Even when the rain comes...

Re-blue? This is a slang term the Air Force uses to describe going to a certain event to help you appreciate the Air Force more. It is usually used by service members to denote something they do not want to do. Well, tonight was one of those nights. As one of the base First Sergeants i was scheduled to see the Fifth Chief Master Sergean of the Air Force. Well, i was re-blued as never before. Maybe i was blued for the first time. I've always described pretty quickly to my friends that i miss the Army and the way some things were done. I believe the Army has a greater love for the Service and the Mission and what they are a part of - being a part of history is what motivates me daily to do the right thing.

Tonight, i got to eat dinner with an 80 year young man who led life by the nose and bloodied it a few times as well. Wow, what a man, what an example of who i need to be as a leader. I know individuals who try every single day to be the best manager they can. They believe that if they manage the numbers, the numbers will take care of the men. Manage the numbers because you failed the men. WRONG - WRONG - WRONG

I will never say anything less than - IF YOU TAKE CARE OF THE MEN - THEY WILL BRING THE NUMBERS YOU NEED. To the detriment of my career, i will put the men first every time. They know that if i have to ask them for more... i've asked because i've been left with no other course of action.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Gaylor started his career in 1948 and still serves the men today. He told a story of how a First Sergeant early in his career changed his life forever. He remembers playing softball with the "shirt' and how much he admired him. I have the exact same story except that my shirt pitched and his played catcher. It just happened 50 years later.

I went to complain about a few things that really do need to be changed to better the life of those i serve and all i could do was sit and hope that i could just get a hand-shake and tell him what his stories meant to me. Thats what he did - he just sat around and told us stories of growing up in the air force - seeing the changes and being a part of what "was". This world has never been and will never be perfect, but there are small moments in our history where individual men do the right thing knowing that it may cost everything. Men stormed the beaches of europe and parachuted in knowing they would never return - some stayed at their post so that others could make it home - and some refused for four and a half years a chance at early parole from a prison camp because he would not leave his men. John McCain suffered beating almost every day of his 6 plus years in prison becasue he REFUSED to leave his men behind. His daddy was a general and they wanted to release him - he refused and suffered for it.

You know, the life within the service is not perfect, but WHEN THE RAIN COMES, i choose to think about the sun light right around the corner. WHEN THE RAIN COMES, i choose to remember those before me that did the right thing no matter. WHEN THE RAIN COMES, i'll choose to remember Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Gaylor's tears as he spoke of the love of those he had served with.

"Always take care of the least, before you consider the rest" sarge...

More than the sun...

I was looking at the pictures you see there of my children and i began to hum a Matthew West Christian song about how God loves us more than the sun and the stars, etc that He placed in the sky. Then i thought... Would i give up my child, even one of my children, so that others may live. What about giving one of them over to the terrorists who do some of the most unspeakable items on earth - NO. I think of my very best friends and would i give one of my children up so that he could live. The result... ABSOLUTELY NO WAY! You see, with Casey i have six children and i wouldn't give up a bloody nose or even a scratch so that someone else could go free. I've held Gracie or Sissy, etc when one of them had a cold and it tears me up. I remember being told about my daughter Sissy having a small hole in her heart and they were going to do some tests to see how bad. I remember sitting there waiting for the phone to ring (deployed, of course) and praying that God would take me to heaven in stead so that she wouldn't be in any pain or suffer. SHE WAS FINE. My heart is broken just to see my daughter get a shot.

God did this and more. He knew that sending Jesus, His only Son, to earth would result in horrible attrocities placed upon Him. He didn't just sit and watch what was going on, he sent him to suffer. He sent him to die upon that cross. We think about the love we have for our wife and children and imagine that it hurts so much to see them in pain. Think of the greatest LOVE of all giving everything so that you, a pretty miserable wretch, can spend eternity in heaven. God loves you so much that he purposely allowed the graphic mutilation of His Son just to one day sit around and listen to us pray... to one day sit around and listen to me worship at his feet. Then, take the physical pain of what was being placed upon Jesus and multiply it times an infinite number to see the amount Jesus suffered when God turned away. I believe that when Jesus spoke from the cross "why has thou foresaken me", i believe that is when Jesus BECAME OUR SIN, allowed the creepy little thoughts that enter into my head, the anger, the lust, and the etc etc etc that goes on every day to be placed into His heart. God can have no sin in His presence so Jesus took it for us. He bacame sin and God turned away! WOW!!!!

If there are questions in your heart....

accept that you're a sinner - accept that Jesus can forgive you of those sins and ask Him to - turn away from those sins and begin anew - washed by the blood of Christ!

How much does God love you - FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST!

Serious...

I sat to write about some seriously deep 'Jack Handy" kind of thoughts... and then i saw this pic of the girls at a day fair in Luxembourg. "Day Fair" - same as a flea market back at home.

We were eating lunch and enjoying a sunny day for the first time in weeks and Casey had told Gracie three or four (thirteen maybe) times to not climb the obilisk behind her but whenever theres a camara around Casey looses all sense of reality. The worst is when she gets together with our friend Lisa. If you've ever seen my favorite movie "Zoolander" than you know exactly what i'm talking about. If you haven't seen it - stop taking life so serious, let go for an hour or two and laugh. It'll only help in the long run. I digress!

Gracie was climbing to the top and i was taking pictures of her while she posed at the top. She was flipping her hair, dancing around, and overall posing like a rock-star. Casey, of course, thought i was taking her picture and kept looking at the camara screen saying this was bad, or that was bad, or whatever so i could try to get another take of her "good side". It still makes me laugh. I laugh hardest because when Casey finally turned around she made some comment about my Grace posing and dancing around like Hanna Montana - "gracie just loves the camara" was probably more like it. Well, like mother like daughter.

This day started out pretty easy - we have this book of "day trips" around our area and so we drove into luxembourg so we could see the "town square" which was about a thousand years old. We showed up to a day fair and had a great time. Casey got a tea set i believe and i got a free ice cream cone. Free because i dropped my first one while licking it. Italian Ice - another blog all by itself.

See ya...

Oh yeah, i almost forgot! Whatever it is on your heart... He's waiting for you to give it over to Him. He loves you and took that burden long ago. You see: When He was carrying your cross up that hill, the cross was never heavy. Our sins and burdens is what weighed Him down.

dino

Why I'm here...

Well,
I love to read my wife's blog... I can see her grow as she writes about the many things in her life and i've grown closer to her through reading it. It has been a solid kick to the groin to realize that your wife can talk to this screen more than she can talk to you - but you have to learn to grow. The real sorrow would be if i failed to tell her how much it has opened my eyes to see this side of her. We'll see...
This is difficult in that i've never wanted anyone close so, over the following pages we'll just have to see where this goes... keep an eye out.
To my close friends; Richie & Lisa / Wendy & Brian / Jamie & TWag / B-Eagle / I couldn't let you get too close, but know that i love you guys with all my heart. Three years to retirement and we'll get together again. Forget three years.. stop working so hard and come to Germany for a vacation. Lisa... get over it! Take a pill and get carried on the plane, we'll wake you when you get here.
Know this though: the overview of everything you will continue to read will be given first to the Glory of God. I hope that through letting some things go and maybe letting some people in that we all can grow closer to our Bright and Morning Star!
See ya around the blog