The "Standard Operating Guideline For Life"  is the Holy Bible.

"Giving Thanks at Thanksgiving"

Thanksgiving Week, 2003

"Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand."

- Mark 6:41-44 (NIV)

This article is a special one written for Thanksgiving. I didn't write one yesterday and I will take next Sunday off, as well... if you don't mind! heheheheh

Our verses this week point out how thankful we should be to our REAL CHIEF. In fact, the Standard Operating Guidelines for Life (the Holy Bible) recounts two times were limited amounts of food were divided up among thousands of people... in the instance above, five thousand, and, another time, four thousand. Notice also that the verse reads "the number of the men" - this didn't include the women and children that were there. So, a total of nine thousand men and, let's guess, another nine thousand women and children were fed with a total of twelve loaves of bread and a few, small fish. An awesome miracle!

I think our REAL CHIEF gives us each such miracles... a lot from so little.

Over the weekend, my oldest daughter and her child (have I mentioned that I have a beautiful granddaughter?) and my oldest son came to town and surprised me for my birthday. We had a great time... went to the movies (may I suggest seeing "Brother Bear?" - really cute movie) and took my little grandchild to Chuck E. Cheese.

So, I thought it would be appropriate to share some of the things I am thankful for. Perhaps this will stir some things in your hearts and minds to mention around the Thanksgiving table this Thursday.

I am thankful for; a ministry, a church home (www.woodsedge.org), a home to live in, a great wife, great kids, grandchildren (did I mention that I have a beautiful granddaughter? hehehehe), making it to another birthday (I was born on Thanksgiving Day - arriving a full month late! - sorry, Mom! hehehehe), food when I need it, a job, the ability to go through school... again, friends, medicine, doctors, deep blue skies contrasting to bright green trees, logs in the fireplace, our dog curled up beside us, my weird cat that climbs up on my chest to rub his head on my chin, a car to get around in, that first cup of coffee in the morning, a Christian radio station to listen to (try www.ksbj.org and listen in with me), this computer so that I can talk about our REAL CHIEF with you each week, time on the lake, flying in an airplane, cool sheets in the summertime, air conditioning, thunderstorms, camaraderie with the other medics at work, helping save a life, delivering a baby, leading others to Christ, being able to baptize our youngest a few years ago, baptizing a friend, the ability to preach once per month at the firehouse, the words to write each week for you and praise music.

I am also thankful for the hard times that I have been through... they have shaped me.

Yes, our REAL CHIEF has given me SO much when I deserve SO little. The thing I am most thankful for is this: my REAL CHIEF loved me so much that HE gave HIS life for me... even as I was unthankful and lived a life full of sin. I am thankful that HE allowed me to come to HIM late in life.

This Thanksgiving, give thanks to our REAL CHIEF for giving thanks to HIS FATHER as HE broke the bread in preparation to feed so many. Your really do have so many things to be thankful for if you are serving...

...On HIS Shift,

"Teaching CPR"

November 16th, 2003

" ...If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach..."

- Romans 12:7 (NIV)

Today was a great day. I got to teach...twice!

First, we traveled to Atascocita First Baptist church and we had the distinct privilege of being able to teach there. We proclaimed that Jesus is the REAL CHIEF and shared with that congregation how firefighters, police officers and paramedics "get dirty" every day out serving their communities. It was a call to ministry, too... for each person who believes needs also to be out serving. After all, that is what we are commanded to do by the REAL CHIEF HIMSELF.

After preaching there, we drove over to my home church, Woodsedge Community Church, to help teach a CPR class.

So, in the morning, I taught CPR (CHRIST Provides Resuscitation) and in the afternoon, we taught physical CPR (Cardio-pulmonary Resuscitation. And you want to know something cool about the second class? Our youngest, Megan, took the course and is now certified. It is such a great honor to have been able, in her lifetime, to teach her both spiritual AND physical CPR. We lead her to JESUS and had the honor of baptizing her. Now, I watch her, as a young woman, grow and take a CPR class where she has learned to save a physical life. Life is good.

Our verse this week is talking about some of the spiritual gifts given to believers. Isn't it interesting that "serving" and "teaching" are used in the same sentence? You see, I believe that when you are teaching CPR, you are serving. When you teach "spiritual CPR," you are serving the REAL CHIEF. You are telling others about the REAL CHIEF and about how, if they ask HIM into their lives, HE will perform CPR on them to give them life... eternal life.

And, I believe also, that if you teach a CPR class, you are also serving HIM. What you teach to someone, could save a life on down the line. It's kind of a domino effect with both forms of CPR.... you teach and, hopefully, someone you taught will teach someone else, and so forth.  One life saved, either physically or spiritually can turn into a multitude.

Pray that our REAL CHIEF has given you the gift of teaching. HE has already given you the gift of serving...

...On HIS Shift,

"Chain of Command"

November 9th, 2003

"When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, `Go,' and he goes; and that one, `Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, `Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. "

- Matthew 8:5-10 (NIV)

I remember a time several years ago at a house fire.  I had responded in, mutual aid, to assist an adjoining agency.  A captain from the other agency and I took the first attack line inside. Now, this was back in the days where you wore bunker coat, pants, boots and a helmet.  That's it. No hoods. No air packs. It's a miracle so many of us made it out.

Anyway, that captain I was with was confident we could get a good stop on the fire. It was in a double-wide manufactured home. The fire was in the front of the house and we had brought our line through the back of the house. The smoke was thick and was banking down within two feet of the floor. We were both on our knees, inching forward, making good progress on the fire. Then, it happened.  Someone circumvented the Chain of Command. Someone took it upon themselves to open the deck gun on top of a pumper.

To explain, a "deck gun" is a water nozzle that blasts about a million gallons per minute... okay, not that much, but it seems like it. I can tell you, that it will knock bark off of a tree at about fifty feet.

Anyway, within a matter of seconds, the roof gave way and the ceiling came crashing down around us. Instant fear. I could feel embers burning the back of my neck. I was choking on the smoke. Luckily, both of us grabbed the hoseline and used it to work our way out of the debris and out the back door.

As we hacked and gulped in the fresh air, I turned and looked toward the pumper. The deck gun was shut down and the offending party was gone. We found out later that it was a rookie on his first working fire who had gotten over zealous and made a horrible decision. His actions almost killed two of us.

That is our lesson this week- if you step out of the chain of command and try to do something on your own, it can be very costly.

In our verses this week, a centurion.... a Battalion Chief, if you will, submits to the authority of our REAL CHIEF. Notice that the Battalion Chief approached CHRIST and said, "All you have to do is say the word and the problem will be resolved." The Battalion Chief has authority. But, he doesn't have the abilities that our REAL CHIEF has.

The "Battalion Chief" knew he couldn't mitigate the emergency he was dealing with, so he called on our REAL CHIEF.  He followed THE Chain of Command.

If you step outside the boundaries of the chain of command on a fireground, people could die. Don't step out of the chain of command on the fireground of life. Submit to HIS authority and trust in HIS command as you serve...

...On HIS Shift,

"Lead Recognition"

November 2nd, 2003

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus"

- Romans 15:5 (NIV)

Our paramedic class meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 1800 until 2200 hours. Then, we meet again on Saturdays from 0800 until 1700 hours. When you add in two, twenty-four shifts per week, plus running a full-time Chaplaincy... well, it makes for a long week. And sometimes, those long Saturdays in class are grueling, to say the least.

Yesterday, though, we spent the full eight hours (and then some) learning "12 lead recognition." For those of you not "in the business," Paramedics are taught how to take and interpret twelve-lead electrocardiograms.  Essentially, it is a way to look at several different angles of the electrical activity of the heart. Doing this, we are taught to be able to recognize the signs of an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and how much of the heart has been injured by the AMI.

It really was a great class. I learned a lot. Today, as I prayed to our REAL CHIEF about what to write for you, HE impressed upon me how we need to do "LEAD" recognition of HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST. So often, we try to do things on our own... to figure things out, to work things out by our own means. More often than not, what happens? We fall flat on our face! At least, I know I do. Instead of letting our REAL CHIEF "take the lead" in our lives, we stubbornly attempt to take control. And, we can't.

If we are reading an ECG and fail to recognize elevated ST segments in two or more contiguous leads, we could miss that the patient is in the midst of a massive heart attack. The result? In the worse case scenario, the patient dies because you failed to recognize what was happening.

In life, failure to recognize JESUS as your REAL CHIEF will also lead to death. Trying to "lead" yourself will result in a different kind of heart problem... a broken heart. We all have a heart condition called "hole in the heart." That hole is a void that can only be filled by our REAL CHIEF.

Give your heart to HIM. "Recognize" HIM as the "lead" in your life. Expose your heart to HIM. Let HIM treat your "heart condition," as you serve...

...On HIS Shift,