Jake

I had to put down my dog today. Jake was my buddy and there is nothing I can say about losing him that isn't better expressed in this poem by Rudyard Kipling.

The Power of the Dog

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie--
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.
When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find--it's your own affair--
But...you've given your heart for a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!);
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone--wherever it goes--for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart for the dog to tear.We've sorrow enough in the natural way,

When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long--
So why in Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

"H" is a consonant

I am tired of everyone on the news treating the letter H as a vowel. It's a consonant people!!! It's pronounced Huge not youge. You have A Historic event, not AN 'istoric event. This is ridiculous. Where are these people learning to talk?

Armor of God: Part II

The American PASGT Kevlar Helmet of Salvation (Eph 6:17)

Weighing 4.2 lbs, this helmet is constructed of 19 layers of Kevlar. The helmet itself is commonly referred to as simply, "kevlar". 4.2 lbs doesn't sound like much until you consider that a bare human head weighs around 10 lbs. Wearing kevlar is like suddenly gaining another 50% of one's head weight. It caused many headaches until I was used to wearing it.

Below are just a few observations that I made about my Kevlar of Salvation.

Kevlar (as well as any other uniform headgear) protects from the Sun. I once made the mistake of not wearing any headgear for about an hour in the Sun. The burn on my head felt like someone had hit me with a rock.

It protects me from death. Unlike the protection offered by the IBA of Righteousness a penetrating blow to the head would most likely cause immediate death.

It protects my central nervous system - the part of me that controls everything, the center of understanding.

It is not a guarantee from injury. Though the parts of me that the Kevlar of Salvation protects are vitally important, it only covers a small portion of my body.

The dangers of my career field

Who says the band is a safe place to work?

Armor of God: Part I

I had the honor of spending the Summer of 2007 in Iraq and Afghanistan entertaining Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and my fellow Airmen. While there, I decided to do a little experiment. I have always been interested in the Armor of God (Eph 6:10-17). I understand that this armor is a metaphor, but I wanted a deeper understanding of the root of that metaphor. So I took all of my modern day armor and labeled it according to the Armor of God - individual body armor = breast plate of righteousness, kevlar helmet = helmet of salvation, etc. I learned a few things, some relevant to scripture and some not.

The Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) of Righteousness (Eph 6:14)

This 16.4 lb vest is similar in weight and purpose to the roman breast plate that Paul referred to in Ephesians. Here are the observations that I jotted down in my journal:

IBA is heavy, a burden, and uncomfortable.

It is protective (I feel safer inside it).

The weight, though oppressive in 120 degree heat, is balanced.

It protects my vital organs.

There is a video taken from the view of an enemy sniper shooting a soldier wearing this armor. The man falls to the ground, immediately jumps up, readies his weapon, takes cover, and begins to fight.

When I get around to it, I will write about how some of these observations apply to the Armor of God. Right now I'm just too darn lazy to write all this stuff in one sitting.

Greetings

Soon you will be enraptured by the tiniest thoughts that bounce around my scull throughout the day. Not yet though, because there have been none as of late.