This video is from our Chapel service here at COB Speicher. We are in transition now with our brothers and sisters from 25 ID out of Hawaii handing off to our new friends from 3ID out of FT Stewart GA. Lightning Chapel as it is known now will give way to the Rock of the Marne Chapel. Both are the call signs of each division. We have a great crowd each week and I have been honored to be one of the pastors that gets to preach. I have enjoyed getting to know so many fine folks. We are finishing up a series on the Kingdom of God. And the more I study the King and the Kingdom the more He blows my mind. It has been my distinct honor to share the pulpit with CH Dave Shoffner and CH Tom Wheatley, both of whom have made a great impact on me. They have years of experience taking care of soldiers and I have watched and listened with an open heart as they have mentored me.

Our band is amazing too, led by the precocious one, SPC James Doty, from Corpus Christi TX. He'll be famous someday....I hope he remembers us little people!

Hope all is well back home. I'll be there for a visit soon! Some of the things I'm looking forward to are hunting deer with my son and my buddies, drinking a cold cheerwine, going to church and seeing all my brothers and sisters in Christ, falling asleep in my chair, playing with my dogs, seeing my mom, dad, and brother, listening to Tori tell me about her awesome life as a teenager, and finally having morning coffee with the love of my life....Tammy.

I am a blessed man.

See you all soon!

Stupid Story Night

Its stupid story night here in Iraq. We pull out our worst jokes ever. All done around a campfire on a roof at the men's night "Gathering"

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Prone to Forget

"We often forget the things that we thought we would never forget".

I found that quote today and put it my briefing for my commander. I had forgotten all this week. I sit here hacking this email out just a few miles from the Tigris river in the desert of the middle east. I am surrounded each day by soldiers who leave the "wire" and expose themselves to death. Just this week I was reminded again of how real all this is. At our combat surgical hospital, the choppers came in, the docs were scrubbed and ready to go to do what they do, but that didn't happen. Because there was no one to save. All three young soldiers had been killed when an explosion blew up their MRAP. So this week some Chaplain and another officer had to go to some poor woman's house and ruin her life that her son or husband was killed in action. And that was done three times this week. It was a sobering day.

I met with a soldier from that unit today. His best friend was killed in the attack. He's a strong man, but the weight of the instantaneous loss of his buddy is taking its toll. The strain is ever-present in his eyes. As he knelt in tears all I could or needed to do was pray with Him.

Like it or not the events of this week began 8 years ago today, actually back further than that, but the hinge point was September 11th. I know it was for me. It was the day that I knew I'd be at some point serving in the Army, kneeling with soldiers in grief and smiling with them in joy.

We are prone to forget. I forgot that I was working on a sliding glass door with my buddy Nathan. I forgot as we watched through that glass at some lady's house in Troutman NC and wondered what could be going on in New York. I forgot about the smoke and fire that came out of those buildings. I forgot the replays over and over again of that plane tearing through that building in a giant ball of fire. I forgot that the three of us watched on live TV, most of us did, as those massive buildings fell in seconds. I forgot the sick feeling I had in my stomach. I forgot how mad I was. I forgot the prayer that we prayed on our knees in that living room of some woman that I have not seen since. I forgot the conversation that I had with my wife on the phone, "Can you beleive it?!" What is going to happen now?" I forgot how we cried as we watched on TV all that day and all the next week. I had forgotten it all. That is until I remembered it. Then it all flooded back in. And one way or another I sit here, half a world away from my family and my home simply because 9-11 happened. I am here now, because that day quickened my soul and I could no longer sit by and just let things happen any more. Small is it may be, I had to play my part.

We had a 9-11 memorial service today to jog our memories. We saw the pictures again, heard the news clips. The stories were shared again. It is through this sharing of experience that we lessen the plague of forgetfulness. Remember today what you felt like that day. Don't forget the thing that you swore you could never forget.

I am even more aware now of Jesus' words, "Do this in remembrance of me", because He knew that if we did not have a reminder, some way of jogging us out of our daily slumber, we'd forget the thing we swore we'd never forget.

I have not forgotten today.

God is Faithful

Welcome to all the Mcullough family and friends as Mark's participation in the Podcast has increased the readership of Gone Fishin Again to a whopping 45 subscribers. Wow! Who would have thunk it!

I spoke at "Big Church" this morning at what is known as Lightning Chapel here on COB Spiecher. The message was from Exodus 3 and Moses' encounter with God at the Burning Bush. God's faithfulness is the source of my faithfulness. I saw four things emerge from that text and from the context and thought I might share them here for you all.

1. God is Faithful to Follow us- God had been following Moses since his unlikely salvation from death as a baby. God had followed and provided and watched over Moses through his childhood, even into his adulthood as a warrior and then even as he committed murder and ran from the charges. You can rest assured that God does the same in your life...He is faithful to follow!
2. God is Faithful to Find us- Moses had been wandering the desert in his safe little job, his risk free life of a shepherd...40 years he did this! But God found him, exactly at the right time for God's purposes. He found me 15 years ago. He provided Moses a burning bush...He provided me a radio broadcast (See the video clip at the bottom of this page). Understand this, that God is the one that pursues us. He's just waiting for us to notice!
3. God is faithful to Free us- He told Moses to take off his sandals. Our shoes have been everywhere we've been. They know all the dirt of our past. God, set Moses free of that and he does the same for us. The holy ground that we shed our "shoes" is the ground at the cross. The blood covenant that God promised was sealed there. Our freedom ensued!
4. God is faithful to Fill us- God took Moses, an 80 year old, stuttering, murdering, running from his problems kind of guy and set a nation free with him. He'll take you and me and we can be used to bring freedom to this world, freedom in Christ. He'll fill us with power of the Holy Spirit, he'll empower us to have the fruit of the Spirit. He'll fill us for His purposes, partners with God in the Kingdom, servants of the King. And all it takes is us to simply say yes...Lord...be faithful and fill me!
   

God is faithful when we are not.

On a lighter note we had a Baptism service today(Pictures above), but the water truck forgot about us (no running water here) So me and and about 5 Chaplain assistants opened up 2.5 pallets of 1 liter water bottles, one bottle at a time, in about an hour to get the pool ready for dunkin!

It was a sight!

Have a great week everyone!

Heart of a Soldier: Rabies Awareness Podcast

Under a Gibbous Moon its a podcast from the heart, including crazy captain guy and the rabies awareness run and more shout-outs!

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Heart of a Soldier: Podcast Four!

Its been a while and we're glad to be back! Mark has been to Baghdad to see Flintstone Village and Brad has been infected and is highly motivated at all times!

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Another Podcast is on the way!

Don't worry, we've got another podcast in the can and it will be up here soon. We know all of our 17 listeners can't wait! Hang in there, its coming!

Highly Motivated at All Times!

Some people have mottoes that they say, you know "The buck stops here" and "I did it my way" and other life mottoes that people spout off. Most of the time they are really just words. Words that have no real value attached to them because the words are not accompanied by any such action. But when you come across one of those rare individuals that has a motto and then lives by it, now that is something to take notice of. Then you find a guy with one of those mottoes that is so high above the standard, so far from the norm and then that guy lives by it, brothers and sisters, you find out what makes that guy/gal tick and you get some of that. Now, my friend Jeff Pugh would be appalled if he knew I was writing this. Because guys like him don't seek the spotlight.

Jeff is Major in the Army. He's a commander. In the civilian world he's a police officer and a commander. He has a commanding presence and no he's not 6'3" and built like Arnold. He's actually kind of….well…..ok he's short. But what he loses in height he makes up for in encouragement. You can tell a good leader by one thing…do people follow him? When a real leader gets up to go do something, everyone in the room follows.

That is the kind of guy Jeff is.
Jeff's motto is "Highly Motivated at All Times!" He greets me with it, he says goodbye with it. He says it in the heat and in when the AC is blowing and going. And guess what…He actually means it. In a world steeped in sarcasm, lethargy, and mediocrity, Jeff is not any of those things. He leads from the front. He does the little things like staying with the trucks that need guarding while his soldiers eat. He is the last guy to lie down. He is the first with a good morning. He is the first with a smile…even when its 125 degrees and no one is physically happy. He really is motivated at all times…I mean really. And do you know what effect that has on people…yep they get motivated too. They want to follow him. Hec, I do too.

If you hang around a guy and you feel better about yourself and your life for having been around that person, then that is an encourager. Ask yourself this question, "When people are around me, are they encouraged or discouraged? Are they full of energy or are they sucked dry?"

Jeff told me that he wants to be an energy giver, not an energy taker. What if we had more people that had that as their motivation every day? I mean really? What if we all said, "Today I'm going to pour myself into the lives of others!" What would it look like. It would probably look a lot like Jeff Pugh's Civil Affairs Company, Alpha 490th. It is an organization that has been infected with Jeff's attitude and they are so much fun to work with and be around.

Ultimately where do Jeff and other people like him get their energy from. Well, I would submit that it can only come from our God. Jesus was a energy giver. Everything about him was giving. His healing, his encouragement, his teaching, his loving, his dying, his resurrection and his soon coming all were and will be acts of giving. Giving glory to God by saving the crown of Creation…mankind, giving of Himself, Giving of His power.

Now, post resurrection and post-Pentecost we all have access to an unlimited supply of spiritual encouragement and motivation. The Holy Spirit offers us fruit and gifts. Fruits like love and peace and patience, gifts like evangelism, encouragement, service, prophecy are all offered to us…conditionally mind you.

One of my new favorite Pastors here is Chaplain Dave Shoffner. He gave a great message today in Lightning Chapel. The sermons series has been on the Fruit of the Spirit and today it was peace. Hear what Jesus says in John16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

One thing I had never noticed about that verse. The offer is there from Jesus for peace. Notice that "you may"…its there for the taking, but He also says in the world "you will have tribulation".
Peace is offered, Trouble is certain. Peace comes with submission to the Spirit. Trouble comes with getting up in the morning and just going outside. Peace is offered, trouble is certain.

But notice…Jesus says that He has overcome the world…He means the world system, tainted and broken by sin and the devil. And since Jesus is an overcomer, by faith I am an overcomer. I take those things quite literally.

Jeff has a lot of peace in his life. He's cool with who he is. Does he face trouble, are you kidding? After 3 combat tours in the war you better believe he's faced trouble. But how he stays motivated comes through a supernatural interaction with the Power that is available to all of us. Jeff is an overcomer!

Simply put, when we submit ourselves to God's plans and The Spirit we become a real live energy givers and not energy takers.

I hope you'll do that today..And be Highly Motivated at all times!