Category: A Time of Shaking

The Untold Story Of Black Hawk Down: Jeff Struecker

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou9 Comments

Jeff shares his experience while living the real-life events that became the movie Black Hawk Down. Jeff, one of the Rangers in that battle in Mogadishu, tells how he overcame the fear of death and got a new perspective on life that day.



KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, on October 3rd, 1993, Army Ranger Jeff Struecker put on every piece of protective gear he had, but nothing would shield him more from a 17-hour firefight than his bulletproof faith. It was in Mogadishu, Somalia, that bullets and rocket-propelled grenades took the life of 18 American soldiers in a mission to capture a warlord that was turning his homeland into a humanitarian disaster.

You may have seen the movie “Black Hawk Down” and decided for yourself whether that real-life battle was about American victory or defeat. But one of the brave young soldiers who fought that fight and survived looks at it in a different way.

(I’ve included a few lines from this interview–there is a link to the full interview below:)

STRUECKER: Well, during the course of the battle, about an hour or two into the fight, I picked up a soldier, Todd Blackburn (ph), took him back to the airfield where we were staying. And on the ride back, one of the men in my vehicle, one of my men, Dominick Pilla (ph), was shot and killed. And when I arrived back at the airfield, I thought to myself that I was going to die and all of them men that I was working with were going to die. The situation was just so intense.

And at that moment, I had nothing left to go to, nowhere to find strength except my faith, and my faith — really, at that moment, I prayed and asked God to give me strength. My faith in Christ really gave me the strength that I needed to go back out into the city a second and a third time. And from that moment on, I realized, “You know what? My faith has made such a difference for me tonight, I want to do what’s possible to share my faith and to tell as many other soldiers as possible about how faith can make a difference for them in a battle.”……………………


PHILLIPS: Wow. So during this situation and even after Mogadishu, did you find a lot of soldiers coming to you and searching for answers, asking about “Is there a God? Where is the God?” And if so, how did — what did you tell them?

To see the full transcript, click here.

Thank you to all of you who serve our country. May God’s peace and strength be with you. To those of us grieving the loss of our loved ones this weekend–May God’s peace and strength be with you as well.

And May We Be Encouraged.

Running to the Father

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou6 Comments

Month ago, I wrote about going through a time of being shaken.  In case you wondered—that time is still going on, and the shaking grows worse.  Sometimes I wonder if I am going to survive.  I find myself crying often.  I don’t even wear eye makeup anymore.  What is the point?  It will just get cried off.

So, what is to be done?  That’s just the thing—the circumstances are ones that I have no control over.  None.  They involve loved ones and their choices, and their illnesses.  So, I pray, I grieve, I speak truth and love into situations, hoping to comfort and encourage, and bless. I serve, I give, but I have absolutely no control. 

None whatsoever.  I know that I am facing the reality that I will lose people I love here on this earth.  I know that I am facing others ruining and wrecking their lives here on this earth.

So what is to be done?  Do I rail at God—hoping my anger, and my ire will motivate Him to move!!

Do I rail at the circumstances, hoping my anger will change the circumstances?

Do I pray, and pray, and pray, hoping my prayers will change the circumstances?  Yes—this is what I opt to do.  What I am finding, is that my prayers are not changing the circumstances—but I am changing.

I am changing from anger to acceptance.  I am changing from despair to hope.  Not hope that everything will turn out the way I want it to turn out—but hope that God will prevail over the darkness.  It is a hope that persists in spite of the circumstances.  It is a hope that is quiet and deep and stays.

It’s source is from God—so it is an immovable hope—or as Bill Sweeney, fellow blogger said, “An Unshakeable Hope.”   One of the blogs that Bill wrote, that I read this morning, is “One Day At A Time.”  Bill was diagnosed with ALS and had it for over 20 years before he passed away over a year ago.  I find the words of those who have suffered here on this earth and finished their races well—comfort me during my own suffering.   So here is the link to this blog:  https://unshakablehope.com/2013/07/29/one-day-at-a-time-2/          I hope it helps you as it did me.

May you be encouraged!!

O Christmas Tree

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou6 Comments

O Christmas Tree

Our family cut down our Christmas tree this year!!   We have not done this in ages!!  But this year, we made the drive out to a Christmas Tree farm and spent an hour wandering through the trees—looking for the perfect tree!!  Until finally, finally we found it!!  Then my husband, hero that he is, got down on the ground, and cut the tree!!   This was a sparkling moment for us during this Christmas season.

These are the moments I am choosing to focus on during dark days.   This choice was made after wallowing in dark thoughts, for a few weeks.

This is what was meant by, “ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8

The passage in Phil 4, starts by stating—“Stand firm in the Lord….Phil 4:1    Then it goes on to tell us to “Rejoice in the Lord.”  Why?  Because …The Lord is near!   Phil 4: 3

Then it tells us to “Be anxious for nothing, but to take everything to God in prayer—and the result will be—PEACE!!”   Phil. 4:4

And then—Finally—it tells us to dwell on the good, the true, the lovely—hence me stating one of the things I am dwelling on in the beginning of this blog—cutting down the Christmas Tree!!

As I stated a few weeks ago—I and my family—are going through a time of shaking—and when that happens—it can feel like one is walking in quicksand—and there is no solid ground.

I have found it difficult to focus my mind on the Lord and His truth and His promises.  I have felt like I am drowning. 

In this time, my most frequent prayer has been, “Help!!”  

Why am I relating all of this to you—because maybe you are in a dark place as well.  Maybe you feel as if you are going through a shaking time.

So—-I am remembering.

I am remembering all the times in my past, that God has brought me through those dark times.

I am reading God’s Word and God’s promises. (For instance, this passage in Philippians 4.)

I am rejoicing—because the Lord is near.

I am taking every anxious thought to God in prayer, with an attitude of thankfulness.

I am focusing on the truth, the honorable, the right, the lovely and anything that is worthy of praise.

I am asking other brothers and sisters to come along beside me and pray with me.  That means—if you are reading this blog—I ask you to pray for some unspoken needs that we have as a family.  Thank you all for praying for us.  Please feel the freedom to comment on this blog and ask for prayers for yourself and your family as well.  I will pray for you!!

I hope you have your own sparkling moments to dwell upon during this Christmas season.

One of the things that I think of often—is that I am loved with an everlasting love.  My family is loved with an everlasting love.  You are loved with an everlasting love.  Your family is loved with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3)

May we be encouraged!!

A Time of Shaking

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou7 Comments

I have recently come through a time of shaking.   Do you know what I mean by that?  Another blogger, Bill Sweeney, (who has gone home to be with the Lord), has a website called, “Unshakeable Hope”, (His wife has posted some blogs on this site since Bill passed).

In one of his blogs, he wrote about how he was living the dream—a beautiful wife, and daughters, a lovely home, a job he loved—when he was diagnosed with ALS—and given 2 – 5 years to live. (The above picture is one of his family–before his diagnosis.)

Bill stated that he was shaken—and he quoted a verse that talks about shaking—“” .   This….. denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.  Hebrews 12:27   He said that God uses the bad things that happen to us, (not that God causes the bad things that happen), to shake the things out of our life that can be shaken away, so that only the unshakeable things remain.  The unshakeable things are the eternal things—that will last forever.

I love that—I love that thought—I don’t love the reality of it happening.  It is uncomfortable, often emotionally painful—sometimes physically painful.

The past couple of weeks have been one of those shaking times—and it is not over—no—there promises to be more shaking to come.

So how am I dealing with this shaking time?  Not well.  I haven’t written.  I haven’t thought I had anything worthy to share.  But that is not true.  One of the best things about this time, is that I have learned I have really important things to share. 

What have I learned?   I have learned that I have certain habits, that I go to—to feel loved, and accepted.  God actually made me with these needs—to be loved and accepted.  He made you with those needs as well.   Did you know that babies in orphanages—who are not held and talked to—actually die?  We were all made to be loved and accepted.

We also have ways that we meet these needs—apart from going to God to meet these needs.   For instance—food, and over-indulging in food, has been a huge way for me to comfort myself and try to meet those needs.  If I look at that logically—that seems ridiculous that food could ever fill me up emotionally—in fact—if I looked at this logically—I would see this as the lie it is.  However, I have believed this lie for many, many years.  

Instead, God wants me to believe the truth—the truth is what God sees.  The truth is what God says.

God says, I am loved already. (John 3:16, Jeremiah 31:3, Galatians 2:20); God says I’m accepted already. (Romans 14:3, Romans 15:7); God says I’m forgiven already. (Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 2:13, 1 John 2:12)    Jesus died so that I could know God, and receive God’s love, acceptance and forgiveness. When I accepted what Jesus did for me and asked Jesus to come into my life—Jesus came in, (Revelations 3:20) He forgave me, (Ephesians 4:32) He made me a child of God, (John 1:12) He gave me eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13) He made me a new creature in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I may not “feel” those things.  That doesn’t matter.  What matters is that what God says is true, and what God sees is true.  I can believe what God says and what God sees, even if I don’t “feel” it, even if I’m not experiencing it.  This is what faith is—choosing to believe what God says and what God sees, even if we don’t “see it”. 

This is what God has been showing me—He is the rock I’m standing on—even when all my hope is gone—He is faithful forever—and I know He’ll never let me go.   (I just quoted the words from this song—which I just love by the way.)

So, yes—I’ve been shaken—and God is the rock!!!

I am praying my story of being shaken—will encourage you!!  Much, much love from the Father to us all!!

The Untold Story Of Black Hawk Down: Jeff Struecker

Published on by katiesencouragementforyouLeave a comment

Jeff shares his experience while living the real-life events that became the movie Black Hawk Down. Jeff, one of the Rangers in that battle in Mogadishu, tells how he overcame the fear of death and got a new perspective on life that day.



KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, on October 3rd, 1993, Army Ranger Jeff Struecker put on every piece of protective gear he had, but nothing would shield him more from a 17-hour firefight than his bulletproof faith. It was in Mogadishu, Somalia, that bullets and rocket-propelled grenades took the life of 18 American soldiers in a mission to capture a warlord that was turning his homeland into a humanitarian disaster.

You may have seen the movie “Black Hawk Down” and decided for yourself whether that real-life battle was about American victory or defeat. But one of the brave young soldiers who fought that fight and survived looks at it in a different way.

(I’ve included a few lines from this interview–there is a link to the full interview below:)

STRUECKER: Well, during the course of the battle, about an hour or two into the fight, I picked up a soldier, Todd Blackburn (ph), took him back to the airfield where we were staying. And on the ride back, one of the men in my vehicle, one of my men, Dominick Pilla (ph), was shot and killed. And when I arrived back at the airfield, I thought to myself that I was going to die and all of them men that I was working with were going to die. The situation was just so intense.

And at that moment, I had nothing left to go to, nowhere to find strength except my faith, and my faith — really, at that moment, I prayed and asked God to give me strength. My faith in Christ really gave me the strength that I needed to go back out into the city a second and a third time. And from that moment on, I realized, “You know what? My faith has made such a difference for me tonight, I want to do what’s possible to share my faith and to tell as many other soldiers as possible about how faith can make a difference for them in a battle.”……………………


PHILLIPS: Wow. So during this situation and even after Mogadishu, did you find a lot of soldiers coming to you and searching for answers, asking about “Is there a God? Where is the God?” And if so, how did — what did you tell them?

To see the full transcript, click here.

Thank you to all of you who serve our country. May God’s peace and strength be with you. To those of us grieving the loss of our loved ones this weekend–May God’s peace and strength be with you as well.

And May We Be Encouraged.