As of last Wednesday, Phase 2 ended with a bang! The last week has been quite a journey. The Purity Conference at Chapel Next was AWESOME! The greatest thing I came away from the conference with is the necessity of being in the Word of God. How can we expect to live pure lives outside of an intentional daily devotion to the Word of God? Wednesday was the PT Test and it was successfully completed. Hooah!
This week we have had some awesome classes, but they have definitely challenged me. From grief counseling to mass casualty to death notifications - heavy subjects - awesome responsibilities. Definitely a gut check. We closed Friday out with a Gold Star Panel of families who have lost a hero, a Soldier in the War on Terror. Friends, this is as real as it gets. Listening to their stories deeply impacted me. I thank God for their Soldier's service and pray for God's continued comfort for their supreme sacrifice! Do not forget to pray for our Soldiers, but waiting back home is a family that is measuring every minute until their hero returns home.
A busy week lies ahead. We go to Capstone this week - a whole week in the field with 100+ degree temperatures. It is going to be an awesome week with little, to no PPT. My wife will be here in 16 days, and I will be leaving Ft. Jackson in 20 days. Can I get an AMEN? Looking forward to going home to my family, friends, and church. Blessings to you all!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
The Washing of Our Tears
It has been a great week of CH-BOLC with a few surprises, but praise the Lord for His provision. This past Friday we spent the entire day focused on Military Ramp Ceremonies, Memorial Services, Memorial Ceremonies, and Graveside Services. This block of instruction may seem quite morbid to those outside the sphere of the Chaplaincy, but I must say it was one of the best blocks of instruction thus far. As Chaplains we have 2 primary statutory obligations: perform or provide for worship each Sunday and perform or provide funeral services. This is further expanded in the 3 major functions of the Chaplain: Nurture the living, care for the wounded, and honor the fallen.
Honor the Fallen is one of, if not the most important task of the Chaplain. It may be hard for many to understand, unless you have experienced the brotherhood of arms (although Chaplains do not bear arms). Well I digress...during this block of instruction we had the honor of watching a mach memorial service led by our Cadre. It was abundantly evident that each of the Chaplains participating was deeply moved even in this mach ceremony. I imagine that each of them could see the faces of Soldiers that they had the honor of knowing, praying with, serving as ministers to, and honoring in their passing. As I witnessed our Cadre visibly moved as they taught us this block of instruction, I could not help but be moved also. I applaud them for the vulnerability that they exhibited.
Today has been a great day. Chapel Next was AWESOME this morning! It's an awesome thing when you have a group of Chaplains rotating the preaching responsibilities from week to week, but each week seems as anointed as the last, and in each message you can sense the hand of God moving in your life. I wondered what the worship would be like at Ft. Jackson, and whether I would find a Chapel service that spoke to me. For me Chapel Next is my church home away from home. The services are so anointed, the preaching is fantastic, the worship is free, and the fellowship is awesome!
Well 5 weeks left. I am sure that it will pass by quick. We have 2 outings this week to Charleston and to the Fort Jackson Cemetery. Looking forward to both of these outings. Miss all my family and friends, but only 5 weeks left! I continue to covet your prayers! Feel free to e-mail me - would love to hear from you! God bless!
Honor the Fallen is one of, if not the most important task of the Chaplain. It may be hard for many to understand, unless you have experienced the brotherhood of arms (although Chaplains do not bear arms). Well I digress...during this block of instruction we had the honor of watching a mach memorial service led by our Cadre. It was abundantly evident that each of the Chaplains participating was deeply moved even in this mach ceremony. I imagine that each of them could see the faces of Soldiers that they had the honor of knowing, praying with, serving as ministers to, and honoring in their passing. As I witnessed our Cadre visibly moved as they taught us this block of instruction, I could not help but be moved also. I applaud them for the vulnerability that they exhibited.
Today has been a great day. Chapel Next was AWESOME this morning! It's an awesome thing when you have a group of Chaplains rotating the preaching responsibilities from week to week, but each week seems as anointed as the last, and in each message you can sense the hand of God moving in your life. I wondered what the worship would be like at Ft. Jackson, and whether I would find a Chapel service that spoke to me. For me Chapel Next is my church home away from home. The services are so anointed, the preaching is fantastic, the worship is free, and the fellowship is awesome!
Well 5 weeks left. I am sure that it will pass by quick. We have 2 outings this week to Charleston and to the Fort Jackson Cemetery. Looking forward to both of these outings. Miss all my family and friends, but only 5 weeks left! I continue to covet your prayers! Feel free to e-mail me - would love to hear from you! God bless!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
In the Embrace of God
God is so good! I wish that there were words that could adequately express how wonderful my God is. I see His hand at work all around me. This past Sunday CH Mills preached on Sabbath at Chapel Next. What an awesome word! He preached with passion and conviction! It is so nice to be sitting under Godly preaching here at Fort Jackson.
Speaking of Godly preaching, Tuesday we were blessed to have hours of Godly preaching as we sat under the preaching of our squad members. God truly moved as they preached their Garrison sermons. I could have stayed there all day listening to them as God moved through their preaching.
Well, yesterday I was honored to spend 9 1/2 hours as a patient of the Moncrief Army Hospital. After an exhausting day at the hospital, I was blessed to encounter the compassion of my platoon, my squad, and my SGL. I was covered in prayer by my brothers and sisters in Christ. It is humbling when you receive encouraging phone calls, persistent prayers, and the loving embrace of the body of Christ.
I regret that due to my illness I was unable to go to Victory Ranch, which I was really looking forward to. Now I am on quarters for 48 hours. Hopefully by Friday I will be back on top of things again.
Again, thanks for the prayers and words of support and encouragement from back home. God bless!
Speaking of Godly preaching, Tuesday we were blessed to have hours of Godly preaching as we sat under the preaching of our squad members. God truly moved as they preached their Garrison sermons. I could have stayed there all day listening to them as God moved through their preaching.
Well, yesterday I was honored to spend 9 1/2 hours as a patient of the Moncrief Army Hospital. After an exhausting day at the hospital, I was blessed to encounter the compassion of my platoon, my squad, and my SGL. I was covered in prayer by my brothers and sisters in Christ. It is humbling when you receive encouraging phone calls, persistent prayers, and the loving embrace of the body of Christ.
I regret that due to my illness I was unable to go to Victory Ranch, which I was really looking forward to. Now I am on quarters for 48 hours. Hopefully by Friday I will be back on top of things again.
Again, thanks for the prayers and words of support and encouragement from back home. God bless!
Monday, July 4, 2011
1/2 Way Done
CIMT and Phase 1 are complete, now on to Phase 2 of CH-BOLC. We are now getting into the meat of our course of instruction and I am very excited about that. Please pray for me - 2nd PT test this week. This long weekend is ending in a few hours, and I must say that Ft. Jackson is a lonely, boring place when you are among the few who did not go home for the long weekend. Glad we are back at it tomorrow - that seems strange to say, but it's true. Looking forward to meeting all our new classmates (64 of them) arriving for Phase 2 and 3. I continue to covet all your prayers.
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