Replacing the old Map Case

Even though I am close to getting out of the military, I still have a year or so to go. As I get ready for my annual training time I've come to realize that my old map case no longer works.



It was a gift from an old company commander when I was an MP (not a favorite time in my military career), and I was very happy to get it. Unfortunately it has also been referred to as my "army purse", despite it being olive drab in color, decorated with army patches, and worn from a lot of field use. It has served me well having been taken on flood duty, snow duty, it went with me when I was called up to active dity in '02, and it even went with me to Mississipi and Louisiana. But it's too small : 12" x 8.5" x 4.5":

Often, if I wanted to pack my lunch (and sometimes dinner) and rain/snivel gear, I would have to bring along my Butt Pack as well. But there were times when I did not need to bring my entire LCE (Load Carrying Equipment - also known as web gear) so I would just disconnect it to carry. But that bag has issues too. There is enough room for the food and rain gear, but when I need to pack field manuals too, it would be tight. And the bag did not have any handy carrying straps.



So I have gone ahead and ordered a new day pack. The new packpacks for the Army are more modular. The bag I've ordered is just the day pack. (15" x 15" x 9") It straps on to the larger field pack for the CPF-90 system. This bag has large enough compartments for everything I would need for a quick out and back trip and it has shoulder straps. The only thing is, I wish I could have gotten it in just black.



Now all I need to do is figure out how to get my patches moved over. :)







Verse for today:

Psalm 146, ESV

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.


Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

It's good to get back to work for some rest

Wow, what a crazy weekend. My beloved and I went to a friends wedding reception on Friday night. We had a wonderful time, and my beloved was able to socialize with my fellow soldiers in a non-mandatory-fun situation. I thought that was the extent of our schedule for most of the weekend but I was so wrong. Saturday morning we were up bright and early to pick up kids from those who were kind enough to watch them overnight (and no, I was not able to take advantage of having the house to ourselves). We had to divide and conquer Saturday morning to get everything done before going to a friends house for a Barbeque - that was originally set for Sunday afternoon. And we stayed out WAY too late. :) Sunday morning we spent recovering. To my discredit neither I or the kids made it to church. My beloved had to get in because she helps out with the Children's ministry. Sunday afternoon a friend sought to get together to play cards. This quickly bloomed into another large get together and I was up way too late again. :) Monday I had to report to my unit for our participation in a parade and a salute. The day took a little longer than I had originally thought, but after this we yet again went over to a friends house for dinner. No long after I got the trash out after getting home I was paged for work. I had originally thought this weekend was going to be relaxing. I am not complaining because it was wonderful to spend so much time with friends. I really do not get much time to socialize and play games with friends so that was really nice. The kids did pay a price though. Not too much sleep. It was also good to have some social time with guys from my unit. But with getting paged last night I did not get much sleep and I am paying the price today. I am still grateful for all that God has been doing in my life lately. It is a growing period - which everyone knows can be both painful and wonderful. Verse for today: 1 Corinthians 13:12, ESV For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

Happy Memorial Day

Here is a prayer for a happy and safe Memorial Day for all our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen. May the Lord watch over you and keep you safe. May He give you peace of mind and contentment no matter where you are this holiday weekend. May the Lord of Hosts give peace and strength to your loved ones as they wait anxiously for your safe return, and may the God who created the heavens and the Earth bring about your safe return.

Amen

Pride

For sometime now I have been wanting to blog about Luke 14:8-11.

"When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (ESV)

I am not really sure why this verse has been stuck in my mind lately. Maybe it's the times I see people cutting into traffic, or people that seem to demand that things go their own way. I am guilty of this too. It may not be obvious to all, like not allowing a merging car into "my" space, or when I get upset when something goes my way. Pride is such a deceitful thing. And it has so many forms. We all should be careful lest we slide down that slipper slope. Verse for today: Proverbs 16:18-20, ESV Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud. Whoever gives thought to the word [1] will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.

Spring Wedding season

One of the advantages of being the member of the National Guard for so long is you can get to go to so many weddings outside of the normal "wedding cycle"(***) of a marriage relationship. In the next month or so I will be going to two weddings of some long time friends from the Guard. These guys are still 'kids', but they are both taking the plunge for the first time. I pray that they both will enjoy thei marriages for many, many years to come. Marriage is a hard thing. It is the source of my greatest frustrations and, but more importantly, my greatest joys. I used to hear that it is a 50-50 deal, but I disagree. It is a 100% effort on both parts, because when one of you are weak, the other can be strong. Looking back over my marriage I would definetly say that it gets better and better as time moves on. The first year was cake, but years 2 through 7 were hard. But my beloved is my best friend. We are going through a growth spurt (and we all know how uncomfortable that can be), but it is wonderful. We have a lot planned for the next year. I jsut want to get to the other side right now. *** The seaon of a relationship when all your friends are getting married at the same time. It goes away for a while, and then (supposedly) it comes back when your friends kids start getting hitched. Verse for the day: Proverbs 18:22, ESV He who finds a wife finds a good thingand obtains favor from the Lord.

Backtracking a little

Last week I wrote about how my son lost being allowed to go on a fieldtrip this past Monday. Originally we told DS2 that if he lost the fieldtrip that he would also lose the time we were going to the same recreational park. We did this because at first DS2 was saying, "I don't have to obey at school because I am going to the same park with mom & dad. After talking through this with my beloved we decided to allow DS2 to go ahead and go with us this past weekend. We continue to train him, but we thought it best to allow him to go. That's all I have for today... Verse for today: Revelation 22:8-21, ESV I John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant [4] with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, [5] so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. [6] Amen.

Juggling Prosperity

Where is the balance? Or is there one? This Sunday we congratulated our graduating seniors from both college and high school. It is a tradition to send them out with prayers as they begin the next step of their lives. But the sermon got me to thinking about the balance between having and not having. The verse from yesterday was Jeremiah 29:11-13, esv:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare [2] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

The first concern I had was that this verse was essentially preached out of context with what the rest of the chapter was talking about. These words of comfort come within the context of the Isrealites being in the middle of their captivity. There was no mention of trials, no mention of these blessing to take place. The second concern I had was when I briefly thought about the "name it and claim it" type of preachers. They too preach that God wants to prosper us as His children - which He does. I jsut don't think it will be in the ways one would typically expect. I'm pretty sure Job did not feel like he was being blessed when he was in the middle of the torment. I'm pretty sure the disciples were not feeling prosperous when the various factiosn hunted them down and killed them one by one in their vain attempts to silence the preaching of the gospel. What of the saints and believers today who suffer hunger and persecution around the world for their faith? Why are they not being "blessed" with prosperity? The answer is that our true rewards are not seen in this life. They are not fully realized this side of Heaven. And we do not know the full meaning of prosperity yet. I think we as Chrisitans, especially those of us who live in the United States, need to realize that we are being tested with the gift of prosperity. Think about these two examples:

And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. [6] And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44, esv)

and:

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! (Luke 18:18-24, esv)

These are two examples of what God considers to be the ideal. The wealthy may be able to put hundreds of dollars into the offering whereas the poor may only be able to place a dollar or two. What God sees is not the number of dollars (or Pesos, or Yen, or whatever) but the percentage of the whole. Whether it is being done in faith or with joy. What I want to tell the graduates, and my fellow believers, is that it is true. God does want to bless you with prosperity. but do not look to your own, or the worlds definition of what it means to be prosperous. Because God also says, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”. On that last day there will be untold numbers ahead of me. I am grateful with what God has blessed me with, I just pray that if He asks me to lay them all down that I would do so. Willingly, and with a joyful heart. What I am concerned about in my own life is, where is the balance? I do bring my tithes and offering into the storehouse of God (Malachi 3:6-10), but I also know I am not perfect in this. I also know I am not condemned because I am not perfect. But where am I holding on to what God has asked me to give up? Do I have an extra 'cloak' to give to my brother without? Am I hording up my wealth where rust and moth can destroy? These are my daily struggles when it comes to my own material prosperity. Verse for today: Revelation 3:15-22, ESV “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”