Chaplain

          I finally moved from Chaplain Candidate to Chaplain. I am now a Battalion Chaplain and things started moving quickly. My first weekend at my new unit was spent doing training at Fort Campbell. Drown proofing! When I read that on the training schedule I thought man this may get interesting! Wasn't as bad as I imagined it being. I was expecting some person to attempt to hold me under water, luckily that was not how it was. Next was land navigation. I thought, well, not too bad. Nice stroll through the woods on a mild spring day... Nobody said anything about ticks! I was one of the lucky ones, I only had about 10 or so on me. The poor Specialist walking in front of me must have picked 50 off of him. But, by God's good grace, we survived and didn't get lost.
          Next day I was allowed time to lead chapel service. Seemed to have went well, we had a good crowd show up. I shared some copies of a book with several Soldiers. I will share more about the book in my next post. It deserves it's own post. After chapel I spent some time with my chaplain candidate, yes, my very first Battle Assembly as an actual chaplain and I have a chaplain candidate. I pray God will provide me direction as I try to guide this chaplain candidate. I am still learning as I go so I guess we can learn together. I got to spend some time Sunday afternoon talking to a few Soldiers and getting to know them. We have a great group at our unit. I feel blessed by being assigned there.
          The following weekend I did my first wedding ceremony for one of my Soldiers. That was a real blessing. After spending a few days with their families I feel like I am part of the family. Absolutely wonderful couple with amazing families. The service went well, no one passed out or ran from the chapel! I was grateful to be a part of their wedding and pray God will bless that family. I praise God for the work He is doing through me. I am grateful to serve Him and our country. Pro Deo Et Patria.

Chaplain

I have finally received my appointment paper. Once I am sworn in again I will move from chaplain candidate to chaplain. It has been about five years since I began this process of first starting Seminary, then entering as a chaplain candidate, and now being accepted by the Army as a chaplain. It is exciting. I am looking forward to getting reassigned to a new unit but I will miss the Soldiers I have worked with over the past year and a half at my current unit. I found out the former company commander at my unit has moved to another unit that I may be assigned to. That was good news to me. It is always good to see familiar faces when moving somewhere new. Plus he is a strong Christian that always attended chapel services.

Where things will go from here I do not know. Wherever God leads, I will follow. I have been preaching at my current church and was asked to fill in at another church this past weekend. Their pastor went to Haiti on a mission trip. Our church just had a team come back and they seemed so blessed by their experience down there. It is awesome when people step out on faith and follow the Lord.

My church had an ordination ceremony for me a while back. I have included a picture in this post from it. The Lord continues to bless me through my church. They have been a wonderful source of encouragement for my wife and I. They have prayed for us and loved us. We have many veterans at our church that continually support us and offer us words of encouragement. What a blessing they have been to my family.

Lose My Soul

Every morning on the way to drop Carson off at school he makes me put in the Toby Mac CD so he can hear song 15. "Lose My Soul" I love the song too and have heard it hundreds of times and just the other day the lyrics really jumped out at me. "Father God, I am clay in your hands, Help me to stay that way through all life's demands,
'Cause they chip and they nag and they pull at me, And every little thing I make up my mind to be... I realized that as a Christian trying to do things for the Lord in this world it does seem like things are always chipping and nagging at me. The things I have made up my mind to be, or rather God has led me to be, have not always been easy roads. Sometimes it seems like God is testing me to see if I am faithful enough to serve Him. Through all things I try to remember God is in control. Sometimes it takes some difficult moments to lead us closer in our walk with the Lord. It is hard to see at the time it is going on but as you come through it you begin to see how at that moment you became totally dependent on the Lord. You realize without Him you would have never made it through that difficult time. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28.

Ice Fishing In Kentucky

Who ever said you can't go ice fishing in Kentucky did not know what they were talking about. I have pictures of my son Carter doing just that, Ice Fishing!
This particular fishing trip was not very productive, ended up hitting Captain D's drive thru on the way home! When the fishing is slow you have to find other ways to occupy the time. Like sitting on a pile of ice!

Oh Say Can You See...

I had the privilege of visiting Fort McHenry this summer while attending CAST (Chaplain Annual Sustainment Training). Probably one of the coolest places I have visited. Fort McHenry was the site of the battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the words to the Star-Spangled Banner. Starting out in the visitors center we watched a video explaining how the battle played out over that night. From a ship in the harbor Francis Scott Key watched as the Americans took a pounding from the British ships. The next morning Key strained to see if the British had taken Fort McHenry. In the early light of dawn, Key saw the American flag still waving. At that point in the video our national anthem began to play. All Soldiers snapped to attention. All civilians there rose to their feet. The video screen raised slowly to reveal Fort McHenry through the large windows with our nations flag flying proudly above. Cold chills overtook my body as I remembered the perseverance of those Soldiers that night. As the song ended and people walked away you could see tears in some peoples eyes. A strong reminder of how great this nation still is.



The last picture is from the flag room at Fort McHenry. This is the room that actually housed the flag when it was not being flown. This room had a large table that the Soldiers could partially lay the flag out on to prepare it. The flag flying over the fort the morning Key wrote the Star-Spangled Banner was 30 feet X 42 feet. The stars on that flag were approximately two feet tall. I would imagine it was a task within itself just to raise a flag of that size.

Chaplain Candidate to Chaplain

I am edging closer to becoming a chaplain. I completed my Master of Divinity degree in May and will be ordained this August. Once I am ordained I can submit my request for endorsement through the NAMB. Then, I will submit my packet before the chaplain accession board in September hopefully. There is an open battalion close to my home so I am hoping to be assigned there. Little excited and a little nervous but still looking forward to it.

I have to admit it does feel good to not have a paper to write every weekend. School was pretty demanding at times and it took quite a bit of time away from my family. We have made up some time here lately and have had a really good time. Took the boys to Disney for the first time, we didn't want to leave. I am ready to go back but not when it is too hot. Long lines and heat do not mix!

CH-BOLC Training

For those who have not been to CH-BOLC you may not find the humor in this video. Those who have and have spent some time with the cadre in the video you will have a good laugh. After some time with the cadre you begin to pick up on their sayings and mannerisms. This video was made by LT Jones, 2nd Platoon, he put a lot of time into the video. This video was shown to the cadre at our graduation banquet. They seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. To my friends going through CH-BOLC right now I am praying for you. I pray the Lord will give you strength through each challenge you face.