The Warning

Warning!

When we first ask God (Jesus) into our lives; we do not fully understand the relationship which we have entered into. We (being our own arrogant selves) believe that we are still in control of what WE do, say, and are! This is totally wrong. As in life we all have cancers in our bodies; some do not ever ‘grow’ and become malignant. They just sit dormant and never really bother us, some may develop a little and we have them removed. Others however do grow and become life threatening and some actually kill us.

Sin is like a cancer, it starts out small and then grows (all sin grows and feeds on what we give it). All our bodies will die. This is nothing new; but what we die of can be directed by our choices and we do have some control over it.

We say, “I chose God!” - but we did not. We only chose to ask God to come into our lives and He does when we invite Him in. This is where “choice” ends; He then becomes our GOD. You have surrendered yourself to Him. Just as when you “Joined” the military. You gave yourself (Body) over to the government to with as they pleased. You turned yourself over to a higher authority and subjected yourself to that authority. You subjected yourself totally to the military!  You became “U.S. Government Property”

You did not take them to be your friend, accessory. add-on, or optional equipment.

WARNING:

God is not an accessory, add-on; or an option!

HE is CENTRAL (the core) to our survival both now and always!!! You are HIS! Body, soul, and Spirit!

Without God, this entire universe would ‘evaporate’ in less than a mili-second. How can people think THEY are able to ‘exist’ without GOD? This just speaks to how arrogant they are. There is just no trying to change arrogance; it has to find out on it's own.

Now, I will admit that I have taken a pretty casual attitude (at times) with God; but I have had to sit down and ask myself just what does God to mean to me in my? This came to me.  God is not an accessory, add-on; or an option!

We are his whether we like it or not. He has us “Body, Soul, and Spirit”!

"Your Beliefs"

Your Beliefs!

As in the military you are taught to have ‘confidence’ in your superior Officers and N.C.O.’s. They are the ones who make the decisions and give the orders. This is the backbone of what keeps the men doing the job they are needed to do.

Now in your personal life – What are your beliefs? These beliefs are the forces that will keep you going when it seems that all other things are against you. Without a strong core of beliefs, you are doomed to fail before anyone with a strong belief system of their own would loss heart.

My personal beliefs are that God created the earth and all that is in, on, and over it. He also sent His Son Jesus the Christ (Messiah, redeemer and deliverer), All this along with the entire universe.

“Apostles Creed”:

 I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:  Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Without a firm foundation and understanding of “Your God”, you are pitting yourself alone against all the powers of this world and its’ forces who are working against you 24/7 in your success in this world. Now I’m sure you think you are “Superman”, but I have my doubts about that. I am not going to be Politically correct about this, but without Jesus the Christ as your personal savior and having a personal relationship with HIM; you are not going to make it. 

In God’s Sons Army, There are no Non-com’s and no Officers! You report directly to Jesus himself. He is your ONLY leader, there is no one in between!

 

"The Mind Field"

 I am not as qualified as some but here goes! P.T.S.D.’s and T.B.I.’s. I will refer to these as “The Mind Field”. As Point Men, we are the ones who will go out in front of the Warriors who are following. Our task is to lead the way (set a path) through enemy territory and find a safe path for our fellow warriors to follow without getting caught by the enemy in an ambush or caught off guard and have severe damage done to them. Sometimes we come into an enemy “mine field”. Our job then is settling down and finding a safe way through it. This is done by the skills that have come to us from dealing with many others and our own experiences. We have developed skills that are very useful to those who will follow.

        When a warrior returns home he/she returns with “baggage”. In this baggage there are things that have shaped their lives while “in country”. These things are not visible, they are invisible. This becomes the “Mind Field”! Some of these conditionings are more severe than others, all are capable of great destruction. This can be damaging not only to the individual, and to many of those around them. This can be ‘triggered’ by  sight, sounds, smells, and circumstances they walk into or that develop around them. Sometimes even a foreign language they have heard. These “triggers” are what we try and talk the vets through, so they deal with them on a more effective level than having the mine go off and cause massive damage. The resulting damage can range from strange or different behavior (sometimes overlooked) to yelling at a spouse or close family member; some are overly protective of their children. This mind field can also result in suicide, suicide by cop, volunteer for reassignment in order to get killed by ‘the enemy’. This can also take on the form of attacks on other persons, without an understanding or basis for the attack. These and many other combinations of happenings can be brought about by “Stepping on a MINE”. At Point Man we are available and looking for those who are walking in the mind field. We work to help the individual who has these items in their ‘baggage’ so when they are coming up against a mine they can learn how to defuse the massive damage that can take place and “minimize the collateral damage”. I have heard of a case where a man was driving down the freeway and crossed four lanes of traffic (without having an accident). He pulled over to the side of the road and got out. He told his wife she would have to drive. All because he saw a black plastic garbage bag in the median of the highway and it had reminded him of an I.E.D. incident in Iraq.   

"Bunkering Up"

PTSD’s don’t come on you when you first walk through the door after deployment. It is something that manifests itself after a while 3-6 months after you return from deployment. I guess you could almost compare it to a cancer; it starts to grow and get more and more noticeable as time evolves. The more you try and ignore it the bigger it gets. This is why your friends start acting strange around you; you are the one who is changing (or changed). Many of the changes involve your habits. Most of us start drinking (self-medicating); if you drank before deployment, you are more than likely drinking more now and not getting as intoxicated. It seems to take more alcohol to get that same buzz as before. Before long (if not already) you will find yourself distancing yourself from friends and family. You will start taking a six pack (or a pint/or both) and going to the basement and watching movies all night long. You find it more comfortable to be by yourself. This is referred to as “Bunkering Up”! This then progresses to “cleaning” your guns, sharpening your knives (you know the ones designed for killing people). This all comes under the part about ‘just keeping my family safe’ – while they (your family) are hiding in another room wondering, ‘what the hell is he doing’?