Vacation

I am on vacation with the family (Wife and 2 little ones) for the week. We headed out to Arizona to be with the folks (& the grandparents) and due to the VERY HIGH cost of plane tickets we drove it for the first time. 23 hours after we left we finally arrived.

We are in a house about 1/8th of a mile from that picture.


Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Easter-HE IS RISEN

Matthew 28
The Resurrection
1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Good Friday

John 19
Jesus Sentenced to be Crucified
1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.
4Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." 5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"

6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!"
But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."

7The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"

11Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

12From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."

13When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.
"Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.

15But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!"
"Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked.
"We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.

16Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read:|sc JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."

22Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

23When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

24"Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it."
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,
"They divided my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing."[a] So this is what the soldiers did.

25Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

The Death of Jesus
28Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"[b] 37and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."[c]

The Burial of Jesus
38Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. 39He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.[d] 40Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Best Video Games Ever

I have been asked a few times (well more than a few) why at 37 yoa I am still playing video games. Well other than running long distances (11+ miles) or taking whirlpool baths hotter than what is considered healthy in Bulgaria, that is the only thing that allows me to escape. Individuals in Police work in general and, well me, in particular, tend to dwell on evil, what is missing in this imperfect world and all the countless opportunities that I have missed in helping the millions of the world's victims. This creates a certain level of stress and toxicity that is not healthy for me or my family, or my relationship with the LORD, so I play video games, run and take hot hot hot baths....

Anyway here are the best games that I ever played. The games that allowed me to focus on their completion and not on all the random problems of my life and the world in general.

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Resident Evil 2
3. Metal Gear Solid
4. Grim Fandango
5. Silent Hill
6. ICO
7. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
8. Resident Evil 4
9. Final Fantasy XII
10. Devil May Cry
11. Shadow of the Colossus




Ecclesiastes 4:3
But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.

Watching the Evil of Others

I was reading in the newspaper and watching on television the continuing saga of Chicago PO (Idiot-Monster) Anthony Abbate and followed it up with a dose of the Gary Indiana Police Officers who were recently indited (Gary officials Sgt. Thomas Decanter, Police Chief Thomas Houston, and Deputy Chief Thomas Branson-have been indicted by a federal grand jury for alleged civil rights violations). I kept thinking, I and the vast majority of my fellow police officers, work so hard to be professional, unbiased and compassionate and yet because of these idiots/drunkards/gluttons/bruts...they tear down all of our good work.

I kept thinking, I will never be like them, I am better than they and if I had my way I would sweep them into the trash.

Unfortunately God was waiting for me when I opened my Bible. I can across Luke 6:27-42.

Love for Enemies
27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Judging Others
37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
39He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.

41"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

I was struck down where I sat reading this.

I see these Officers and all who act like them as my enemy and the enemy of all law enforcement everywhere. But am I a better man then they? If I think so then there will be a time when God's hand will place me under them. How foolish I am. I have not committed their actions, not because I am this great and moral person, but rather because I am a slave to Christ and I obey. Left up to my own actions who knows what I would do or what situations I would find myself in.

Further, has there not been many times that I have had too much to drink? Reacted in anger? Less than totally honest? Just because I have not done it on the job does not place me in the position to judge those that have fallen. It is without a doubt that their actions were evil but it is also without a doubt that so much of what I have done others would easily label these acts as evil.

I need to focus the light onto myself first and fix what I do before attempting to fix the ocasional roge officer and further: remember and embrace the fact that since I am a sinful fallen creature that can not go through one day without sin, I am not at this place in my life because I have led but rather I have found salvation and these blessings because I followed without input and contrbution and better yet at the end of a long line of others doing a better job than I.

Bad Day at the office

See if you can guess what is wrong in this picture.

Click on the picture to blow it up for a better look.





Well first, the Officer is not shooting from either cover nor concealment, thus openly exposing large parts of itself to fire.

Second, the right arm is pointed out rather than tucked into the Officer's body thus creating a larger target for someone to hit.

Third, most bullets will pop right through the trunk of a car since it usually only sheet metal and thus a very poor barrier.

and lastly and most importantly...


Her Ar-15's magazine is in backwards.

A bad day at the office for most people means they leave work in a bad mood. A bad day for a Police Officer means they leave in a body bag.

From a newspaper in Marble Falls Texas.

AA-12

The AA-12 is a combat shotgun that they claim has low recoil and does not need to be lubricated or cleaned. Really cool, I want one. From a police perspective this would have a very limited use. However in barricaded gunman/ active shooter/ terrorist situations this would be excellent tool to have. So if anyone has an extra one they do not need please send it to me ;-)

Video link http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/guns/recoilless-auto-shotgun-fires-300-rounds-per-minute-no-cleaning-or-lube-required-324453.php?autoplay=true (Cut n paste)

From Wikipedian: IN 1987, Max Atchisson sold the rights of AA-12 to Jerry Baber of Military Police Systems, Inc. The company in turn developed the successor simply known as Auto Assault-12, which was redesigned with 188 changes/improvements over the original blueprint, and had taken 18 years to develop. MPS also teamed up with Action Manufacturing Company, and Special Cartridge Company to combine the gun with FRAG-12 High-Explosive ammunition into a weapon system. In 2004, 10 firing models of the AA-12 were produced, and were demonstrated to United States Marine Corps.

The weapon was shortened to 966mm but retained same barrel length as the original, and lightened to 4.76kg.

It uses an 8-round box, 20-round drum, or 40-round drum magazine. It is designed to fire three different types of 12 gauge shells: Buckshot, Slugs, or Frag-12.

MPS also claimed this gun requires zero cleaning or lubrication.

AA-12 CQB model has 13-inch barrel length, and weighs half a pound lighter than the regular model.

Jeremy Camp/ Tobymac/ Matthew West

I was out at the Jeremy Camp concert with my wife and a couple of friends on Friday Night at the Congress Theater in Chicago.

I have never been a huge Christian Rock fan, but Kelly one of Carol's friends, has started getting us to go. The sound quality and the light shows are top notch and since the venues are smaller you really get right up close to the band. I have been to many rock concerts and I have to say that Mercy Me and Jeremy Camp are kicking the a@# of the secular concerts that I have been to.

I think starting out in Church basements, cafeterias and other acoustical nightmares forces their musicianship up because they have to sound good there to get noticed.

Ephesians 5:19

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,