the model of the military wife very slowly. "It's too soft," she sighed.

"But tough," the Lord said excitedly. "You cannot imagine what this being can do or endure."

"Can it think?" asked the angel. "Can it think?! It can convert 1400 to 2 p.m.," replied the Lord.

Finally the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. "There's a leak," she said. "I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model." It's not a leak," said the Lord. "It's a tear." "What's it for?" asked the angel. "It's for joy, sadness, pain, loneliness and pride." "You're a genius," said the angel.

Looking at her somberly, the Lord replied, "I didn't put it there."

This is a list of organizations which support veterans and their families.  As always, check into ANYTHING before you donate.  

• American Legion
• Cars for Veterans – Car donations help fund programs
• Disabled American Veteran (DAV) – Assists disabled veterans, veterans, their families, their widowed spouses.
• Elks Lodge – Dedicated Elks volunteers put their passion for serving veterans into action through through many veterans programs including Adopt-A-Veteran, Freedom grants, VA voluntary service and more.
• Honor Flight
• Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America – IAVA leads the charge on combating veteran suicide, improving support for female veterans, ending the VA disability claims backlog, and defending veterans’ education benefits.
• Operation Home Front – Helps the families of service members and wounded warriors.
• National Coalition for Homeless Veterans – Assists veterans in crisis.
• Red Cross – Services for Veterans.
• Salvation Army – For services in your area, contact your local Salvation Army.
• Semper Fi Fund – The Semper Fi Fund, and its program America’s Fund, provide immediate financial assistance and lifetime support to post 9/11 wounded, critically ill and injured members of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, and their families, ensuring that they have the resources they need during their recovery and transition back to their communities.
• Soldiers Angels – This program assists patients at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers. This support can range from visiting patients to providing comfort items (like blankets and quilts) and clothing, to sponsoring special events like BBQs or assisting VA facilities with large-scale efforts to improve in-patients’ quality of life.
• VA Search – Find local VA hospitals and more
• VA Volunteer Services – Volunteer or donate your time to the VA Voluntary Service
• Veterans of Foreign Wars – The VFW offers a wide range of assistance programs aimed at helping veterans.
• Vets Christmas Ride
• USO

Thank you for your service, and bless you all~~Marilee.