Feeling philosophical today

My oldest sister hit 50 last month. I think it hit me as hard as it did her. I am looking back on life and wondering what I could have done differently. What if I had done this or not done that. Argh. That is not good. I have lived a great life. Full of adventure and fun. Sure there was heartache but who doesn't go through that.

Anyway, I am so ready to go sailing. Why cant I just cut the dock lines? What am I scared of? I have been a Christian all my life. I know God will watch out for me and protect me.

My restless spirit

The following poem does a pretty good job of explaining my adventurous spirit.

The Double Life

Don Blanding
written in 1930

How very simple life would be
If only there were two of me
A Restless Me to drift and roam
A Quiet Me to stay at home.
A Searching One to find his fill
Of varied skies and newfound thrill
While sane and homely things are done
By the domestic Other One.

And that's just where the trouble lies;
There is a Restless Me that cries
For chancy risks and changing scene,
For arctic blue and tropic green,
For deserts with their mystic spell,
For lusty fun and raising Hell

But shackled to the Restless Me
My Other Self rebelliously
Resists the frantic urge to move.
It seeks the old familiar groove
That habits make. It finds content

With hearth and home dear prisonment,
With candlelight and well loved books
And treasured loot in dusty nooks,
With puttering and garden things
And dreaming while a cricket sings
And all the while the Restless One
Insists on more exciting fun
It wants to go with every tide,
No matter where... just for the ride.
Like yowling cats the two selves brawl
Until I have no peace at all.

One eye turns to the forward track,
The other eye looks sadly back,
I'm getting wall-eyed from the strain,
(It's tough to have an idle brain)
But One says "Stay" and One says "Go"
And One says "Yes and One says "No",
And One Self wants a home and wife
And One Self craves the drifter's life.

The Restless Fellow always wins
I wish my folks had made me twins.

Good morning fine viewers

After a rough few weeks, things seem to be looking up again. I felt a minor victory in being able to fit all the week's trash into the trash can yesterday. Bought the movie, Race to Witch Mountain, last night. It was good. I vaguely remember the original. They definitely left it open for a sequel.

I still haven't figured out what my blog is......a sailing blog? christian blog? or "insert type here"?

I figure I will just write...letting God decide what I say.

Does anyone care if I come back?

After a 3 year hiatus, I am back. Alot has happened over those three years. I safely made it home from my first deployment to Iraq. I say first because in 2007 I volunteered for a second tour. This time I went with a Combat Support Hospital (CSH). I wont say which one because it was mostly a negative experience. I retired from active military duty on 30 June 2009. I procrastinated enough on retirement savings that I do not have enough for a boat. YET! I am working on it though.

I have taken a job with MC4 (Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care). I teach military medical personnel several different computer applications. Our mission is to integrate, field and support a medical information management system for tactical forces. Wha? LOL In easier to understand terms. One app provides soldiers with a life-long electronic medical record (EMR).

I haven't given up on the dream to sail. Or the dream to help orphans and widows around the world. I continue reading sailing books in order to keep the dream alive and to gain knowledge. I am hoping to join a boat for more hands on learning.

Busy with the busy-ness of life

I must say I miss talking to everyone. I got home from Iraq in October and quickly got caught up in the busy-ness of life in the US. Finally after returning we got new medics. After spending a year in Iraq at 50% strength we are now at 100%. I love the eagerness of the new medics. Some of the other soldiers in my platoon leave a little something to be desired. I will try to post daily or at least weekly. Continue praying for me. I am still trying to get released from my current unit so I can go teach at a training post.

I am alive

I am alive. I just havent had anything to say lately. My time in Iraq is drawing to a close. We have been cleaning and packing equipment. It also seems the chain of command is trying to squeeze in as many missions as possible before we redeploy home. I look forward to making it home and seeing my family again. I also have planned some trips to visit friends. I am in serious need of destressing.

I was brash (reckless; impetuous), please forgive me

I brashly posted this info without properly checking it out. Thank you Milton Stanley for pointing out the error of my ways. As a Christian we must guard against lashing out. I appologize to Mr Forrey and Target for perpetuating this message.

Seems this is an urban myth. Check out other myths while you are there.

Dick Forrey, a member of the Indiana-based Howard County Vietnam Veterans organization, rashly penned the below message in March 2002 after failing to secure a $100 sponsorship for a travelling Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall exhibit from his local Target store. Mr. Forrey was rebuffed, because Target does not give out cash donations through local stores; they donate money only at the corporate level, and only through grants to organizations falling within their defined general areas of giving. Mr. Forrey has since apologized for his mistake and issued a retraction:

I made a mistake on this one, and I've learned a hard lesson — that's for
sure. What started out as a message for the members in our organization has
turned into a hate-type thing. I never wanted to start any national boycott. I
just wish it would all stop. Some people have used my words and perpetuated
lies. It's sad that some of these people would use veterans as a way to push
their own political views. I've sent out a retraction, and no one pays any
attention.

This is an urban myth. See this site to get the truth.

Stop supporting Target until they support Veterans

Something to think about when heading out to shop next time.
Amazing Issue with Target Stores

If they have a good sale in their ads, take the ad to Walmart, wherethey will meet the price...............

Dick Forrey of the Vietnam Veterans Association wrote."Recently we asked the local TARGET store to be a proud sponsor of theVietnam Veterans Memorial Wall during our spring recognition event.We received the following reply from the localTARGET management: "Veterans do not meet our area of giving. We onlydonate to the arts, social action groups, gay & lesbian causes, andeducation."So I'm thinking, if the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and veterans ingeneral do not meet their donation criteria, then something is reallywrong at this TARGET store. We were not asking for thousands ofdollars, not even hundreds, just a small sponsorship for a memorialremembrance.As a follow-up, I E-mailed the TARGET U.S. corporate headquarters andtheir response was the same.That's their national policy. Then I looked into the company further. They will not allow theMarines to collect for 'Toys for Tots' at any of their stores. Andduring the recent Iraq deployment, they would not allow families ofemployees who were called up for active duty to continue theirinsurance coverage while they were on military service. Then as I digfurther, TARGET is a French-owned corporation. Now, I'm thinking again. If TARGET cannot support American Veterans,then why should my family and I support their stores by spending ourhard earned American dollars and to have their profits sent to France.Without the American Vets, where would France be today?"Feel free to pass this along to whomever you want.

Sincerely,
Dick Forrey
Veterans helping Veterans

Please send this on to everyone you know to let Target know howAMERICAN'S feel about their non support of America and our support ofthem. Isn't it amazing how people can forget when we support them.

How do you define success?

Does Passion equal Success?

How do we define passion? How do we define success? What is the correct aim for success? What should we be passionate about?

Webster’s online says the following:

Passion

Noun
1. Strong feeling or emotion.
2. Intense passion or emotion. (how can you use a word to describe itself?)
3. Something that is desired intensely; "his rage for fame destroyed him".
4. An irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action.
5. A feeling of strong sexual desire.
6. Any object of warm affection or devotion; "the theater was her first love" or "he has a passion for cock fighting".
7. The suffering of Jesus at the crucifixion.

Success

Noun
1. An event that accomplishes its intended purpose; "let's call heads a success and tails a failure"; "the election was a remarkable success for Republicans".
2. An attainment that is successful; "his success in the marathon was unexpected"; "his new play was a great success".
3. A state of prosperity or fame; "he is enjoying great success"; "he does not consider wealth synonymous with success".
4. A person with a record of successes; "his son would never be the achiever that his father was"; "only winners need apply"; "if you want to be a success you have to dress like a success".

A co-worker states one must be at the top of his/her field to be successful. Meaning instead of an EMT be a doctor. He firmly believes passion equals success. If there is no passion on is not successful.

Is it a sin to be happy with your station in life? Must we all strive to be Billy Graham? Why are we jealous of the next guy doing more or less than us?

I have a severe dislike for studying. Medicine requires studying. I would go crazy studying to stay proficient as a doctor. I would become a terrible person. (I am not saying all doctors are bad. Just that I would be a worse person than I am now. A lesser Christian even) I am the best EMT I know. Should I strive to be a doctor and be a mediocre one? I don’t think so. I feel I am where God wants me to be. Doing what God wants me to do. Don't get me wrong, I have my faults. But accountability with other men is keeping those faults in check.

Why do we get high and mighty thinking the janitor is below us? If it wasn’t for the maintenance crew the preacher couldn’t stand in front of everyone and preach the word. Then again I might be wrong. Your church might have an outhouse. Your church might be situated on a hill just right that the wind always blows the stench away from the church. Hey....it is a better analogy than the first one that came to mind.

On a side note…..what about procrastination?

Harvestnet’s article Walking out of the desert

Why does it seem we take so long to start working for the Lord? Moses went 40 years before he saw the burning bush. Isn’t there much to be learned by the widow with only the mite to give? Why do we feel we have to be Billy Graham? Why can’t we accept what God intended us to be? Just setting a good Christian example while learning to be all that you can be should work.

I am not condoning my waiting 25 years to find my voice. However, I look back and find that the trials I went through have made me a better person and therefore a better Christian. I still find it difficult to post somedays. Notice the recent two week lapse.


Does passion equal success?

Correct aim of passions as defined by Iam Caldwell and Dustin Thomason in The Rule of Four.

All it takes to be happy is to love the right things in the right amounts. Not money. Not books. People. Adults who don’t understand that never feel fulfilled.

Even though that is a secular novel I find the advise worthwhile. Love the right things in the right amounts.

J-Jesus
O-others
Y-you

Register your website Soldier

There seems to be an article in 4 July 2005 Army Times that states one must register his website with his command. I have yet to read the article. Yes, I understand it is 22 days later. However wishing to maintain the appearance of a good soldier I reported to my commander and informed him that I had a Christian blog and wished to register it. He gave me a quizzical look and said, “Okay? Please explain.” I told him about the article and how I was told that since I was a soldier I needed to register my blog with my chain of command. I told him I went to the computer guys (S6) and they had no clue what I was talking about. I told him I would have gone to my platoon leader but I didn’t have one. He knows I am the acting medical platoon leader in my battalion. He thought for a moment then stated “Don’t write anything against regulations. Dismissed.” I snapped to attention and did an about face and sharply marched out of there. As an after thought he yells, “And spell my name correctly” (Okay so it wasn’t really that formal, but the truth wasn’t as exciting. Plus I don’t want my military readers to think I am lacidazical about my career)

Does God have a regulation as to what we can and cannot write? After all I consider my main focus spiritual warfare not physical.

I think I see a new reader peaking in through the curtain. Don’t be shy come on in. Please feel free to voice your opinion and answer any questions you feel led to answer. Or direct us to a website that covers the subject matter. I have never been one to reinvent the wheel when someone smarter than I has done a great job already.