Prospective Shift One

One of the reasons we attend our church-Harvest Bible Chapel, is that Pastor James can take a passage that I have read a multitude (of sins? of angles? of the dead? the saints? I digress but you gotta love the concordance)of times and yet he will present a take on that passage that forces a prospective shift. The latest one is about the Apostle Thomas.

The verses are from John 20

24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

I always read that passage as an example of a lack of faith and a cautionary example of living out your faith. The classic negative example and as such I always looked askew at Thomas.

This is what Pastor James pointed out.

From John 20 again.

19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

What Thomas was really asking for was only what the other Apostles had already received. He missed out and only desired the same conformation of Christ's resurrection.

Pastor James then said Thomas has gotten a bit of a raw deal (paraphrase) because he was not asking for the extraordinary only for what had already been given. Jesus statement of 29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." was for all of them not just Thomas.

Prospective shift on Thomas-I do not look at him in the same light anymore. I find that I would definitely would have been Thomas in that circumstance and probably would not have availed myself as well as he did when he was martyred.

Corssroads again

I think that I am safe in assuming that I am not the only one that finds himself/herself looking back and being surprised at my current location, bewildered by the multitude of happenings of luck/fate/choice (IE Gods hand) that it took to bring me here and wondering where I am going from here.

Every so often an opportunity presents itself that allows you to have the ability to see the divergent paths separating in front of you rather than discovering all the forks in the road only after you have passed by them.

I have encountered a simple one in which I really do not know which path I will take, the right or the left.

I have applied for tuition reimbursement from my department for a program that I wish to join. While it is in our contract, and a fantastic perk, its acceptance is far from assured, simply because of our current slumping economy and my cities sales tax revenue losses. So I now sit and wait, having taken all the steps that I can take and waiting to see which path God's hand will push me, the right or the left.


PS The program is a cool one and it is from Olivet Nazarene University. It is a Ed.D in Ethical Leadership. It is an expedited executive program and completes in just three years. I hope I find myself there by this time next year, but only if that is where God wants me to be. Here is the link for the program-cut n paste- http://www.olivet.edu/academics/GCS/edd_el.asp

Michelangelo's Narzis painted on a pin head

Sometime ago I stopped watching television for entertainment (exception is Doctor Who, Torchwood and occasionally the Simpson's). It was not for any direct reason but rather just happened over time as less and less of the shows being broadcast grabbed my attention. I of course did not use this newly gained time wisely but rather, instead of watching television, I played my PlayStation 2. I am currently saving up for a PlayStation 3, so I have been forced to play the occasional online flash game (since it does not require downloading software onto your computer flash games tend to be simple, small slices of fluff compared to regular gaming consul games).

I ran across a simple diminutive game called Little Wheel. Simple, beautiful and brilliant, this is the best flash game I have played in a very long time. It is like a Da Vinci masterpiece painted onto a postage stamp. Enjoy, the link is below.


Play This Game

The Only Guarantee We Have Is

I was watching an ESPN special which concerned Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young (I know two sports posts in a row I promise this is not turning into a sports blog). If you are not aware Vince Young was in a game on September 8, 2008 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Vince was not having a good game and in the process threw an interception for which the local fans booed him. As a result Vince fell apart in an ugly and public way. His coach (Jeff Fisher ex-Chicago Bear) pushed and prodded him back on the field, soon there after he had a "knee sprain" and left the game. The next day he was scheduled to take an MRI (which if it was a "knee sprain" rather than a knee sprain he could not allow to be taken) which he failed to attend and disappeared. His therapist telephoned his coach told him that she had been contacted by Vince and he had mentioned taking a gun with him and suicide. The police got involved, intervened and probably saved his life which of course they do not get any credit for.

Vince Young of course has a different version of the story and I can not say that he is lying because I do not know even 1/2 of the facts but his nonverbal body language all scream deception, but then who knows, the truth is always somewhere in between.

I am a big proponent of finding the life script in interviews. It is a technique in interviews where you let the bad guy rattle on and on at the beginning of the interview. Everyone has a template of themselves in their mind as to how they would like others to view them, the goal is to understand what the bad guy's life script is. Most crime runs against their life script, so throughout the interview you are linking the different aspects of their life script to the crime so as to make the confession in sync with that template. Officers who are really good at this can create a situation where the bad guy feels he has to admit to the crime because of who he is, the best person I have ever seen at this has people practically jumping out of their seats to tell the truth.

OK that is a long explanation to get to my main point. I was listening to the interview and Vince kept emphasising "The Boos". Not people were booing but as if the boos themselves were a physical entity (IE the boos ran against Vince's life script as a winner-to put it crudely, it created a significant attack on his sense of self that overwhelmed him).

I was surprised that anyone could truly believe that they would always win, always be loved and never have hardship. Vince clearly believed he would never suffer. The one thing that the Bible promises us as Christians is that we will suffer. John 15:19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. The Bible is full of analogies of hate, battle and evil as it pertains to us; John 3:20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 1 John 3:13 Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. Our own savior fulfilled a plan where he was beaten, whipped and crucified and he asked us to risk the same, Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me".

Our promise is that in the end we will be in Paradise with him with no more tears forever. But the promise for us here on earth is, John 15:18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first". We should not be Vince Young, we should expect hatred, which we are to respond with love, evil which we are to respond with forgiveness and sorrow, which we are to respond with joy.

In a way it is a blessing, suffering is an excellent indication that you are following the same path as our Lord. Acts 5:41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

Real American Heroes

I happened to be on a very small 1982 CESSNA 210 CENTURION (I think. I was a passenger not the pilot, I just knew it was small, very, very, small) last week for about five hours, flying in neat little circles around the Chicago land area and like NASCR it was left turn only.

Being up there with earphones on waiting for when the rubber band turning the propeller would be breaking and I would suddenly find myself plummeting to my death, my mind understandably started to wonder. The pilot of this airplane had just been back from a tour of Iraq. The pilot was a reservist that volunteered to go back to full duty even though he had not been called up. He left a family behind and went to do what he felt was his duty. He has now returned and has continued serving people with his civilian job.

His service to our country and our people, made me wonder about the nature of heroes I keeping hearing in the media. I keep watching how ESPN is doing everything they can to bring Kobe Bean Bryant (LA Lakers)back into respectability. I watched how LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)just stormed off the court when he could have shown the world what good sportsmanship looked like. One of my heroes once was Michael Jordan but he has been revealed to be a twisted and broken human being that was only good for one thing and that was basketball.

Today, it seems our heroes are only about what they accomplish in their limited given arena. We are supposed to be impressed by their money, their consumption, their greed, what ever can be marketed to the public and what the purple diamond ring they buy to get out of trouble.

This is a real hero. It is someone that cares about others more than themselves. It is someone that understands that the things of this world will not last and rather than buying that Bentley gives that money to the poor and drives a Toyota. It is someone that knows that they will have to sacrifice some of their desires/needs/wants in order to aid others. It is someone that holds others up before they hold themselves up. They do not hate, they love. They do not seek revenge, they provide forgiveness. This is a real hero. This was the pilot of my plane. These are the people I look up to and these are the people we should be telling others about.

Throw out your Jordan, LeBron and Kobe gear, buy a white tee shirt and find your local hero. Write his/her name on the shirt and tell everyone you know why the name on your shirt is the name of a true hero. I think one of the greatest things in the world would be the question of, "whoes that guy?" So I can say, "let me tell you of my hero".

John 15:13

13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Its been busy

I try to get at least one post a week and hopefully find time for two, but this week would not allow this. The week consisted of getting up in the early morning and coming back in the early morning so I was a little long in getting a post up. In the next day or two I will do a regular post but until then enjoy this.


Ex-con allegedly targets cops for robberyNew York | July 23, 2007 12:01:13 AM IST

An ex-con allegedly tried to rob two people in New York, police said, but didn't notice his intended victims were police officers -- in uniform.

Police said 33-year-old Jermaine Washington allegedly was so intent on robbing someone Saturday that he pulled a fake handgun on the two armed police officers as they walked through Riverside Park, The New York Daily News said Sunday.

It was stupid criminal tricks, a police source said. The guy didn't even look to see who was coming.

After Washington allegedly pulled his fake gun, the two officers drew their real weapons and Washington surrendered after a short but tense standoff.


Job Security is a great thing in these tough economic times.



Proverbs 14:7
Stay away from a foolish man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips.

Coming up Empty

Our team recently completed a project and while arrests were made and a small amount of narcotics were recovered, for all intents and purposes, we came up empty in this investigation. Sometimes you just strike at the wrong time. In this case we slowed them down but did not knock them out.

Logically, this has frustrated the case agent, the team and me. Primarily because of the time spent here when other cases that could have garnered better results were temporally sidelined (looking back is always done with perfect vision). But I was struck by the swing of emotions that I went through in about ten minutes. There was the thrill of the take down, the panic when we realized that what we thought would be there was not, the rush of anger as we scrambled to the new locations and the frustration when we struck out.

This reminded me of variable-ratio conditioning. This is the mechanism that get people addicted to slot machines. The payoffs are random and could yield different outcomes (1 coin on the second pull, 15 coins on the 14th pull). It is considered the best way to have an animal (or man) conditioned to repeat an action for the longest amount of time. IE he/she will pull on the lever of the slot machine as many times as it will take as long as they believe that the next pull could yield the reward.

This is very similar to what any Police Officer experiences when they go out on patrol. You could score the big incident (bank robbery) or medium incident (major traffic accident) or low incident(telephone harassment-the bane of many a police officer) or nothing at all.

This would suggest that the nature of Police work could have an addictive quality to it. This could explain why so many officers prioritize this job over everything else (our 75% divorce rate is an example of this).

Is Police work addictive? I will have to figure this out...well once I get back from my double shift at work.

Surveillance

Recently, we began a project that has both built in time constraints and is very surveillance heavy. So I have spent the last four days sitting in a car making sure my head is not above the window line for thirteen hours at a time.

A long time ago, the bad guys started watching for cars sitting around where they were "working" that would routinely come and go (Det. eating, going the bathroom etc). If the drug dealers saw this pattern, they would quickly shut down and disappear. In order to counter, their counter surveillance, we arrive in the early morning and stay, in basically one place, until night fall.

This week was the first week I have had of multiple stints of this type of surveillance. I can not remember when I have been this sore. Everything hurts and not like the R.E.M. song. I am still trying to figure out why after doing nothing for thirteen hours, it feels like I have been digging a ditch for those same thirteen hours. Plus, you have not lived till you have to create a bathroom schedule and pack three lunches keeping in mind that your food will be staying with you the whole time (I will not make a salami sandwich again...at the end my car smelled like a dumpster in the back of an Italian deli).

I did not think it was possible but I ran out of food, reading materials, people to talk to on the phone and people to send text messages. I have realized that I could never be a monk, I simply do not want to sent that much time with myself.

Anyway when you see surveillance on television or in movies, they have space, the bad guys show up quickly with their intentions clear and the protagonists do not smell of rotting sandwiches. I wanted to provide a slice of reality and I hope that my next assignment does not find me sitting in a cardboard box next to a warehouse (its been done).

Joel 2:20
"I will drive the northern army far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land, with its front columns going into the eastern sea and those in the rear into the western sea. And its stench will go up; its smell will rise." Surely he has done great things.

Second set of operating verses

I have long used Romans 13:1-5 as operating verses of my work for the Lord in law enforcement. Again this year I am going through the, year through the Bible, style Bible study, and discovered these verses at the beginning of May that will now operate as my second set of verses of Biblical wisdom to govern me in my work and in my life. You got to love the Cop verses, especially verse 8.


Psalm 101
A psalm of David.
1 I will sing of your love and justice, Lord.
I will praise you with songs.
2 I will be careful to live a blameless life—
when will you come to help me?
I will lead a life of integrity
in my own home.
3 I will refuse to look at
anything vile and vulgar.
I hate all who deal crookedly;
I will have nothing to do with them.
4 I will reject perverse ideas
and stay away from every evil.
5 I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors.
I will not endure conceit and pride.
6 I will search for faithful people
to be my companions.
Only those who are above reproach
will be allowed to serve me.
7 I will not allow deceivers to serve in my house,
and liars will not stay in my presence.
8 My daily task will be to ferret out the wicked
and free the city of the Lord from their grip.

I think I like this for all the wrong reasons

Professionally this hits home...well if home is a card board cut out of a house that your were tricked into buying.

A moment of Clarity

I have a very good friend that is currently, gainfully, employed at Wal-Mart. I met him and his associates in a professional capacity because he was in a law enforcement liaison position at his store at that time.

Anyway, one night we and two of his associates were wondering around his store trying to find a subject I was seeking to make contact with for an investigation unrelated to the store. We had entered the pet area and walked to a section that was selling frogs in small plastic cups. I said, "Hey look, frogs, I wonder what they are called?". I pulled a frog off the rack and read the label and it said, Frog in a Cup.

I suddenly had a moment of clarity. I shared my findings with the three other people with me and once they got over their fear of, this cop has just lost it and is armed. I explained, "It is one of the few things in this world that is just what it is...A frog in a cup. Nothing more, nothing less. It is the sum total of what you are getting in four words."

We all sat there staring at the frog in the cup. This has become a saying with our group when we want to express that something is just what it is, IE she was cheating on him, that is why he broke up with her, frog in a cup."

In life so many things are hidden or over hyped or contained unexpected negative elements or varnished with deceit or a bitter disappointment or extremely complicated or experience sudden uncontrolled change, simply...most of what we experience is not truth. This was a truth. However it should never be confused with The Truth. It just was a small-a truth.

Simply, it just was nice to have just one thing that was just simply what it was. A clear bell ring in the silence.

Frog in a Cup.

Psalm 119:30

I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.

Maintaining your Police Job-A Simple Guide

Maintaining your Police Job-A Simple Guide to staying out of trouble and making it to retirement.

Last week into this week, it seems like I have been bombarded with one law enforcement officer gone bad after another. They are either stealing, providing the bad guys with operational information (see US Marshal trials) or tragically striking a vehicle when drunk and running away while the other vehicle's occupants were burning alive. While I have only been at this slightly over a decade I have seen my share of Officers loose their jobs and in rare instants a few commit actions that result in criminal charges (this always catches me by surprise, it is not usually the person you think it is and only after they leave do you discover what actually happened, I thank the Lord that I have never had the criminal act happen in my presence).

This has spurred me to create a simple list that if followed will eliminate over 95% of the reasons officers find themselves either unemployed or jailed.

1. Don't drink and drive...others get arrested, pay a fine and go about their lives, we get fired.

2. Places to not get drunk. A) local bar filled with yahoos, B) neighbor's backyard, C) weddings, D)funerals and E) well...every place outside the home...how about...do not get drunk.

3. Do not cheat on your wife/husband...especially with a coworker or someone to whom you have just provided a service (see domestic violence pickup).

4. Do not Lie. If you are on the stand and everything is going badly resist the temptation to lie. Believe it or not you will score points with, "I do not know" or admitting your mistake. You will destroy your career if the lie is discovered (once a liar always a liar, in the court's eyes)

5. Do not steal, while it may be the bad guy's money/jewelry/cellular telephone/clothing and in one case underwear and there is no chance of being caught...just don't do it.

6. Treat your co-workers, bosses and the public the same way you would want to be treated. I can think of a number of instances, in which the incident was used to get rid of a real cock@#$%^& that had it been anyone else they would have suffered a mild reprimand.

7. Do not beat your wife/husband...enough said.

8. Anything over a cup of coffee should never be taken for free...let me say again nothing over a cup of coffee should never be taken for free.

9. Do not accept cash/services for your performance or lack of performance...your pension is worth 1,000,000 over your retirement lifetime...is it really worth risking over 300?

10. If you are depressed/sad/consistently angry, seek help, quickly.

11. Your family is priority one and the job is priority two...the second that switches you have already slipped halfway down the slope without realizing it.

12. Revenge is not your job, justice is not your job, your job is protecting the weak, gathering evidence for the court and arresting the bad guys AND NOTHING ELSE. Payback only pays you back.

13. Finally, insurance fraud is well...a crime!

14. Well I thought finally, but there is one more. Ok for some I will have to speak slowly...do...not...have...sex...with...anyone...under...18! (Thanks Eric, not the sex part but sending me the story about this twisted officer).

Basically follow the ten commandments. My list of 13 is for situations that I have known about in some form or another. It really is pretty simple, be smart and learn to delay gratification.

Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.

4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

13 "You shall not murder.

14 "You shall not commit adultery.

15 "You shall not steal.

16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Easter HE IS ALIVE

The Stone was rolled away. The grave is empty.

Mark 16
The Resurrection
1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"
4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "

8Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Good Friday

Chicago Police Contract

One of the most unexpected benefits of my current position is my exposure to law enforcement professionals from a multitude of other departments; local, county, state and federal. It has taught me a number of things, primarily, that the men and women who serve us in law enforcement are a credit and a boon to America and secondly I come from a good department.

I have gotten to know a number of Chicago Officers while I was going through my master’s program and then met even more now we are all working together to pull illicit drugs off the street. They are being disserved by the Daley administration. The officers have been without a contract since 2007 and yet other city services find a way to increase their pay and benefits package (See Chicago Aldermen). Mayor Daley has made the simple calculation that it is cheaper to keep the money with the city and eventually pay out retro checks then to settle the contract quickly, well unless he can get the union to make substantial cuts into the proposed benefit package. This is coming dangerously close to the Cook County Model in which when one contract is finally negotiated, they have to instantly begin new contract negotiations because once the new contract is approved and signed it has expired.

I brought up the problem that Chicago PD is going through to a group of my non-law enforcement friends and immediately the response was, “Well they should be taking a pay cut like everyone else.”

That got me thinking about the unique characteristics concerning Police contracts.

First, the general purpose of the employee contract rather individual employment/ at will employment is to; theoretically, remove the politics and personal gain issues that affect private sector employment. If you are in negotiations as a group, then individual actions can not improve individual employment keeping Officers actions on the street for law enforcement purposes and not for personal gain.

Second, everyone regardless of individual performance gets paid the same. In patrol for instance the lowest ticket writer gets paid the same as the highest. The only change in pay comes with either positions (investigators get paid the same as other investigators but higher than patrolmen), promotion or time on the job.

Third, the reason the Officers do not deserve a pay cut is primarily due to point two. When economic times are positive Officers upward mobility in both position and pay is restricted. Promotion comes only through a testing process that is conducted only once every couple of years. The Officer also does not get increases based on performance but rather negotiated raises throughout the year. In the private sector when a company is successful and the employee is performing at a high standard, their compensation is improved whenever the company deems fit. I get all kinds of calls from my friends wondering why I picked this profession when I could be making so much more money in the private sector. When times are bad I get calls to the reverse. The bottom line is that public sector pay is a slow line increasing up and we can not take advantage of the good times and are not hurt as badly during the down times. However if a pay cut is implemented for a contract employee it is a permanent loss since you do not get a corresponding pay increase when times are good to offset the loss.

Finally, the last in this post but certainly not the last element concerning contracts is the retro check. When a post due contract is finally signed and ratified the pay that the Officer should have received is calculated and put into a check. The problem for larger Police departments unions is sometimes the money that the city can make in interest and alternate use is greater than what they will eventually issue in retro checks. So in essence there is little hurry for the city to negotiate when they are essentially making money by holding up the contract negotiations.

These are just the concepts I brought up that night and there are a multitude more to choose from but I can see how frustrating it can be to work for years without knowing how much you are making and what is your benefits package.

The bottom line is Chicago Officers deserve a contract.

Chicago Police FOP Rosanna Pulido 2009

I have made a point of staying apolitical but for one post I will rescind my policy.

I hosted Rosanna Pulido, the Republican candidate for the Illinois 5th congressional seat at my home for a meet and greet. She stayed for four hours. I can say with certainty that she is pro law enforcement...she was even a dispatcher for Northfield Police Department. I was impressed with her dedication, intelligence and well thought out positions.

The Chicago Police Department FOP members had a rally on April 2, 2009 around City Hall. These Officers have been without a contract since 2007 and yet the Mayor's office and the city alderman seem to have no problem finding pay increases for their positions and the positions of their subordinates. Rosanna was there and marching with the Officers. The democratic candidate was no where to be found. This was noticed...

Rosanna Pulido, Republican candidate for the 5th Congressional District. What a kick in the teeth it would be for a Republican to win Rahm Emmanuel's old seat. We don't care if she's not your typical candidate. She was there. Quigley wasn't. What does that tell you? That is from Second City Cop Blog http://secondcitycop.blogspot.com

If the FOP really wants to send a message. Back Rosanna and get her elected to the 5th...this is a very heavy CPD area. The democratic party is so sure of the FOP/police vote they have become contemptuous. Why would they help if they are guaranteed the vote.

If Rosanna is elected not only would a pro-police politician be in office but she would be beholden to FOP and intervene on their behalf. Do you really believe that Quigley would take on Daley?
They need to vote for their own best interest and not to keep their piece of the Chicago dum-o-cratic machine.

Rosanna's links

http://www.rosannapulido2009.com

http://www.wbbm780.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=3594532

Interesting

I am always intreguied by the different unique abilities people have, here are three videos that I found interesting. One sand, one hand and one band...enjoy. Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!




Pilobolus Dance Theatre - Free videos are just a click away

Similar Fates Similar Struggles

I have written in a couple of early posts (See entries at beginning of the life of this blog like may 22 2008) concerning my placement on my Sgt test and my reactions to it. In my self centered, egotistical approach to my life one of my constant mistakes is that I believe that everything that happens to me is unique. Well its not. Below is an e-mail sent to me by a brother in Christ that recently learned about his placement on his departments list. We eventually arrived at the same conclusion but unfortunately for me and fortunately for him, I certainly thrashed around A LOT more than he before settling down and trying to see things from God's prospective. Its is a credit to his mature walk with Christ and another wake up call about mine...

Note the team is our Pastoral Security Team...

Hey team! I just wanted to thank you for your prayers, supportive emails, and phone calls this week. I ended up dead in the middle of the eligibility list…#11. What that means is 10 supervisors would have to vacate their positions in the next three years for me to move up….probably not going to happen, but then again…..

Please no consolation emails (but sarcastic jeers are fine J), as I am perfectly content with it all and I know I did my best. The blessings in my life are abundant, and my focus in life is Jesus Christ, my family, you all, and the career I am so fortunate to have. God gave me some clarity to this, this morning…before I even knew the results. There’s really only one eligibility list that matters when it’s all said and done, and numerical rank does not exist…I’ll take that promotion any day!!

Romans 8:9
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

Duracoating Firearms

I just ran into this product Duracoat. It is a non-heat treatment that refinishes handguns/shot guns/ rifles to whatever design you want. According to their literature it is a permanent finish that has the same life as the firearm itself. It also is not that expensive (well as aftermarket gun customization goes). The examples go from cool to silly. I might consider this treatment when I finally hang up the ol' side arms and stick it on a plaque.

For your consideration...

Greg Laurie

I had the privilege of meeting Greg Laurie and his son Jonathon (really mostly Jonathon) when they came to my church to speak and for a book signing. I was very impressed with Jonathon-a guy who was sick, that just got off a plane and still had the time to share his message and spend a little time with this knuckle head. We all have our stories about where we were before we came to Christ and what changed after but few have the ability to articulate the journey Greg and his family have been on.

Saying your a Christian is easy when the times are easy but the real proof of a transformed life is when the trials and the tragedy come.

He tells his story here



Titled I Still Believe

Ask or look up white arrow stickers/pins (Christopher Laurie).

Psalm 59:16
But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

PS more than 600 people received Christ between the three services where Greg and Jonathon preached together.