Let's Get Started! 2010 Steps to Honor Program Begins Today!

Steps to Honor 2010 begins today! Get your shoes on and get moving. Even if you participated last year, be sure to register for the 2010 program. You can register at www.militarymissionsonline.com/s2hregistration.htm.

You can read information about the program here in the right sidebar or you can go to www.militarymissionsonline.com/steps2honor.htm. There you will find more detailed information and documents you can download and print out. A mileage log is also available.

If you form a walking or running group, let us know. We will post the info here on our site so people in your area can join you.

Send us your photos. We will upload them here so our heroes can visibly see your support.

Let's show our heroes how much we appreciate their service and sacrifice!

STEPS to HONOR VIDEO! Check it out!

A lot of us have been so busy running and/or walking mileage in honor of our heroes. So busy, in fact, that we haven't been very good about contributing to the blog. We hope that some of you will add your heroes to our blog and help to keep the site new and interesting each day.

In the meantime, please take a few minutes to watch our newest video that honors some of our heroes. To watch the video, go to www.militarymissionsonline.com/videos.htm.

Lexington KY STEPS to HONOR Walk - July 4th

Join us as we honor our heroes on July 4th. We plan to walk the two mile “downtown” portion of the Bluegrass 10k as a group. We will wear our STEPS to HONOR t-shirts as well as the STEPS to HONOR running bibs which will display the names of our heroes. (You do NOT need to register for the race to participate with our group.)

If you are participating in the full Bluegrass 10k and would be willing to wear a STEPS to HONOR t-shirt to help us promote our program and honor our heroes, please contact us as soon as possible to purchase a shirt and a running bib. (Shirts are $10, running bibs are free with the purchase of the t-shirt.)

If you are planning to walk with our group on Saturday, July 4th, here are the details you will need to know:
1. Please contact us with your intent to participate by Friday, July 3rd.
2. Plan to purchase your shirt and running bib by Friday, July 3rd.
3. Meet at Thoroughbred Park by the horse statues on Saturday morning by 7:10.
4. The race starts at 7:30 and we will NOT be able to wait for late arrivals.
5. Parking is limited as many streets are closed so allow plenty of time for finding a parking spot.
The route we are walking will start and end at Thoroughbred Park and be 2 to 2.5 miles in length.

Contact us at militarymissions@insightbb.com if you plan to walk with us or if you need to purchase a t-shirt and/or running bib.

IF YOU LIVE IN ANOTHER PART OF THE GREAT USA, PLEASE CONSIDER FORMING A STEPS to HONOR WALK IN YOUR AREA. BE SURE TO TAKE PICS AND TELL US ALL ABOUT IT!

LEXINGTON STEPS to HONOR WALKING GROUP MEETS TOMORROW!

Join us at the UK Arboretum on Alumni Drive this Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 9:00 AM for a two mile walk to honor our heroes. Meet us in the parking lot at the top of the hill. Be sure to wear your STEPS to HONOR t-shirt so we can get the word out about the program. Let's get everyone to think more about those that serve and sacrifice on our behalf. Questions? Contact us at steps2honor@gmail.com or militarymissions@insightbb.com.

If you are planning a group walk in your area, please let us know and we will post it on the website to help you get the word out in your area!

Form a STEPS to HONOR Walking or Running Group in your community!

One of our group members at Military Missions had a great idea. Allyson suggested forming groups to walk or run together for STEPS to HONOR. There are a lot of us that prefer exercising with a friend or a group. It keeps us accountable and it's a lot of fun.

We've decided to form a group here in Lexington. We will meet together (details TBA) and walk or run together once a week. We are all going to purchase STEPS to HONOR t-shirts and wear them while we are walking. All participants will be walking to honor the heroes of their choice.

Imagine how many people will start to ask questions when they see your group walking by and everyone is wearing a STEPS to HONOR t-shirt! Your group is sure to catch the attention of people in your community and you can get even more people involved in this awareness program.

Here in Lexington, just like most communities, we have a lot of walks and runs scheduled throughout the summer months. Why not train together for one of the events and then participate as a group (wearing your STEPS to HONOR t-shirts of course!).

Do you have any good suggestions to help us get the word out about STEPS to HONOR? If so, please contact us at steps2honor@gmail.com. We'd love to share them with everyone so we can get people all the way across the country involved.

By the way, our t-shirts arrived yesterday. If you want to purchase one and get things started in your town, go to www.militarymissionsonline.com/stepstohonor.htm.

Journal Entry - Tues 9/2/08

I’ve been thinking about those that stand in the gap for me lately. I always think about the military. I will be honest and tell you that I used to think most about the Marines. Since my son joined that branch, I am naturally drawn to any words that remotely resemble Marines or Semper Fi. As I begin to look past me, myself, and I, it becomes apparent that there are soldiers, airmen, and sailors. If I look even farther outside of my own little world, I start to realize that there are people right here in my hometown that are standing in the gap for me 24/7. My house may never catch on fire, but if it does, there is someone waiting and ready to answer my call for help. That person is ready to answer the call for any of us at any given moment. Most of us don’t need their help, but everyday someone calls our firefighters. I may never be in an accident or become the victim of a crime, but if I do find myself in those circumstances, there is someone already prepared to come to my aid. Even now as I sit safely in my home, there are people working in local law enforcement to make sure that I am safe. Everyday our police officers say goodbye to their families and step out of their homes to protect me and you. Not only are they willing to protect us in the most dangerous circumstances, but they are also ready to humble themselves to direct traffic. I imagine that if you asked most police officers if they joined the force so they could direct traffic, they would quickly say no.....but they often find themselves doing jobs such as that to protect us from ourselves. How many of us consider the other guy when the traffic gets backed up? Something as simple as our lack of patience can become a danger. Our law enforcement officials are there to keep things safe so we can go about our lives normally. So today I am picturing myself as the mother of a police officer or firefighter rather than that of a Marine. The idea of my son going out every single day with the real possibility of facing a dangerous situation is causing me to feel a shortness of breath. It is one thing to worry for a few months during a deployment. It is quite another to live with that fear every single day. Suddenly my mind fills with numerous scenarios....I watch enough TV to have plenty of great ideas....and I wonder how anyone lets their spouse, child, or parent out the door to face the eminent danger lurking around the corner. It occurs to me that it isn’t just the members of the Armed Forces that make serve on my behalf, but it is also those who work as fire fighters and in law enforcement. I have a lot of people to which I am grateful and I figure I will never meet most of them in this lifetime.

Journal Entry - Monday, September 1, 2008: Today I am running once again for the fallen heroes that were in some way connected to my son. I have decided that I really like this concept of honoring someone and need to start making a list of heroes that I can honor each day. My mind starts to consider the many people that have served in our military over the course of our nation’s history. Imagine the number of men and women that have stood in the gap over the years. What about those that serve willingly that were not called to make the ultimate sacrifice? Shouldn’t we honor them for their service? After getting a small glimpse into what my own son has gone through over the past five years, I realize more each day that military service is difficult and challenging to say the least! Must we wait for one to be injured or killed before we are grateful for their service? We often forget about those that are serving on bases right here in the USA. Once you enter the military, your life is no longer your own. You can’t decide to take a day off, call in sick, or sleep in. You always take a turn spending a major holiday on “Barracks Duty”. The year my son had duty on Christmas Day he told me it was the loneliest Christmas ever! He said he would have preferred to be in Iraq because at least he would have been with his buddies. What about the pressure to make sure you get back from your 96 (4 day weekend) in time to get through the traffic at the main gate and get in line to get your regulation haircut before the barber shop closes? And what about those inspections? I often wonder how I would feel if someone came to my house once a week to do an inspection. Would everything be straight enough or clean enough? Unlikely! I am starting to really appreciate the daily sacrifice made by our military. They really don’t have lives of their own for the time they serve and they are doing that for you and for me!

Journal Entry - Thurs. 8/28/08

Participating in Run for the Fallen has given me a lot to consider. Just yesterday, I was pushing myself to run a mile on a very hot day. Today, I am back to running on a treadmill inside the air conditioned gym. It occurs to me that I might just run today’s mile for one of my fallen heros. I typically run 1 mile, walk 2 miles, and do about three miles on the elliptical cross trainer. I quickly came to the realization my daily six miles could be used to honor six heroes. I walked in honor of the six men that I had worn on my bib yesterday during Run for the Fallen. I found that the time went by much more quickly. Instead of looking down at the display to see how much farther I had to go, I was filling my mind with thoughts of gratitude for what these Marines had done for me. I thought about their funerals, and their families.....which led me to pray for their loved ones. How difficult each day must be for them! Before I knew it, I was on the next mile and my thoughts switched to the next hero on my list. It was on that day that I found a new reason to run. I honestly hate running, but I was interested in the idea that I could spend the time honoring someone that had made the ultimate sacrifice for me. I have decided that to honor someone’s sacrifice with a little bit of suffering really causes me to think. Whenever I feel like stopping, I just remind myself that the hero I run for didn’t stop when he was tired. He didn’t stop until God called him home. It’s hard to be a quitter when you think like that! I’m coming back tomorrow and I am going to run in honor of a few more heroes that served on my behalf.