Memorial

It is a couple of days after Memorial Day, but I want to express my personal thoughts on those who have gone before us allowing us to live in the kind of freedom we now experience. I have recently finished reading a book called, "Kitchiners last volunteer" which are the memories of Henry Allingham, the oldest survivor of the first world war. As I read the book, I was reminded that the veterans of world war I were all volunteers who enlisted out of a sense of duty, knowing that they were working to maintain the freedom of their homeland. In World War II the veterans, though enlisted, were prepared to give their lives to keep the world as we k new it. So many lives were sacrificed to give us the freedom we can enjoy today. But one death sits above all of these. Jesus willingly gave his life so that we might be free, and it a freedom that goes beyond the world and its dictators. It is a freedom that can be experienced in the midst of tyranny, a freedom in the midst of strife but it is a freedom that so few have experienced. Thank God for those who gave their lives for our freedom, and thank God for Jesus.

What a wonderful day I had on Wednesday as The Salvation Army had the opportunity to thank more than 100 of our most wonderful volunteers, donors and supporters. Then, on Wednesday evening, I had the opportunity to speak to the Lee's Hill 55 club, a group of fine people who were exceptionally receptive to my talk on the Army. At the end of the day, as I looked back at what I considered a most wonderful day I pondered the word I had used many times - "success." What is the success in what we do? If we pay a persons mortgage this month but they are foreclosed on in six months, is that a success? If we put a person through a six month rehabilitation program only to watch them go back to drugs, is that a success? If we have a child whose behavioral issues seem only to get worse, where is the success? Then I ponder our Savior - Jesus - who died to give us a second chance, an opportunity to get it right and reap the reward of heaven but, if a person fails to go to Heaven, where is the success? It seems to me the success is the opportunity. We gave the family the opportunity to stay in their home, we gave the addict an opportunity to stay clean, and we give the child every opportunity to be loved...but if the opportunity is rejected surely it makes no difference to the success. Thank God for the opportunity to have a second chance, and I pray to God that more people will take that second chance, an opportunity we call Amazing Grace.

Appreciation

Today is a special day in my calendar as we (The Salvation Army) have the opportunity to say a public thank you to our donors, volunteers and friends. If I truly sit back and consider these people I realize that we would not exist without them. It is one of those great miracles and perhaps one of the greatest examples of true faith. Think about it - we have complete and full confidence that people will send us checks, ring a bell by one of our kettles, buy gifts for a child they don't know, volunteer a day, or several, helping to keep our Thrift Store together.

Today I want to thank all of those people who allow The Salvation Army to exist. Being a displaced Englishman I continue to be absolutely amazed at the generosity of your average American and I believe it is this spirit that allows the USA to be considered a blessed nation. Surely a true blessing is the result of something you do rather than something you receive.

I want to give a special thank you to the members of The Salvation Army Advisory Board and Women's Auxiliary. They give so much of their time, treasure and talent and with such a great attitude and level of enthusiasm. It is a joy to serve God in Fredericksburg.

New Life

It's good to be back home from my trip to Nashville. Sitting through 4 days of lectures is not my favorite way to pass my time, but it is done and I did learn a thing or two.

Upon arriving at the office this morning I was greeted with the news that my treasured accountant, Misty, has given birth to a healthy baby girl called Madelyn. This is one of those wonderful instances where a child is brought into the world to parents who will love her and raise her as God intends. What an exciting life ahead for Madelyn.

Sunday was a funny day as my wife and a number of our ladies were at Women's Camp, a weekend at Camp Happyland where the ladies do...whatever it is they do. This meant that Sunday would be a little different for me. Following my Sunday message, I knelt at the altar next to my brother in Christ, James Brown. Quickly we were surrounded by three children who prayed over us both. As thrilled as I was to have these children surround me, I noticed a couple at the altar who have been peripheral attenders. I was thrilled to see them there, but did not get the chance to pray with them. Following the meeting, I spoke with them, apologizing for not praying with them. In the ensuing conversation I discovered that, while they knelt at the altar, the man had given his life to Christ.

Just as Madelyn became the worlds newest baby, so this man because Christ's newest baby. Both were born into families full of love, both have experienced new life, and both have an exciting future ahead of them. Some say that God is not working in our world today, but I say different. I have seen the miracle of new life this weekend, and I have seen God doing His best stuff. He is still in control

May 13th - here in class

I'm sitting though my 12th hour of learning about Christian ethics and my brain is about fried. Its a fascinating subject but one that's hard to get your arms around, though my views on God's image in us has shifted a little. An emphasis of the class is to love God and to "love your neighbor as yourself", and this is seen as key to Christian ethics. As I ponder this command to love our neighbor I wonder why its so hard for us to do this. So many of us have the habit of drawing lines of acceptance. For some it might be political, others it might be education, to another class, to another lifestyle...but the consistency in any persons lack of acceptance is the absolute belief that they are right. I feel that God has called us all to love our neighbor despite a lifestyle or habit. This does not mean we embrace a behavior or lifestyle but it means that, by loving our neighbor, we have shown Christ to them in the hope that they might become open to Christ. I thank God for the calling laid upon my life, even when it means being lecture to for hours!!

Weekend May 9-10 blog from Nashville

It’s been a long weekend for Christi and me as our revival came to an exciting end on Friday, my Mother-in-law and Father-in-law arrived in Fredericksburg, the Home League had its Yard Sale and we then left for Nashville, TN. I have just completed my book report (a day late) and looking forward to some sleep. In the meantime, I want to make mention of a motivation I will be pondering this week in my class. What motivates a person’s ethics? For some it’s upbringing and family or situation or bias. There is such relativity to ethics, except in the Christian realm. Christian ethics has to be based on one thing only – the love of God. This love, expressed by God to us, is naturally reciprocated by the believer and this love them overflows to others. This unconditional love brings about obedience to God and a return to our created image. I should have more thoughts on this throughout the week, and hopefully my mind will be more alert than it is now.

Hope realized

What a difference a day can make. Our friends from Vortex were greeted by our biggest audience of the week - 89 - the children were very well behaved, and the Spirit moved. We are excited to see what tonight has to offer, and wouldn't it be great to have 100+ people experiencing the moving of the Spirit.

One thing I have realized, whether dealing with either child or adult, is that relationships matter. At The Salvation Army there are several children who refer to me as "Daddy" and my wife as "Mommy". This is not so much a term of endearment, but more an acknowledgement of belonging, and it is this very sense of belonging that keeps the children coming back to The Salvation Army. Very often we develop relationships for our own benefit...but I urge everybody to develop a relationship with somebody for their benefit, and you will surprised at what happens. God is all about relationships, so much so that he wants one with me! He wants to tell me how much he loves me, and he wants me to trust Him through all of life's struggles. When we develop real relationships we become Christ, we love that other person and we want to help them through life and its struggles. Today, take the opportunity to deepen a relationship. It might be a work mate, a neighbor or a child at Church. Whomever you chose, do it for them and see what happens to you in return.

Well we finished our third night of Youth Revival....wow. Last night the kids were a handful, discipline had to be given, talks, the "eye", and yet nothing seemed to work with a few of them!

I began to think about my own life and God. How many times did God talk to me, discipline me, let me know He was watching, and it all seemed to fail. Yet God did not give up on me, when I came to seek His face, He was there waiting with arms open. Thank God for His grace!

My heart did break last night as I was embarrassed by behavior, wanting the children to realize that God was trying to talk to them, and they gave deaf ears.

God warns us in His Word that hearts will get harder and it will be difficult to reach those in the dark.

It is my prayer that we can be a light to those we reach out to. No matter how hard it seems at the time.

I serve a God that is loving and kind, but one that also has expectations for His children. In these uncertain times, I have a Savior that has given me a certainty for my future. No we are not perfect, but we are called to be Christ-like!

Pray for our youth! Not just The Salvation Army, but of our world, on this National Day of Prayer. My our young people seek a Savior that came with the "soul" purpose of redeeming them, and bringing them to His family.

Captain C

Revival

As I mentioned yesterday, we are currently having a Youth Revival. Our Friends from Vortex have come with amazing enthusiasm and are sharing the Gospel with our Young People. We have had a number of children come to the first two nights, most of whom are 13 and below. The comment was made that we have less older teens than last year, a true statement that involves a number of answers, but answers that can be summed up in one word - parents.

I grew up with wonderful parents who, when they made a decision, considered my sisters and I and how that decision might affect us. Indeed, most of their decisions were based on what was best for the children, and this created a remarkable amount of stability in our lives. For many of the children we deal with at The Salvation Army, the opposite is true. Some parents can become affected by the smallest of issues and make knee-jerk reactions while their children become victims of these decisions. For some it is infidelity, another drugs, another will bring abuse into the home while somebody else just doesn't care and the children go uncorrected. Some of our children no longer come because their parents have fallen out with another Church member so they either go to another Church or nowhere at all, and the children are made to leave their friends behind, and the Church family that has loved them. Why can't people resolve their differences?

Having said all of that, there are many wonderful children who continue to come to The Salvation Army and are supported by their parents, even if the parents don't attend the Church - and our hope continues. Hope is seen in the faces and lives of so many of our children, hope drives us to believe that those who we haven't seen for a while will not forget, and hope tells us that in God's plan we have planted seeds. Thank God for hope.

Children

On August 19, 1999 my oldest child was born. It was one of the most amazing days of my life as I experienced love at first sight, and that love continues to deepen every day. My wife and I decided to wait until that day to discover the gender of our first child and had chosen a name if the baby was a boy, but we struggled to come up with a girl name. After much debate we decided that we should give her a name that meant something...so we named our daughter Hope because we felt her generation needed hope.

Little did my wife and I know that this name would become prophetic in our lives. As we desire our children to represent hope, so we are surrounded by children whose lives border on hopelessness...but I am encouraged, and I will share more in my blog as the week goes on except to say, this is our Youth Revival week and it is a concentrated window of hope. Many will tell you that hope lies in an education, money or success. I tell you that hope lies in Jesus Christ, and in Christ alone so please pray for our children this week, pray that Christ will live in their hearts, pray that hope in Christ drives their lives and, if this happens, they will spread hope to others.

Many Blessings.

Just arrived home from a wonderful evening in Lynchburg with the National Capital Band. The congregation was exceptionally appreciative. On the way home I learned that British boxer Ricky Hatton had suffered a very one sided loss - which I found very disappointing. I am wondering why I have allowed a sporting loss to dampen my spirits after all, being British, I am used to defeat. None the less, I pray that I will wake up tomorrow ready to receive the blessings God has in store for my congregation. God is so much bigger than my earthly disappointments.

Still in Fredericksburg

Hello all - this is my first post and it is with great joy that we will be going into our 6th year as Corps Officers in Fredericksburg, VA. While many of my friends are now looking for boxes, I'm relaxing in my office playing on the computer!!