Gone Fishin!

My Buddy Tommy Cheatham pastors a small church for Cowboys in Love Valley NC. You've probably never heard of it. Its a little out of the way place in the foothills. The neat thing about Love Valley is that it is for Cowboys. Now don't go thinking its a tourist place it isn't. There are real cowboys there. There are no cars allowed in downtown Love Valley. Only horses! There are hitching posts, a saloon and a general store. There used to be a jail, but now the jail is the church where Tommy pastors. He asked me to come preach today and I did. And people rode their horses to church. I met Willie there. He's the bearded guy pictured above. He's about 5' tall but as you can see he wears a .45 revolver on his side. He takes it off before coming into worship. Its loaded too. He wears a Bowie knife thats about a foot and half long. He has a .444 lever action in a scabbard strapped to his horse. I had lunch with Tommy and Willie today. I asked Willie where he lived. He ...

Congratulations to COL George Cone who made the rank of 06 on Monday July 2 nd , 2007. To make COL in the Army is no small feat. You must be a quality leader and have demonstrated that the Army can entrust you with the responsibility of commanding large numbers of people. COL Cone was my boss at 1-61. We spent a lot of time together, mostly late in the evenings after the days work was supposed to have been done. We developed a good and close relationship during those times. I could always tell when he had had a difficult day. He'd have his face buried in his computer screen and look up as I rapped lightly on his door frame, "Come on in and sit down Chaplain". He'd rub both hands into his forehead, put his feet up on the desk and begin to tell me all of the days issues. He's a good man and a good leader and I miss working for him. He's relinquished command and to be honest I think it was a difficult day for him. He's heading to an overseas post. He...

I’ve been in ministry in one form or another for over 12 years now. In that time I’ve met some amazing people. One of the most precious gifts that anyone can do for you is a commitment to prayer. I know that I pray for people and I also know that I need prayer. I need people to pray for me. The Bible is full of this encouragement. Paul states in Philippians 1 this: 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in a my every prayer for you all, in view of your 1 a participation in the b gospel c from the first day until now. Paul on several occasions announces to his readers that he has been praying for them. Jesus also talks of praying for Peter. Peter gets prayed out of jail in the book of Acts. There is just something that in God’s economy that make prayer special. No matter your theological bent no Christian can argue that prayer is of little value. That brings me to Angel. Last year I spoke at a church in Cherryville NC for a Spor...

Its been more than a week since I’ve been on here. Since then I’ve come off active duty and am back home with the family, jobless and restless in a lot of ways. Had a wonderful blessing in my life over the past two weeks. My dad, Jack SR, got a new vehicle and needed to get rid of his Ford Sport-track. He new I needed a new car and offered me his. It’s exactly what I need. Last weekend we went to Sunset Beach , NC where he lives, ate some fish, played some golf and picked up the car. About 50 miles out of town the thing just died… no power. I had no idea what was wrong. It was hot and we were stuck in Sparky’s Truck stop on the way to Myrtle Beach SC. We waited on the tow truck for three hours…we were miserable, the kids were hot and whiny…so was Tammy and maybe me too. My military experience of hurry up and wait became a distinct advantage. We prayed, for the tow truck to get there, for help with the truck and for us to get our attitudes right. Eddie, the tow truck drive finally ...

Today was my final graduation ceremony. I guess after 11 nine week cycles I finally got it right and they let me go. I have seen over 7000 of these kids come through over the last 27 months. It seems like a long time. It has been. It has been good though. I've included my final prayer for these soldiers. It was a bitter sweet moment. But then I thought about being able to come home every day to my wife and my children and thought about the last 800+ days being away from them and the moment just turned sweet. Closing another chapter and beginning a new one. You are magnificent God! You have made all that we see here. The world around us, the sky above us, the ground under our feet. You set the stars in motion, built up the mountains high and gave breath to every living thing. Lord God you have made us too. We didn’t do it. All we have has come from you, our children, our wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, our friends; our very existence we owe to You and You alone. You have...

In the last few days things have ratcheted up in Iraq. We've seen another 3 of our brothers kidnapped by insurgents. The political fight is on here and the coffins keep coming home. The 24 hour news cycle keeps ramming the news down our throats non-stop. Everybody has an idea about what to do. I'm a Chaplain, not exactly a tactical genius. But one thing that have heard precious little about is prayer concerning this war. In the Army we pray constantly about it and for it, but I hear very little coming from the pulpits of America. I turn on the TV and read the web pages hear pastors teaching how we can have more meaningful lives, better relationships, a deeper walk with God, but I hear very little commentary coming out about prayer and this conflict. Our history is littered with wars that demanded the prayer of the people of this nation. And yet where is the outcry from God's people to God Himself to intervene and bring resolution? Maybe I'm missing it, but I don't s...

Encarta's dictionary defines serendipity as this: a natural gift for making useful discoveries by accident. I sort of disagree with that definition but to that in a moment. We just never know what each day holds. I was at my desk working away and at trying organize my messy world when a gentleman appeared at my door. He asked, "Is there a Chaplain around?" I said, "Right in front of you!" He asked if I had a moment and I agreed. He sat down on my couch and immediately began to cry. He was in his late 40's I suspect. Turns out he was retired from the Army and on this day had no where else to go. He's a carpenter and just drove onto Ft Jackson looking for some help. He looked me square in the eye and said, "I'm feeling like killing myself" He shared his story with me, one of betrayal and pain and loss. Turns out he tried to kill himself three years ago and was in a coma for 10 days, but lived. His story was heartbreaking. I prayed to God, ...