I was looking through some old notes on my computer and found this letter I wrote to some churches and missionaries on January 10, 1999. I've done some growing since writing this letter, but I thought it might be interesting to read as it shows the level I was at as a 22 year old witnessing to my shipmates.
Enjoy!
Palmerston Baptist Church
Magnetic Island Baptist
Korea International Seaman’s Center
Pattaya International Church
Southern Baptist Missionaries to S. Korea
Calvary Bible Church
Girard Bible Church
High Desert Church
USS FT. McHenry
Religious Serv. Cord: Charlotte Welsch
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Hello again from Japan. I trust you all remember the tall white yank who, with others on his ship, went either to church services, tried to finish painting a sanctuary, or just set up some sort of contact with you in the areas of the world you work in. This is simply an update to show you that we still care and are trying to keep in contact with each of you as best we can.
The year 1998 is well and over and we look forward to meeting again with some of you or sending others to worship with you as the Lord provides in 1999. Our Australian friends will have to wait for a while, for we have no ships heading that way, though some will be going south to Brisbane and Sydney, which is certainly a prayer item. The USS Mobile Bay will be sailing to Pattaya Beach once again, and probably on to Korea this year, so a few of you will undoubtedly hear from us again. I trust this does not upset anyone.
There is a major praise note on the “Mobay.” Our team has now been given a service on the ship with which to minister to our own crew. We are now able to fully take to Gospel to the world, beginning in “Jerusalem.” The Lord has added to the number of brothers and we happily report the salvation of a young man by the name of Aaron Irvin. He is now ready for follow up and we pray he does well. We also report the new website that opened the first of the year wherein, those of you with internet access, will notice your names and addresses. The site is www.townbeacon.com/sailorsforchrist Our American Friends will have to settle without, for this is for the travelling sailor…I trust you understand.
I hope to update you all and others as we add them to our list. If you have anything to share, feel free to write back or email me at Bluejackets_int@hotmail.com It has been a wonderful joy to share with you both in the time we met with you and now as I write you. It has been wonderful. I trust the Lord will bless each and every one of you as you continue on.
God Bless,
S. Dan Smith
Places I've Been: Kagoshima
My heart melted when I saw a port visit in Japan on our long-range schedule this January. Could it be, that after nearly a decade, I would be going back to a country I never stopped loving? My mind tried to tell me that it couldn't be happening. God had continually shut door after door on my attempts to go back to Japan. No church we had joined in our duty stations ever sent short-term missions to Japan and the US Navy seemed to not want me back overseas. Finally, since the Navy hospitals in Japan don't treat cystic fibrosis, God told me no for what I assumed was the last time.Japan means the world to me, which is probably why God needed to take me out of the country. The ministry I had been doing (very occasional preaching and Conversational English Classes) had almost become more important to me than the God I was serving. In fact, maybe it had become that way. It could be that this pride caused me to leave Japan. Or perhaps it was just my time. I won't know until I get to heaven.
At any rate, I almost didn't believe it was happening. In fact I almost didn't plan anything for the visit! Normally I try to contact a missionary or church in the cities I visit, and a few weeks before we landed in Kagoshima, I finally realized I needed to contact someone. I'm grateful that God had allowed me to visit the city once before in my travels. I contacted the missionaries I had visited nine years prior: Walter and Mary Maxey (pictured here):
I can't believe they had remembered me! It was such a blessing. We made plans to meet up on Sunday for church (something I hadn't been able to do the last time I visited the city). They were even going to enlist the help of one of the members to get us to and from the church.
Since I had a day to kill before Sunday, I went out with two other first classes and did some sight-seeing. Here is a small premonade that we found and enjoyed as it had a number of shops. Some people even tried to speak English to us. It was awesome!
The layout of the streets is pretty cool here. You can see how narrow they are, can't you? They fit three lanes over there in the area that we'd probably put one, maybe two!
This is a favorite past-time of just about every Japanese teen/young adult. And, since Timothy and I are avid Mario Kart fans, I just had to drop my 100 Yen coin in and try it out! So awesome!
Finally, Sunday arrived. Mr. Funasaki, a retired merchant ship captain, offered to pick us up. He arrived almost an hour early, so I gave him a quick once over of the ship. Of course, he had no trouble getting around. He was moving through hatches and scuttles faster than I was! Here we are at the church:
Mr. Funasaki had almost flawless command of the English language. It was easy to talk with him!
Walter Maxey brought the message that day and translated to English some of the key points. I was very grateful that he did that for us, as I had three friends with me, and my very shaky Japanese was the only native language between the four of us!
After the sermon, we were treated to a fellowship meal with the church. Everyone simply moved the chairs out of the way and set up tables! Suddenly, a room that had been the sanctuary was now the fellowship hall! It rocked. American churches should live with such a small footprint. It would do us good to be humbled.
Here are some pictures from the fellowship. The first picture is how the sactuary looks when it's in church service mode, and the pictures after show it in fellowship mode:
We took this photo once the meal was finished out front:
After church, we all went back to my ship for a tour. It was really fun, but did cause a bit of a stir with the command. Apparently they didn't realize that I intended to bring so many people with me! In thier defence, I did show up with a small army, so I understand.
Here I am with the Maxey's:
On the following day, a Japanese pastor in the area, who pastors the sister church, came by with his family and I gave a second tour. He was very, very knowledgeable about the US Navy. His family is amazing.
And this one is just cute, I think:
I wish nothing but the best for the churches I got to host on my ship in Kagoshima Japan. It was a blast to share my ship with them. I'm grateful to have shared a meal of fellowship with them as well, and as such I am grateful for Mary Maxey, who prepared an outstanding meal on out behalf. I will be forever grateful.
Special note of thanks: You may notice that when I'm with Mr. Funasaki, I am in a regular collared shirt, but when I'm in the group photos, I'm in a sweater. That sweater was a gift from Mary Maxey, and I am grateful as the nights in Kagoshima were pretty cold! I was even more grateful once we went further north to South Korea, because it was really cold there! Thank you Mary!
How I've Become a Better Person since Fatherhood
I know I am better since becoming a father because I now have a window into heart of God as Father.
First of all, through my children I've been able to see just how badly my selfishness affects God. When one of my kids doesn't get his/her way, resulting in an ear-splitting tantrum, and I have to some how piece it all back together, I now understand how much it hurts God when I throw a fit. He wants to pour His blessings out on me, but I don't like the blessings he chooses. That awareness humbles me.
Secondly, I've discovered how patient God is with me. In the training process I may have to tell one of my children time and time again how to do something, and yet I do it because I love them and care about the direction of their lives. How many times has God shown me even more patience than I know how to show my kids. That perspective reminds me to be patient.
Lastly, I've learned the joy God has by being in a relationship with me. When I least expect it, and when I'm not asking for it, one of my kids will come up to me, throw their arms around one of my legs, and shout, "Dad, you're the best!" Those are the best moments as a Dad. That must be what God feels when we praise him...when all our energy and love is directed solely towards him! That understanding has made me grateful.
What a blessing it is to be a Dad! God has used this role to humble me in my selfishness, persevere in patience, and be grateful in all things.
Dr. Jerry Falwell and Senator Ted Kennedy
Sen. Ted Kennedy speaks at Liberty Baptist College on Oct. 4, 1983 as Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Sr. watches on the right. (Photos by Les Schofer)The top news story on Liberty University's website since Senator Ted Kennedy's death three days ago has been the relationship between the late Dr. Falwell and Senator Kennedy. At first, I was skeptical. I mean honestly...what in the world could Kennedy and Falwell have had in common? Surely it was some sort of spin put on the recent passing of the senator by the university.
It's a good thing that I've been wrong before and know how to handle it. Turns out, Ted Kennedy and Jerry Falwell had been friend for decades, carefully respecting each other despite the fact that they disagreed on what I assume must have been just about everything. You can read that article here.
At first I was a little troubled about the respect Jerry Falwell had for Senator Kennedy. In fact, I went so far in my mind as to think it was a little hypocritical of Falwell. I mean, the Senator stood against just about everything that ultra-conservatives like Falwell hold dear.
But on second thought, I think this is brilliant, and I want to propose that I need to be more like these two men. I am lousy when it comes to respecting my opponents. This isn't just about the Taliban, the Iranian Navy, or the North Korean Air Force (my military opponents). I don't respect the atheists on board, the Catholics on board, and I don't even respect some of the Christians on board.
There, I said it, I'm lousy at respecting others. I have already said that compassion isn't a strong point for me. But what I have also said is that this fact needs to change. What I found great about Jerry Falwell and Senator Kennedy is that they can help light the way for opponents on the spiritual level to respect each other.
Can I respect an atheist? Yes. A Catholic/Mormon/Shintoist? Yes. Why? For no other reason than the fact that they are created in God's image and they may someday come to believe in Him. Why would I want to be the guy who shames my Father by my actions? Oh, this has to change in my heart!
If you have a problem with this as well, then join me as I try to emulate the example of a liberal senator and the founder of a major conservative Christian university. This has to change with us, and we can start now!
News: Wicked, Mentor Program, Flag Half Staff
I took Alicia to see the musical Wicked on Tuesday (it's playing until the end of the month). Granted, I lost a few man-points when I told the guys on the ship about it, but honestly that was a small price to pay. Look, I'm not cultured enough to tell you all of the ins and outs of Wicked, but I do know enough to tell you to go. There are even some Wild at Heart moments in there, so it's definitely worth it as a man. As a farm boy from Kansas who grew up with the Wizard of Oz, I was impressed with how true to the story they stayed while developing the plot of this musical. If you live in one of the tour cities and you do anything this year, you have to see this musical!
Regular readers will have noticed that this week I created a separate label for mentoring. I did this because I'm going to start posting on it more often. One reason for this is that I am the mentorship coordinator for Combat Systems Department on the USS Antietam. I have learned a great deal about mentoring by being in that position. My second reason is, and this is most important, that I have been passionate about mentoring since I was stationed in Japan. I am cautiously moving ahead with the knowledge I have, and the experiences I've gained thus far, to share my experiences with you. Please take a gander and let me know what you think!
Finally, today was the first day that the flags were at half-mast for the late Senator Ted Kennedy. It honestly doesn't matter how one feels about the man, it is always a privilege for a ship to honor a distinguished American. The flags will remain at half-mast until sunset on the 30th of August as per the President of the United States.
Regular readers will have noticed that this week I created a separate label for mentoring. I did this because I'm going to start posting on it more often. One reason for this is that I am the mentorship coordinator for Combat Systems Department on the USS Antietam. I have learned a great deal about mentoring by being in that position. My second reason is, and this is most important, that I have been passionate about mentoring since I was stationed in Japan. I am cautiously moving ahead with the knowledge I have, and the experiences I've gained thus far, to share my experiences with you. Please take a gander and let me know what you think!
Finally, today was the first day that the flags were at half-mast for the late Senator Ted Kennedy. It honestly doesn't matter how one feels about the man, it is always a privilege for a ship to honor a distinguished American. The flags will remain at half-mast until sunset on the 30th of August as per the President of the United States.
When I get to Heaven
When I get to heaven, I'm going to find Timothy (of the Bible) and camp out at his house. Here's why:
I was tucking Timothy (my son) into bed a few nights ago and we started talking about heaven. I'm not sure what made him want to talk about it, but I did my best to explain what I understood it to be. At some point, I told Timothy how to get there. "If you believe in Jesus, then when you die you get to go to heaven." I didn't go too much deeper because I don't think he's quite to the age of accountability.
"I believe in Jesus," he told me. This melted my heart, as I'm sure it would melt the heart of any father. I told him, "Then you're going to go to heaven!"
"Dad," my son said, "When I get to heaven, I'm going to find Timothy of the Bible and tell him I was named after him."
And that is why I'm going to find Timothy (of the Bible) when I get to glory. That way, I can be the second person to welcome my son to heaven.
I was tucking Timothy (my son) into bed a few nights ago and we started talking about heaven. I'm not sure what made him want to talk about it, but I did my best to explain what I understood it to be. At some point, I told Timothy how to get there. "If you believe in Jesus, then when you die you get to go to heaven." I didn't go too much deeper because I don't think he's quite to the age of accountability.
"I believe in Jesus," he told me. This melted my heart, as I'm sure it would melt the heart of any father. I told him, "Then you're going to go to heaven!"
"Dad," my son said, "When I get to heaven, I'm going to find Timothy of the Bible and tell him I was named after him."
And that is why I'm going to find Timothy (of the Bible) when I get to glory. That way, I can be the second person to welcome my son to heaven.
How to Pick a Mentor
Because the US Navy has really been pushing the mentorship program over the last few years, and because I have become a mentor to six young sailors, more than one person has come to me with the question: Who should I pick to be my mentor? This hasn’t happened as often in my Christian circles, but I believe these rules apply and would apply to you if you are looking for a mentor.
Please understand that women need mentors too, but since my ministry is to male sailors, I use the word “he” and not “he/she” for continuity. Without further ado, here are my simple rules of how to pick a mentor:
1. Does he have what you want?
Find the guy with the stuff you’re after. If you want to get better at being a sailor, find a good sailor. If you want to be a better husband, find a guy who’s a good husband. If you want to be a better preacher, find a good preacher. It does you no good to pick a mentor that doesn’t succeed in the area you want. If you want to be a good preacher, don’t find a guy who is a good mechanic. One caveat to this is that yes, a good preacher may also be a good husband, therefore you may find that multiple things you want reside in the same guy. That’s fine, just make sure that you’re picking a guy for your primary areas of need.
2. Is he a teacher?
It won’t do you much good if you pick a mentor who is successful but doesn’t know how to teach you to be successful. I had a mentor even as recently as 18 months ago who was an outstanding sailor. He had just gotten picked up to be an officer, so he had what I wanted at the time. But he didn’t know how to teach me to be as successful as he was. Our relationship ended a few months after it had begun. It just wasn’t working.
3. Is he a good leader?
Your job as a protégé is to be a follower, so you need to know that you have a good leader in your mentor. My current Navy mentor is an outstanding leader. I have learned more in the last year than I’ve known in a dozen previous years about leading in the Navy. Since I want to be a leader, I found a great leader. Even though right now I am the follower, I would have always stayed a follower if that is what I had picked as a mentor. If you want to lead, find a leader.
One other thing I might mention is that your mentor must be the same gender as you. So if you are a woman, you need a woman for a mentor. If you are a man, you’ll need a man. This should go without saying, but I feel I need to speak the words.
And that’s about it. Mentorship is fluid. Just find what you want and run with it!
Do you have a mentor? If so, how did you pick him?
Please understand that women need mentors too, but since my ministry is to male sailors, I use the word “he” and not “he/she” for continuity. Without further ado, here are my simple rules of how to pick a mentor:
1. Does he have what you want?
Find the guy with the stuff you’re after. If you want to get better at being a sailor, find a good sailor. If you want to be a better husband, find a guy who’s a good husband. If you want to be a better preacher, find a good preacher. It does you no good to pick a mentor that doesn’t succeed in the area you want. If you want to be a good preacher, don’t find a guy who is a good mechanic. One caveat to this is that yes, a good preacher may also be a good husband, therefore you may find that multiple things you want reside in the same guy. That’s fine, just make sure that you’re picking a guy for your primary areas of need.
2. Is he a teacher?
It won’t do you much good if you pick a mentor who is successful but doesn’t know how to teach you to be successful. I had a mentor even as recently as 18 months ago who was an outstanding sailor. He had just gotten picked up to be an officer, so he had what I wanted at the time. But he didn’t know how to teach me to be as successful as he was. Our relationship ended a few months after it had begun. It just wasn’t working.
3. Is he a good leader?
Your job as a protégé is to be a follower, so you need to know that you have a good leader in your mentor. My current Navy mentor is an outstanding leader. I have learned more in the last year than I’ve known in a dozen previous years about leading in the Navy. Since I want to be a leader, I found a great leader. Even though right now I am the follower, I would have always stayed a follower if that is what I had picked as a mentor. If you want to lead, find a leader.
One other thing I might mention is that your mentor must be the same gender as you. So if you are a woman, you need a woman for a mentor. If you are a man, you’ll need a man. This should go without saying, but I feel I need to speak the words.
And that’s about it. Mentorship is fluid. Just find what you want and run with it!
Do you have a mentor? If so, how did you pick him?
God: Saving Sailors’ Lives for over 2700 Years!
This is one of my favorite passages of the Bible:
Jonah 1:13-16 “Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried to the LORD, ‘O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased.’ Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.”
We sailors have been a superstitious lot for all of history. Modern sailors, through the use of scuttlebutt rumor, are no different. The sailors carting a very cowardly Jonah (his name means “dove”) were suspicious enough to try figuring out which deity had caused the rough seas. Finally, the lot is cast on Jonah, who finally admits that he has blown it.
Sailors are stubborn, as these ancient salts were. Instead of immediately doing what Jonah says will save their lives, they try to get back to land instead. This is how modern sailors are as well. Believe me…not only have I seen it, but I’ve lived it! How often have I decided to row back to land (or try to) instead of doing what I know is right in the middle of a storm in my life?
But the crux of the story, as it relates to God’s relentless pursuit of sailors, is that he uses even the disobedient, cowardly Jonah to reach them. This is also the crux of my life. On my recent deployment, I witnessed outright to exactly one handful of men. That’s not even an average of one per month. Since the end of deployment, I have spoken to one more. Less than one per month still.
I am, like Jonah, a dove, not the warrior I want to be. I am a coward. I’m grateful, however, that God has used me to lead perhaps a small boat of men to him, and until I am the man I want to be, I will continue mentoring the ones I have been given to lead. Someday, I will courageously sprint into storms to rescue sailors.
Until then, I will take courage in the fact that God has been reaching out to sailors far longer than I have, and will be doing so long after I am gone.
Jonah 1:13-16 “Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried to the LORD, ‘O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased.’ Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.”
We sailors have been a superstitious lot for all of history. Modern sailors, through the use of scuttlebutt rumor, are no different. The sailors carting a very cowardly Jonah (his name means “dove”) were suspicious enough to try figuring out which deity had caused the rough seas. Finally, the lot is cast on Jonah, who finally admits that he has blown it.
Sailors are stubborn, as these ancient salts were. Instead of immediately doing what Jonah says will save their lives, they try to get back to land instead. This is how modern sailors are as well. Believe me…not only have I seen it, but I’ve lived it! How often have I decided to row back to land (or try to) instead of doing what I know is right in the middle of a storm in my life?
But the crux of the story, as it relates to God’s relentless pursuit of sailors, is that he uses even the disobedient, cowardly Jonah to reach them. This is also the crux of my life. On my recent deployment, I witnessed outright to exactly one handful of men. That’s not even an average of one per month. Since the end of deployment, I have spoken to one more. Less than one per month still.
I am, like Jonah, a dove, not the warrior I want to be. I am a coward. I’m grateful, however, that God has used me to lead perhaps a small boat of men to him, and until I am the man I want to be, I will continue mentoring the ones I have been given to lead. Someday, I will courageously sprint into storms to rescue sailors.
Until then, I will take courage in the fact that God has been reaching out to sailors far longer than I have, and will be doing so long after I am gone.
We Planted a Church!
Quite by accident, I assure you.About two months into my recent deployment, after confirming a man’s salvation and suggesting that he read the book of John, it hit me that I should do it with him. We met to go over chapter one a week or so later and it went very well. I asked him if we could invite some others, and that’s really where the church started…just two guys meeting over the book of John.
At any given “service” we would have three to five guys reading portions of scripture and sharing thoughts. The picture to the left show the very informal location where our meetings took place. It was very casual, but very instructional. Everyone had a say. I “led” only in the sense of one who facilitates. We got through the first ten chapters of John before the deployment ended. We have proceeded through another chapter on a duty day after the ship returned to San Diego.
So is that a real church? It depends on who you ask. The US Government, for example, would have a good chuckle, but we don’t take an offering so that doesn’t count. I think a few of the writers/missionaries I subscribe to might think this was a church, such as Guy Muse, Roger Thoman, etc. We are a body of believers, we have witnessed to those around us, and we meet together for furthering the Kingdom and our walks with Christ.
On the other side of the coin, this church will fold at some point. We will all transfer and even if we pass on this little congregation to someone else, it will be totally different by then; a new church, if you will. This is a church that exists to learn about Christ and living in him. And when the Holy Ghost is done with this little gathering, we’ll all move on. I’m just grateful to be a part of it right now!
And furthermore, this isn't the only church we go to. Even on deployment, some of us would invariably go to a church in whatever port we visited and our chaplain had services that were fairly well-attended as well. Now back in San Diego, I have encouraged all of the men to find a church home, even though we still gather for fellowship.
So maybe it's not a church, or maybe it is. But for a few crucial months, we did what we had to do to get by. God called us together and gave me a purpose in the process. I don't care if this all goes away tomorrow or if it lasts for decades to come. It was and still is an adventure of the highest sort...a battle for the souls of men.
Recent Events from the Church on Antietam:
26 July: I was privileged to baptize a sailor in the Pacific Ocean!
02 Aug: While some of us were on duty together, we got together for John chapter 11.
09 Aug: Welcome Back to Work Celebration and Fellowship at our house.
Things I'm Thankful For Today
Yesterday we pulled back in from an exhausting underway. The USS Antietam finished the bread and butter of the ULTRA-S package, which consists of administrative reviews, drills, and evolutions. Afloat Training Group Pacific came on board to assess our level of training and I'm grateful to God for the results. We don't find out until later today the official results, but I am fairly certain that Combat Systems, the area I'm responsible for, did well.ULTRA-S stands for Unit Level Training and Readiness Assessment-Sustainment. This means that we are able to continue through a deployment and post-deployment cycle with our training program, and that it is effective. If we fail ULTRA-S, then it shows that basically we gave up once we went on deployment.
As the Combat Systems Leading Petty Officer (LPO) and Combat Systems Maintenance Manager (CSMM) Assistant, I played a fairly extensive role in getting us ready. I helped the CSMM get drill packages prepared and approved by our Commanding Officer, developed drill guides to tell the inspector (onboard) how to evaluate a drill, and a ton of other odds and ends.
I'm not saying that in order to brag. It's almost more that dispite me being involved, we passed! I'm thankful for that. Here's a more detailed list:
1. I'm grateful for being a part of the process: I don't know why Senior Chief Edwards picked me to be his assistant. In fact, I don't know what he saw in me two years ago when he first arrived that made him take notice and start mentoring me. I have never been this involved before in a training process, and the level of knowledge I have gained now blows me away. Only God could have ordained all of that.
2. I'm grateful for the results: As I said, the official results will come out today and may be expanded over the next week or two as other reports become final. However, I am confident that combat systems has done well. No one wants to put in a lot of hard work and yet see the project fail. And let's be honest, there were some areas where we could have blown it. The technicians and watch-standers pulled through, and I'm grateful to God for those results.
3. I'm grateful for the chance to get a higher qualification: Afloat Training Specialist (ATS) is a huge undertaking and is a qualification I've been working on for a while. This is another area where Senior Chief has helped me immensely, including interfacing with the granting authority (ATG) to get my board scheduled. Now, I still have to pass an oral board, which is pretty tough, but all of my prereq's are complete and my evaluation went great. They said I did a very good job with my briefings.
4. I'm grateful for Alicia's support: I know there are guys on board who have only the Navy to fulfill them. I see them every day and I'm sad for them. They don't have Christ and they don't have a good family situation. I have both of those things, and it's truly an advantage. Alicia has dealt with a fairly cantankerous husband off and on for the last several weeks as I have prepared for the inspection. She's a trooper, and now I need to find a way to repay her for that effort. Thank you, Alicia! (No, that's not how I'm repaying her!)
There are many parts to my life where I have reason to give thanks. Well, all of it, actually. Today I am grateful for a successful series of evolutions to prove that our ship can fight and protect itself. I'm tired, still a little cantankerous, but overall, I'm grateful.
How Long Distance Discipline Should Work
I was underway last week preparing for ULTRA-S, something I will describe in a future post. I'm excited about it because I'm working on a major qualification called the Afloat Training Specialist qualification. It's fairly intense and I'm really hoping I pass the oral board this week!
Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Last week I was away, and Timothy had been giving Alicia some problems with obedience and attitude. As it was Tuesday of last week when Timothy started having discipline issues, Alicia was not content to wait the rest of the week to fix his behavior upon my return. And I was itching to find a way to solve the problem as well, from the ship.
Since the majority of the issues revolved around Timothy and the family Nintendo DS, Alicia wanted to take it away. Usually we do this for a day or so at a time if he gets overstimulated or if he has a bad attitude. However, as it was going to be another four days before I would be home, Alicia wanted to take it away for the remainder of the week.
So she asked me if I was ok with that. A less-submissive woman would have dished out punishment and made me accept it, but Alicia came to me with her desires and asked permission to give this punishment. I gave her the permission she sought for two reasons:
1. She presented her case and asked. I was honored by her actions, which made it so very easy to allow this effort to continue.
2. Timothy was showing signs early on of having an attitude problem in my absence. He was showing defiance. Alicia presented a compelling way to handle the situation.
Timothy did fine! He was very sorry as soon as Alicia took the DS away. But Alicia told him the truth, that he was sorry he lost the DS, not that he had disobeyed her. He accepted his lot and found other activities. When I got home on Saturday, he and I had a talk, spent some quality time together, and then he asked nicely if he could have his DS back. He played on it for a few minutes and then put it away so we could play football.
I'm very pleased with how this turned out. This is how a family structure, in my opinion, should work when the husband is away. I can only take a small amount of the credit for this as Alicia did her part first and submitted to me as her husband.
Some people have asked me how in the world Alicia can be a submissive wife and still make decisions in my absence. It's easy. I don't rule my home with an iron fist. Alicia is my partner and my friend. When she makes a call, the kids know that I support it, but as often as possible, she presents her case to me and I make the decision. This one was easy. I had wanted to defend Alicia in some way, so this made sense to me.
But I will admit that we are still learning. Does anyone have any ideas for us? Any way you might have handled that situation as a wife, or as a husband?
Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Last week I was away, and Timothy had been giving Alicia some problems with obedience and attitude. As it was Tuesday of last week when Timothy started having discipline issues, Alicia was not content to wait the rest of the week to fix his behavior upon my return. And I was itching to find a way to solve the problem as well, from the ship.
Since the majority of the issues revolved around Timothy and the family Nintendo DS, Alicia wanted to take it away. Usually we do this for a day or so at a time if he gets overstimulated or if he has a bad attitude. However, as it was going to be another four days before I would be home, Alicia wanted to take it away for the remainder of the week.
So she asked me if I was ok with that. A less-submissive woman would have dished out punishment and made me accept it, but Alicia came to me with her desires and asked permission to give this punishment. I gave her the permission she sought for two reasons:
1. She presented her case and asked. I was honored by her actions, which made it so very easy to allow this effort to continue.
2. Timothy was showing signs early on of having an attitude problem in my absence. He was showing defiance. Alicia presented a compelling way to handle the situation.
Timothy did fine! He was very sorry as soon as Alicia took the DS away. But Alicia told him the truth, that he was sorry he lost the DS, not that he had disobeyed her. He accepted his lot and found other activities. When I got home on Saturday, he and I had a talk, spent some quality time together, and then he asked nicely if he could have his DS back. He played on it for a few minutes and then put it away so we could play football.
I'm very pleased with how this turned out. This is how a family structure, in my opinion, should work when the husband is away. I can only take a small amount of the credit for this as Alicia did her part first and submitted to me as her husband.
Some people have asked me how in the world Alicia can be a submissive wife and still make decisions in my absence. It's easy. I don't rule my home with an iron fist. Alicia is my partner and my friend. When she makes a call, the kids know that I support it, but as often as possible, she presents her case to me and I make the decision. This one was easy. I had wanted to defend Alicia in some way, so this made sense to me.
But I will admit that we are still learning. Does anyone have any ideas for us? Any way you might have handled that situation as a wife, or as a husband?
Cross Section of Society
The Military is a cross section of society. You have addicts, whoremongers, good people, pretty people, ugly people, big people, small people, Hispanics, Caucasians, African Americans…indeed, everything you have in the civilian world.
I have served with Wiccans, Atheists, Catholics, democrats, republicans, and a wide assortment of other folks. It’s this reality that makes me proclaim my initial comment and this reality also makes me the missionary desperate for God to get a hold of me. I want to reach out to these guys, even the ones I don’t understand and can’t easily relate to.
The Bible gives an awesome promise regarding this, however, and that is that “There is therefore neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.” Romans teaches us that it's all about God here. He can take all walks of life and make them one in his name. In fact, he loves diversity, so he's got no problem showing the world the color of his kingdom because there is in fact so much color. Please take that verse with you today and pray that, in the Navy and in your own back yard, we will win souls for Christ who will then make up the diverse kingdom he reigns over.
The harvest is ripe in the US Navy. There are souls that need to be saved and you can invest in that work by just finding a military Christian and pleading with God on his/her behalf. Please do so.
I have served with Wiccans, Atheists, Catholics, democrats, republicans, and a wide assortment of other folks. It’s this reality that makes me proclaim my initial comment and this reality also makes me the missionary desperate for God to get a hold of me. I want to reach out to these guys, even the ones I don’t understand and can’t easily relate to.
The Bible gives an awesome promise regarding this, however, and that is that “There is therefore neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.” Romans teaches us that it's all about God here. He can take all walks of life and make them one in his name. In fact, he loves diversity, so he's got no problem showing the world the color of his kingdom because there is in fact so much color. Please take that verse with you today and pray that, in the Navy and in your own back yard, we will win souls for Christ who will then make up the diverse kingdom he reigns over.
The harvest is ripe in the US Navy. There are souls that need to be saved and you can invest in that work by just finding a military Christian and pleading with God on his/her behalf. Please do so.
The Abortion Debate
If I saw a man beating his child, I would, I hope, do something about it. If I saw a woman killing her child, I would do something about it. It's the right thing to do. Children should be protected...at all costs.
Now I'm at a dilemma. I believe that children should be defended, yet I have stood on the sidelines and left the unborn defenseless. Despite the fact that I do believe abortion is wrong...that it is the murder of a child, I have said nothing. Why? Why did I stay silent on this topic?
I stayed silent for two reasons. First, I believe that we have something more important to do. I believe that anything taking away from the Gospel is a distraction. In fact, I think some distractions in our church today are for the sole purpose of allowing people NOT to spread the Gospel!
I've also stayed silent because I don't believe the church should be involved in politics. I know that this goes against what many believers think. Still, I believe that politics is not something that we should be interwoven with and unfortunately, abortion has been a political issue for decades. It has nothing to do with the separation of church and state, although I also agree with that. Rather, it is because there is too much power in politics...too much at stake that is of this world, not the one we belong to. While I don't advocate that you withhold your vote, I do think that it should be completely removed from church life.
Yet here I am, suddenly realizing that I'm between a rock and a hard place. I'm sick about the thought of abortion. I don't want it to continue. By the same token, my coworkers and neighbors need to know about Christ...not that abortion is wrong. One of those conversations brings eternal life...the other brings morality.
So where do I go from here? I don't know, which is why I propose this issue. I can tell you that I won't be discussing this at our next fellowship dinner when Alicia and I have the sailors over to our house. My mission is to grow those men in faith, not a social-justice issue. I do not want to be a stumbling block to someone's spiritual growth.
I feel a little ill about my continued silence, yet I'm concerned about being involved in a political issue. So what do I do?
Now I'm at a dilemma. I believe that children should be defended, yet I have stood on the sidelines and left the unborn defenseless. Despite the fact that I do believe abortion is wrong...that it is the murder of a child, I have said nothing. Why? Why did I stay silent on this topic?
I stayed silent for two reasons. First, I believe that we have something more important to do. I believe that anything taking away from the Gospel is a distraction. In fact, I think some distractions in our church today are for the sole purpose of allowing people NOT to spread the Gospel!
I've also stayed silent because I don't believe the church should be involved in politics. I know that this goes against what many believers think. Still, I believe that politics is not something that we should be interwoven with and unfortunately, abortion has been a political issue for decades. It has nothing to do with the separation of church and state, although I also agree with that. Rather, it is because there is too much power in politics...too much at stake that is of this world, not the one we belong to. While I don't advocate that you withhold your vote, I do think that it should be completely removed from church life.
Yet here I am, suddenly realizing that I'm between a rock and a hard place. I'm sick about the thought of abortion. I don't want it to continue. By the same token, my coworkers and neighbors need to know about Christ...not that abortion is wrong. One of those conversations brings eternal life...the other brings morality.
So where do I go from here? I don't know, which is why I propose this issue. I can tell you that I won't be discussing this at our next fellowship dinner when Alicia and I have the sailors over to our house. My mission is to grow those men in faith, not a social-justice issue. I do not want to be a stumbling block to someone's spiritual growth.
I feel a little ill about my continued silence, yet I'm concerned about being involved in a political issue. So what do I do?
Ubuntu CE Church Management Software
David, the development lead over at Ubuntu CE (Christian Edition), wrote me last night to announce that a server edition now exists that contains church management software, something I stated would be absolutely necessary for Linux to contend for a place in the church world.
Here is his comment from last night: The dream comes true, I have release Ubuntu CE server edition. Below is a "soft release".
Clicking the "soft release" will take you to the forum where you can see the information.
Now we need a small church that will give this a shot. Until then, I need to know from people who have tried it. From what I can read so far, it looks so promising! I'm going to burn it today and just look at it from a layperson's perspective.
What I'm most excited about is ChurchInfo, which is a database program free for download and configured to work with Ubuntu CE's server edition. I'm still looking into this as well, so expect a review on that. This was, after all, one of my chief concerns regarding Ubuntu CE.
I know not everyone has read down this far because there aren't exactly a large number of Ubuntu geeks who happen also to be Christians who also happen to want cheap church operating software so that churches will have more money to spend on missions, outreach, etc. I pretty much just boxed myself in to a corner. I get that.
But if you have any tech in you...look into Ubuntu CE. I've changed most of my opinions and run it on my computer at home. It's worth looking into!
Here is his comment from last night: The dream comes true, I have release Ubuntu CE server edition. Below is a "soft release".
Clicking the "soft release" will take you to the forum where you can see the information.
Now we need a small church that will give this a shot. Until then, I need to know from people who have tried it. From what I can read so far, it looks so promising! I'm going to burn it today and just look at it from a layperson's perspective.
What I'm most excited about is ChurchInfo, which is a database program free for download and configured to work with Ubuntu CE's server edition. I'm still looking into this as well, so expect a review on that. This was, after all, one of my chief concerns regarding Ubuntu CE.
I know not everyone has read down this far because there aren't exactly a large number of Ubuntu geeks who happen also to be Christians who also happen to want cheap church operating software so that churches will have more money to spend on missions, outreach, etc. I pretty much just boxed myself in to a corner. I get that.
But if you have any tech in you...look into Ubuntu CE. I've changed most of my opinions and run it on my computer at home. It's worth looking into!
Autumn Resolutions
I have been reading John Piper's blog Desiring God for awhile now as well as reading some of his books in Seminary. Yesterday he wrote about resolutions for the Autumn season. It never struck me to think of midyear resolutions as our culture puts more emphasis on the New Year. Yet the idea caught me so hard, I decided to do it! So here is an idea of what I hope to accomplish, in faith, by the end of the year:
1. I resolve to finish my Bible in a Year. I'm in Jeremiah right now, and it's going pretty well!
2. I resolve to get at least a "B" in both of this semester's seminary classes.
3. I resolve to grow, at least in as much as I am responsible, the young believers God has brought to me so that they may be mentors to yet other sailors.
In II Thessalonians 1:11-12, Paul says: "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Chris." (Italics were John Piper's)
My hope is that God will help me keep these resolutions so that I might do the good works he wishes for me to do.
Can you think of any resolutions you'd like to make for the remainder of the year?
1. I resolve to finish my Bible in a Year. I'm in Jeremiah right now, and it's going pretty well!
2. I resolve to get at least a "B" in both of this semester's seminary classes.
3. I resolve to grow, at least in as much as I am responsible, the young believers God has brought to me so that they may be mentors to yet other sailors.
In II Thessalonians 1:11-12, Paul says: "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Chris." (Italics were John Piper's)
My hope is that God will help me keep these resolutions so that I might do the good works he wishes for me to do.
Can you think of any resolutions you'd like to make for the remainder of the year?
Seminary At Sea Article
Today I'm being featured on the website Going to Seminary. I am honored that they would include the life of a sailor, so please give them a look-see. I've learned some valuable information from that website already, and look forward to learning more in the future. It's well worth your time to go there.
If you're visiting my blog from that website, please feel free to have a look around and leave comments on anything that interests you. Of course, I'd love to welcome you to subscribe to Different Frequencies to read about my family, seminary, and ministry experiences. Just click the subscribe button to the right!
In Over my Head
Speaking of mentoring, I had a sailor come to me the other night with a really big dilemma. Obviously I won’t be talking about the dilemma out in the open like this, but suffice to say it was huge. How huge? Well, in 31 years of being on this earth, and 13 of those in the US Navy, I had never even come close to experiencing the guy’s problem.
I had a choice to make at that moment. I could do one of two things. Either I could immediately refer him to the chaplain or I could handle it myself. Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I chose the second option…duh!
In all fairness, I had been praying about this meeting and thought that it would be an opportunity to witness to the sailor about Christ. About ten or 15 minutes into the conversation, however, I realized that it was neither the time nor the place. I had no idea how to relate his situation to the blood of Christ. It’s not that he didn’t need Christ, of course he did, he just needed someone to help him through that immediate situation first.
So I told him what I thought he should do, namely, talk to the chaplain. Since I had already given him some advice before my brain kicked in, I followed by telling him that he might not want to follow my previous suggestions on that topic.
“This is way above me, man,” I said. Inside, I was thinking, “I’m in way over my head!” It was the smartest thing I said that night. So I went back to my options and picked the right one…I told him to talk to the chaplain, a man I know as a strong believer and an outstanding counselor.
It’s not every day that I get to retrace my steps and back out of a potentially damaging situation. I could have really caused some damage to that guy had my advice been wrong. I’m grateful that the Holy Spirit nudged me in the right direction.
So what about you? Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you knew what to do, but realized later that it wasn’t a good idea? How did you handle it?
I had a choice to make at that moment. I could do one of two things. Either I could immediately refer him to the chaplain or I could handle it myself. Anyone who knows me well enough knows that I chose the second option…duh!
In all fairness, I had been praying about this meeting and thought that it would be an opportunity to witness to the sailor about Christ. About ten or 15 minutes into the conversation, however, I realized that it was neither the time nor the place. I had no idea how to relate his situation to the blood of Christ. It’s not that he didn’t need Christ, of course he did, he just needed someone to help him through that immediate situation first.
So I told him what I thought he should do, namely, talk to the chaplain. Since I had already given him some advice before my brain kicked in, I followed by telling him that he might not want to follow my previous suggestions on that topic.
“This is way above me, man,” I said. Inside, I was thinking, “I’m in way over my head!” It was the smartest thing I said that night. So I went back to my options and picked the right one…I told him to talk to the chaplain, a man I know as a strong believer and an outstanding counselor.
It’s not every day that I get to retrace my steps and back out of a potentially damaging situation. I could have really caused some damage to that guy had my advice been wrong. I’m grateful that the Holy Spirit nudged me in the right direction.
So what about you? Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you knew what to do, but realized later that it wasn’t a good idea? How did you handle it?
How to Mentor a Young Sailor
The US Navy has long held that mentoring is a vital part of a sailor's career, both to be mentored and to mentor. I have had many mentors in my career and I value every single one of them. Each one taught me something I desperately needed to know.
There are of course many things to teach a potential mentor about mentoring a sailor, one of which is how to listen. It is vital to be able to listen in all relationships, for that matter. In mentoring, knowing how to listen sets the stage for the three suggestions I propose in this post. So if you are all talk and no listen, go learn how to do that first and then come back to this blog.
Of course most of my suggestions are based on my life as a believer in Christ. There is simply no way that I can separate the two. I am what I am.
So, without further ado, here are my three suggestions for mentoring a young sailor:
1. Build on strengths: Your young sailor has strengths. He might not even know what they are, especially if he joined the Navy for less-than-promising reasons. The man might have joined because he had to get away from a bad situation at home, maybe because he couldn't make it on his own, or maybe some other unfortunate reason. He may simply not know what his strengths are or may not even think he has any. It is your job, as his head cheerleader, to find these strengths and develop them.
I had a young sailor who actually grasped management better than the worker-bee stuff. Why he wasn't an officer instead of enlisted I'll never know. It didn't matter, actually, because it was my job to develop those strengths, not to try and figure out the method to the madness. Before we were done, he was accepting more responsibility from his division and applying to become an officer.
2. Work on the weaknesses: Just because my sailor knew more about management, and was a better fit there, didn't mean that we could ditch the rest. He was an enlisted man, and junior enlisted men get paid to work on equipment. So I encouraged him, and helped him find ways, to develop his technical skills. It's so rewarding as a mentor to watch a protege break through a weakness! You'll never know this joy unless you work on weaknesses.
3. Work on outside interests: One of the sailors I mentor is also a believer. He was passionate about his work and involved in his faith. However, because he was so excited about his job as an electronics technician, he didn't expand his horizons as a believer. I saw this as unhealthy. On a voyage to Mazatlan, Mexico (I know...real unfortunate, huh?), I asked him to join me in meeting some missionaries with YWAM. He agreed and came away ready to be involved in his faith in a very real way...he was ready to get his hands dirty.
I don't know if your sailor will be one of faith or not. Many of mine aren't, but they all have ideas that aren't Navy-related, and it's your job to be all-encompassing. Develop these outside interests too, and you'll develop a well-rounded sailor.
So now that I've made some suggestions about mentoring a sailor, what do you think? What are your experiences as a mentor? Or as a protege? Any ideas or things I left out?
There are of course many things to teach a potential mentor about mentoring a sailor, one of which is how to listen. It is vital to be able to listen in all relationships, for that matter. In mentoring, knowing how to listen sets the stage for the three suggestions I propose in this post. So if you are all talk and no listen, go learn how to do that first and then come back to this blog.
Of course most of my suggestions are based on my life as a believer in Christ. There is simply no way that I can separate the two. I am what I am.
So, without further ado, here are my three suggestions for mentoring a young sailor:
1. Build on strengths: Your young sailor has strengths. He might not even know what they are, especially if he joined the Navy for less-than-promising reasons. The man might have joined because he had to get away from a bad situation at home, maybe because he couldn't make it on his own, or maybe some other unfortunate reason. He may simply not know what his strengths are or may not even think he has any. It is your job, as his head cheerleader, to find these strengths and develop them.
I had a young sailor who actually grasped management better than the worker-bee stuff. Why he wasn't an officer instead of enlisted I'll never know. It didn't matter, actually, because it was my job to develop those strengths, not to try and figure out the method to the madness. Before we were done, he was accepting more responsibility from his division and applying to become an officer.
2. Work on the weaknesses: Just because my sailor knew more about management, and was a better fit there, didn't mean that we could ditch the rest. He was an enlisted man, and junior enlisted men get paid to work on equipment. So I encouraged him, and helped him find ways, to develop his technical skills. It's so rewarding as a mentor to watch a protege break through a weakness! You'll never know this joy unless you work on weaknesses.
3. Work on outside interests: One of the sailors I mentor is also a believer. He was passionate about his work and involved in his faith. However, because he was so excited about his job as an electronics technician, he didn't expand his horizons as a believer. I saw this as unhealthy. On a voyage to Mazatlan, Mexico (I know...real unfortunate, huh?), I asked him to join me in meeting some missionaries with YWAM. He agreed and came away ready to be involved in his faith in a very real way...he was ready to get his hands dirty.
I don't know if your sailor will be one of faith or not. Many of mine aren't, but they all have ideas that aren't Navy-related, and it's your job to be all-encompassing. Develop these outside interests too, and you'll develop a well-rounded sailor.
So now that I've made some suggestions about mentoring a sailor, what do you think? What are your experiences as a mentor? Or as a protege? Any ideas or things I left out?
Sunday at the Smith's
We had a great time hosting some sailors from my ship yesterday after church. In all, six guys met us for church services at Clairemont Emmanuel Baptist Church and eight folks joined us for lunch at our house in Serra Mesa, a neighborhood of San Diego. In addition to having a total of seven sailors (including me), we also had two wives (Alicia included) and a local Navigator missionary named Dave Yumen.
One of the sailors in attendance was Preston, who I baptized two weeks ago. Also in attendance was another sailor-turned-seminary student, Ryan, and the two men who's salvations I had the privilege of confirming. It was great getting to regroup after being on post-deployment stand-down. We also enjoyed getting to show the guys our house and letting them know that this is a place they are welcome to and safe in. Finally, I was glad to introduce them to Dave, who is a very capable guide. Hopefully, Dave will get the chance to minister to some of these guys in the coming weeks and months.
Here are some pictures of our fellowship:
We played an icebreaker game wherein we each wrote down 5 questions we wanted to ask God when we got to heaven and 2 things we wanted to do in heaven. Then we passed all of our sheets, without names, to a designated person and as they were read off, we tried to guess who the author was. It was a great exercise! I won't share the deeply personal things, but I thought a few of the lighter ones might be interesting.
5 things to ask in heaven:
-Why are there so many things we don't know?
-Will our loved ones remember us?
-What was the thorn in Paul's flesh?
-What would the pregnancy/birthing process be like if there was no sin (from one of the ladies)?
-How did you pick Mary to be the mother of Jesus?
And here are some of the things we wanted to do:
-Meet the disciples.
-Sing praises to God.
-Hug Jesus.
-Eat and not get fat.
This wasn't my first time to have sailors over to the house, but it was the first time I did it with a purpose of building the lives of men. Investing in these sailors is a dream come true for me. It rocked!
One of the sailors in attendance was Preston, who I baptized two weeks ago. Also in attendance was another sailor-turned-seminary student, Ryan, and the two men who's salvations I had the privilege of confirming. It was great getting to regroup after being on post-deployment stand-down. We also enjoyed getting to show the guys our house and letting them know that this is a place they are welcome to and safe in. Finally, I was glad to introduce them to Dave, who is a very capable guide. Hopefully, Dave will get the chance to minister to some of these guys in the coming weeks and months.
Here are some pictures of our fellowship:
We played an icebreaker game wherein we each wrote down 5 questions we wanted to ask God when we got to heaven and 2 things we wanted to do in heaven. Then we passed all of our sheets, without names, to a designated person and as they were read off, we tried to guess who the author was. It was a great exercise! I won't share the deeply personal things, but I thought a few of the lighter ones might be interesting.5 things to ask in heaven:
-Why are there so many things we don't know?
-Will our loved ones remember us?
-What was the thorn in Paul's flesh?
-What would the pregnancy/birthing process be like if there was no sin (from one of the ladies)?
-How did you pick Mary to be the mother of Jesus?
And here are some of the things we wanted to do:
-Meet the disciples.
-Sing praises to God.
-Hug Jesus.
-Eat and not get fat.
This wasn't my first time to have sailors over to the house, but it was the first time I did it with a purpose of building the lives of men. Investing in these sailors is a dream come true for me. It rocked!
Everyday Greatness
Everyday Greatness: Inspiration for a Meaningful LifePublisher: Thomas Nelson
Pub. Date: 05/05/2009
ISBN-13: 9780785289593
Stephen R. Covey presents a great treatise of what it means to be a person of Everyday Greatness in his book by that title. In this book he, along with Readers Digest, collected a plethora of stories from people throughout recent history regarding the three choices Covey states are essential to be people of Everyday Greatness: The Choice to Act, The Choice of Purpose, and The Choice for Principles. I found most of the stories insightful and beneficial.
I did take exception to the idea Covey discusses in his overview that all people have the ability to do good, if they just follow the principles in his book. This is simply not true from a believer's point of view. The Bible suggests to us that no one is able to do good on his own, certainly not consistently, and that it is the Holy Spirit who works good through us as believers. Yet Covey seems to suggest that all persons have this capacity.
If you desire inspiration, you will find it in the stories in this book from the likes of Alex Haley and Maya Angelo, and commentary by Covey. I'm not saying that you shouldn't read the book, only that you must understand that the context is not necessarily spiritual.
Order here:
US Navy Physical Readiness Program
October 20th is looming, silently, stalking me from a few months in my future. It causes fear and anxiety and loathing. If there was one part of my Navy life that I wish I wouldn't have to live, it is this:
THE SEMI-ANNUAL PRT!
The semi-annual PRT (Physical Readiness Test), and the associated height-weight/body fat measurements are the Navy's way of ensuring that there is at least some amount of relative health within the ranks. Now, speaking as a large man, the biggest problem area for me is the height-weight/body fat area. Here's how it works:
1. You step onto the scales. The Navy allows a pound for clothing, but only if you're in PT gear, so make sure you're in the lightest shorts and a t-shirt you can find, or at least that's how it used to work. Now you're supposed to wear the official Navy attire, which is ok since it's fairly light overall. Anyway, if you're over your weight limit (for me it's 196), then you move on to step 2.
2. The PRT coordinator or his assistant will measure around your neck to get it's circumfrence. Then he/she will measure around your waist just above the naval. They shouldn't call it the waist. I'm a nerd and I don't wear my pants that high. But I digress. Then they subtract the neck from the waist, plug it into a formula, and if you're less than 23%, you're good to go.
3. Up to a few weeks later, you take part in the stretching, curl-ups (a watered-down sit up), push-ups, and a 1.5 mile run. I haven't had much trouble passing that part in years. In fact, I've only failed one time in this area in my career, and it was after I had already grossly failed step 2.
A sailor must pass both parts of the assessment to have passed the PRT. If you can run like the wind, do push-ups until the cows come home, and curl-up your way to a new moment of zen, but you're too big, you fail and it hurts your evaluation. If you are skinny as a fencepost, but can't run, or don't have the ability to do the other parts, then you fail.
And here I am again, waiting until a few months out before starting a program to pass it. I've failed too many in my past, and I'm determined not to do it again. This is not a game...it is my career. The Navy takes Physical Health a lot more seriously now than it used to and my health is not the greatest.
Yet I'm woefully unprepared to kill this enemy of mine. It's my fault...I love food. Because I love food, I lose the battle for my height-weight ratio. I don't know what to do about it. Honestly I don't. I don't just lack discipline in this area, I loathe discipline in this area. It is a stronghold of Satan in my life. And let me tell you, he has a rugged, well-built, almost-impregnable fortress!
So I need to change. Boy, have I said that before! I need to do better. I need to master my stomach. Actually, I can't. I need God to master my stomach!
I've started reading the official Navy way of reducing one's weight, and it seems to be pretty solid. I can't know right now how it will work out, but I do know that this isn't going to end if I don't take the first step, so maybe today is the first step. We'll see.
What would you tell someone you know who struggles with weight? What kind of encouragement would you give? Advice? Have you struggled with weight?
THE SEMI-ANNUAL PRT!
The semi-annual PRT (Physical Readiness Test), and the associated height-weight/body fat measurements are the Navy's way of ensuring that there is at least some amount of relative health within the ranks. Now, speaking as a large man, the biggest problem area for me is the height-weight/body fat area. Here's how it works:
1. You step onto the scales. The Navy allows a pound for clothing, but only if you're in PT gear, so make sure you're in the lightest shorts and a t-shirt you can find, or at least that's how it used to work. Now you're supposed to wear the official Navy attire, which is ok since it's fairly light overall. Anyway, if you're over your weight limit (for me it's 196), then you move on to step 2.
2. The PRT coordinator or his assistant will measure around your neck to get it's circumfrence. Then he/she will measure around your waist just above the naval. They shouldn't call it the waist. I'm a nerd and I don't wear my pants that high. But I digress. Then they subtract the neck from the waist, plug it into a formula, and if you're less than 23%, you're good to go.
3. Up to a few weeks later, you take part in the stretching, curl-ups (a watered-down sit up), push-ups, and a 1.5 mile run. I haven't had much trouble passing that part in years. In fact, I've only failed one time in this area in my career, and it was after I had already grossly failed step 2.
A sailor must pass both parts of the assessment to have passed the PRT. If you can run like the wind, do push-ups until the cows come home, and curl-up your way to a new moment of zen, but you're too big, you fail and it hurts your evaluation. If you are skinny as a fencepost, but can't run, or don't have the ability to do the other parts, then you fail.
And here I am again, waiting until a few months out before starting a program to pass it. I've failed too many in my past, and I'm determined not to do it again. This is not a game...it is my career. The Navy takes Physical Health a lot more seriously now than it used to and my health is not the greatest.
Yet I'm woefully unprepared to kill this enemy of mine. It's my fault...I love food. Because I love food, I lose the battle for my height-weight ratio. I don't know what to do about it. Honestly I don't. I don't just lack discipline in this area, I loathe discipline in this area. It is a stronghold of Satan in my life. And let me tell you, he has a rugged, well-built, almost-impregnable fortress!
So I need to change. Boy, have I said that before! I need to do better. I need to master my stomach. Actually, I can't. I need God to master my stomach!
I've started reading the official Navy way of reducing one's weight, and it seems to be pretty solid. I can't know right now how it will work out, but I do know that this isn't going to end if I don't take the first step, so maybe today is the first step. We'll see.
What would you tell someone you know who struggles with weight? What kind of encouragement would you give? Advice? Have you struggled with weight?
Internet Killed the Newspaper Star: Murdoch Plans to Charge
Do you have a cool synthesizer song in your head yet?
As a fan of technology, I couldn't help but jump onto Rupert Murdoch's quotes regarding the fact that journalism can no longer afford to give away content on the internet. In fact, he expects, according to the reports, to begin charging for all online content. "We intend to charge for all our news websites."
Ouch!
Would you ever pay for something you can get for free? I have even started debating whether to keep the local newspaper or not. I like the articles, but there is so much more available online! Yet on the other hand, as an aspiring amateur writer, I want to keep the hope alive that someday I might be able to make a living doing this.
If big names like Murdoch's group goes out, and then others with him, how will we freelancers get our news to work from? Some people make a living at blogging, but I don't, so my news comes first from a "real" source, and then I add my commentary. If the traditional media goes away, so does my source, and a lot of sources for other small bloggers as well.
Yet I don't think charging for online news will work. Businesses have tried to figure it out before and it didn't really work all that well. It would seem that perhaps technology, and its applications, have moved too fast for us to keep up with. We thought that having free news was awesome (and it is!), but now we have to figure out how to keep those organizations solvent, or we'll lose that free news!
So what are your ideas? How can a news corporation keep its news free, but still stay in business?
And, just in case you want to watch the video that prophesied the end of all things due to technology, here it is:
As a fan of technology, I couldn't help but jump onto Rupert Murdoch's quotes regarding the fact that journalism can no longer afford to give away content on the internet. In fact, he expects, according to the reports, to begin charging for all online content. "We intend to charge for all our news websites."
Ouch!
Would you ever pay for something you can get for free? I have even started debating whether to keep the local newspaper or not. I like the articles, but there is so much more available online! Yet on the other hand, as an aspiring amateur writer, I want to keep the hope alive that someday I might be able to make a living doing this.
If big names like Murdoch's group goes out, and then others with him, how will we freelancers get our news to work from? Some people make a living at blogging, but I don't, so my news comes first from a "real" source, and then I add my commentary. If the traditional media goes away, so does my source, and a lot of sources for other small bloggers as well.
Yet I don't think charging for online news will work. Businesses have tried to figure it out before and it didn't really work all that well. It would seem that perhaps technology, and its applications, have moved too fast for us to keep up with. We thought that having free news was awesome (and it is!), but now we have to figure out how to keep those organizations solvent, or we'll lose that free news!
So what are your ideas? How can a news corporation keep its news free, but still stay in business?
And, just in case you want to watch the video that prophesied the end of all things due to technology, here it is:
Fatherly Guilt
I am a father...I hope a good one. I think I am, but sometimes I get a guilty feeling in my heart that tells me I haven't done enough.
Today I got home around 4:45pm, which isn't bad. Upon arrival, Alicia and I spent some time debriefing our day while Sam was still napping and Timothy was happy playing in his room. That was nice because I've always wanted to give Alicia some time just for her each day, but it hardly ever works out right. Today was a nice exception to the rule.
Samantha came down first, and we wrestled around a little. She can be such a tomboy sometimes, at least until an ant crosses her path. Seriously, the girl falls apart! Anyway, we played like kids on a school playground for awhile and then Timothy finally came down.
After engaging in small talk, I asked Timothy if he'd like to go play Mario Kart for a little bit. I think this was a mistake. The truth is, I like video games, particularly Mario Kart (as far as Wii games go). So we played, and played, and I felt good for a little bit. After all, I had spent some good, quality time with all three members of my family.
That is until I put the kids down for bed. I felt a pain in my heart that wouldn't go away by telling myself that I had spent time with my wife and kids. No, something was wrong, and it wasn't until Timothy came down for a drink of water that I realized what it was: I hadn't really spent quality time with him at all. I had let video games ruin it.
I decided to fix that, to make video games only be a part of our life together, not the bulk of it, but at that moment, I realized I needed to do something for Timothy. So I went back upstairs with him to his room after his drink of water, tucked him back in to bed, and asked him if I could pray. Then I just prayed over him, asking God to show him the love of Jesus and to let Timothy know how much I loved him.
As a navy family, we speak in nautical terms sometimes, and to finish my prayer, I said, "God, please help Timothy know that I love him more than my ship...more than 10 ships!" Timothy hugged me tight and laughed. It took too long, but I finally made his day. As I turned to leave, he said, "Dad, I love you more than 100 boats!"
And he made my day too.
Today I got home around 4:45pm, which isn't bad. Upon arrival, Alicia and I spent some time debriefing our day while Sam was still napping and Timothy was happy playing in his room. That was nice because I've always wanted to give Alicia some time just for her each day, but it hardly ever works out right. Today was a nice exception to the rule.
Samantha came down first, and we wrestled around a little. She can be such a tomboy sometimes, at least until an ant crosses her path. Seriously, the girl falls apart! Anyway, we played like kids on a school playground for awhile and then Timothy finally came down.
After engaging in small talk, I asked Timothy if he'd like to go play Mario Kart for a little bit. I think this was a mistake. The truth is, I like video games, particularly Mario Kart (as far as Wii games go). So we played, and played, and I felt good for a little bit. After all, I had spent some good, quality time with all three members of my family.
That is until I put the kids down for bed. I felt a pain in my heart that wouldn't go away by telling myself that I had spent time with my wife and kids. No, something was wrong, and it wasn't until Timothy came down for a drink of water that I realized what it was: I hadn't really spent quality time with him at all. I had let video games ruin it.
I decided to fix that, to make video games only be a part of our life together, not the bulk of it, but at that moment, I realized I needed to do something for Timothy. So I went back upstairs with him to his room after his drink of water, tucked him back in to bed, and asked him if I could pray. Then I just prayed over him, asking God to show him the love of Jesus and to let Timothy know how much I loved him.
As a navy family, we speak in nautical terms sometimes, and to finish my prayer, I said, "God, please help Timothy know that I love him more than my ship...more than 10 ships!" Timothy hugged me tight and laughed. It took too long, but I finally made his day. As I turned to leave, he said, "Dad, I love you more than 100 boats!"
And he made my day too.
5 Places on the Ship I've Ministered
This week I'm giving a short overview of ministry in the Navy.
Continuing this week with the theme of shipboard ministry, I wanted to give a short photo tour of 5 places I've ministered in on board the ship.
1. On my first ship, we called this the Soda Passageway Church of the True Believer, but on this ship, it's just the classroom. Most of the time it was the chaplain who ministered out of here, but I have at times, including this past Sunday:
2. This is a section in our combat systems maintenance central, where I confirmed the salvation of a sailor who has now responded and become a solid believer:
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3. Here we are in my shop, where I prepared my Bible meetings, typed my journal entries, and spent many moments in prayer. I also met with other sailors here both for witnessing and for mentoring.
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4. In the Computer Room, where I used to stand watch as a junior sailor on my last ship, we turned some storage boxes around and conducted our Bible meetings. I will be posting more on this later this week.
5. Finally, there is the flight deck. I didn't lead this service, but helped plan it and set up for it. This was the location for our Easter Sunrise Service, held in port Thailand. That was an awesome morning!
And that is the short tour of our ministry area on board the USS Antietam. I hope you enjoyed it!
Continuing this week with the theme of shipboard ministry, I wanted to give a short photo tour of 5 places I've ministered in on board the ship.
1. On my first ship, we called this the Soda Passageway Church of the True Believer, but on this ship, it's just the classroom. Most of the time it was the chaplain who ministered out of here, but I have at times, including this past Sunday:
2. This is a section in our combat systems maintenance central, where I confirmed the salvation of a sailor who has now responded and become a solid believer:nu=4285)389)256)WSNRCG=327939;439335nu0mrj.jpg)
3. Here we are in my shop, where I prepared my Bible meetings, typed my journal entries, and spent many moments in prayer. I also met with other sailors here both for witnessing and for mentoring.nu=4285)389)256)WSNRCG=327939;3(7335nu0mrj.jpg)
4. In the Computer Room, where I used to stand watch as a junior sailor on my last ship, we turned some storage boxes around and conducted our Bible meetings. I will be posting more on this later this week.
5. Finally, there is the flight deck. I didn't lead this service, but helped plan it and set up for it. This was the location for our Easter Sunrise Service, held in port Thailand. That was an awesome morning!
And that is the short tour of our ministry area on board the USS Antietam. I hope you enjoyed it!
4 Things to Pray About the Navy
This week I'm giving a short overview of ministry in the Navy.
Yesterday I gave three reasons why I thought that you should be praying for sailors. In today’s post, I want to suggest four things to pray for. They are only suggestions, and you are of course welcome to add more things to that list!
-Pray for safety:
It doesn’t matter what a sailor does, death or injury is always a possible fact of life. Any time I give a tour on board the Antietam, I say one thing first… “A ship is inherently dangerous.” And that is true. The first step in praying for a Sailor, then, is praying for his or her safety.
-Pray for boldness: No sailor wants to admit that he/she is afraid of anything, but for some reason, too many of us fail to share our faith consistently with others. Not only am I guilty of this, but I want to change it. Please, if you pray for anything, pray for this one. I fervently believe that sailors have the blessed opportunity to reach the world, but to do so we need to be bold.
-Pray for Opportunities: Witnessing is always tricky on duty, and when deployed, there’s no telling how or when that duty will work itself out. I witnessed a handful of times on my recent deployment, and it was always a trick to make sure I got to witness in a non-threatening environment to protect both me and the guy I was witnessing to. There are watches, maintenance schedules, and the like to consider. Pray for opportunities to share the Word of God with our shipmates.
-Pray for our families:
My children miss me when I’m gone, something I’m very thankful for, but also sad at the same time. It hurts to know that they are without me, and on those days, I am close to cursing the day I decided to join the Navy. It’s not fair to them that this career is in their lives. Yet it is my life, and by extension of that fact, it is their life as well. Military kids all over the world need your thoughts and prayers.
Alicia and I are in a great place right now, but don’t think that it’s always been so easy, or that it’s not work now. We have worked very hard on our marriage, and this goes for all military marriages. There is zero reason to think that any marriage can make it without prayer, especially with deployments thrown into the mix.
I know that there are many people out there who already pray, and I want to include you in the conversation. Please take a moment to comment on what you pray for regarding the military.
For those in the military, please take a moment to write a prayer request! People won’t know what we need if we don’t tell them!
Yesterday I gave three reasons why I thought that you should be praying for sailors. In today’s post, I want to suggest four things to pray for. They are only suggestions, and you are of course welcome to add more things to that list!
-Pray for safety:
It doesn’t matter what a sailor does, death or injury is always a possible fact of life. Any time I give a tour on board the Antietam, I say one thing first… “A ship is inherently dangerous.” And that is true. The first step in praying for a Sailor, then, is praying for his or her safety.
-Pray for boldness: No sailor wants to admit that he/she is afraid of anything, but for some reason, too many of us fail to share our faith consistently with others. Not only am I guilty of this, but I want to change it. Please, if you pray for anything, pray for this one. I fervently believe that sailors have the blessed opportunity to reach the world, but to do so we need to be bold.
-Pray for Opportunities: Witnessing is always tricky on duty, and when deployed, there’s no telling how or when that duty will work itself out. I witnessed a handful of times on my recent deployment, and it was always a trick to make sure I got to witness in a non-threatening environment to protect both me and the guy I was witnessing to. There are watches, maintenance schedules, and the like to consider. Pray for opportunities to share the Word of God with our shipmates.
-Pray for our families:
My children miss me when I’m gone, something I’m very thankful for, but also sad at the same time. It hurts to know that they are without me, and on those days, I am close to cursing the day I decided to join the Navy. It’s not fair to them that this career is in their lives. Yet it is my life, and by extension of that fact, it is their life as well. Military kids all over the world need your thoughts and prayers.
Alicia and I are in a great place right now, but don’t think that it’s always been so easy, or that it’s not work now. We have worked very hard on our marriage, and this goes for all military marriages. There is zero reason to think that any marriage can make it without prayer, especially with deployments thrown into the mix.
I know that there are many people out there who already pray, and I want to include you in the conversation. Please take a moment to comment on what you pray for regarding the military.
For those in the military, please take a moment to write a prayer request! People won’t know what we need if we don’t tell them!
3 Reasons You Should Pray for Sailors
This week I'm giving a short overview of ministry in the military.
There are many reasons to pray for sailors, but I want to list 3 of them that I think are quite possibly most pressing:
-We have a gargantuan ministry field.
Honestly, it's too big for me, which is why I'm grateful for groups like the Navigators, Campus Crusade for Christ and countless others. There are 332,000 people in the US Navy right now and that means that there is a huge harvest on the ships and shore stations that comprise the Navy. Many are unchurched altogether, and many of those who have some sort of church background have long left it in their quest for adventure, college, or a paycheck. It is a huge field, and we could use your help.
-We have the chance to literally reach the world.
I’ve met missionaries in cities all over the world. I’ve spoken in four cities. I’ve helped in a Conversational English ministry through a church in Japan. I’m not alone. Sailors, especially those stationed overseas, have a profound opportunity to reach the lost all over the world. It is a daunting undertaking, and we could use your help.
-Because I asked nicely.
In the end, I need your prayers, and I am not afraid to ask for them. Tomorrow I will be posting the four things you could pray for, and I will be opening up the comments to ask sailors to post other things to pray for as well. I need to be bolder with my faith, I need more compassion for my shipmates, and I need protection and mercy for my family. I could sure use your help.
Having just returned from an overseas deployment, I know the value of prayer. I had an aunt praying for me all the time, as well as my wife and others and without those prayers, I am convinced that my deployment would have gone differently, and sadly so.
I am not an official missionary or pastor from any denomination. I simply see a harvest that is too big for me to handle, a desire to reach the lost of the world (and the means to do so), and so I ask for your prayers.
If you already pray for the military, please take a moment to comment on what you pray about, whether you pray for a family member, friend, or in general, and any responses God has given you! If you’re going to start praying now, please let me know what kind of things you plan to pray about! Can’t wait to hear from you!
There are many reasons to pray for sailors, but I want to list 3 of them that I think are quite possibly most pressing:
-We have a gargantuan ministry field.
Honestly, it's too big for me, which is why I'm grateful for groups like the Navigators, Campus Crusade for Christ and countless others. There are 332,000 people in the US Navy right now and that means that there is a huge harvest on the ships and shore stations that comprise the Navy. Many are unchurched altogether, and many of those who have some sort of church background have long left it in their quest for adventure, college, or a paycheck. It is a huge field, and we could use your help.
-We have the chance to literally reach the world.
I’ve met missionaries in cities all over the world. I’ve spoken in four cities. I’ve helped in a Conversational English ministry through a church in Japan. I’m not alone. Sailors, especially those stationed overseas, have a profound opportunity to reach the lost all over the world. It is a daunting undertaking, and we could use your help.
-Because I asked nicely.
In the end, I need your prayers, and I am not afraid to ask for them. Tomorrow I will be posting the four things you could pray for, and I will be opening up the comments to ask sailors to post other things to pray for as well. I need to be bolder with my faith, I need more compassion for my shipmates, and I need protection and mercy for my family. I could sure use your help.
Having just returned from an overseas deployment, I know the value of prayer. I had an aunt praying for me all the time, as well as my wife and others and without those prayers, I am convinced that my deployment would have gone differently, and sadly so.
I am not an official missionary or pastor from any denomination. I simply see a harvest that is too big for me to handle, a desire to reach the lost of the world (and the means to do so), and so I ask for your prayers.
If you already pray for the military, please take a moment to comment on what you pray about, whether you pray for a family member, friend, or in general, and any responses God has given you! If you’re going to start praying now, please let me know what kind of things you plan to pray about! Can’t wait to hear from you!
Chief Results!
US Navy Chief results are out! And I'm not on the list. What does that mean? Well, the short of it is that I have more work to do before trying again next year.For those who don't know, making chief in the Navy is about the biggest deal going. A good chief will get more respect by default than anyone on board. A good chief will make or break a division and department. A good chief is where I want to be.
So am I bothered by the fact that I didn't get selected as FCC (SW) Smith? Nope. I knew I didn't have much of a chance to get picked up. I am still learning about how to make chief, like what types of jobs I need to be doing, how to encourage my sailors, how to write evaluations, etc. This is a long road!
Furthermore, I am in a good place right now. God has changed things in my life. I've learned not just how to be content, but how to live in that contentment. By that I mean that I've learned how to share the knowledge and wisdom with younger sailors, and I hope to continue doing so no matter what my rank.
I've still got seven years in the Navy, so chief is still very much an option. We shall see! And for those of you who made it...congrats!
To see the results, click HERE!
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