Reveille

Reveille for Memorial Day

Thanks to all my shipmates, soldiers and airmen serving and who have served. God bless you all.

Posted via web from Ferndale Tonight

Tom, We hardly knew you...

All of us who serve are clear about the risks and still we go. But with each Purple Heart or each flag at half-mast that we can put a face to, we catch ourselves saying that we wish it hadn't been that one. It's especially true with Tom. I posted a few days ago about him being killed in Kabul, Afghanistan. It seems incomplete without adding this:

Lt. Col. Thomas P. Belkofer

(June 2, 1965 - May 18, 2010)

Lt. Col Thomas P. Belkofer, age 44, of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division at Ft. Drum, New York and formerly of Perrysburg Township, Ohio died on Tuesday, May 18, 2010 in a Taliban attack on a NATO convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan.  Tom was born on June 2, 1965 in Toledo, Ohio to Donald Jr. and Sharon (O’Keefe) Belkofer.  He graduated from Rossford High School in 1983 where he played football and was a standout wrestler. After High School he briefly attended Wright State University and the University of Toledo before transferring to Bowling Green State University where in 1992 he earned a bachelor’s degree in architectural and environment design technology and married his college sweetheart, Margaret (Margo) Maness.  He served in the Army National Guard before signing up for the ROTC program at BGSU and was commissioned into the Field Artillery as a Distinguished Military Graduate.  In 2002, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Syracuse University. 

Lt. Col. Thomas Belkofer was an 18 year veteran of the United States Army. His operational troop leading assignments included Company Fire Support Officer, Platoon Leader and Battalion Adjutant for 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery at Fort Hood, Texas; and Battalion Fire Support Officer and Battery Commander for Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery.

His leadership duties included Fort Carson, Colorado, Fort Meade, Maryland, The Pentagon, Vicenza, Italy, and most recently, Fort Drum, New York.  He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2005-2006 as Resource Manager for Office of Security Cooperation in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. 

In his career he was awarded the Legion of Merit (Posthumous), Bronze Star (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Purple Heart (Posthumous), Meritorious Service Award (3 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Achievement Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terror Service Ribbon, Humanitarian Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Ribbon, Air Assault Badge, Parachutist Badge, the Army Staff Identification Badge, NATO Medal (Posthumous), and Combat Action Badge (Posthumous).  

He led a life of honor and was known as a man who loved his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, his family, his country, his Army and his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes, which he proclaimed wherever he was stationed. In Afghanistan in 2005, he could be found awake in the middle of the night so that he wouldn’t miss a Buckeye football game.    

Surviving is his loving wife, Margo (Maness) Belkofer; daughters, Alyssa, age 15, and Ashley, age 11; parents, Donald and Sharon Belkofer; brothers, Don (Cathy) Belkofer and Doug Belkofer; father in-law, William (Eleanor) Maness; mother in-law, Pauline Maness.  Also surviving are many, aunts, uncles, cousins and in-laws.

Family and friends may visit at the Sujkowski Funeral Home of Rossford, 830 Lime City Rd. on Friday, May 28, 2010 from 2 to 8 PM.  Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, May 29, 2010 at 10:30 AM at Cedar Creek Church, 29129 Lime City Rd., Perrysburg, OH.  Interment will take place in Arlington National Cemetery.  The family suggests those wishing to make a memorial contribution in Lt. Col. Thomas Belkofer’s name to please consider Military Ministries #2283732, Campus Crusade for Christ, Attn: Contributions, PO Box 628222, Orlando, FL  32862-8222

"DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI." 
"It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country."
from Horace's Ode III, 2, 13

Posted via web from Ferndale Tonight

Three Hebrew Heroes

You don't have to be a Bible scholar to know about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The Bible's account of the Hebrew captives who refused to bow down to their new king's idol is a Sunday School classic.

Think about it...
Three young men, hauled away to a foreign country famous for it's ruthlessness. They seem to be doing really well, excelling in the Babylonian system (see Daniel chapter 1).while still being able to maintain their integrity as Jews.

One day King Nebuchadnezzar (who was so full of himself that he had to be a real treat to be around), builds a 90-foot high statue of himself and declares that when he strikes up the band everyone is supposed to bow down to this new idol. And of course our three heroes won't bow.

Now, it never fails that integrity and excellence will tick someone off. Trust me, I've seen time and again how jealousy will grow until folks start working behind the scenes looking for an excuse to knock down the high-performers. You may have experienced this yourself.

So the jealous folks can't wait to go rat out Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to King Nebuchadnezzar. (Isn't copy/paste a wonderful thing?) And, (as often happens in these situations) even before checking the facts the king just loses it--his attitude toward our three immediately turns from favor to fury.

In that frame of mind, he summons them.

And that's a good place for a break. I'll pick this up later.

Posted via web from Ferndale Tonight

Memorial Day Came Early This Year

One of the advantages of insomnia is that you're really on top of the news. One of the disadvantages is that sometimes you learn things that make it that much harder to fall asleep... 
So I was awake night before last when the news came that a family friend had been killed in Kabul, Afghanistan when a mini-van packed with 1500 pounds of explosives made its way into a convoy. Our friend was one of five Americans killed, one of many total. (The news accounts are really inconsistent about Afghan deaths.)

Tom leaves behind a wife and two beautiful daughters. Like many military families, they passed through the DC area a few years ago and become part of our congregation. Tom loved his family and loved his Lord and was a wonderful friend and Christian brother. He did his first tour in Kabul during that time, came home safely and a few months later they moved to Italy, then to New York. 

O God of grace and glory,
we remember before you our brother Thomas.
We thank you for giving him to us, his family and friends,
to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage.
In your boundless compassion, console us who mourn.
Give us faith to see in death the gate of eternal life,
so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth,
until, by your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen. 

Tom you've left us too soon.
At this Memorial Day, we thank you for proving to us the truth of Jesus' words, "Greater love has no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends." 
Maybe it's the image of your wife and daughters getting the news that their husband and father won't be coming home. I'm a father of daughters as well. I know what it took to leave them. To trust them to God in the event I didn't come back. Our prayers are with them. 
We knew Afghanistan was dangerous. But you were in the capital not out in the provinces. And with your rank and your MOS, we just didn't think of it as being "in harm's way" in the classical sense. Like a couple of my trips--in a combat zone but not really in combat. Maybe that's why your death came as such a shock.
Regardless, the cowardice of a suicide bomber is no way to go. As a warrior, you deserved a better death. 
One last thing, Tom. And this may seem stupid. But your death makes me feel that I let you down. Not you specifically but you among all our warrior brothers and sisters.
In "What I Did in The Navy" I wrote about being part of providing warning to our military community, warning y'all of hostile intent. I can't describe how frustrating it is to be here in this bed when y'all are out there. I was good. There's a war on. I should be there with y'all. 
 So when I heard about your death, that useless, impotent, "I wish I had been there--maybe I could have done something" feeling washed over me. I know all the reasons I'm excused. I know that I'm sick. I read the retirement certificate they sent me; thus my service is fulfilled. None of it matters. I wish I had been there. Maybe... 
All I could feel was that what has happened to you is so untimely and wrong. And as a Brother, I wanted to go to war, to stand in the gap for you and Margo and especially for your girls. But I can't
So, Tom, on your behalf I offer the warfare that I still can do:

O God, from the dawn of the first day
You have cared for Your people.
By Your hand we were created;
in Your hand we live;
and to Your hand we return again.
You have revealed Yourself in many ways,
until, in the fullness of time,
Your Word was made flesh and dwelt among us
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
In his life, death, and resurrection
we find our calling in this world and our hope for the world to come.
We give You thanks for Your servants,
who, having lived this life in faith,
will live eternally with You.
We especially thank You for Tom, for the gift of his life,
for the grace You have given him,
for all in him that was good and kind and faithful.
Into Your hands, O merciful Savior, we commit Your servant Tom.
Acknowledge, we pray, a sheep of Your own fold,
a lamb of Your own flock,
a sinner of Your own redeeming.
We thank You that for Tom death is past,
pain is ended,
and he has entered the joy You have prepared
in the company of all the saints.
Give us faith to look beyond touch and sight,
and in seeing that we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
enable us to run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith.
Bring us at last to Your eternal peace,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.

God of the living, in whose eyes
unveiled thy whole creation lies,
all souls are thine; we must not say
that those are dead who pass away,
from this our world of flesh set free;
we know them living unto thee.

Released from earthly toil and strife,
with thee is hidden still their life;
thine are their thoughts, their works, their powers,
all thine, and yet most truly ours;
for well we know, where'er they be,
our dead are living unto thee.

Not spilled like water on the ground,
not wrapped in dreamless sleep profound,
not wandering in unknown despair
beyond thy voice, thine arm, thy care;
not left to lie like fallen tree;
not dead, but living unto thee.

Thy word is true, thy will is just;
to thee we leave them, Lord, in trust;
and bless thee for the love which gave
thy Son to fill a human grave,
that none might fear that world to see
where all are living unto thee.

O Breather into man of breath,
O Holder of the keys of death,
O Giver of the life within,
save us from death, the death of sin;
that body, soul and spirit be
for ever living unto thee.

We entrust Tom’s spirit to God
for we know the merciful Judge of all the earth will do right.
We entrust Tom to our God
in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection
to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our frail bodies that
they may be conformed to his glorious body,
who died, was buried, and rose again for us.
To Him be glory for ever.
Amen.

Jesus said, “Everyone the Father gives to me will come to me;
I will never turn away anyone who believes in me.”  

He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead
will also give new life to our mortal bodies through His indwelling Spirit.

My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices;
my body also shall rest in hope.
You will show me the path of life;
in Your presence there is fullness of joy,
and in Your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

We commend to Almighty God our brother Tom. 

Lord bless Tom and protect him.
Lord smile on Tom and be gracious to him.
Lord show Tom Your favor and give him Your peace.
In the Name of Your only Son, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus.
Amen.

Posted via web from Ferndale Tonight

I Know Such a Woman

I recently read “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson and ran across three passages where the subject is Mortenson's wife, Tara, that really hit home...

From Chapter 22:

“How many women would have the strength and vision to let the father of their children work in such a dangerous place for months at a time?…Tara not only allows it, but supports it, because she believes so strongly in Greg's mission. If that’s not heroism I don't know what is.”

I agree. I know such a woman.

From Chapter 23 where Mortenson is trying to stay out of a firefight:

“I stopped thinking about escape and started thinking about my kids…trying to imagine how Tara would explain the way I'd died to them, and wondering if they would understand what I was trying to do  how I didn't mean to leave them over here. I decided Tara would make them understand. And that was a pretty good feeling.” 

I understand. I know such a woman.

And, finally, from the Acknowledgements:

“Most of all, I owe immeasurable gratitude to my incredible wife, Tara. I'm glad we took a leap of faith together. You are an amazing companion, confidante, mother, and friend. In my frequent absences over the…years of our marriage…your love has made it possible for me to follow my heart.. I love you.”

I know – I also love such a woman.

And 21 years ago she became my wife, only asking for my love, not seeking guarantees of prosperity or security. Willing to walk with me wherever our Lord and our lives would take us. Making it possible for me to follow my heart in following my Lord and His calling, a prototypical military/ministry wife.

Happy Mother’s Day, Anne.

I'll echo Mortenson's testimony to the rarity of such women. I've seen too much of life to ignore those who got going when the going got tough.

I was already in the Navy when she married me, and already stationed too far from home. She had to wait four months after the honeymoon to even be able to catch up with me in Japan. Later, she released me for military service in two combat zones at times when no one was sure what was coming next. The second time with two small children at home and us stationed in a foreign country.

And, of course, there were all the times both military and ministry when someone asked, “Can we borrow your husband for a bit?”

As a pastor, I hear about too many ministry families where that pastor does everything he can to duck the inevitable emergency phone calls because it will only cause trouble with a wife who thinks her “white-collar professional” husband should only work 9-5. When the phone rings like that at our house, this "woman God gave me" has clothes laid out and my stuff ready before I’m off the phone.

She walked readily with me into the unknown country of Parkinson’s Disease, sure that God would somehow resolve this blazing furnace, knowing that “the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us… But even if He does not…"

And I could go on, talking about how she’s swallowed her concerns and let me spend time in homeless camps (sending food along from her pantry, trusting that God would make it up) and on missions trips; freed me for racetrack chaplaincy and the extra time it took to attempt bilingual preaching…

How she’s thrown herself into ensuring that even the most underfunded weddings were made the most of (more faith from her grocery budget). Sending me to hospitals and funerals and all kinds of other time-with-the-family draining events – even when it had to have made her feel like a de facto single parent – because it’s what we do.

And how now, once again, she’s faithfully walking with me into this time of sickness and disability and lost income. Taking on the burden of watching over the kids, running our household, driving us all where we need to go, and generally keeping track of me.

Not to mention that she’s an “eyes on the prize” “worth far more than rubies” woman of faith who remembers (most of the time) that this all doesn’t matter anyhow ‘cause she’s just passing through on her way to that City God is building for us.

So what does all that have to do with Mothers Day, you ask?

Wouldn’t you want your children to have such a woman for their mother?