I recently decided to create images for the Topical Memory System published by the Navigators, using NASB as the Bible version. I’m posting these here so that hopefully someone else who finds them useful might also benefit.
I’m pleased and excited to announce something that came as a surprise in an email to me a couple weeks ago:
Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Moms will feature one of my previously published stories, entitled “Thank You for Your Service.”
You can find this volume on Amazon, like virtually all things in life. It will be released March 17th, but as a contributing author willing to promote the book, I received several copies to give away.
Hmm. There is a downside to this: If I give one of these to my wife for Mother’s Day, I suspect she’ll see through the ruse. (Kidding!)
That won’t be a problem for you, dear reader. Whether it’s for a seasoned mother who has been your support and strength, a new mother who might need support and encouragement, or for one of those many surrogate mothers who come into our lives and bless us in profound ways, this may be a thoughtful and uplifting way to say thanks.
You can find my contribution in the section honoring surrogate mothers. It’s story number 76 (because America!), and is about a wonderful woman who took my family in to bless the way she would her own children and grandchildren during our brief time being stationed in Nebraska.
To all the mothers out there–whether by birth, by adoption, in spirit, or in support of someone in need–thank you all for your service, a gift of immeasurable value to the generations you lift up.
Bangor, Maine is a popular stop on the itinerary for various trips I’ve taken around the world.
The best aspect of the trip (to me) is that every time I’ve come through, I’ve been warmly greeted by a small assembly of retired military members, veterans and just plain folk with a firm handshake, a smile, and a “Thanks for your service.”
But tonight we showed up after 11 PM, figuring the airport would be closed.
Nope.
Applause and cheers echoed down the hall as my companions and I made our way to the waiting area. Probably a dozen plus men and women stood at the door to catch us as we came in.
After 11 PM.
I’m old enough, even I want to be in bed after 11 PM.
I answered each of them with “Thank you for your service.” Because some of them served–probably at times with harder challenges and more demands placed on them than rest on me. And all of them took the time to come out and show some gratitude to men and women currently serving the nation.
That means something, and it’s worthy of thanks.
The picture is blurry, sorry.
My eyes were a little blurry too.
Normally I have a Thursday Tirade – usually about some facet of leadership and management in the military.
This week, my tirade was DENIED by my Chief Enlisted Manager, our squadron’s Chief Master Sergeant whose job it is to fight for the needs and interests of the enlisted folk.
I’ve been waiting to get some surgery done on my right foot, and the operation has already been scheduled and postponed once due to the needs of the Air Force. For a month or so, the rescheduled surgery date has been awaiting approval. That approval did not come until 7 PM on the night before the surgery was scheduled. And it did not come except for the hard work and effort of my Chief to fight on my behalf.
I anticipated delaying surgery “one more time,” which I’ve learned usually means “several more ‘one more times.'” I even typed up a lovely rant about it. The vent post was sitting on my iPad, ready to publish as soon as I knew for sure that the answer was “no.” But then, after multiple trips back-and-forth to speak to squadron leadership, my Chief walked in and gave a double thumbs-up.
She read the rant and said, “I’m very glad you didn’t have to post this.”
Me too.
In the past few days, I’ve seen a lot of good news about the Air Force, not just related to my self-centered needs. Though I have said in the past that I fear that there is a general decline in the quality of leadership, there are glimmers of hope. While I’ve seen managers who are unwilling or ignorant to the balance between accomplishing the mission and taking care of people, there are still compassionate senior leaders out there.
Last week, we found out who was selected for Senior Master Sergeant, and I saw a friend’s name on the list. Chris is one of the smartest people I know as far as our job is concerned, and he has always been quick to fight the trend toward silly or unsafe decisions in flying operations. He was one of my first supervisors in the Air Force, and he is definitely one of the few who demonstrated that they cared. He did not accept mediocrity, but he also mentored me to show me how to improve.
Another Senior Master Sergeant selectee is a former co-worker and supervisor from my time at Kadena. Steph is also one of the hardest working people with whom I’ve served. She knew how to push our office to succeed and yet ensured we could relax and have fun when mission requirements permitted it. She exemplified our squadron’s unofficial motto of “work hard, play hard,” and she led our office and our squadron to some amazing accomplishments as a result. On the personal level, she fought for me and my needs, but she also fought against my procrastination and laziness to force me to be a better NCO.
My neighbor across the street is also on the selection list. When my family moved across the world from Okinawa to Nebraska, we had no sponsor, no official welcome or assistance with how to find our way around a new base. We moved into our new house on base, and our next-door neighbor literally turned his back and pretended like he did not see us. But not Charlie. He saw me struggling a few days later with the ice and snow that had built up in our driveway, and he immediately came out to help with an ice-breaking tool. He’s the guy who pushes a snow blower around the neighborhood, clearing out driveways and sidewalks for about ten families in addition to his own. In the back of his house, he has a virtual farm of fresh produce growing through the warmer months, and several times this year, he has brought over extra fruit and vegetables to us and to other neighbors because “Hey, what am I going to do with all of this?” He genuinely seems to enjoy helping others.
And yesterday, while sitting with my foot in a splint, I hopped on Facebook to discover that one of the best officers I’ve had the pleasure of serving under just got selected for Colonel. In my experience, John was a no-nonsense leader who knew how to get things done. But more than that, he knew how to prioritize what needed to be done in order for us to succeed, and he tried hard to keep us from dealing with time-wasting projects. He showed great leadership and yet remained approachable.
Is everything great in my little corner of the Air Force? As we deal with sequestration and budget cuts, with aging airframes and low retention rates, with an ever-decreasing pool of experience, it’s definitely become more difficult to keep up with demands. When we get managers that seem to care about nothing more than their next performance report, it’s hard at times to remain motivated.
So it’s with great pleasure that I see some of the future leaders we’re raising up, and it gives me hope.
I don’t have a rant today, and yes, Chief, I’m very happy about that.
What is Worship?
Though this is not the first post on my blog about worship, this is the first Wednesday Worship post. Because worship music is a passion of mine, I hope to use this weekly category to cover some of the myths and truths about how we do worship in the Church.
All there is to worship? No.
Since we usually mean “singing and playing music” when we talk about worship, that’s going to be the main focus. But there is much more to worship than just the songs we perform on Sunday morning.
So what is worship?
Merriam-Webster gives a few applicable definitions:
1. reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also: an act of expressing such reverence.
2. a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual
As a verb, it is to perform an act of devotion, honor, or reverence based on the above.
The word comes from the concept of “worth” or “worthiness.” It’s an act that says “You are worth this much to me.”
That goes way beyond mere singing and playing music, doesn’t it?
So, what is worship?
In a way, it’s everything we do, to the extent that we do it for God’s glory. Worship is our expression of God’s worth, of our respect and honor and reverence for Him.
If I do a good job at work because I believe I am to work as unto the Lord, my work becomes worship.
If I bite my tongue instead of biting off my co-worker’s head because I realize that God calls me to forgive others and treat them with love, that is worship.
When we cheerfully give in the offering plate or cheerfully meet the needs of others, we are worshiping God as much as when we sing hymns and songs of praise.
When I have no words to say, let alone sing, and I simply fall to my knees before God, pouring out my heart’s burden of grief or sorrow, that is worship.
Paul tells us that living our lives as sacrifices offered to God is our spiritual act of worship.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. (Romans 12:1 NASB)
The Messageparaphrase puts it this way:
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
There’s definitely a place for singing and playing music as an expression of our hearts and of God’s worth. And that will occupy the spotlight in my future posts about worship, because that’s an important part of who I am and what I’m gifted to do.
But I want to be clear from the outset about what worship really is.
Because if you think about it, and you trust what the Bible reveals about God, then there’s a lot more He wants from us than a song and dance at church.
These thoughts make me consider the following questions: