Whew - more than a year!

Being away from my "blog" for over a year does not mean I have relinquished my opinions and observances. I have, however, concentrated my efforts upon shortened blurbs of thought using Facebook and Twitter, concentrating on studies within my Navy occupation in pursuit of the Chaplain Corps, and the exercises and training necessary to reach that goal.

I'm going to make a concerted effort to resume blogging on a more regular basis. For those of you who have subscribed, I thank you. For those of you who have commented on past blog posts, waiting patiently for review and publishing, I apologize for the delay, and will strive to prevent it from happening again in the future.

My continued hope for this place on the internet is to communicate the gospel clearly, and to make Christ known to those who do not yet know him. I will strive to realize this hope with Biblical accuracy, verbal conciseness (I think that's a word) and as much brevity as I can muster.

Please share your comments, thoughts, etc - I'm always available and open to suggestion.

God Bless you

A thought or two...

I haven't written anything since the start of this training back at the beginning of December. I was hoping and planning to write at least weekly, however, my training and preoccupation with the people and things going on here seriously limited my thoughts as well as my ability to transfer them from my brain onto this blog or anywhere else for that matter...

I've decided to touch upon a couple of topics I've faced, and issues that have come up because of the new era we are now living in with the promise of everything we know 'changing.'. Because I no longer participate in the same conversations I used to, or take part in the same activities - a lot of my quiet time was spent in prayer, thanking God continuously for His protection and mercy...

He has been faithful and gracious enough to put people in my path who I honestly don't think I would have approached to talk about Christ on the street or at the beach while out witnessing or preaching - and that's simply a result of the intimidation an ex-Marine walks into a room with as they spout blasphemous remarks, all the while professing to believe in God.

I find it ironic that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is involved in numerous lawsuits against the military alleging that service-members have been forced to participate in religious activities, when my experience has been that I've never been affiliated with a more godless organization than the U.S. Military...

And while you're sitting there agast that I could ever write such a phrase publicly, let alone even think it privately, let me take the opportunity to also write that, with the exception of my church family, I've never been more proud to be a part of another organization than the United States Navy & the U.S. Military.

The greatest irony, in my opinion, is that we are bound by General Order 1 which states that we cannot prostelytize our faith among other things that I'm actually GLAD we are not allowed to do, though we are allowed to speak some of most filthy phrases that anyone might ever imagine in mixed-company without any repurcussions or repremand... General George Washington, while in command of the first Army of the New America made the decree, citing reverence toward God while declaring profanity forbidden in the Military, among it's personnel...

I'd love to touch upon so many other topics, I simply did not have the opportunity I had before I was deployed... I plan on resuming regular posting as I get settled in to my living space 'over there.'

So for those of you who would have appreciated one last call, I'm sorry, and feel free to comment on this posting, and I'll be sure to write/ call as soon as I re-gain access to the web... To talk over the Internet for free, go to and download Skype.

Your thoughts and prayers are definitely appreciated...

May God richly bless you and yours...

-Benjamin

This is MEANT to make you cry...

So close the door where you're at and please excuse the sound quality...

I promise I'll write as often as I am able...

Just so's you know...

I do in fact, have a sense of humor - just in case you've read my previous entries and thought to yourself, "boy, does this guy ever crack a joke???"

That's why I thought I would share a funny moment from just the other day.  I've been away from my wife, Rachel, and children, Jonathan and Hannah for the past 2 weeks while performing Annual Training with my Navy Reserve Unit.  So my main point of contact with them has been through iChat on our Apple Computers...

Though, the story I'm going to share wasn't one that I actually was blessed to witness on camera, the visual imagery that it will convey should stop you from wishing you were there...

So anyway, Rachel had just completed an afternoon feeding with Hannah while Jonathan played quietly at her feet.  With Hannah full of food and well contented, it was time for a pat on the back to release the trapped gases.  (Mom's and men who are secure in their masculinity know that I'm talking about burping the baby...)

In no time at all, our 3-month old bundle of joy turned into a geyser, redecorating the whole front of my wife's outfit.  Needless to say, wild horses could not have held back the hysterical laughter that tore out of the insides of my son Jonathan...

After a short grace period, Rachel told him that he needed to settle down - one thing to understand about my son is that when he finds something funny, you almost have to pinch him to get him to stop laughing...  So after another handful of seconds, my wife began taking it personally, almost as if he was laughing at her misfortune, rather than the eruption of gastric fluids that you just don't expect to see come bolting out of a little 10 pound beauty such as his little sister is...

Rachel told Jonathan that if he couldn't stop laughing, he would have to go to his room and settle down  before he could come back out...  Now, you'd think that a 4-year old would simply hear the suggestion of having to go to his room and stop the laughter immediately...

But not my boy...

He agreed - he should go to his room, this was just too funny to stop anytime soon...

If you've ever heard a story that just tickled your funny bone so much that it brought a tear to your eye, that was the feeling I was having at that moment.  Whatever I lack in the department of humor, that kid has in spades...  That's for sure.

I hope you laughed at least half as hard as I did...

God Bless you - until next time...

-Benjamin, The Sower

John 3:30-34