The Navy Christian: December 2009

Senior Sailor of the Year

I am thankful for being selected as the USS Antietam Senior Sailor of the Year for 2009. I waited quite a while to announce this because the award wasn't finalized yet. However, a letter came a few days ago letting Alicia know how proud she should be of me, so I guess it's ok to announce it.

One of the biggest perks of being SSOY is a parking spot right next to the pier. Here's what my sign looks like with the mighty Antietam in the background:

Here's how Cavi looks in it:

I am grateful for being selected as I didn't expect it. While I knew that I was being put in for the award, I knew there were other guys who frankly did more this year. God has been gracious to me through this, however, by giving me this wonderful reminder of how big he is. Thank you, Father!

The Orders Nightmare

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
(Proverbs 16:3)

My wife and I are leaning on this verse heavily as I enter my second month of orders negotiation. My detailer has already told me he wants me to "go to the school house" and either teach or lead a maintenance division. Now, anyone who knows me knows I would love instructor duty.There is, however, a problem. The base where I would be an instructor or be in the maintenance department is 70 miles away from the nearest treatment center for our daughter Samantha, and that is a civilian hospital, complete with co-payments and the like.The nearest military hospital that treats Sam's disease of cystic fibrosis is Bethesda, which is 80 miles away from my prospective base.

This puts us in a bind, for which we are calling out to God for resolution. I'm not going to fib...I've been feeling pressure on all sides for the last few months. I want to be a good husband and father, so putting my family that far from a treatment facility is insane. But I don't know what to do when I'm being told that this base is the place where the Navy wants me to go.

So we pray. Honestly, I don't know what else to do. Alicia and I are praying that God will shut doors on everything that doesn't help care for Samantha. We understand and accept that he may put us in what might be a rough situation to fulfill his will for us, but we are hopeful that his will contains a base closer to a treatment facility for Samantha's cystic fibrosis.

Please, if you believe in prayer, would you pray for us? I don't know what else to do. Pray that God would help me negotiate with the detailer. Pray that he would take care of Samantha. Pray that he will ease the burden we feel. We have prayed I Peter 5:7 as well, hoping that God hears our cry. I believe he will hear yours too.

I'm sorry to sound so desperate, but it is what it is, and God is my only answer.

Save me from Myself; By: Brian "Head" Welch

There are many things that most readers don't know about me. One of the things I will admit to you now is that I like hard music. Sometimes angry music. When I had a seriously rough spot in my Christian life, where I basically stopped being a Christian, I went head-first into this sort of music to deal with some depression (ironic, I know) and to let my feelings out. One of the groups I went for was Korn. I loved Korn. I listened to thier stuff because it was angry, mean, and vengeful...just like I was toward God.

I confess all of this because a few years back I heard that the lead guitarist for the band quit because he became a Christian. I thought it was impressive, but didn't put any stock into it. I figured he was just like any other celebrity who thanked God for his "new" life and then kept doing the same things.

"Head" (his nickname) is different. I've read his book Save me from Myself and I'm as convinced as a person can be that he truly is born again. It's an amazing story that I think anyone who went after this hard music should read.

One of the greatest things about his testimony isn't what God saved him from, although getting away from the drugs, alcohol, sex, etc, was an amazing story. What was most powerful is what happened after he was saved. He wanted others to know. In this book there are at least three people who came to Christ because of direct testimony from Brian. A couple of former associates and his ex-wife...all because of his testimony. And I hope many, many, Korn fans. But the bottom line is that he couldn't keep his mouth shut about his new life. He had to tell people. As a believer who witnesses on my ship, this is the sign of a new life. In most of the conversions I have witnessed on board the USS Antietam, I have noticed one thing in particular: "I have to tell my wife!" It's the most blessed experience to have, and I'm glad to see it in Brian as well.

I know some of the folks who read this blog think that heavy metal is the devil's music (which it is), so reading a testimony from a former musician might not interest you, but I'm telling you right now, his testimony is powerful. The anger he had towards everyone around him and God resonated with me, as I found myself angry at God a few years back as well.

The book is written fairly well. It has a slow start, but it is important because it sets the stage for what happened when he finally got Korn off the ground (he was a founding member). There is some cursing in it, so beware of that if it offends you. This is a good read overall though, and the wild-ride he goes on after becoming a believer is amazing.

A Letter to the National Football League

Dear NFL players, coaches, etc.

We don’t pay to come to games, buy shirts, and the like to watch you quit on games or "rest." Stop doing it. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

S. Daniel Smith

http://differentfrequencies.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas

The stockings have been emptied, the presents opened, some of the thank you phone calls have been made...Christmas is now in the "Enjoy your presents" phase here in the Smith household.

To my brothers and sisters serving overseas or on duty: Thank you! I am grateful that you are out there on my behalf. I hope today is a blessing for you despite the separation from your family.

To those of you who are not serving on active duty, but have served, you know what it means to be away from family. Thank you for your service over time.

Finally, for those who have not served, I hope you have a joyful Christmas too! My heart is of course biased towards those in uniform, but I don't want anyone to be alone this Christmas.

Alicia and I hosted a young man at our house last night for a home-cooked dinner. He is a recent convert and the newest Christian on my ship. He's on duty today. If you can, pray for Cory, even if just as a passing mention. He's a good man.

When I grow up...

Being in the Navy has placed me in an interesting predicament. Essentially, once I'm retired, I can do anything I want to do. Since I, lord willing, will have a steady income from my retirement, I will be "free" to pursue anything I want to, as long as I can bring in a sufficient income to pay for what we need to pay for.

In a general sense, I want to be a pastor. Having that retirement income puts me in a position to take less money from a church, so I'd be suitable to a small church or as a missions pastor...something along those lines. There was a time, not too long ago, where I wanted to preach to a huge audience, but I think I'm passed that now. I think that mentoring a small number of guys, and preaching/teaching consistently to them over a deployment and other situations has led me to understand that a small church body isn't bad...it's just what my prideful heart needs.

Part of me, however, loves the idea of intense research along the lines of what I did for my recent Systematic Theology course. My pastor has already informed me that I'd be sadly mistaken if I thought being a pastor meant that I could study theology for hours a day and I believe him. This puts me more along the lines of a seminary professor or an author.

The bottom line is that I don't know exactly what I want to be when I grow up, which is in slightly more than six years from now. I'm grateful for the time to think through this, to seek God's will for my life, and to learn from pastors, missionaries, and professors. God is preparing me for his future for me, for those good works he foreordained. I need to be content where I am and yet soak up everything possible. It's an odd position to be in, but I'm getting used to it.

So if you're still in school, what do you want to be when you grow up? Or maybe you're already "grown up" but don't like where you are...what are your dreams?

Ubuntu Christian Edition 6.0

First, a disclaimer: I am no longer an unbiased writer when it comes to Ubuntu Christian Edition. I'm not here to try and sell you on it, but there was a time when I had my reservations, and I no longer have those. I think CE is a great operating system and I highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about what Linux distribution to pick. I have reviewed other distributions, and will continue to do that over the next few weeks, but the fact is that I've become invested in Ubuntu Christian Edition. So that is what you need to know before we proceed. Therefore, this is more of an informational article than an actual review.

Overall look and feel: Since Ubuntu CE sits on top of the Ubuntu frame, it's easy to believe that the overall look and feel is great. After all, Ubuntu 9.10 looks great! And it simply is true. Ubuntu CE looks wonderful. There is a little softer appeal to the edges, particularly with the icons, then we saw in previous editions. Here is a screenshot of what it looks like fully loaded. Incidentally, the picture is mine. I contributed two wallpapers to the project for 6.0 (told you I was invested).

As with previous editions, going back to my experience with Ubuntu 8.04 and Ubuntu CE 5.0, I found that the distros worked very well, even on my old equipment. I tried a live CD on both a standard laptop (4 years old) and my MSI Wind, which is a few months old. On both the new equipment and the old equipment, CE worked marvelously.

I did have some installation hiccups. For example, my Ubuntu 5.0 would not upgrade to 6.0, no matter how many different tricks I tried. I ended up having to back up my data and load a fresh copy of Ubuntu 9.10 on my laptop and then upgrade that to CE 6.0. The instructions on the Ubuntu CE website worked fine, however, and I was up and running without further delay.

Danguardian GUI: I don't know if I can say enough good things about the Dansguardian GUI. Compared to how it ran on 5.0, this is a major advancement in family internet protection. I'm very impressed. As you can see from the screenshot, it gives a good amount of information immediately. The user can know quickly if Dansguardian is on or off, and know other information. Then, with a simple double-click, the user can modify settings. You will have to enter the root password in order to access the Dansguardian GUI, but this is good as it keeps the young ones from being able to disable it as long as they don't know your password.

I still have my issues with filters in general, but I will say that the GUI for Dansguardian has become quite impressive. Here is a screenshot of the GUI. It is easy to use, and as you can see, no programming language required!

E-sword: I've used Xiphos (formerly Gnomesword) for about a year or so now, so when I finally decided to make the jump to Esword, it caused some anxiety. I've never used WINE (Windows Emmulator) before because I never needed to. However, IT WAS EASY! The apparent modifications that David and his group have made recently to the installer have worked perfectly. I got to choose my versions for download, just like in Xiphos, and the installer went out and got them for me. It was really great.

I've played with it a little and I'm incredibly impressed. I wish NIV was part of it, but I've contacted NIV personally and they won't budge, so that's that. I've switch predominantly to ESV or back to my old KJV roots because of this and I haven't lost a step. This is a worthwhile program!

There are many other things to review about Ubuntu Christian Edition 6.0, but suffice to say that this moderately biased blogger is heavily impressed.

Seminary Update

It looks like I'll be getting a C in Systematic Theology (1st Semester). Not all is bad, however, as I got a 90% on my research paper. This is good, because I felt going into it that I might bomb that project.

Unlike my World Missions class, I didn't feel good about my paper as I turned it in. I feel a little outgunned when it comes to theology anyway, so turning in a paper for that class was pretty rough. Furthermore, my topic (of my choosing) was The fall of Satan: A theological study. I had no idea it would be that difficult.

In the end, my research indicated that the Bible isn't all that clear on Satan's initial fall from Glory. How did he really fall? Hard to tell. Some passages exist that have been interpreted as dealing with Satan's station before his fall and what his fall looked like, but they closely represent descriptions of people who really existed in history. So much so, in fact, that a number of scholars doubt that the passages (Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28) speak of Satan at all.

My research indicated that, in the end, God is much more interested in Satan's work here, including how we are to handle his presence and activity, and finally in Satan's end. I think this is a pretty strong statement on God's part. We shouldn't be worried about Satan's initial fall or his previous life in God's presence but in what he is doing now. Furthermore, we should be able to walk into any fight with him now with confidence, knowing his end is final and imminent.

If anyone wants to see my paper on the topic, let me know and I'll send it to you. Honestly, I think I could study Satan for months and not get everything down that I need in order to live a little more successfully in life. In fact, I'm considering putting some more effort into the subject and using that research later. We'll see.

Anyway, that's an update on Seminary. I'm hoping to slide right into the second semester of Systematic Theology so that I'll be done with that at the end of next semester. If any of you out there are Liberty Theological Seminary students, let me know how you think you did this semester.

Faded Flowers

When my great-aunt Alice first heard back in 2001 or so that I had considered a call to preach, she gave me a set of Matthew Henry commentaries. They were very old and had been used considerably. Yet that gift meant so much to me. That my aunt thought I should have that commentary set meant that she thought I was on the right track and honestly, I valued anything that told me I was doing the right thing. Maybe I read a little too much into it, but only time can tell. At any rate, it meant a lot to me.

Both my great-aunt Alice and her husband Jim have passed on now to be with the Lord. I think about them from time to time and about the limited opportunities that we had together after I transferred to San Diego and got married. They loved my wife so much and thought of her as family from the get-go. Whether this blog post is worthy to be called a testament to them or not is debatable, but I want to show you something:

The picture here is inside the last volume of the five-volume set and covers Acts through Revelation. I was using this book to research and write my Systematic Theology I research paper on the Fall of Satan. Inside the pages regarding Revelation chapter 20 were these dried flowers.

What did they mean? Why were they there? Who put them there? The questions immediately came flooding into my mind. I wanted to touch them as they began taking on an almost mystical feel; a connection, I suppose, to those who are now gone.

Maybe they were put there to dry and be flattened for some future display that never materialized. Maybe they were put there as some kind of makeshift bookmark. Maybe they were put there by a child as some kind of prank. Maybe they were put there for none of the reasons my mind comes up with.

I miss Alice. She was so kind to me while I was a young sailor recovering from the bitterness of having to leave Japan, a country I had fallen in love with. She realized my heart for preaching and studying God’s Word, and through these old commentaries, she helped make it possible. I’m so grateful for her life.

Whatever those flowers were for, and even if they were put there for some mundane, ordinary reason and forgotten, they will stay in that book for as long as I have control over it. For the connection to her, for the memories, for Aunt Alice.

Ubuntu 9.10 Netbook Remix Review

As a lover of Linux, I have my favorite distribution. I like Ubuntu very much (so much so that I bought a hat!). Of course, as you know I've reviewed Ubuntu Christian Edition a couple of times. So my favorite distro of a distro, as it were, is Ubuntu CE. I'll be reviewing the most recent release (6.0) very soon.

I've wanted to try Ubuntu Netbook Remix for over a year, but since I already had a stable load out on my old laptop (starting with Ubuntu 8.04), I didn't really have a reason to give it a fair shake. My laptop was more than capable of handling a full version. I didn't need a version that was only designed for the lower-end technology found in netbooks.

That was then...this is now. I have a netbook (MSI Wind U120) now and I love it very much. I have written research papers on it for seminary, tracked my running with spreadsheets, and tested out a few variations of Linux for my reviews. Since I now have one and enjoy it so much, it seemed right to finally review the Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

Simply put, there isn't much to dislike. It comes standard with the things that make me happy. Namely: Firefox (what distro doesn't?), OpenOffice.Org, the repository, and other gadgets that I find necessary. It also adds a very sleek desktop experience which I found very easy on the eyes, especially considering the smaller screen of my MSI Wind.

Unfortunately, I did have to play around with the wireless networking for a bit in order to get online. Rest assured, however, that I didn't have to do any “geek” work. I just had to do some right-clicking and I entered in the name of my wireless network at home and it found it for me. It just usually comes standard for non-Linux operating systems that I've worked with. This is a minor glitch.

The only other problem I faced came early on when I would shut the computer down. Since I'm not willing to share my current hard drive with a second OS at this time, I live boot from a thumb drive. I highly recommend it, by the way. At any rate, my computer locked up on the way to shut down on the first few times doing so. However, I think that was because I was not familiar with how it worked. This is a new world for me still, even after using Linux for years. I'll probably always be a newbie, which is why I review only from the stand point of an end-user, not a professional.

Anyway, aside from all of that, there just isn't much to be upset about the Netbook Remix. It has caused my computer very few problems, runs on just about anything, doesn't use a whole lot of resources, and is very easy on the eyes. It comes standard with the programs that any college student or business professional will need (thanks for including Open Office!). All in all, it is a perfect choice, especially for beginners. You'll love it!

Half Marathon Fundraising

One of the biggest reasons I'm trying to lose weight and train is to run the Carlsbad Half Marathon next month. I'm running as a CF Strider, which means I'm on the local Cystic Fibrosis Foundation team, which supports research to find a cure for cystic fibrosis, the disease that affects my daughter Samantha.

I'm not going to beet around the bush...I'd like you to consider donating. If you're looking for a charity to donate to as the year closes...why not donate under the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation? I'm convinced that it's a great cause...but of course I'm a little biased. After all, they are trying to find a cure to my duaghter's disease!

By donating to the CFF through my fundraising page, you would not only be supporting my family by making my daughter's health a priority, but you'd also be helping me make my goal of $300 while fighting the disease at the same time! Really, it's a win-win!

To donate, simply click HERE and it will take you to my fundraising page.

The Mental Buzz-Kill

Now that I fancy myself as some kind of runner, I’ve tried picturing myself running in the half marathon coming up next month (that should freak me out!). I’ve also tried to picture myself after the half, running a training run for my next race, whatever that might be. Unfortunately, I’ve had something of a mental buzz-kill lately. I’ve let things like minor injury, lack of enthusiasm, weather, and food stop me from running at my full potential.

The biggest killer of them all is my "accepted pace". I call it that because for as long as I remember, I’ve accepted it as my pace of choice, even though it’s pathetic. Long ago I started thinking that a ten minute mile pace was OK, and that everything else was the cherry on top. No small wonder why I think my first and last mile of the 10K were run too fast! That attitude, that the ten minute mile is OK, has damaged my running. I’m slowly getting to where ten minutes is slow, but I just slow myself down almost to meet that expectation I’ve set for myself.

Last night was a great example. Now, I’m nursing some sore chins and a sore foot, so that should be taken into consideration. However, I accepted tonight a 6.2 mile run at 1:01:08. Roughly, that’s barely faster than a ten minute split. Essentially, I shaved a mere 8.5 seconds off each minute. I’m never going to get faster if I think that this is acceptable. I am capable of more.

So I’m reducing my accepted split to 9:30. I’ll just keep training until that’s acceptable. That pace would give me roughly a 2:05 half marathon. Or, in other words, I would have run last night around 4 minutes faster. Still a tad slower than I want in the end, but a starting point. Now all I have to do is actually make it happen. We’ll see!

The problems behind divorce

Knowing that not all that many people read my blog allows me a great amount of freedom in writing on it. I like that, and shudder at the thought that I could one day influence someone through this blog. What would the world come to?

Anyway, I want to discuss something that is horrible in America...that is our divorce rate. First of all, the bad news: Between 45 and 50% of all first marraiges end in divorce, according to the website Divorce Statistics. That is disgusting. It makes me ill.

However, the church's current stance on divorce is unacceptable. Why? Because it fails to accept the reasons behind divorce. I grant you happily and willingly that many divorces end for ungodly reasons. After all, Christ only gave one reason to end a marraige, that being infidelity. Unfortunately, divorce in America is not always caused by "no fault" reasons.

For example, did you know that approximately 32 million Americans are abused each year? Would you like a wife to stay with her abusive husband? And keep her kids in that marriage as well? I hope your answer is no.

Here is the problem. In our black and white world, the church will gloss over things that don't work right in the equation. Since divorce doesn't compute in the conservative evangelical's mind, then he or she must gloss over things like abuse.

Instead, we should be leading the world in holding abusive men accountable...and I mean old school accountable. In the Navy it was once called Deck Plate Counseling, although that's not allowed anymore so I can't say it. Ok, so that's too far probably, but I guarantee that our churches should be safe havens for women and children who have been abused. We should flock to them, hold them, comfort them, counsel them, and confront the abusive party. Instead of doing what we have done for too long: "Many churches encouraged women to stay in unhappy marriages, even those that were abusive."

Rev. Dick Klaver, senior pastor of Ferry Memorial Reformed Church in Montague (MI), said, "I'd hear people expounding how religion validates male violence. The church has covered up (domestic) violence by encouraging women to try harder ... to behave better ... and then you won't be beaten. That is a travesty."

It is a travesty. Stop worrying about divorce until you are willing to deal with abuse. And once you've worked on that, start next on adultery. Then start working on other reasons for divorce. Divorce is always the byproduct of something else. Whether it is money, lack of committment, infidelity, abuse, poor communication, etc. Some of those reasons are petty. The offending party should get over his/her love of money (greed) or lack of committment or learn how to communicate better. However, the church should deal harshly with those who are abusive...those who are unable or unwilling to love thier wives as Christ loved the church.

I am a Temple

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

I have a slogan for running and healthy eating that I've started using. I don't expect it to be my official slogan forever, but it works for me now when I'm tired and don't want to work out or when I want a bag of chips between meals. Here it is: I am a Temple.

Granted, it's not very flashy, angry, militant, or even all that athletic. However, I am a believer, and as a believer, I have the Holy Ghost in me. This is something I've always ignored really, at least as far as how it relates to my body image and my eating.

Right now, I confess that I'm doing significant damage to the temple which is me. The rafters are rotten, the foundation is weak (my knees!), the walls are bloated with rot and "extra." But that's now the temple I'll be in the next several months.

The funny thing is that I'm asking God for his help in rebuilding his temple. I can't do this on my own because I'd run this temple into the ground if it were up to me. All success, therefore, is God's as the Holy Ghost rebuilds his temple within me.

I am a Temple.

The Navy Christian

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