on killing and other things like 80's star wrestlers

Sorry for the gap in posts. Part of it is that they are keeping us longer every day. Part of it was that I was on duty platoon, which kept us even longer (duty platoon cleans up at the end of the day), part of it was that I was tired, and part of it was the hours I spent on Skype talking to Keri and the kids

All I have to say is that I love Skype!

But here I am on Saturday night--able to sleep in tomorrow. Yipee

A lot to update. I'm still praying and thinking about Al Barnes. Mitch is doing a great job with the updates...Keri and the kids have been sick all this week. Facing that alone is difficult enough, Keri has been doing it AS WELL AS getting the house ready for showings. I've concluded that my wife is the:



Well, I hope Keri receives that in the manner in which it was intended to be received. I guess there are multiple interpretations to something like that.

Anyways, I worked pretty much all day on a paper about killing. Specifically, the morality of killing. If you are a soldier, it is something you've got to deal with. As harsh as it sounds, it pretty much sums up their purpose. The Army is excellent at preparing soldiers to kill, but not as good in preparing soldiers to deal with it afterwards. We are not wired to find pleasure in blowing another human up and many, many (most) soldiers suffer fallout from combat stress and the dissonance of killing. This is where the chaplain comes in.
My paper today was about the morality of killing. When is it right, when is it not. It is a difficult concept to wrap your arms around for sure. It will be something I need to get settled right now, cause I'll be dealing with it. Perhaps I'll post the paper.

Also have had a lot of counseling classes, which I like. I hope to eventually become what the Army calls the family life chaplain. The Lord has impressed upon my heart the need for stronger families in the Army.

And I passed the physical training test on Monday. I needed a 180 and scored a 229. 45 pushups (could have done more but made a tactical error and lost a minute of time)...59 situps and 2 miles in 16:20. Not bad for starting training in late February. I really feel like I have so much more room to improve.

2 days after the PT test I went to the clinic and was diangnosed with achilles tendonitis in both feet. They get really sore after a hard workout and I end up limping for days so they want me to rest, ice and stretch them. I've forgotten what it is like to run without pain. Now that I think of it, I always found running painful....but this is, like real pain, not "I don't feel like doing this" pain. There is a difference.

Only like a month to go before I'm with my family, off to Texas, and really doing chaplain work. Once I get the Army stuff figured out, I think I will enjoy the ministry tremendously.

thanks for reading. I treasure more and more the people and events that shaped my present.

God is faithful!