Archive for November 2012

College Football Madness

By Steve | Published Monday, November 19, 2012

My wife says that all my Facebook posts are about sports, so I thought I'd just go ahead and go all in and create a post here about football.

It was a strange weekend that Notre Dame fans LOVED! Why not, they deserve it. Honestly they had a high probability of getting shafted anyway by the beloved BCS system. I can't wait until the playoff system takes place, although at that point we will be arguing over what 5th and the 6th ranked team got the shaft. But it could not be any worse than what we have right now... Right?

I was really hoping for an Oregon vs. ND national championship but all the stars would have to align just right and a few of the scenarios would have to play out below and Oregon wins. I'm secretly hoping for no SEC team to be in it.

So I'm going to go off the deep end here... What would happen if, over the next two weeks, the following happened? Notre Dame loses to USC, Bama beats Auburn and loses to Goergia in the SEC championship, but Georgia loses to the rambling Wreck from Georgia the week before? What if Florida State beats Florida, Oregon beats Oregon State, Kansas State loses to my Horns, LSU loses to Arkansas, Stanford to loses to Cal and A&M beats Mizzou! WOW, now that would be a mess! Why would I wish this because then it would be possible for A&M to play Oregon for the national championship. I know... it's a pipe dream, but at least I can dream.

So who do I really think will play for the national championship? Notre Dame and Georgia

What do you think?

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A Veteran's Story

By Steve | Published Sunday, November 11, 2012

As I do every year... In honor of Veterans, my brothers, uncles, father in law, friends and Ole Sarge who served... I just wanted to say... THANKS!!


I was 5 when my Dad came back from Vietnam and I don't remember anything about that. Looking back, what I do remember is my Dad was a hard and tough sergeant in the US Army and discipline was hard and swift, as my brothers will agree. As I grew older I realized there was something different about dad, my brothers will attest that he returned from Vietnam a different man. We all noticed that he would get upset at war movies, like Full Metal Jacket, yet he did not shed a tear, he choked them back. Almost as if he was wrestling with those feelings, his face would twist and turn and lips would turn sideways and every so often he'd let out a grunt because the pressure became to much. Today, as my brothers and I think back it was almost comical to think about, yet as it was happening, it was one of the most painful things to watch!



If you wanted to see my dad real angry all you had to do was say something bad about the military. My brother Robert recalled a moment when our brother Mike made a smart ass remark about Vietnam: "Let me tell you it wasn't pretty. I had to hold my Dad back and my Mom had to get my brother out of the house. I'm still pissed at my brother because I took the brunt of what was supposed to go to him, but that's another story." As my brothers and I have looked back and compared stories our Dad was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

A few years ago, before dad passed away, I wrote an article for my churches newsletter entitled, "Bouncing Betties," which were land mines that were used in Vietnam. The story was basically about a man who sacrificed himself for a friend. Little did I know that I would receive the following email from my dad. Apparently it conjured up all the feelings that dad had stuffed down inside of himself and probably only on of the many violent and insane things he went through.

When my dad would visit DC we would visit the Vietnam Memorial and dad would spend, what seemed like, hours combing the names on the wall. One day he found a name and took the pieces of paper that they have available and ran the lead back and forth across the paper until the name appeared on it. It was the first time I can recollect my dad crying it seemed like forever, but he took the sheet folded it up and put it in his pocket. Till this day... I don’t know who it was that dad had found, I can only hope it was the young marine in the following story.

My father signed up for the Army in 1954 as a 24 year old combat Engineer/ Demolition Specialist. After a tour in Germany, he was talked into becoming the company clerk, like Radar O’Reilly on the hit TV show M.A.S.H. Since he was one of the few that could type he moved up the noncommissioned officer ranks quickly. As promotions go in the military so do the assignments and on Christmas Eve 1971, he reported for duty at Travis AFB in California where he would soon be shipped to Vietnam. He said he was not worried because he would be working at the assistance advisory headquarters in Saigon. The turnover of the country was happening at that time and US combat troops were leaving Vietnam and being replaced by South Vietnamese Units. He was “assured” he would not get an assignment in the war zone! Upon arriving, he was assigned frontline advisory duty, but still was not real worried because most advisory teams had an administrative supervisor… right? So much for supposing! We’ll leave the rest of this story in his words...

When I asked the question to the personnel officer and he said "No Sarge you are assigned in your Combat Engineer secondary MOS" Which all top NCO's are required to have a combat secondary skill. This still didn't seem to bad since I knew all advisors previously had to learn to speak Vietnamese before being assigned to a team.

My first clue that I was in trouble was when we went by a 2 1/2 ton truck to An Loc the next day and found that the supposedly 30 or so man advisory team consisted of an Airborne Ranger Captain, Airborne Ranger Sgt. Major (that had been in Vietnam four times), myself and three Marine Corps Lance Corporals, 3 Army Sp4's and a private. I was quite in shock, so to speak until the Sgt. Major put me at ease by asking me if I still could set off a C-4 demolition charge, which I replied, “You never forget that.” He said that all the other squad tactics will come back to me in a hurry. The Captain put me in charge of the quartermaster second lieutenant and the private to teach them how to do daily reports at the home base, which I might add they became pretty proficient at.

We were detailed to advise a South Vietnamese Infantry Company, and as I recall they had four platoons. The Captain went with his Vietnamese counterpart and the first platoon; the Sgt. Major with the 2nd platoon; and myself and the three marines plus the two Army E-4s were generally in the the third platoon (right in the middle) of the platoon. The Sgt. Major called us the "sucker" platoon, since we would have normally been out in the open by ourselves to draw fire from the enemy and the three others were about 100 yards away on each side of us. As soon as we were attacked, normally by a very small V.C. or North Vietnamese Unit, we would lay a field of fire into them until the three other platoons closed in on each side.

The worst experience I ever had in my life happened a couple of months before the overrun of An Loc and my R&R as they called it. We were in a new area that we hadn't been before and some new enemy troop movement had been seen in that area. We hit a big open area with a rice field in the middle and the rest was swampy with tall grass. As usual, we went right down the middle of it like we had good sense; 1st and 2nd platoon went around the tree line on the left of us and the 4th platoon in the tree line on the right of us. The Sgt. Major was trying to tell me something on the radio and there was a lot of interference and I couldn't understand him. I dropped my cigar that I always chewed on in the rice paddy and bent over to pick it up when I heard the mortar thump and an incoming round! About that same time a little Marine knocked me down and the explosion came and landed right on top of me. The breath was knocked out of me and I was sputtering water from the rice paddy and blood was streaming down my forehead and face. I thought to myself, I guess this is what it is like to get killed in combat. But as I was getting my breath back and feeling better, I threw the Marine off my back and saw that the explosion had killed him instantly. We didn't have time to think about him too much since it looked like half the enemy army was charging into the rice fields to do us in, we had our hands full. We were enraged and quite a battle ensued as the other three platoons engaged also. We drove back quite a large North Vietnamese regular battalion, I don't remember the North Vietnamese body count, but I do remember that we lost six of our South Vietnamese soldiers and the Marine who was on top of me.

I was very upset over the loss of one of my young men that I, A Lifer, was to to help keep from harm. He was only 19 and since that time I have completely blocked his name. All I can remember is the young black man from Chicago, that called me "Old Sarge, " I have questioned the Lord many times as to why he spared me and not this young black marine. Evidently God had other things planned for me. One day I will remember his name and if not I know I will see him in Heaven

It's my belief, that on that day at the Vietnam wall, as my dad rubbed the letters of that soldier, my dad's memory came back to him. If not, then my Dad and that young Marine are sharing war stories today! Thanks Dad and to the young Marine! Today... Take some time and thank a veteran!

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Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar, Obama, Romney, Jesus and you!

By Steve | Published Wednesday, November 7, 2012

After watching all my Facebook friends moan, groan and gloat over the elections I can say I almost unfriended and unfamilied some of them. I came across this well thought out and written Facebook status from a friend of mine that really resonated in me. So I asked Luke if I could post this here. So I can now say that Luke Dooley (you can follow and give him a shout out or follow him @yeloodekul ) is my first guest blogger! I hope it's as meaningful to you as it was for me. 

 One of my favorite passages of scripture is Daniel 2. I took a Daniel commentary class in college and fell in love with the book. Essentially King Nebuchadnezzar has dream that disturbs him and he commands his astrologers and wise men to tell him the dream and interpret it. They are unable to do so… However, a young foreigner named Daniel was given the dream and the answer in a vision.

He goes on to explain to King Neb the following:


31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

The end is the key. A Rock cut out "not by human hands" crushes the statue and becomes a mountain that fills the whole earth. In summary: The different layers of the statue are the various kingdoms of man. The Rock cut out "not by human hands" is a little infant born in a manger, and the mountain that fills the earth is a New Kingdom… one that is unstoppable and rules not by power, but by love. This New Kingdom is to be ushered in by the Bride of Christ.

On this day of turmoil and vitriol after the election, I am so reminded of this passage, and its significance. Friends, God did not choose the nations of man to bring about his Kingdom. He chose the Church [the bride of Christ!]. He did not choose the rulers of the day: not Rome, not Babylon, not Persia, not England, not Israel, not America… he chose the Church.

If you're excited because your guy won and you think his social programs are the solution, shame on you. If you're furious because your guy lost and you think his anti-abortion stance is the solution, shame on you.

If God wanted Government to care for "the least of these", he would have sent His Spirit on Casesar, not Peter and Paul.

What's the point? In short: Do Something. Quit talking. Your rhetoric is not helpful. Your sensationalism does not bring about the New Kingdom. Your bitter jabs are not Christlike. If Paul showed up and hung out in this community for a few weeks and then left us with a letter to help us move forward, it would make Galatians and Corinthians seem mild. Ask yourself some simple questions: "Am I being helpful." "Am I being Christlike". "Am I living proof, or just typing rhetoric?"

If you're angry about people who are "depending on others to bail them out", do something about it. My suggestion: go volunteer at a brand new organization in Cincinnati called CityLink a center that is seeking to help move the working poor away from poverty and towards family self sufficiency. Go here: http://citylinkcenter.org/

If you're frustrated by the lack of "family values", go find a single mom with multiple children. Build a relationship with the family. Mentor the children. Especially if you are a man and she has a boy. Your influence will change his life... he'll be exponentially more likely to grow up and start a values based family.

If you're waiting on the government to provide social services to the poor in your community, stop waiting and put your time, money, and energy where your keyboard is. My suggestion: Go volunteer at Reach Out Lakota… a great organization that provides; food, clothing, and essentials to families who cannot provide such things for themselves. The Holiday season is upon us, this is ROL's biggest season of need. Go here: http://reachoutlakota.org/

If you have a righteous anger burning in you about 1,000 + abortions happening per day in the USA, stop posting crazy fetus pictures and calling people baby killers. My Suggestions: Find or start a ministry that is passionate about helping young pregnant women make good choices. Adopt a child… IF ABORTION STOPPED TODAY, WHO WOULD CARE FOR THOSE 1,000+ CHILDREN? Financially support a ministry like the Zoe Adoption Foundation which seeks to make adoptions affordable and less complicated for families who are seeking to bring an unwanted child into their home. Go Here: http://thezoefoundation.com/

If you're a pastor or church leader, and you keep posting proof texts and witty proverbs about unity, stop it… it sounds canned and insincere. Invite the black pastor from across town to preach at your church. Start a ministry that transports poor, dirty, racially different kids in from the trailer park that is a few minutes from your church.

There was a stone carved not by human hands. His name is Jesus. If you claim to follow Him, challenge yourself and those around you to rise above the political fray. Imagine the difference you can make the next four years if you stop waiting for other's to "do their job" and start fulfilling the two great commandments that Jesus simplifies for us in Matthew 22: "Love God, Love Others".

To quote so many of you today: Get to work.

(I'm Luke Dooley, and I approve this message. Mostly because I need to absorb and put into action every single word in my own life.)

P.S. Thanks to Curtis Woody Adkins for getting me excited about the book of Daniel so many years ago at Warner Royal.

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