Reveration Blog
5/21/2004 0 Comments CalendarVainly I searched my desk for my pocket calendar. I needed it to determine which days to submit for pay for working at my reserve center. If I don’t look at my calendar on a daily basis there is a good chance I will miss an appointment. I’m somewhat bound by a schedule and dependent upon the information I write down on little squares.
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4/16/2004 0 Comments GloryIn March of 1992, Captain David Knecht learned he was passed over for promotion to Major. Despite the setback, he determined to press on with his career. Weeks later, on April 8th, he was out on a field exercise conducting a routine night live fire defense. When it ended he looked forward to traveling to Russia for a short gospel mission trip. That night an M2 Bradley platoon was positioned about one kilometer to the right of the spot Dave selected for his Command M113 vehicle. Apparently the platoon leader or his gunner was scanning for targets out of sector to their left because when Dave’s M113 showed up in their thermals sights, “they lit me up with eight 25mm rounds.” One training round glanced off the hatch next to his head and penetrated the soft CVC helmet he was wearing, exploding fragments into his brain and right eye. Dave was flown by two helicopters, a UH-60 Blackhawk and later a CH-47 Chinook to a civilian medical center for emergency brain surgery.
12/13/2003 0 Comments OrderlyWhy is it that the one year you get a flu shot you get the flu? Why does your dog shake off muddy water next to you when you’ve just changed into good clothes? Why does your husband get sick on the day you’re supposed to go on a family vacation? Why is it that the day you’re ready to complete your project the power goes out? Why do microphones work fine in rehearsal but then screech during the play? Why do people get mad at other drivers right after leaving church? Why do camera batteries go dead just when your son takes his first steps? Why does some stranger’s toddler pitch a fit at the climax of your daughter’s recital?
8/23/2003 0 Comments SteadfastOur neighbors have a new puppy, Sadie. She is a lovable Pit Bull full of energy and eager for attention. To keep her from getting lost or running away, it was necessary to finish fencing in their yard. So, with help from family members, holes were dug, cement was poured, and metal posts for a chain-link fence were sealed into the ground. That fence is not going anywhere; Sadie is quite secure.
12/15/2002 0 Comments CommitmentHe humbly sits at our head table in his Dress Greens. Around his neck a blue ribbon holds a precious five pointed star that symbolizes the highest award for valor in combat action a soldier can earn. We admire this World War II veteran and he seems genuinely touched that we have made him an honorary member of our battalion.
12/6/2002 0 Comments The DentistDriving down the road on the back of a motorcycle in India is an experience any thrill-seeker would love. Picture weaving through vehicles and pedestrians on narrow, worn roads where there is almost no margin for driver error. Fortunately, I was seated behind Dr. Kester Frederick, the only driver among hundreds with a helmet on.
8/22/2001 0 Comments DifficultiesMeditation
Philippians 1:29-2:4—For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (NIV) 6/2/2001 0 Comments Coram DeoFriday evening I watered the young trees and shrubbery in my front yard. I noticed a plastic soft drink container wrapped in gray tape. It looked suspicious enough, so that not wanting my children to pick it up, I chucked it across our road.* The next morning while Bryan and Stephen and I shot hoops in our driveway, a police car pulled alongside the curb across the street. Someone evidently reported the object and a bomb squad was dispatched. Sure enough, it was a poorly-made bomb that failed to explode. Perhaps you can imagine some of the thoughts that ran through my families’ heads as we pondered the incident.
3/16/2001 0 Comments PaganismThere is a tendency among those who call themselves Christians to belittle or make light of the convictions of people devoted to animate and inanimate objects. It is as if those who consecrate themselves to Mother Earth or who view themselves as gods are less genuine somehow in their convictions. It is in devaluing their convictions that we lose any right to be heard.
2/8/2001 0 Comments MarriageThe story is told of a conversation between a teenager and his grandfather. The young man said, “Gee Grampa, your generation didn’t have all these social diseases. What did you wear to have safe sex?” The wise old gentleman replied, “A wedding ring.”
2/1/2001 0 Comments ConscientiousWhile Kathleen was talking to me in my office, Stephen came running in and said a man at the door wanted to see one of us. We hadn’t heard the doorbell and to keep him from waiting long I hurried. It was a deliveryman from UPS. He asked me to sign for a large box and then went back to his truck to pick up an even larger one. As he returned to his vehicle, I said to my wife, “I think I will put these in the garage.” Almost to his truck, the deliveryman turned around and asked if he could carry them for me.
1/9/2001 0 Comments SimplicityLeaning against the gymnasium wall, Bob and I talked about our children and their involvement in sports. Between carting his kids to Cub Scouts, his work and everything else, his life sounded complex. Life in our land is like walking into Circuit City and seeing 15 different channels at the same time in the television section, while we talk on our cellular phones and wave at the sales clerk we know across the room. Isn’t it comforting that no matter how fast the globe spins, no matter what level of activity we engage in, Jesus remains the same!
9/14/2000 0 Comments FollowersFollowers—what thoughts does this word conjure? Are they passive, wimpy, sheep-like figures too meek to do anything but comply with those leading? Are they mature loyalists? In actuality, we cannot rightly answer the question unless we know concrete evidence about who is leading.
3/21/2000 0 Comments Fruit BearingHere’s a nightmare! If we don’t spiritually invest in the generations that follow us who will rise up willing to carry the torch of Christ? A self-centered spiritual body is an embarrassment to the throne of the One who so loved THE WORLD—past, present and future!
2/8/2000 0 Comments WholeQuarantine is a condition of forced isolation often imposed upon those with a contagious disease, or to determine if someone is in fact infected. My computer has the capability to quarantine off sectors in which a virus has been discovered. This built-in protective measure is intended to keep my hard drive from crashing!
1/11/2000 0 Comments CreativeJunior High School was the worst period of my life. My family moved from Tokyo, Japan, to Seoul, Korea in the middle of my 7thgrade. I didn’t find a niche in the new school, so I compensated by handling adversity and uncomfortable situations by being funny. Mr. Eng, the principal of the Crusaders, abetted my cause. Once I pulled a rubber band back as if to shoot him and his immediate response was, “That’s stretching things too far!” My life was being stretched, and my ideas for coping weren’t working.
11/29/1999 0 Comments God's WordPastor John Repsold wrote in a newsletter, The Fourth Dimension, the true story of a cook on a work crew at Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana. This man became tired of his job and decided to quit. But before leaving he determined to go deeper into the cave and break off stalactites to later sell to rock collectors. Late on a Friday afternoon he maneuvered away from his departing work detail. But the flame of his lantern blew out! To his horror he realized he had no matches. He would spend a weekend alone, trapped underground!
11/8/1999 0 Comments AbandonmentOccasionally that day will come when she does not feel well. Yet instead of focusing on herself, she labors to provide for her family. She homeschools three growing kids without complaining, faithfully manages a household whose routine is weekly interrupted by the unknown flow of people that come with the territory called ministry. Her efficiency is absolutely amazing. Her refusal to complain is inspiring.
10/28/1999 0 Comments PlansThey built a dream-house overlooking the Columbia River. Their blueprint was excellent, their planning they thought complete. Unfortunately, they misunderstood and therefore violated the zoning regulations Skamania county officials insisted be kept. Their structure was too prominent in its profile, marring the scenic Columbia gorge in its natural beauty. Their unfinished home must be moved!
9/14/1999 0 Comments VacillationJulius Caesar led his army across a short river of north central Italy in 49 B.C. to launch a civil war. The name of the river was Rubicon a name now synonymous with irrevocable commitment. When Caesar and his men crossed the river, there was no turning back. They were determined to fight to death if that’s what it took.
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Photo from Rachel Maxey Miles