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Our Law Enforcement Chaplain is "Chappy" Bill Wolfe

Bill is a sheriff's deputy and a Chaplain. You can contact him by email: lcso763@moment.net

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THANKSGIVING 2008

Thanksgiving Prayer
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department

Hello, and welcome to a special Thanksgiving edition of the Chaplain’s Corner. Since Thanksgiving is the time specially designated to giving God thanks, I thought I’d open this up and let a couple of my Chaplain friends share their thanks and prayers.

Thank You, Lord, for letting me roam far and wide. Thank You for calling me to serve with Livermore, CA, PD; Plumas County, CA, Sheriff's Office and still hanging in, with Hampton, VA, Police Division! What a wonderful life. You have allowed me to pastor, preach, counsel and even sing Your praises! Even with all these blessings I do have one more petition...to be a TEXAS RANGER CHAPLAIN...before I die!
Chaplain Tom, Hampton, VA

Gracious, loving, Heavenly Father, I come boldly before Your Throne with a humble heart, asking that You pour out a special blessing on the men and women of law enforcement. Some of those Officers may be just beginning their careers in a world which will very likely at some time call them into harm’s way. Others have already heard the call of danger’s trumpet many times and never failed to respond. For both these groups, I offer up the grateful praises of thanksgiving that You have blessed this country with such a warrior breed.

Lord God, never let one American forget that it is only by Thy grace that we are blessed as a nation where freedom, justice and liberty reign for all our citizens. I know that it is only because of men and women like the men and women of law enforcement and those who serve in the military, men and women willing to be guided by Your wisdom and strength, men and women known as Peace Officers and Warriors, that our nation will remain as strong and bright with freedom’s light as it is now.

God, I know You hold a special place in heaven for those warriors in the brotherhood of arms who love You and stand boldly with honor, courage and commitment in the face of evil. Almighty Father, Creator of all life, I ask that You endow these officers with these additional attributes so they may continue to fight the longest running war known to man, “the war of good verses evil.”

When they face danger – Be their fortress.

Should they face the impossible and feel inadequate – a common place for law enforcement Officers – Remind them that nothing is too difficult for “the Creator of Heaven and Earth” and that they can do all things through Christ who strengthens them.

When they are tired, anxious and afraid – Give them rest and Your peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding.

When they feel they can not take another step or face another shift, a feeling they may often may experience – Empower them with Your strength and stamina.

Whenever they feel weighed down with their own personal trials – May Your grace prove sufficient.

When they are confused and are faced with critical decisions – Provide them with the sound judgment that will lead them to victory and protect their families and their fellow Officers.

Should they face physical and spiritual temptation – Arm them with moral courage and help keep their faith and trust firmly anchored in You.

At the height of the battle when they grow faint – Give them shelter in the shadow of Your wings.

Bring these Officers through each and every trial they face, I pray. Through the fire and trials of life, may they praise Your benevolence, generosity and sanctity as they strive to live lives filled with Integrity, Justice, Compassion, Valor and Faith.

Heavenly Father, You know that freedom has always had a high price, Oh Lord, a price that sometimes requires the shedding of “innocent and just blood” to purchase that precious gift for so many others, often that includes some who are unwilling or incapable of standing up to evil themselves.

I ask You, God, to grant a special protection for all men and women who are willing to stand in the gap and serve all mankind; those who are willing to face the foundation of evil’s ways and pay whatever price is required to secure for ourselves and our posterity the blessings of liberty and justice so cherished by all.

I ask these things in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Chaplain Ray, Winterville, GA

And I’ll close with a prayer of my own:

Lord, we come once again to the Thanksgiving season. We give You praise and thanks for the many blessings You bestow upon us as we go from day to day. But as we count our blessings, we lift up those among us who have had loss and tragedy come to touch their lives. Help them to reach out to You, for You alone are able to bring comfort in these situations. Help them find even some small thing that they can be thankful for in the midst of sorrow. Encourage them, O Lord, and help them through the days ahead. We thank for Your protection of our peace officers here at home and service personnel around the world and ask for continued protection for them. Thank You, too, for permitting us to live in a country where we’re free to worship You. Amen.

I hope you have a great time with your families this Thanksgiving. Blessings to you and yours.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net


 

NOVEMBER 2008

In The Words of the Song
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department



Hello, and welcome once again to the November edition of the Chaplain’s Corner. Well, I wanted to wait until after the election to write to you since it was so close to the first of the month. I had hoped to be basking in the glow of a McCain/Palin victory. I’m very sad that the good Governor had to endure what she went through for nothing. I’m very disappointed in the outcome of the election. Not because this country will have a black president, but that the country has suddenly swung so far to the socialist left.

I’ve read a number of posts in LiveJournals and police websites today. A number of which were written by Obama supporters gloating in his victory. A number of which were by heartsick conservatives, like myself, who are concerned about what will happen to this country over the next few years. And a number of posts from – I hesitate to say wiser or cooler – heads saying, in effect, “Suck it up and get over it.” Easier said than done for a lot of us.

There was a C&W song that played and played and played not too terribly long ago at the store where I moonlight. I don’t know the name or most of the words, but part of the refrain fits my feelings and it speaks of “getting over it” in time, but for now it says, “I just wanna be mad for a while.”

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one praying about this election as hard as I thought I could. And it is disappointing that the election went the way it did. But as I’ve said in a past article:

Prayer is a sincere conversation from the heart that touches Him. He will hear and answer. Sometimes the answer is exciting and obvious. Sometimes we have to listen closely. Sometimes the answer is scary or not what we want to do, but if we’ll do what He says, it will be prove a blessing.


Sometimes the answer is scary or not what we want. A prayer of that sort, and one I can identify with, can be found in the Minor Prophets. Habakkuk, to be exact. (Page 1306 in my Bible. ) Early in my praying about the election, God dropped this passage into my heart…it was a very familiar passage to me, but I didn’t want to accept it as applying to us. I really didn’t want to. I still don’t, but as the old saying goes, “If the prophecy (shoe) fits…”

Habakkuk Chapter 1, starting in the second verse:
How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and Thou wilt not hear? I cry out to Thee, “Violence!” Yet Thou dost not save.
and the fourth:
Therefore the law is ignored and justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore, justice comes out perverted.

Sounds about like where I was. Praying for the defeat of a party and a media that was so far left and biased almost beyond belief. But then come verses five, six, and seven. (I’ll switch to my “revised slandered version” for verse 6.)

5. Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days – You wouldn’t believe it if you were told.
6. For behold, I am raising up the Democrats, that fierce and unprincipled people who march throughout the country to seize things which are not theirs.
7. They are dreaded and feared. Their justice and authority originate with themselves.

I’ll let you look up the rest of it for yourselves, but read it and see if it doesn’t describe pretty closely what has gone on during this election cycle and what we were promised that the candidate would do if elected. Which he was.

The ruling powers in this country have largely tried to shut out our God, much like ancient Israel had done. To borrow words from Jim Croce “You don’t mess around with” God. There comes a time when God says, “Enough.”

I can very much relate to the prophet in his answer back to God, which was basically, “Wait! How can you do this! You can’t be serious!” And God essentially says “Oh yeah? Buckle up, it’s gonna be a rough ride.”

Habakkuk, like I have to do, had some soul-searching, serious prayer time with God over this. And in the end God strengthened his faith, and Habakkuk concludes the end of Chapter 3 with:

I heard and my inward parts trembled; at the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the people to arise who will invade us. Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.

Yes, my friend, I’m very concerned that we’re in for some rough road in these next few years. We need to go back and dust off our Bibles, read and pray that He will give us strength, faith and protection that we will be able to hang on until He comes again.

The election’s over, and what’s done is done. The sun will keep coming up, and eventually I’ll be able to deal with it. No matter what the future holds, God is still good, and He will bless His people. But, suck it up and get over it? No, not today… “I just wanna be sad for a while.”

Blessings to you and yours.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net


 

OCTOBER 2008

Ramblings

Chaplain Bill Wolfe

Llano County Sheriff’s Department

Hello, and welcome again to the Chaplain’s Corner.  When I wrote my column for this month it was just days after Hurricane Ike hit the Houston area and my focus was directed mostly towards the survivors of that disaster.  But when you think about it for a minute, the thoughts I present are applicable regardless of the disaster be it a tornado, flood, blizzard, divorce or fire … whatever life-changing challenge you happen to be facing this week. 

~~~~~~

Gee, where do I go this time?  On one hand we’ve just had a devastating hurricane hit Texas with all those ramifications.  On the other is a very historic presidential election and one which will literally make or break our country.  I guess I should try and stay away from politics. 

I suppose that when you come down to it, Hurricane Ike and the political contest both have something in common.  They both cause us to evaluate what’s important to us; to evaluate our options and the potential for disastrous outcomes if we make the wrong decision.  “Once you buy a prize, it’s yours to keep.”

In the case of Hurricane Ike, people had to literally choose between what they would save and what they would lose…to “take a step back” and examine what a lifetime of living had brought and decide what they would and could take with them into the future.  A hurricane, unlike a fire, does afford some time to save some things, but the decision making and ultimate loss are nonetheless traumatic events.  There’s no way around that.  I had the occasion to have a “road-side conversation” with a gentleman from Kemah one afternoon soon after the storm.  He said he’d served in and lived through a war, but this hurricane was almost more than he could handle.

I’m sure that there are a lot among the family of the “thin blue line” that have suffered loss from the hurricane and my heart goes out to you.  I’m truly sorry that I can’t fix it for you.  I’m proud of you who stuck to your duty posts through the storm.  I’m sure there were moments when you wanted to help see your family to safety more than anything else.

So now that the storm has passed, the rebuilding of life begins.  Where does the inner strength to “pick up the pieces and start over” come from?  Hehe.  The words to a children’s song from the Square One TV show came to mind as I typed that: “It all comes back to 9.”  It all comes back to God.   God’s presence in our hearts is what gets us through and back on our feet.  Scripture tells us that God “is a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)  Psalms 23 tells of God bringing comfort to one going through “the valley of the shadow of death,” but it the truth is that He comforts through “the valley of the shadow of disaster.”  God never promised to spare us from the disasters and traumas of life, only to go through them with us if we are willing to let Him walk with us.

The words to one of our daughter’s favorite Point of Grace songs also come to mind…

Things change
Plans fail
You look for love on a grander scale
Storms rise
Hopes fade
And you place your bets on another day
When the going gets tough
When the ride's too rough
When you're just not sure enough

Jesus will still be there
His love will never change
Sure as a steady rain
Jesus will still be there
When no one else is true
He'll still be loving you
When it looks like you've lost it all
And you haven't got a prayer
Jesus will still be there

One of my favorite artists, Evie Tornquist Karlsson, shared a very similar thought in a song called “Give Them All To Jesus.”  Part of the lyrics go:

Wrap up all those shattered dreams of your life
And at the feet of Jesus, lay them down.

Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, and broken toys.
Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
And He will turn your sorrows into joy.

I heard someone say “Easier said than done.”  And someone else said “I’ve never talked to God, I wouldn’t know what to say.”  Yes, it does often seem easier said than done – especially when you’re in the middle of it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth the effort.   As far as knowing what to say…God’s not impressed with our words.  It’s the attitude of our heart He’s listening to.  A prayer can be as simple as “Jesus, I need Your help to get me through this disaster I find myself in.  Please make Yourself real to me, send me some encouragement and help me to trust You in the midst of this mess.  You said in the Psalms that You would, help me to believe you will.  Amen.”  As long as you mean it, you’re on your way.

Hey, thanks for spending some time with me.  Think about it and I’ll talk with you next “shift.”

Blessings to you and yours.

Chaplain Bill

llanochaps@moment.net

SEPTEMBER 2008

The Roads to Jericho and Emmaus
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department



Hello, and welcome to this September’s edition of the Chaplain’s Corner. Friday night…September…and Texas…that means all roads lead to Jacket Stadium. Sting ’em, Jackets! Oh, sorry, got a little carried away there. I’m glad it’s September. That means it will start cooling down in a few weeks and our chances of rain should be going up. Hot and dry gets old pretty quick.

I guess it wouldn’t be too unusual for a patrol deputy to think about roads when there are miles and miles of miles and miles out here in western Llano County. I can head out of the City of Llano going north, south, west, southwest, or northwest and have nothing but ranch land for at least 13 miles, no matter which way I go. Boring to a lot of deputies, but I like it.

Well, what I wanted to visit with you about this time out isn’t concrete and asphalt. It’s not a state highway or even a ranch road. I want to focus for a few minutes on two roads mentioned in the Gospels, what happened there, and apply it to present day.

If you’ll permit me to pull out my “revised-slandered, slightly amplified, and loosely paraphrased” version of the Bible, I’ll try to condense a little and adapt the text into terms we in LE may relate to better.

OK, first is the account of the Road to Emmaus. (Luke 24: 13-19) Two officers were walking slowly back to the cop shop talking when a Subject they didn’t recognize joined them and began talking with them. He asked them what was going on, why they were so sad, and that He noticed they were wearing mourning bands on their badges. They came back with, “You're not from these parts, are you?” He replied, “What’s happened?” “We’ve had a line-of-duty-death in our department. We’ve just had the funeral and some of us are taking it pretty hard.” The little group walked and chatted, and as they passed a little café, the men said “Would you care to get a cup of coffee with us?” When they were seated, the Stranger asked, “Have they held a debriefing yet? I’ve conducted a few and it helps to talk about it.”

The second is probably familiar to a lot of you. It’s called the Parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10: 30-35) A police widow on her way home dropped to the roadside, crushed and broken, unable to face going on. An officer from the husband’s department passed by, and feeling awkward, not knowing what to say, crossed over to the other side of the street. A little later a neighbor came down the street and, seeing the widow’s distress, didn’t want to get involved and crossed the street and went another way. Some time passes and a third individual comes down the street and sees the widow in her distress and can relate. This woman sits down beside the grieving widow and begins to speak words of comfort ... “I, too, am a survivor. Let me help you.”

Perhaps some of you can find yourself in one or the other of these little stories or know someone who might fit. LODDs take a heavy toll on survivors, be they coworkers or family members – as if you didn’t already know that.

The “good news,” and you may already be aware of this, is that there is an organization whose sole purpose is to bring survivors together to help other survivors rebuild their shattered lives. The name of the organization is “Concerns of Police Survivors” – C.O.P.S. The message I want to share with you is that you don’t have to deal with pain and loss all by yourself. There are others who have “been there, done that, don’t want the T-shirt” and are ready to come alongside and help you.

Someone has turned the story of the Good Samaritan into a little chorus sung at church: ♫ “He found me bleeding and dying on the Jericho Road…” ♪ Now after having become the Chaplain for the Central Texas Chapter of C.O.P.S., every time I hear that chorus, I think of survivors and the pain they bear each and every day. The chorus continues: “And He poured in the oil and the wine, the kind that restoreth my soul…” Yes, God and time play a big role in the healing process, but so do friends who have been down that road and can relate to where you are. You can find out more about the programs that C.O.P.S. offers by going to their website at www.nationalcops.org.

Currently there are four C.O.P.S. Chapters here in Texas -- Greater Houston, Metroplex, Central Texas (Austin), and South Texas (San Antonio) -- that are available to serve you. (You’re not in Texas? Check the national web site, it has a list of all the chapters across the county.) If you are a survivor, or you know a survivor, who is struggling to cope, I encourage you to contact one of the Chapters and let them help get the healing started. If you’ve not had the misfortune to have experienced a LODD in your department, perhaps you’d consider a financial donation to C.O.P.S.

Texas email contacts are:
Greater Houston – Cathy Hill, cathyjhill@sbcglobal.net
Central Texas – Sherlynn Kelly, tkelley2@austin.rr.net
Metroplex – Kristina Montet, kmontet@verizon.net
South – Gilda Garza, gzgarza@yahoo.com

Hey, thanks for listening and helping us help others.
Blessings to you and yours.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net
 

AUGUST 2008

Felony Evading
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department



Hi, and welcome once again to the August edition of the Chaplain’s Corner. Here it is almost football season again and still no rain. It’s gittin’ mighty dusty out there on those unpaved county roads – not a lot of point in washing the patrol car when you raise a dust cloud at 20 mph. <sigh> Such is life in the summer in the Hill Country. Well, in any event, if you have your Texas Penal Code with you today, please turn with me to Chapter 38. 

Sec. 38.04. Evading Arrest or Detention.
(a) a person commits an offence if he intentionally flees from a person he knows is a peace officer attempting to arrest or detain him.
(b) an offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, except that the offence is:
(1) a state jail felony if the actor uses a vehicle and the actor is in flight…

Chappy’s common title: Running from the PO-leece.

This idea kind of jumped out at me just in the last couple of days, and it seemed to be the path to wander down this time out. Running from the police…something we all would agree isn’t too smart, but it happens fairly often, and often for reasons that don’t make sense except to the subject who’s hooked it. I know there have been plenty of times when the subject would have just gotten a warning citation, and now he or she is looking at a SJF. J.P.D. – Just Plain Dumb.

I work at the Super S grocery store here as my second job, and I often tell the young people that I work with: “You might outrun my Crown Vic, but you can’t outrun my radio.” An internet friend of mine has a tagline that says: “You can run, but you’ll just go to jail tired.” But people try it nonetheless. You light them up and you’re off to the races, praying that no one wrecks out before you get them stopped. They’re not interested in why you tried to stop them (they have some preconceived idea that talking to you will be a bad thing), and they don’t mentally stop to think about the possible consequences of what they’re doing. And often as not when you DO get the vehicle stopped, the occupants bail on you and you find out you’re a cop, not a track star.

OK, now for the application. (You knew a preacher doesn’t tell a story without making a point, didn’t you?) 

There are times when God “chases” some people. I don’t know all the reasons, but it’s often in response to someone praying earnestly for them…a grandparent, parent, spouse, possible-spouse, sibling or even a child. I feel pretty confident that one or more of my readers falls into that category today. God “lit you up” and off you went, running from God. You know, it’s just as fruitless to run from God as to run from the police. How do I know you’re running from God? Well, lessee…you look hard to find excuses for not going to church with your family. You change the subject every time your friend mentions what his Men’s Ministry group is doing. You abruptly change directions when you see the Chaplain step out of his office. Need I go on? 

Just like trying to outrun my radio, when you try to outrun God you keep running into Christians every time you turn around. In the Psalms David talks about not being able to go any place where God isn’t. (Psalm 139:7-12) The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah says in almost the exact words: “You can run, but you can’t hide.” Jeremiah 23:24.

Just like the subject who runs from the police thinking “he’s gonna give me a ticket or take me to jail,” the person who’s running from God has the mistaken idea that God is out to wreck their life. They go OCD on what they think they’ll have to give up and don’t want to. The simple truth is that God never asks you to give up something that’s good for you.

Just like you hope the knothead that’s running doesn’t crash and burn, you need to be careful you don’t “wreck out.” Running from God tends to make one grumpy and hard to live with, possibly ruining friendships and marriages – relationships that, once damaged, are often hard to restore.

So, what am I saying? If you’re running from God, stop, stick your hands out the window, and give up. Put yourself in His “protective custody.” It’s the best move you can make. Give it some thought.

Talk with you next “shift.”

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net
 

July 2008

Thoughts about Freedom
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department


Hello, and welcome back to the Chaplain’s Corner. I think I’ve probably mentioned that I don’t like preaching the same sermon twice and as always, I’ve kicked around a few ideas trying to find the right fit for this month. As I sat down to start writing I reviewed a number of prior Chaplain’s Corners, and this one about freedom just seemed to jump out at me. So maybe there’s something here worth saying again. (Of course to those of you who weren’t reading my column seven years ago, it will all be new. ),

Freedom... just a medium-sized word, seven letters in all, but it conveys such a wide variety of meanings. Three words are usually coupled with freedom: of, to, and from. Wow! How many tangents can I spin off from there? There are two other concepts and words that also attach to freedom: cost and responsibility. Those who fought for their freedom from England and to establish our government understood that cost. Those who’ve fought wars on foreign soil understood that cost and accepted their responsibility to future generations to preserve our freedoms at all costs.

Interesting thing about freedom…there is always someone wanting to take it away from you. As I sit here pondering, I realize that this taking away of freedom started way back in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were perhaps the most free individuals that have ever lived. At least initially. No 8-5. No IRS. No traffic jams. Then up pops Satan and he finds a way to take away their freedom.

This month we celebrate the formation of our county and the Declaration of Independence: the start of a political freedom that has carried us to this day. Back in May we celebrated Memorial Day and honored the memories of those who fought and died in Europe and the Pacific to keep that freedom for us. They fought because there was an enemy that sought to take freedom from those that had it. They fought and many died. Freedom does not come cheap and is to be prized all the more because the high price was paid.

We are still at war with the enemies of freedom. The price is still being paid. Men and women of the US military are still stepping up and shouldering the responsibility of preserving our freedom. Yes, there have been some foul-ups, but contrary to popular political sentiment in Washington, our forces are honorable men and women and are fighting over there so we don’t die over here. It’s a shame that in 2008 they are falling victims to political correctness just like they did in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The men and women in law enforcement also have stepped up and are shouldering responsibility for maintaining our freedoms at the street level. And I honor you for that. Among other things, you are preserving our freedom from the fear of criminals and the freedom to have peace in our piece of the “American Dream,” however small that piece might be.

Changing focus a bit, it’s sad that in the country that was founded on freedom, some of those freedoms are being given up and others are being taken from us. The US Constitution guarantees the “freedom of the press.” That was intended to keep the media free from control by the federal government. However, nowadays the mainstream media has seen fit to take over and to both control and limit our political choices. That’s not the way it was meant to be.

The US Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. There is a segment of our society that is trying to twist that to be freedom from the Christian “religion.” Other religious beliefs are given the protection of political correctness, but the Christian “religion” is to be eliminated, contained or controlled as much as possible. I put religion in quotes here because Christianity is (or should be) more than just a set of religious beliefs or creeds. Christianity is about having a personal relationship with a living, personal God who desires to be involved in our everyday lives.

I know this has been an odd rambling coming from the Chaplain, but let me sum it up by saying that “political correctness” is not freedom, it’s just conforming to someone else’s biased ideas; and it is not that for which the men and women of this great country have fought and died. This 4th of July and the months following, contemplate the freedoms we enjoy and the price that was paid, and take pride in being an American.

I’ll catch you again next time. Until then: Blessings to you and yours.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net


 

June 2008

The River Runs Over It
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department

Hi and welcome once again to the Chaplain’s Corner. It’s June already…time to think about fishing and swimming. Around here a lot of folks head out to the “slab” for both. It’s a good place to get sunburned or a citation for driving in the river bed.

I guess the first thing I need to do is to describe “Scott’s Slab” on the Llano River. Basically it’s “good ole country river crossing” – a narrow strip (read one lane) of concrete probably ¼ mile long laid on the solid granite of the river bed – that runs north-south across the Llano River about 10 miles west of town and is part of County Road 102. Until recently the north end of the “slab” was comprised of a series of large rectangular concrete culverts where the concrete roadway formed the top of the culverts. This is where the main channel of the river runs.

Most of the year the river runs in the channel at the north end of the slab, and in the late summer it may only run 6 inches or so deep and well below the road level. But get a good batch of thunderstorms like we had yesterday evening and night – well, the river comes up and over the slab in at least 3 places. Sometimes the slab is partially covered, and sometimes the river is way up and the crossing will be invisible and unusable for days on end.

Early this year the Texas Dept. of Transportation (TxDOT), in their infinite wisdom, decided to tear out the culverts at the north end of the slab and replace the large rectangular culverts with multiple smaller round culverts that supposedly will carry the same volume of water. (What they will do is plug up more easily.) They didn’t bother to improve the rest of the slab.

So, when the construction was going on and I was on duty, I’d drive out and play “tourist” and watch the progress. On one of these days I noticed some illustrations right there in front of me.

The first was that the river was sort of like life in general. Life flows by – the sun keeps coming up and we get a day older – and we can’t do a thing to stop it. Life has its highs and lows just like the river; sometimes it’s slow and lazy, and other times it’s wild and crazy – and when it’s wild, you just have to hang on to something until it slows down.

The slab, then, is sort of like our personal day-to-day lives. When the flow of the river of life is low and slow, we stay on top of things and we think, “Life is good.” Then suddenly a storm hits, and the river comes up. Sometimes we manage to stay above things, but when the flow is too high, we go under. If we don’t have a good grasp on something solid, we can wash out. Sometimes the water of life is over our heads for just a short time, and other times it seems like we’ll not be able to hang on until it recedes.

As I sat and thought about what seemed to me a dumb redesign of the culverts, I thought about how easy it is to re-engineer parts of our lives and not do a smart job of it. For example: how many of you have friends who’ve gotten divorced more than once for the same reason? Perhaps they’ve not tackled the real problem. It’s often more time consuming and labor intensive to look at the proverbial big picture to see where the problems actually lie and make a better redesign. We tend to focus on the immediate problem and not think through what will happen if we make that change. (I had similar experiences as a computer programmer.)

One thing that happened on the rebuild of the culverts was that it changed the channel dynamics and caused the water to now flow over a once dry part of the roadway. The slab doesn’t go straight across the river bed. Just on the south side of the new construction, the roadway makes a jag, sort of a short, angular S-curve, and there’s a 6-inch drop-off on the west side. The redirected water goes over this short piece of road, and when the water rises a little and gets muddy, you can’t see the jag or where to drive safely.

Somebody once said something about not fixing something that wasn’t broken. That’s what’s referred to as “man’s wisdom.” That’s why when we look at redesigning our lives, we should consult God. God is the Master Designer who always can see the big picture. He can evaluate more “what if’s” than you can imagine faster than the fastest super-computer and come out with the right plan. We just have to be willing to find out what the plan is and be willing to fix that part that needs fixing.

So the over-simplified moral of the story is that if we allow God to design our river crossing and then build it on the solid bedrock of His Word, the proverbial water may go over us occasionally, but it won’t wash us out. (Check out Jesus’ version of the same idea in Matthew 7:24-27.)

Until next month then: Blessings to you and yours.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net
 

MAY 2008

I’m Going Fishing
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department



Hello, and welcome to the May 2008 edition of the Chaplain’s Corner. My brother- and sister-in-law have moved from the Permian Basin (where they don’t know what a lake is) to Comanche County; and now that JP has access to two private lakes, he’s always asking me to come up and go fishing. But that’s not what I want to talk about this time out.

This morning I was half listening to various church services on KSLR out of San Antonio while working radar, and one of the preachers was talking about Peter saying he was going fishing. As I was getting ready to write and thinking about Police Week and memorials, it suddenly seemed that some of those thoughts were worth sharing. (And John just ran out of the room shouting “Oh NO! He’s gonna preach at us again!”)

If you have your Bibles this morning  our text comes from the Gospel of John, Chapter 21 and verse 3:
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

(That’s the way my fishing trips usually turn out -- skunked.) Actually, the fishing trip in-and-of itself isn’t what I want to focus on, but rather Peter’s decision and what precipitated it and how it turned out. Because maybe someone you know is at a similar point in their life.

Basically, Peter was at a point of emotional overload. Let me recap what he had gone through. The last two weeks Peter had seen Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, followed by an illegal arrest and trial combined with Peter’s denial of his relationship to Jesus. This was then followed by witnessing the crucifixion, a most horrible sight, and then came the Resurrection and all the guilty feelings of his betrayal were compounded. Peter had had it. All he could think was, “I’m out of here.”

You know, a lot of life’s tragedies can put you right there in emotional overload, especially a LODD. True, your circumstances aren’t identical to Peter’s, but the feelings can be similar. Feelings of “I coulda done,” “I shoulda done,” “Why am I still here?” “It should have been me.” It just plays and plays and plays in your mind. Those thoughts can drag you down emotionally to where you decide, “Enough is enough. I’m done.” Some trash the career and go do something else, like Peter. Some consider a more drastic alternative, and sadly, some take this option.

Now, I have to point out something obvious about Peter’s choice. It went bust. For all intents and purposes he walked away from God. He went back to something he thought he could handle, something he thought he knew how to do. And he came up empty. That’s why one shouldn’t make life-changing decisions or career changes during times of emotional overload.

But Peter’s story doesn’t end there, and yours needn’t either. God hadn’t given up on Peter. God knew exactly where Peter was physically and emotionally. He knew Peter’s potential even when Peter didn’t. God still loved Peter in spite of everything, and He still had a plan for Peter’s life. He just had to get Peter’s attention again.

If we were to read further in our text in the Gospel of John, we’d see that Jesus showed up after the all-night fishing trip while the fishing party was still on the water. Standing on the shore, He asked about results. For whatever reason, Peter and the others didn’t recognize Him. He told them to toss the net over the other side of the boat. (Right – how dumb is that?) I guess they figured they had nothing to lose so they did. Suddenly their fishing trip became one for the record books! Although I don’t think the Gospel gives all the details of what transpired over the next couple of hours, Jesus and Peter make their peace. With God’s help Peter goes on to the proverbial “bigger and better things.”

What am I saying? That it’s perfectly normal to get down when you’re in an emotional overload situation, but don’t throw everything away. You’re a better person than that. Sure, your heart isn’t in it right now. Maybe your confidence has been shaken, but you’ve still got potential. Sometimes God allows us to hit rock bottom in order to find out that He’s the Rock that we can build upon.

The last verse and chorus of one of my favorite old-time gospel songs goes like this:
I may have doubts and fears, my eyes be filled with tears,
But Jesus is a friend who watches day and night;
I go to Him in prayer, He knows my ev'ry care,
And just a little talk with Jesus makes it right.

Now let us have a little talk with Jesus.
Let us tell Him all about our troubles.
He will hear our faintest cry
And He will answer by and by.
Now when you feel a little prayer wheel turning,
Then you’ll know a little fire is burning.
You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.

I know it sounds over-simplistic, but before you give it up, try giving it to Him. You’ve nothing to lose and a lot to gain.
Until next time … blessings to you and yours.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net
 

APRIL 2008

What If Daniel Had Been a Cop?
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department


Hello, and welcome to the Chaplain’s Corner.

Well, it’s been a whole year and I still couldn’t think of an April Fool’s joke to pull here, but I wanted to share something a little lighthearted. My very first April column ever took a look at the Old Testament character of Jonah and the whale and speculated how that might have gone down had Jonah been a LEO. In much the same vein, I want to try relating the account of Daniel in the lion’s den. (Again, let me make the disclaimer that Biblical accounts and teachings don’t always carry forward with 100% correlation to AD 2008 illustrations.) Okay, here we go:

The situation is that Daniel was an Assistant Chief of Police in the realm of Babylon and in line to be promoted to Executive Chief. He was held in such high esteem by the current Police Chief that he was the “heir apparent” should the Chief decide to step aside.

Well, as you could probably guess, that esteem wasn’t universally held, and the other Assistant Chiefs and certain SWAT Commanders got jealous. I mean, after all, Daniel was an “outsider.” And not just an “outsider.” They might have been able to cope with a Fighting Irishman or even an Arkansas Razorback, but Daniel was a BAYLOR BEAR! So they formed a conspiracy and went to IAD to try and find some accusation against him so that the Chief of Police would have to get rid of him. After wracking his brain for some time, the head of IAD came back and said, “Nup. Nothing doing. Daniel’s as clean as a fresh piece of copy paper.” It was decided that if they were to get anything to use, it would have to be a Separation of Church and State issue…something to do with his professed religious faith.

Once that was decided, they wondered how they would get rid of Daniel after they had the “offense.” The Assistant Chief over Narcotics snapped his fingers and piped up: “I know! Let’s take Daniel into the area of the City with worst drug and gang activity around 2200 hours, handcuff him to the steering wheel of a black and white, take the keys to the car and leave him there. In the morning he’ll just be another LODD. There was a unanimous agreement, so they plotted together and got the Chief of Police to hand down P&P which, for all intents and purposes outlawed Daniel’s prayer life and faith in Daniel’s God.

Now everything was in place. They knew Daniel well enough to know that he’d never abide by the P&P, so they set him up. They caught him at prayer and hauled him before IAD and the Chief of Police himself. The Chief and Daniel had become close friends, and the Chief realized too late how the conspirators had used him. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to send Daniel on his one-way vacation. But the Chief was NOT a happy camper. All night long the Chief worried about Daniel. He paced the floor, tossed sofa pillows around the room, and made more than a few choice comments about the conspirators.

The first thing the next morning, about daylight, the Chief ran to Dispatch, grabbed the radio, and called: “Daniel? Daniel -- Status check.” … an eternity-long moment of silence. “Daniel to Dispatch, I’m 10-8, in service and ready to roll.” The Chief could hardly believe his ears! He ran to his car and made a beeline to Daniel’s location.

When he got there he found Daniel free from his handcuffs, sitting in the driver’s seat, eating Krispy Kreme donuts and drinking coffee.  The Chief asked Daniel what had happened after he was left there. Daniel replied “You may not believe it, but God sent His Angel to watch over me. I was just sitting there handcuffed to the steering wheel when I looked up and saw the biggest, meanest gang member you can imagine…tats, weapons, chains…the whole nine yards. He came right over to the car, reached in through the window and unlocked my cuffs, and told me to ‘just chill out.’ Then he hopped up on the hood of the car, leaned back against the windshield and hollered out: ‘You gotta get through me to get to him.’ I just tuned the “good time radio” to the gospel station, thanked the Lord for His provision and went to sleep. When your radio call woke me up this morning this huge man smiled real big, handed me coffee and donuts – and disappeared.”

Well, to quickly sum it up – the Chief was some impressed with Daniel’s God, and Daniel got promoted to Executive Chief of Police. And the conspirators? Well, let’s just say that “forgive and forget” was not an attitude for which the Chief of Police was known.

So what lessons does this little piece of recorded history teach? I’m glad you asked. 
The first is that Daniel had truly sold out to God and sought His will for Daniel’s life, and because of that God blessed Daniel and gave him favor with his superiors. Second, sometimes even when you’re trying your best to live for God, things can go wrong big-time through no fault of yours. And last but not least, when you’re 100% on God’s team, He’ll get you through the really rough spots.

Thanks for listening. Gotta run. Blessings to you and yours.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net


 

MARCH 2008

A Look at The Book
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department



Hello, and welcome to the Chaplain’s Corner. I survived turning 55! Wasn’t such a big deal after all. And March is here again. That means severe storm season will soon be upon us here in central Texas and that could be a big deal. We badly need the rain, but the hail and damaging winds and potential tornadoes I can do without, thank you very much.  Last Spring they sent me out to see where the tornado was.  Thank the Lord I didn’t find it, but it was a leetle disconcerting when the official storm tracker van came past me headed the opposite direction and stopped less than a quarter mile behind me.

Anyway…to get back on track… I recently got engaged in a series of postings in an online forum. The discussion was in a “Christian group” setting on a police-oriented website. There had been some back and forth among several posters that started about a Gospel presentation; and after a couple of posts, I was asked a very valid question: “Why should I live my life based on your opinions?” Some of you might have asked the same question. My response was that the questioner should not base any life-changing decisions solely on ANYone’s opinion without doing some due diligence to check out the basis of the opinion expressed. I stated that my opinions were based on the Bible and proceeded to give a little background about the Bible, a very unique book.

As I was deciding what to share with you, I thought that maybe it would be of benefit to share some information about the Bible that makes it unique. I was thinking…most of the time, if you say to someone that you’ve “read a good book lately” they’ll most likely ask you what one it was. But if you say you’ve been “reading The Good Book lately,” almost everyone knows which one without asking. ☺

There are a number of things that are unique about the Bible, and we don’t have a lot of time to go much into detail, so I’ll try to just hit some of the high points.

• The Bible was written over a time span of about 1500 years…from 1400 BC to 100 AD.
• The books of the Bible were written by over 40 men from a variety of occupations: commercial fishermen, tax collectors, religious leaders, military leaders, political leaders, priests and kings.
• The Bible was written from locations on three different continents and in three different languages, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
• It’s written in a wide variety of literary styles; poetry, historical narrative, song, memoirs, law, parables, allegory, and prophecy.
• In spite of all of the above, the Bible presents a single unfolding story of God’s love and redemptive plan for mankind.

One of the hallmarks of the Bible is prophecy. It contains thousands of detailed prophecies concerning people, times and nations (sometimes hundreds of years in the future) that have been fulfilled to the smallest detail. It seems like almost every time there’s a major archeological discovery in the Middle East, it verifies some detail that’s recorded in the Scriptures.

“Well, that may be, but the Bible has changed over time, hasn’t it?” Nope. There are nearly 25,000 manuscripts still in existence that are early copies of Bible text. There are fewer than 700 hundred copies of the ancient classic Homer’s Illiad, and that’s the most of any other of the ancient books. In comparing the manuscripts, the experts have found that what few inconsistencies exist (1/2 of 1%) are mostly spelling or style, and not a single Christian doctrine rests on a “disputed passage.”

“Well, what about all the different versions of the Bible?” Here we kinda get caught up in semantics…it’s easy to confuse “version” with “translation” and especially since a number of the translations use the term Version in their name, i.e. King James Version, Revised Standard Version and the popular New International Version. Some Bible translations read differently because some are translated from the original Greek and others from the Latin Vulgate, which is a Latin translation from the Greek. I guess you could say there are three versions of the Bible in the broadest sense. The Jews recognize only the Old Testament, that’s one. Then there are the Protestant and Catholic versions. The Catholic Bible contains a number of books that the Protestant version doesn’t. (The reasons for that are a subject for another day.)

Then to complicate matters further, there are the paraphrases: those “versions” which try to capture the “concept” and present it in a “more readable” format and aren’t necessarily interested in exactness.

Which Bible is better than another? I don’t know, go ask your mother…which is a humorous way to say “We’re outta time again.” Blessings to you and yours.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net
 

FEBRUARY 2008

How Wonderful Is Love like This?
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department



Hello, and welcome to February and the Chaplain’s Corner. February brings some mixed emotions for me this again this year. I hit the ol’ “double nickel” on the 28th. There’s something a bit discomforting about turning 55 (my dad didn’t make it to 55), but I’ll get over it. 

For most of us, thoughts of February always bring thoughts of Valentine’s Day, thoughts of love and expressions of love. Several years back I wrote about love as described in the book of I Corinthians in the New Testament of the Bible and posed the question: “Does our love measure up?” The next year, thinking about what to share, I opened my Bible to the concordance in the back and looked at the Scripture references for love. As I read through the verses in Psalms that contain the word love, I noticed the descriptive words attached to God’s love: great, wonderful, enduring and unfailing.

God’s love is great. God doesn’t do things in a small way or half-heartedly. Likewise, His love isn’t tentative or conditional. He loves us a lot.

God’s love is wonderful. Ever heard someone say, “The best thing that ever happened to me was when [whoever] fell in love with me”? When we experience the love of someone who truly loves us, it is a wonderful feeling. Knowing and experiencing God’s love is wonderful.

God’s love is enduring. That means that His love keeps on keeping on. God’s love towards us doesn’t diminish over time or come to an end. Whether we’re 25 or 75 (or <sigh > 55), God loves us as much as He did the day we were born. We may not have loved God all our lives, but He has always loved us.

God’s love is unfailing. At least 24 times the term unfailing is paired with God’s love in the Book of Psalms. Unfailing and enduring go together and express the certainty that any time we seek God, we will find He always loves us. We may go through hard times, times that try our faith, but we will not find a time that He stops loving us. We may feel that God doesn’t love us; we may think that God doesn’t love us, but His Word declares that that will never be the case.

For love to be experienced, it has to be communicated and expressed. On Valentine’s Day, we make an effort to communicate and express our love to those special to us. We should do that year ’round, but we make a special effort to do it on Valentine’s Day. We send cards and letters, and some of us make an annual visit to the florist. God has sent “valentine’s” messages through the written Word we call the Bible. Throughout its pages we read about God’s love for us.

Those terms, “great, wonderful, enduring and unfailing,” while describing God’s love for us, also describe His Son – love personified. Jesus came to show us what true love was all about. He didn’t just talk the talk, He lived it and He died to show us that He meant it. Sometimes within ourselves we feel that we have a “great and wonderful” love for someone and believe that it will never end, and suddenly something happens and we find an end to that love – it fails. That never happened with Jesus’ love. The time came when Jesus’ love was put to the ultimate test, and He endured it; His love didn’t fail. His love for us – you and me – is what took Him to the Cross. It’s an enduring love that is still offered to us today.

But just as sometimes our love is rejected by the person we love dearly, God’s love has been rejected time and again by people all through the years. And like us, He is hurt and saddened by the rejection. In our case, eventually the feelings of love we have towards the one who rejected us fade. That person may come back to us sometime in the future, only to find that we can no longer hold out to them the love we once had. But it isn’t so with God.  Any time we realize that we’ve made the mistake of rejecting His love, we can turn around and run to Him, asking His forgiveness. When we do, we will find that His wonderful, great love for us is still there.

Thanks for riding with me this “shift.” Catch you again next time. Until then: blessings to you and yours.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net

 

JANUARY 2008

Back to Bluebonnets Again
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department



Hello, and welcome to the first Chaplain’s Corner of 2008, another pivotal year in the history of the US of A. It should be interesting, but also for me, disconcerting. Political correctness and the intolerance of those whose idea of “tolerance” means accepting their point of view makes me wonder how this country is going to keep going. There are some things in our society that have gotten better since I was a kid, but I don’t think our country as a whole is better off. The elections coming next November will be about what sort of future this country will have. I hope God will open people’s eyes to what the options and results will really be.
Well, I’ll get off that topic.

Somewhere a looong time ago, someone said to me that the “the things you do New Year’s Day you will do all year long.” Hmm…yeah, I guess that’s so because New Year’s Day I was out in the patrol car, I had three meals…just a “normal day in the life…” But we all try to get a new year started off on the right foot. It’s a time of new beginnings, time to try and have a new positive attitude. A time to start off with a new Chaplain’s Corner column… umm… well…time to start the year off talking about God in any event. I say “umm… well…” because, although I try to not preach the same sermon more than once, I’m going to recycle a January Chaplain’s Corner from a few years back because it says what I want to say again this year. ☺

A new year. A time of new things. Some of us are lucky enough to get new patrol cars. Some of us just got new DVDs, new toys, new gadets. There will be a new Super Bowl champion. There will be a new World Series champion and a new NBA champion. Some of us have made new New Year’s resolutions and some of us have renewed New Year’s resolutions that were not kept last year. And there will be a new crop of bluebonnets – Texas’ State Flower.

Now, I know that New Year’s resolutions aren’t mentioned in the Bible. But, these annual resolutions are usually made with the intention and expectation that their fulfillment will somehow make us a better person. Sometimes we make the same resolutions year after year because we are simply making an intellectual attempt to change, but there is no real change in our hearts. The Psalmist shares the “secret,” if you will, to becoming that better person: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10). The Apostle Paul talks about allowing God to become a part of our lives so that we become “new creatures,” the old having “passed away” (2 Cor. 5:17).

The other “new” that jumps to mind comes in the form of a chorus taken from the Old Testament book of Lamentations: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning.” Along this same line, Isaiah records God’s words: “Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth.” I can’t help being reminded of the bluebonnets. Each spring we get a new crop of bluebonnets. Each day during the blooming season, especially early in the season, we get new blossoms every day. There are all kinds of variations in colors and hues. If we stop to look closely we will find blues and whites and pinks and variegates. And they won’t be the same in the same place next year. They are new each spring. So it is with the blessings and mercies of God. Endless variety, new each day, not just each spring.

But I can close my eyes and refuse to look at the bluebonnets. I can mow them down, or plow them under, or plant other vegetation that will choke them out. I can decide to travel other roads where I know bluebonnets won’t be. So it is with the mercies of God. We can choose to ignore them or live our lives in such a way that He can not bestow His mercies on us.

This year, let’s make a resolution that we’re going to let God make a difference in our lives. Let’s let Him open our eyes to the “bluebonnets” of blessings He desires to grow in our lives.

As we go into this new year, I pray that we might have new and meaningful personal encounters with God which result in new and deeper relationships with Him.

Well, I’ve rambled long enough for now. I hope you had a nice holiday season and have a Happy New Year. Thanks for keeping me company for the past year. Looking forward to having you ride along in 2008. Blessings to you and yours.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net

 

December 2007

What to Give?
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department


The “age-old question” that gets asked every year: What do I get for (fill in the blank)? Hi, and welcome to the last Chaplain’s Corner of 2007. A first for me as it closes in on my 54th Christmas: I’ve got almost all my Christmas shopping done! I don’t remember how many times I’ve loaded up our daughter about 10 AM on Christmas Eve and headed to The Mall in Austin to do our shopping. This year I started in August. Unbelievable! Maybe someone should take me to see a doctor. ☺

As always, I kicked around several ideas of what to share, and suddenly the question came to mind: “What do you give to the one who has nothing?” Umm…wait a second. Isn’t that supposed to be “What do you get for the one who has everything?” Yes, that is what you’ll hear on all the TV shows (that is, if the writers end their strike) just before they trot out the latest display of semi-useless, high-priced gizmos. But what God dropped into my heart was “who has nothing.” (I’m beginning to feel, as I sit here and start to write, that God has someone specific in mind that needs some encouragement.)

You see, I thought about talking about “Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!” and how Christmas isn’t about the newest, prettiest, most expensive. And that’s all very true. It’s more about giving than receiving, but deep down inside, giving without love rings hollow for both parties. You’ll probably hear that from many directions this season. I asked myself, “How does God look at giving at Christmas?” and that’s when He touched my heart.

What do you give someone who has “nothing?” What did God give us that First Christmas? A Baby. Yes, but more than just a Child. “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy that shall be for all people,” said the angel. What did God give to those who “had nothing”? The answer I got almost “stopped me in my tracks.” The gift can be summed up in one word: Hope.

God intervened in human history at a time when His people were discouraged. They felt their situation was hopeless and that even God didn’t care any more. So He sent them a Christmas Gift to let them know how much He cared and to give them hope. The Baby that came to us that first Christmas morning was given many titles (Counselor, Prince of Peace, King of kings and Lord of lords, Mighty God) and He is called Immanuel, which means “God with us.” Although He was never given the title, He was the “Bringer of Hope.” He showed us that God will walk through life with us and help us.

Life is not fair. Duh. All manner of…what shall we say... ill-fortune? set-backs? disasters? and yes, heart-aches come our way. At times it seems that we’re looking up trying to find bottom and it’s hard to just keep on keeping on. What gets us “on down the road of life” in these hard times is hope. Hope is that little spark down in our hearts that says “it’ll get better if I can just hang on a little longer.”

What I keep sensing is that somewhere one of my readers (or someone close them) is feeling completely devastated. I can’t tell if it was a death or divorce or something else, but there’s a feeling that there’s “nothing left.” To them “hope” is just a four-letter word. Well, God wants you/them to know that there IS hope. He wants to give you/them the gift of hope this year for Christmas. ☺ One day, as unlikely as it may seem now, this one who’s so desolated will be able to smile again. I can’t tell you how it will work out, I can only say that if you/they will reach out to God, He’ll touch hearts and bring hope and begin a healing.

Can we take a minute for me to offer up a Christmas prayer? (Hehe…can’t stop me now, can you? ☺)

Gracious Heavenly Father, I just pause now to offer up a prayer of thanks for the Great Gift You gave all of mankind on that first Christmas when You sent Your only Son to live among us. I thank You for sending Him with the message of hope. I ask now that as we go through the holiday season this year that we would hear once again the glad tidings of great joy. Help us to be receptive and allow You to touch our hearts. Lord, You know who among my readers are suffering heart-ache and have lost a sense of hope. I pray a special Christmas blessing upon them. Come to them in that special way that only You can and wrap them up in Your love and bring them peace. Let them lose their troubles in the wonder and presence of the Christ-Child. Bless all my dear readers and their families. Keep them safe, especially those working the streets and those traveling. I ask these things in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Let me leave you with this benediction from the words of the Apostle Paul: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 15:13)

Wishing you and yours a very blessed and Merry Christmas. I’ll catch you again next year.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net

 

November 2007

Pete and Repeat
Chaplain Bill Wolfe
Llano County Sheriff’s Department


“Two birds, Pete and Repeat, sat on a wire. Pete flew off and who was left?”
“Repeat.” “Ok. “Two birds, Pete and Repeat, sat on a wire. Pete flew off and who was left?” Hi, and thanks for joining me one more time in the November edition of The Chaplain’s Corner. Anybody want to admit to knowing/using that little never ending question? ☺ It just popped to mind as I reviewed past November columns looking at what I’ve shared in the past. In the interest of starting with Scripture, allow me to borrow a few words from the Apostle Paul: “To write the same things again is no trouble to me…” (Phil 3:1)

The two November holidays, Veterans’ Day and Thanksgiving, are soon upon us again, and I wanted to take this seasonally-appropriate time to say thank you again to the veterans among us.

Being that we live “out in the sticks” we don’t get live TV. So, we are “reduced” to watching tapes and DVDs. For the past week or so Claudia and I have been watching the PBS series “The War” that our daughter recorded for us. My dad served in The War, but he almost never talked about it – just one story that I remember about accidentally kicking a live artillery shell down a stairwell at night in Aachen, Germany, and one about a German pilot trying to drop a bomb on him on Christmas morning. Watching the series gave me some fresh insight on why. It gave me a renewed appreciation of what you folks went through “over there” – wherever “over there” was.

On behalf of myself and my family, I would like to again say to each of you veterans, former POWs, reservists, and active duty military, regardless of what branch of service, what Theater of Operations, what war: “Thank you for your service to our Country. We appreciate what you have done and are doing.”

I know too, that there are veterans that have come home and pinned on a badge and serve in yet another capacity. You rank especially high on my list of heroes. Thank you, also, for your service to our Country and your communities.

As we appreciate those who served and made it home from their last hitch or shift, we also appreciate those who did not. ODMP.org lists 20 Texas officers (as of this writing) whose watch ended this year. We extend our heart-felt condolences to their family, friends and colleagues. Thank you for sharing them with us.


The first Thanksgiving was all about giving God thanks for His blessings. When Thanksgiving was made a national holiday, it was for the same purpose…to set aside a time specifically for giving thanks to God. Yes, my friends, both military and emergency services personnel, you are a blessing from God to our Country and your communities. Let’s take a minute more and let me give Him thanks for giving you to us.

Dear Heavenly Father, I come to You right now giving You thanks for all these who have given of themselves to serve this Country and their communities. Too often they have received wounds, not only from the enemy, but from those they serve. I ask, Lord, that You might bless them in special and unexpected ways. Help them to continue serving to the best of their ability in the positions they fill, even if it’s only being a Grandparent. I pray for those on active duty on the streets or in the military and ask that You would grant them Divine protection. Give them wisdom, courage and understanding beyond their natural abilities. I lift up those who have been injured physically or mentally in the performance of their duties and have need of healing. I pray too for the friends and loved ones that have been deprived of that son or daughter, spouse or sibling, neighbor or friend by a line-of-duty death here at home or overseas. Bring a comfort to them as only You can. And I thank You for giving me the opportunity to serve these, my readers. Help me to be the encouragement they need, that I might be a blessing to them. Continue to give me Your thoughts and words to inspire and guide them. Amen.

Before I let you go, I want to say “thank you” to all my loyal readers for riding with me. ☺ I was blessed to be able to attend Det. Moreno’s funeral in San Antonio in September. While I was there, a Police Chief that I had never met came up and spoke with me saying he’d read my column for years. That was a blessing. “One more,” and I’ll let you go. I also want to extend a special thank you to any Patriot Guard riders who may be here. I appreciate what your group does.

Blessings to you and yours. See you again next month.

Chaplain Bill
llanochaps@moment.net
 

October 2007

Camo Santa

Chaplain Bill Wolfe

Llano County Sheriff’s Department

Hi and welcome to the Chaplain’s Corner.  Good to see you again.

Camo Santa?  The Deer Hunter’s best friend?  No.  heehee…good guess, though.  I complain about the stores putting out Christmas items before they put out the Halloween candy, and here I go bringing up Santa already.  Hmmm… lessee… how many shopping days left?  

Seriously, you know I don’t get political very often, but this recent treatment of General Petraeus  just really got to me.  If it had been me, after those opening comments by certain senators, I would have just gotten up and walked out.  We are at war.  Our troops (many of whom are peace officers when not over there) deserve better treatment than they are getting from the Washington politicians.  For the most part, the troops over there are far more in harm’s way than we are over here on the streets.

In the interest of supporting our troops and boosting their morale, I’d like to ask you to consider helping in a “tangible” way.  Many departments have a “Blue Santa” or a “Brown Santa” at Christmastime, so I wondered if we couldn’t have a “Camo Santa.” 

I have been involved with a non-profit organization for about the last year whose sole mission is to support the troops and the Chaplains that minister to them.  The organization is Adopt-a-Chaplain (AAC).  To oversimplify what they do, they send “care packages” to military chaplains who are deployed overseas who, in turn, share the contents of the packages with the troops.  These care packages are great morale boosters.

Let me share a couple of things from the website, emails, and a couple of reports from the field:

It took Adopt-a-Chaplain 18 months to send its 1,000th box. Now it seems that we hit a 1,000 box milestone every 6 weeks! On April 1, 2007 box number 4,000 was delivered to Chaplain McLaughlin and the 2nd Marine Logistics Group. (The week ending September 22, 2007 saw the 9,000^th box sent out!)

(email 9/15/07)  I'm noticing in correspondence with chaplains a concern they don't have home support due to the political climate in Washington.  They're beginning to feel isolated and forgotten.

Notes from the field:

• Please tell everyone thank you for the packages!!! They have been a big encouragement to me and the soldiers. …. Thank you Thank you Thank you for all of your support.  Ch MH

• I returned here to find box 8023 waiting for me.  Folks, this came at the right time.  Not because of the contents of the box (though that is always great!), but because it told me all that is right, good, and honorable about our country.  Your box is a reminder of why I am over here.  Your box tells me there are folks that care.  Your box gives me the strength to go on when I wanted so bad to just chuck it all.  Most of all, your box lets me know we are not forgotten.  And to that, I salute you and the men and women packing these boxes.  You are our heroes!  Thanks again, and please know that we all over here do appreciate this kindness all so very much.  Ch DH
• "Thank You!"  The goodies inside were perfect!  They will love this stuff.  I plan to take all of these items out to our 2 patrol bases.  Most of our soldiers stay at the patrol bases for extended periods of time without coming back to the main base.  During their time out there, they have very little except a cot to sleep on and pre-packaged military MREs.  The items you sent will be a small taste of home for them, something to take their minds off the fight at least for a little while.  I have taken other items out there before, and let me assure you that they absolutely love the snacks and items like the ones you sent.  You will probably never meet these warriors, but you are giving them a lift by your generous care package.  Thanks.  Ch. D.T.

Well…I said all that to ask you to consider helping AAC to get Christmas out to our heroes “over there.”  But, I literally just received this email from AAC:

We are getting a lot of inquiries about "one time" Christmas projects which will always help.

We figure, and experience has borne this out, that lots of people and groups will do a big Christmas push which is great.  But then following Christmas they receive nothing - except from us.  As a result the time right after Christmas is really a tough time for the troops and chaplains.

So. <sigh>  Talk it over with some of your friends and see if maybe we could conspire with AAC to have “Camo Santa” arrive in January…or something.  (♫ On the twelfth day of Christmas, the Chaplain gave to me….♪)

For more information on AAC’s services to the Chaplains or to help, please contact them at adoptachaplain@yahoo.com.  For information about providing support to the Chaplains’ families back home, please con