Firm foundations

24-25"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

Last weekend I went with some guys I work with to the Ministry of Education. I posted a few of those pictures on Facebook, but I wanted to tell some of the background here. You see, I have been offered a great opportunity to help with the construction of an additional building at the Girl's school in Kabul. I'm no engineer, but I am trying to find my place as the senior military rep. The contractor is a local Afghan that is a good friend after only two visits to the property. He is trying to execute Matthew 6 by applying it to his work. He has taken a long time to build a foundation and finally the slow start is starting to produce visible results. Much better than rushing to completon and painting out a "house of cards."

As I mentioned, along with the visits to the school, I had the opportunity to visit the Ministry and meet with the had engineer. We are trying to get in sync with the Afghanistan plans for development instead of assuming what they need. It was eye-opening and I think was a beginning to a good relationship.

I hope this experience will result in more schools in and around Kabul before I get out of here; we'll use the same process of building strong foundations, slow and steady. Reading through the gospels this week, I came across the principle again. firm foundations...a good reminder to apply this to my life and family and we'll have a recipe for success.

Love your enemies

No, I'm not advocating that for the Taliban and the other enemies of the Afghan people! I was just meditating on God's word and thought I would share this cut from Mathew 5...

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^43-47"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

⁴⁸"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

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Not sure if one of you few readers needed that today or if it was just for me. Take it or leave it, but we all probably have a Darth Maul in our lives and we all have a choice. I'm making mine today.

New Year's in August

Reach for the stars, you'll reach the moon. If you don't have a goal, you'll for sure not meet it. You've heard them all, but sometimes you have to stop the daily grind, see where you are and figure out where you want to be.

No, it's not an Afghan New Year or some Muslim cultural thing...it's just August and it's time to be accountable and put it in writing. You see, in 3 months, I hope to be getting on a plane heading home to visit family for 2 weeks of R&R. I figured that I would use that amount of time to get something done. It's not that I haven't been doing anything. It's just a nicer journey if you know where you are going and you can recognize it when you arrive because you've been thinking about along the way.

Let's scratch a few off the old Afghan bucket list. Not doing PX90 even though it matches the amount of time, not running a marathon, not swimming with sharks or any other biting organism. Not jumping out of a plane while it is still powered to fly. No grandiose travel plans...that's a common one, right? Got my fill of that in the last 23 years! It's gonna have to be right here where I am in Kabul, Afghanistan. Here's what I am thinking...

1. Learn a new language. For all those crying foul, I know I had language training before I left, but that was Pashto. I started Dari classes this week and I want to figure it out while I am here while increasing my Pashto.
2. Read the New Testament. It's gonna happen. Just gotta buckle down and get a fresh look at the man that changed my life when I was 15 years old.
3. Write 50 letters. No Katie, not all of them will be to you, but most will be! I have no excuse. It's free and just takes me stopping long enough to jot a few thoughts down and lick the envelope.
4. Run 200 miles. I know a marathon is only 26.2 miles, but that is all at once. Little bites are easier to digest! Yes, I am counting today's 3 miles.
5. Hmmm....what will be my 5th? Perhaps you have an idea? I'll come back to this one after I consult all of my fans out there.

Daylight is burning. Better go get on it!

Another Wiki moment

Ramadan started, so I thought I would share what impact I see here in Kabul.

From Wiki: Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان‎ Ramaḍān) (also Ramazan) During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating or drinking starting from dawn till dusk. To prepare for the fasting, Muslims wake up before dawn and the fajr prayer to eat a meal (Sahoor). Muslims break their fast at Maghrib (at sunset) prayer time with a meal called Iftar. Muslims may continue to eat and drink after the sun has set until the next morning's fajr prayer call. Ramadan is a time of reflecting , believing and worshiping God. Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds. Sexual activities during fasting hours are also forbidden.Purity of both thoughts and actions is important. The fast is intended to be an exacting act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised awareness of closeness to God.

What does that mean for us guys and gals in Afghanistan? A long month where the Afghan pace gets slower and folks are a little tired and cranky. I'm not making light of it. It's not unlike our tradition of fasting for Lent leading up to Easter. The big difference: We might give up coffee...they give up everything! Even drinking water!! On the other hand, they only fast from sunrise to sunset. So, part of the reason they are tired is because they get up at 0400 to pray...and EAT!! Likewise, when the sun goes down, dinner is priority one!

Still, all in all, their sacrifice and devotion to God (while misguided in my opinion) is inspiring.

Having said that, I respect these people deeply and have many close Afghan friends because of this tour. Gonna keep my eyes open and see what else I can learn. For the record, the girl on the left is not observing Ramadan. My friend on the right is! : )

It's the little things...

I have taken them all for granted. The ability to go down to Five Guys and enjoy a heart attack in a bag with Kay and the boys is just simple pleasure. Just a reminder to enjoy what you have before you. Don't save it for a rainy day when it's pouring outside, and don't ruin today thinking about how good it will be tomorrow.

Kay tried to bring a little home to Afghanistan by sending me an "Everybody Loves Raymond" DVD set. I usually get about 30-45 minutes worth around midnight when I am bedding down. It reminds me of my life so much...I guess that's why we watch it.

Speaking of the little things taken for granted...a quote from the episode I watched last night went like this. When Ray was asked what it was like with 3 kids under the age of 5, he replied, "It's like a frat house. Nobody sleeps, everything is broken and there's vomit everywhere."

I miss the action!

Keep rowing hard, Kay!! I'll be back soon.

Fog of war...

I can't believe my last post was 22 July. I'll just blame it on the fog of war. My actual war is figuring out how to change that footer on the master slide of the brief and then making sure the font is all uniform on the spreadsheet before I print the copies. Life of a staffer, living in Kabul.

I'm not complaining you see. Just saying where I am right now. I'm living in an Army culture these days where it is common practice to work 15-18 hours everyday. All I can think of is a senior chief that once said, "How about a little less hooah, and a little more dooah!"

Well, I will try to break the madness and take a little time out for yours truly during the next 3 months...yes, that's right! I am officially into my 2nd quarter of this deployment today. I will start tomorrow off by making some goals. I'll share them in my blog so I have some accountability. You can judge later if I am just full of "hooah" or "dooah."


I am gonna make a difference while I am here, so I will close for now and go start thinking about those goals. While I am living the life of a REMF (ask a marine) here in Kabul, I will leave you with this solemn thought. There's a lot of bad dudes over here, and your neighbors' sons, daughters, husbands and wives are taking care of business. Keep them in your prayers.

Miss you all...