STORIES
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Pieces of Glory
I trust your gathering of friends and family over Christmas was meaningful and joyful, as was the experience for Joyce and me.
From the Field
Stories of God’s work in and through the military.
As the Deer Pants
Have you ever been so thirsty that nothing mattered more than finding something to quench your thirst?
Earlier this year, I found myself in a situation where I was thirstier than I had ever been. I was in the hospital due to lung-related issues and needed a procedure performed under anesthesia. They gave me the typical “no food or drink after midnight” instructions ahead of time—no big deal. However, after the procedure, when I awoke and needed the help of a BiPAP machine to keep my oxygen levels up, I started to experience extreme thirst. Each minute the BiPAP mask was on my face, forcing pressurized air into my nose and mouth, I became more and more desperate for even just an ice cube. It would end up being five hours before I was allowed to drink some water.
Setting Our Minds on Things Above
It’s time for a New Year’s resolution check-in. Did you make one, and if so, how is that going?
A few years ago, I heard someone being interviewed on a podcast about New Year’s resolutions. They gave some statistics stating that 43% of people quit their resolutions by the end of January, and only about 9% keep their resolutions for the entire year. Wow! That’s not very encouraging, and it begs the question of why bother making a resolution to begin with.
Kingdom Connections
American military personnel are accustomed to packing up and going wherever the military sends them, whether it is a six-month unaccompanied deployment or a three-year duty assignment in the U.S. or overseas. Accordingly, Cadence staff may have only a few months to invest in those who attend their ministry and usually no more than three years.
This Present Moment
“Really, God?”
Am I the only one who asks that question from time to time? Over and over, I have found myself in new environments. Military moves, different ministry locations, and changing seasons of life bring new relationships and variables, and it can be so easy in those moments to feel the weight of change.
As the Deer Pants
Have you ever been so thirsty that nothing mattered more than finding something to quench your thirst?
Earlier this year, I found myself in a situation where I was thirstier than I had ever been. I was in the hospital due to lung-related issues and needed a procedure performed under anesthesia. They gave me the typical “no food or drink after midnight” instructions ahead of time—no big deal. However, after the procedure, when I awoke and needed the help of a BiPAP machine to keep my oxygen levels up, I started to experience extreme thirst. Each minute the BiPAP mask was on my face, forcing pressurized air into my nose and mouth, I became more and more desperate for even just an ice cube. It would end up being five hours before I was allowed to drink some water.
Setting Our Minds on Things Above
It’s time for a New Year’s resolution check-in. Did you make one, and if so, how is that going?
A few years ago, I heard someone being interviewed on a podcast about New Year’s resolutions. They gave some statistics stating that 43% of people quit their resolutions by the end of January, and only about 9% keep their resolutions for the entire year. Wow! That’s not very encouraging, and it begs the question of why bother making a resolution to begin with.
Kingdom Connections
American military personnel are accustomed to packing up and going wherever the military sends them, whether it is a six-month unaccompanied deployment or a three-year duty assignment in the U.S. or overseas. Accordingly, Cadence staff may have only a few months to invest in those who attend their ministry and usually no more than three years.
This Present Moment
“Really, God?”
Am I the only one who asks that question from time to time? Over and over, I have found myself in new environments. Military moves, different ministry locations, and changing seasons of life bring new relationships and variables, and it can be so easy in those moments to feel the weight of change.
Celebrating 50 Years of the Travis Hospitality House
Joyce and I recently participated in the 50th celebration of the Travis Hospitality House ministry near Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California. Fifty years! Not only has this hospitality house been a beacon of hope for this military community for 50 years, but the ministry has been located on the same five-acre property and facility the entire time. This property was purchased by Cadence in 1973 under the direction of one of the mission’s founding couples, Tom and Dotty Hash.
Around 80 people attended this celebration, and we heard stirring stories from our Travis Hospitality House alumni of how God transformed their lives during their time in that place.
One Day Well Spent
Psalm 84:10a says, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.”
This Psalm was written by the Sons of Korah who were responsible for the worship at the temple of God for the people of Israel in Old Testament times. The psalmists focus on the beauty of dwelling in the presence of God and the reality of pilgrimage for God’s people.
Celebration and Service
America just celebrated its 247th birthday on the Fourth of July. Joyce and I hosted over sixty Cadence-connected people at our house for dinner and fireworks. Our home affords a wonderful view of our city’s firework show, and this gathering has been an annual tradition for most of the past twenty years.
Trusting God Since 1954
It was June 1954, Jesse and Nettie Miller had returned to the United States from serving as missionaries in the Philippines. In addition to their ministry with Filipinos, they had hosted meals and Bible studies for military men, and that outreach grew to where the Millers needed to decide if they would focus on local ministry or military ministry. Tom Hash and C.P. Tarkington were two servicemen whom Jesse led to Christ in those years. They and others gathered in Chicago that June for a reunion. Then Tom, Tark, Dick Patty, and Jesse and Nettie stayed on a couple of days to pray and seek the Lord. Tark described this time in a letter from 1955:
Invitation to Israel
“I’m here to feel the scars of Jesus.”
I spoke those words as a young man in 1987 during a devotional on “doubting Thomas” from John 20:24–29. Joyce and I had joined the K-Town and Baumholder hospitality houses on an amazing trip to the Holy Land of Israel.
A Prelude to the Great Commission
“. . . but some doubted.”
Three simple words tucked away in the grand narrative of Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and commissioning.
The disciples had likely just experienced a full range of emotions as they journeyed with Jesus through Passion Week. Matthew records their reactions to the resurrection of our Savior in chapter 28 verse 9, “Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him.” Awe and adoration were the only possible responses to the risen Christ!
Life-Changing Community
Fort Polk is located in the Vernon Parish of Louisiana. The fort is under the command of the Joint Readiness Training Center of the 4th Brigade and is the only training center in the Army which both trains and deploys units for combat missions. Approximately 9,000 active-duty military call Fort Polk their home.
We Send
The Cadence Way lists five priorities that describe the unique ways Cadence ministers to and impacts military communities and the world for Christ. You can find them on the front page of Cadence.org. They are:
To Live is Christ
I recently attended the memorial service for a Wycliffe missionary who went to heaven after a battle with cancer. She and her husband share the same sending church with Joyce and me here in Littleton, Colorado. Two of their daughters were active in the young adult church group which we led and taught for nine years.