When we drove onto the base it was almost 5:00. Our driver pulled up to a stoplight right as music started playing from the base sound system. The light turned green...and we didn't move. I don't know that much about base life, and one of my biggest pet peeves is when drivers stall on a green light, so I tried to help out.
"Hey John, the lights green."
"...John, buddy, the lights green, you can go."
"John! Go man!"
John- "It's the national anthem"
Me- *silenced*
As some of you know, I'm not the biggest national supporter of giving solute to a flag. It's not because I'm against America; I love that God blessed me to be born and raised in this country! I just am a little uncomfortable participating in something Shaderack, Meshack, and Abednego were thrown into a burning furnace for not supporting thousands of years ago. When it's looked down upon for not paying homage to a material possession we've created and give more honor to it than God, I don't view it as sacred.
That being said, I have a deep respect for those that serve to shield us from danger and keep our freedom in tact. On that base, it was hard for me to get over my pet peeve at the stop light, but I understood why they took the time to pause. It was more for the troops in service than it was for the flag itself.
After the swimming and the cook-out, including a short game of Chubby Bunny (John's wife, Sarah, is certified in CPR, no worries) we took a walk down about two miles of the base's walking track. Along the way we randomly planked some street signs and posts, tried out the death crawl like what appears in Facing the Giants, and a couple even gave piggy back rides. The rest of the night, the girls stayed up and watched a movie, while the guys took their party downstairs; we didn't go to sleep till about 4:00 in the AM because of being so trapped up in the most EPIC game of capture the flag, Call of Duty style! I'm not much of a gamer, so my gift to the cause was as a human meat shield. (whatever helps right?)
On Saturday, I got to celebrate the 90th birthday of a man I've had the honor of meeting through our church. Brother Hatter grew up working on a farm, and his cake reflected it; decked out with fields and tractors!
God really spoke through our pastor Sunday morning. His message was on not just giving our lives to Christ, but allowing His Holy Spirit to dwell and move inside of us! Worship was rough, as I was the only one of maybe two that joined in clapping while singing; apparently our congregation doesn't believe in movement being a form of worship, i don't know, but I catch all kinds of looks when I can't help but worship without sitting or standing l. I am thankful for that, because I hope that the excitement God has overflowing from my heart floods into the hearts of others! That is why Pastor Jay's message was so needed yesterday, our church's congregation needs their hearts to soften to allow God's Spirit to not just dwell inside the building, but flow through the veins of its people!
After worship we were all excited to celebrate the marriage of Chris and Tammy! They were two of my teens that decided to tie the knot, of which I could not be more excited for! They saw the importance of making a lifetime commitment to each other, much like the commitment they made to Christ during the year before! The only problem was, when the host proclaimed, "Time to open presents!", it dawned on me that a wedding shower really is a good time to bring a gift. My Sunday afternoon was spent shopping for them.
Last night was great, I joined two of our teens for "Let Loose"; a time when the teens can bring their friends and just let loose in an environment where they can feel unjudged, trusted, clean of negative language, and find freedom from the stresses of a busy life. We ended up playing at a small community playground water park and had to run through through it every time one of us got a question wrong. I started out saying I was going to stay dry, but ended up drenched. It didn't dawn on us that none of us had towels to dry off with till after we were soaked.
It was a weekend full of its ups and downs, but thats what building relationships with God and His Family is full of; a privilege I would never want to loose!
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