When I started as a Sailor back in 1996, I had no idea what was in store for me. After several months of training (close to 24 months actually), I landed on the island of Guam to await the arrival of my ship, the USS Mobile Bay. During the next three years, I would find myself traveling all over Asia, discovering cultures for myself and learning about the missionary work of several men and women.
Footsteps on the Pacific is the story...my story...of this journey. It not only chronicles my path throughout the Pacific on the USS Mobile Bay and USS Antietam, but also my struggle to find my place in our faith.
My hope is that this book will lead you to understand more about missionary work throughout the world and maybe discover a little bit of the excitement that I experienced as I traveled exotic places and strange cultures.
The book will be available for a very reasonable price on several ebook reader platforms. Stand by for more information!
Getting the Word out about Mentoring
I can't explain it to you. Maybe it's just my "burden." I don't know. All I know is that I am desperate for Christians to figure out this mentoring thing. I don't know how to do it. I have, in the very theoretical sense, told the world about mentoring. Sometimes my website will pop up as a search on Google or Yahoo about mentoring, but not as often as I'd like, which means that the world isn't exactly banging on my door to find out more. I'm not being asked by preachers to come tell them how to make it work in their churches. In short, the world continues to move forward and the message of mentoring isn't.
By no means am I God's only mouthpiece on mentoring. I'm just one of the few that believe it's not only for youth groups and after school programs. Professionals, ministers, factory workers...all of us need mentors. I've been in the same career field for over 15 years and I have mentors, or at least have had, I'm transitioning right now since my move to North Chicago.
I can see in my mind's eye what a church would look like if it really decided to make mentoring important. My heart aches because I know it could work, and yet it isn't in use, at least not on a widespread level.
So I will continue to pray about it and talk about mentoring. I am grateful that God has shown me so much about mentoring, and I will endeavor to keep telling others!
By no means am I God's only mouthpiece on mentoring. I'm just one of the few that believe it's not only for youth groups and after school programs. Professionals, ministers, factory workers...all of us need mentors. I've been in the same career field for over 15 years and I have mentors, or at least have had, I'm transitioning right now since my move to North Chicago.
I can see in my mind's eye what a church would look like if it really decided to make mentoring important. My heart aches because I know it could work, and yet it isn't in use, at least not on a widespread level.
So I will continue to pray about it and talk about mentoring. I am grateful that God has shown me so much about mentoring, and I will endeavor to keep telling others!
MWR 10K Race Report
First of all, it was cold when we started! It was 45 when we started, and with the wind it was around 42-43. By the end of the first lap, however I shed the San Diego Chargers cap because I had already heated up too much.
The race was set up around the golf course and because of construction, had to be modified to include an extra half of a mile. This equated to a total of 10.78K. Unfortunately, we weren't told that until after the race. I don't know what my actual 10K result was, but I finished the 10.78K in 59:45. Here is the breakdown for each mile:
Mile 1- 9:04
Mile 2- 8:41
Mile 3- 8:45
Mile 4- 9:02
Mile 5- 9:27
Mile 6- 9:11
Mile 7- 8:18 (really this is mile 6.0-6.7)
I was blown away by the first mile. I had no idea what to expect and it was showing quickly. We were a little bottled up, as in most races, but by the end of mile 1 it was settled out pretty well. Miles 2 and 3 were great! Right around 3.5, I started dealing with side splits. I was in pain until well after mile 4, but it finally settled down. That pain really affected mile 5 because even though it was over, I had expended so much energy running through the pain in the previous two miles that I was pretty much shot. Mile 6, while still exhausted, I was able to refocus and keep running.
In the end, my pace was 8:55, which is just a hair slower than my 11.5 mile pace for the Fort to Base road race.
I'm much more comfortable on the road than in cross country, so I think in the future I'll stick with the road. However, I'm grateful for the run as it tested me in ways I had not been tested in a long time. It was a tough race but good. The one concern was that we weren't told beforehand that it was going to be an extra half mile. Other than that, it was a great event!
Below is a picture of my running partner and I. His name is Jeff Martin and we have one more race together in November!
Class 224A graduates A School
The only class I actually took all the way through the US Navy's Applied Technical Training course (actually, I missed the last two weeks) was Class 224A. Because of that, or maybe in spite of it, I have had a very special relationship with this group of young sailors. I hope that, in some way, I was able to be a part of making them the sailors they will be out in the fleet. Their training is far from over, but for now, they can rest easy knowing that they have accomplished a very difficult task in getting through A School. Well done!
Here are "my kids":
Here are "my kids":
It was really a joy to be your instructor (ok, Oneal, most of the time it was), and I hope that you do very well out in the fleet. I look forward to seeing you out there and learning about what you've become in your careers. Well done and good luck!
Accountability in Weight Loss
I've somehow done it again. Once again I've come to realize that I simply can't make it happen without God and some accountability. After putting close to 10 pounds back on after losing so many, I'm hoping I've hit a wall...that waking up is right around the corner. The fact is that I need to be right there. I need at least the hope of being close to getting my life squared away.
Part of me knew that this was going to happen; maybe all of me did. I had been clicking along so well, and then I just took a few days off here and there after the success of everything. I made Chief Petty Officer, I lost a lot of weight, got promoted officially (it was nearly a 7 week process), and now I'm in danger of losing everything I've worked for.
But isn't that the problem with a stronghold like gluttony? I wrote on my main blog today that Gluttony is essentially making my belly my god. It's a painful reminder that I can and will fail if left to my own devices, which brings me to my next point.
Making a god out of your belly rejects accountability. I don't want others to know what's going on in my life right now because a lot of it equals over-eating. I've got to fight back against myself, get my accountability going, and move forward. It's ugly, but it's my reality. My goal is still intact. I want to weight in for my next PFA without being taped. You can read more about how the Navy PRT program works by clicking on the blue.
Do you struggle with gluttony? Or with accountability?
Part of me knew that this was going to happen; maybe all of me did. I had been clicking along so well, and then I just took a few days off here and there after the success of everything. I made Chief Petty Officer, I lost a lot of weight, got promoted officially (it was nearly a 7 week process), and now I'm in danger of losing everything I've worked for.
But isn't that the problem with a stronghold like gluttony? I wrote on my main blog today that Gluttony is essentially making my belly my god. It's a painful reminder that I can and will fail if left to my own devices, which brings me to my next point.
Making a god out of your belly rejects accountability. I don't want others to know what's going on in my life right now because a lot of it equals over-eating. I've got to fight back against myself, get my accountability going, and move forward. It's ugly, but it's my reality. My goal is still intact. I want to weight in for my next PFA without being taped. You can read more about how the Navy PRT program works by clicking on the blue.
Do you struggle with gluttony? Or with accountability?
2 Things I've learned about blogging during a break
You can't go away for 2 months and expect to pick back up where you left off. It just doesn't work that way. Yet that's what I'm desperately trying to do right now, three weeks after becoming a Chief Petty Officer in the US Navy. There are two things I've learned that you can use to advance your blog as well.
1. Have a plan for your absence.
The truth is that I had a plan initially for my absence. I was going to turn the blog into a simple two month devotional for the time I was gone. The problem is that I didn't execute. I have a notebook with almost enough notes to have written the devotional, but I didn't plan well enough to get the posts written in time. In short, I did not execute properly in order to deliver a good product, or any project at all, for that matter.
2. Come back patiently.
Because I failed to execute, I am now faced with coming back into the blogging world with a new project, a new domain name, and very few steady readers since I basically ditched them all when I left the blogosphere. I came back a few weeks ago trying to regain my former edge immediately and it hasn't worked. It's going to take some serious thinking, writing, and hard work to get my readership back. If you leave your readers...well, get ready to work even harder than you were working.
While I was gone, I had less than half of my usual monthly page loads. Yet I still had pageloads! I could have been providing my die-hards with information, but I didn't execute. Don't be me, be proactive and execute. And if you go away, be patient upon returning.
1. Have a plan for your absence.
The truth is that I had a plan initially for my absence. I was going to turn the blog into a simple two month devotional for the time I was gone. The problem is that I didn't execute. I have a notebook with almost enough notes to have written the devotional, but I didn't plan well enough to get the posts written in time. In short, I did not execute properly in order to deliver a good product, or any project at all, for that matter.
2. Come back patiently.
Because I failed to execute, I am now faced with coming back into the blogging world with a new project, a new domain name, and very few steady readers since I basically ditched them all when I left the blogosphere. I came back a few weeks ago trying to regain my former edge immediately and it hasn't worked. It's going to take some serious thinking, writing, and hard work to get my readership back. If you leave your readers...well, get ready to work even harder than you were working.
While I was gone, I had less than half of my usual monthly page loads. Yet I still had pageloads! I could have been providing my die-hards with information, but I didn't execute. Don't be me, be proactive and execute. And if you go away, be patient upon returning.
Explaining the Poll to Your Left.
There is a reason I put that poll there. The thing I've noticed in my years as a blogger is that a lot of Christians flock to controversial, and mostly political blog articles. For example, if you look to the left below the poll, you'll see a list of my top 5 posts. They are put there due to page views. Of the top 5, two of them are political postings about the military Don't Ask Don't Tell repeal. Those have been my top hits for a long time because I wrote them around a year ago.
I'm not upset at the prospect of a politically charged church (anymore). In fact, I think that it can be used to the benefit of the church (thank you, Christian Coalition).
Yet I don't think that it can be used by the church to secure some sort of "rights" that we should or shouldn't have. I don't think it should be used in the abortion debate, the gay marriage debate, or others. Instead, I think the issue of politics should be used to help foster the personal spiritual growth of believers inside the church.
Using my new project, Stronger Christian, I am working now on a model that will allow this to happen. It's still a work in progress, but it's coming. Your ideas are very welcome! Please leave a thought or two below and I'll get back to you!
I'm not upset at the prospect of a politically charged church (anymore). In fact, I think that it can be used to the benefit of the church (thank you, Christian Coalition).
Yet I don't think that it can be used by the church to secure some sort of "rights" that we should or shouldn't have. I don't think it should be used in the abortion debate, the gay marriage debate, or others. Instead, I think the issue of politics should be used to help foster the personal spiritual growth of believers inside the church.
Using my new project, Stronger Christian, I am working now on a model that will allow this to happen. It's still a work in progress, but it's coming. Your ideas are very welcome! Please leave a thought or two below and I'll get back to you!
A Heart for Mentoring
The Navy recently advanced me to the awesome rank of Chief Petty Officer. I'm humbled (and was humbled during the 6.5 weeks of induction) for the trust and faith the Navy has placed in me. It is a small example of the same kind of trust that I placed in two CPOs when I first arrived onboard the USS Mobile Bay in early 1998. Those two men became fathers to me, and I owe a great deal of both my career and my spiritual maturity to them. I hope that I will be the same type of Chief Petty Officer they were: Good leaders, good listeners, and good advisors.
My heart remains for mentoring, and in the next several weeks, you will be able to see it more and more as I increase the level of commitment toward my writing and the work it allows me to do in the field of mentoring. The Lord, for whatever reason, has seen fit to refrain from sending many young Sailors my way for mentoring at this time, and so I shall rest a little, define the ministry as it is and will be, and set out again in the future. Part of that will be through writing, and as such you'll see a great deal more.
So stand by and get ready to see a real focus on my God-given strength!
Mentoring is vital, not just for my brothers and sisters in the Navy, but in the church. Stay tuned!
My heart remains for mentoring, and in the next several weeks, you will be able to see it more and more as I increase the level of commitment toward my writing and the work it allows me to do in the field of mentoring. The Lord, for whatever reason, has seen fit to refrain from sending many young Sailors my way for mentoring at this time, and so I shall rest a little, define the ministry as it is and will be, and set out again in the future. Part of that will be through writing, and as such you'll see a great deal more.
So stand by and get ready to see a real focus on my God-given strength!
Mentoring is vital, not just for my brothers and sisters in the Navy, but in the church. Stay tuned!
Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Update
It's been two weeks since Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed officially in the Navy. It was billed amongst those preparing me to become a Chief Petty Officer as being one of the pivotal issues I'd have to deal with immediately upon assuming the rank of CPO. Christians, from Chaplains to evangelicals who had never served, put up a solid fight.
Where are they now? And what about those who told me I'd be dealing with this immediately upon joining the CPO Mess?
I just want to point out that everything seems to be clicking along just fine. It would appear as though there is no massive attack of the homosexual left on anyone's values. I won't go so far as to say that all things are well and that nothing is wrong, because homosexuality is still a sin. However, as a Sailor, I'm finding that a lot of the arguments used against repealing DADT simply haven't happened.
For more on my thoughts on DADT, click this link: My Take on Homosexuals in the Military
Where are they now? And what about those who told me I'd be dealing with this immediately upon joining the CPO Mess?
I just want to point out that everything seems to be clicking along just fine. It would appear as though there is no massive attack of the homosexual left on anyone's values. I won't go so far as to say that all things are well and that nothing is wrong, because homosexuality is still a sin. However, as a Sailor, I'm finding that a lot of the arguments used against repealing DADT simply haven't happened.
For more on my thoughts on DADT, click this link: My Take on Homosexuals in the Military
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