Warrior Spirit, Warrior Dad / A Three Book Review

If you spend the better part of a minute around me you might find out that I like me some firearms but for even a longer time I've had a fascination with the military. I think it would be a conservative guesstimate that I have consumed over 300 books on the subject in the last 20 years. A good portion of those have been focused on the war in Vietnam (I read every book the Snohomish library had on the subject) . Lately my focus has been on three books written by three Navy SEALS, namely Marcus Luttrels "Lone Survivor", "American Sniper" by Chris Kyle and the latest book "Fearless" by Eric Blehm.

It would be to time consuming to go thru all of them in detail but I think I should give a little info on each of these guys.
Chris Kyle was a SEAL sniper who gained his reputation for the most kills for any sniper in US history. One thing that always interests me is how a man can witness death at his own hand time and again and remain, for lack of a better word, indifferent. Kyle's candid words on the matter are revealing.

Marcus Luttrell was the one SEAL that walked or as the case may be shot, fell, limped, fell, shot and bled his way through the day the US lost more SEALS in the history of the organization. I shed tears reading his account of those hours in hell.

Adam Brown. I don't know where to begin with this story. And I won't really be satisfied with anything I could say about this guy. I really laughed and wept through this entire book. Much like the Bible speaks of the warrior David, exposing all his shortcomings and falls from grace so does the writing of Eric Blehm about Adam Brown. From a mediocre football player with a ton of heart to a meth-head druggy who stole from friends and family until crashing to rock bottom in a jail cell with 11 felonies to his name where he finally came to salvation, to the challenge of becoming a Navy SEAL.And not being satisfied with that was accepted into DEVGRU, the top one percent of the top one percent. And achieving that after losing vision in his dominant right eye in a training accident and four fingers on his right hand when his HUMVEE rolled in a collision. Front there we read about a man who would not stop glorifying God for dragging him from the pit all the way up to his death in the desolate Hindu Kush mountains.

One of the things that strikes me most about these three warriors is their emphasis on family. Men who stare death in the face, see evil incarnate, men who see the depravity of humankind and yet went home to their wife and kids and were (or became, in the case of Luttrell and Kyle) family men.

In Kyle's words " People have an idea in their heads that fathers aren't able to spend comfortable time with their very young children. Hell, I had as much fun as they did".

Adam was known for giving Afghan children rides on his ATV and handing out shoes and socks that he requested his home church send- in place of personal care packages. He was winning hearts and minds for a different Cause.
To sum it up here's the stories of the top one percent of men among men, guys who got the Job done, who are the success stories and the thing all of them come back to is the priority of the family and especially in the case of Adam Brown,the mercy and grace of God.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

( A little side note if you geek out on these HSLD guys stories like me, Marcus and Adam both were in class 226 of BUD/S which makes for a nice parallel read if you're into that. Marcus ended up being moved to 228 due, if I recall, to injury and Adam graduated with 227)

Political Prose

I haven't put pen to paper for the purpose of prose in a very long time so, in advance forgive me for forgetting every thing I ever learned about poetry, with the exception of rhyme.

On the eve of this election
I ponder my countries direction
Barry spoke my mind when he growled out Eve of Destruction
Now they plan to take our guns
"For your protection "
When all they want is servants in genuflection
If you're a product of government school Google that for definition
Speaking of which you can make your own rendition
"Marriage' they say " is an old tradition"
The Church claims "Its the gays!"
The wise say "It's the Brides sedition!"
The Church indeed is a poor reflection
We believe we're former monkeys
Not Gods creation
While demanding He bless our nation
And sacrificing our babies on the alter of free fornication
So please, let me make this prognostication
The country won't change without a revival in the church and a new reformation
Its time to exchange pride for humiliation

So, tomorrow when you vote for faux-marriage and weed legalization
Know it don't make a difference without a heart transformation
No Obama or Romney nor government legislation can provide what you need
                   Eternal salvation

Husband, Father, Servant

Carin, Ethan and I went to a wedding today. The young couple getting married are active in serving the community and the church and I'm excited to see what God has in store for them.
Near the end of the ceremony Ethan was getting antsy so I took him to the back. What I saw there surprised me. There were at least four dads caring for their children. No moms. Just the guys and their kids.
Now weddings aren't a guys favorite place to be so maybe that was the reason they volunteered to head up the noisy kid care. But I'd like to think better of my fellow dads and so I'll go with this for a reason: Maybe they understand that their wives have been caring for Billy and Becky all week long. Maybe they want their children to see what leadership through service looks like. Maybe, just maybe they want to look like Jesus to their respective families.
I like this concept.

There are more places this plays out than at a wedding.

Think about it. Over the course of the week your wife has likely made you somewhere between five and seven dinners. She probably packed a few lunches. She got up early, went to bed late. She wiped poopy bottoms,washed dishes and your underwear and socks (hopefully not at the same time as the dishes). She probably even got up in the middle of the night to care for a crying baby. And she is fully planning on getting up and doing the same thing again tomorrow.
One of my favorite memories growing up is sitting at the kitchen table, listening to Adventures in Odessey while my dad made us breakfast. That's a tradition that will carry on in our house. The reason being twofold. One, I love my son and want to spend time with him. Two, I love my wife and want to serve her. And you cannot love your children without loving their mother.
So, I encourage you dads, help take a load off your brides shoulders. Get up next Saturday before she does, take care of the kids, let her get up and tend to herself on her own schedule.

But that's just one example. Lets go back to my original revelation at the wedding. Church is another place to let your bride have a break. In our  church there is no Sunday school class for the kids, just child care up to the age of three. This is by design, not for lack of flannel graph  volunteers. Having the family together for worship puts the family man in the position to lead...or not lead properly. The opportunity is there for us guys to step up and serve. We get to serve. A very real way to serve in our situation is to take care of the fussy kid(s).

I really enjoyed seeing those dads, those MEN, taking on the responsibility of serving their families tonight. The family is in crisis in the world today because of a dearth of Godly men. Fighting against that starts with dads, husbands in the home.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Hopefully I've expressed my thoughts well, and in a God honoring way.
And if you're a Dad reading this hopefully I'll see in you in the back of the church holding your little one soon.