[…]“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3). This Savior and Lord—our “sponsor” in this life and as we PCS into the next—will one day stand to welcome and greet us at death before the Commander in Chief of the universe and in the communion of saints. Today is the […]
[…]side. “Come in Cadet Willey. I’m sure you are wondering why I called you here. Well, you are surely aware of the tradition of upperclassmen recognizing plebes on graduation day. It symbolizes the break from the tough plebe year to the ranks of the upperclass. It involves shaking the plebe’s hand and calling him by his first name.” Jon then thrust his calloused gymnast’s hand toward mine and said, “Hi Barry, I’m Jon.” Hesitating but happy and relieved, I raised his right hand and firmly grasped Jon’s and our eyes met and a bond was formed that day that only […]
[…]down to nearly freezing. However, in the summer time, it gets up to 120-130 degrees Fahrenheit. 7. Are there a lot of camels running around? I’m pretty sure there are but I have never seen any of them. I’ll keep looking though! 8. Do you have any friends in Iraq?I have lots of friends here. Many of them are people I came here with when we left Hawaii. Many of them have children in school just like me. I hope they are getting letters from their son or daughter’s classmates like I did! I also have made some friends since […]
[…]write these words, I glance up at the wall above my computer–and smile. There are no sheepskins there. But there is a faded Ranger school diploma and an old set of Vietnamese jump wings. And pictures of young men. Hal Moore said it best, “We were soldiers once–and young.” We were soldiers for a lot of reasons. One of them was the “bully syndrome.” Many years ago, as a young boy in a cozy little neighborhood in central Washington state, I learned a valuable lesson. Our neighborhood bully, Jimmy C., would never stop throwing dirt clods and using strong-arm tactics […]
