Fish Tales

Yesterday, my ten year old son came running out of breath into the house. He was so excited that he couldn't breath or talk. When he finally calmed down enough to talk, he told us of this huge fish (yea right) that he had caught. Now you have to understand that this boy lives to fish and nothing excites him more than that elusive fish that every fisherman dreams of. Well, he finally caught it. This fish ran nearly ten pounds and twenty inches long. This is one he will remember.

I love seeing my children get excited. Since I have six of them, I get plenty of opportunities. It is hard to believe that in just over a week, I will be leaving them for twelve weeks, and after that will face many other days and nights separated from them as I go to field training with my new unit in Texas. After field training, the 4th ID is scheduled to deploy before the end of the year.

By the way, I found out two days ago that I was assigned to yet another new unit (third in three months). My new unit is the 4th Brigade, 704th Support Battalion. I am not going to hold my breath however, because I will probably see my assignment change again before all is done.
As I begin this journey, I look forward to all the care packages filled with cookies, brownies, and licorice sticks. So, in case your wondering, here is my new address:

U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School
CHOBC Class 07-003
Chaplain (1LT) Mark Olson
10100 Lee Road
Fort Jackson, SC 29207-7090

This will be my last post until after I settle into my new quarters at Ft. Jackson. I appreciate your prayers and emails as I begin this Journey.

Appointed unto man once to die

A couple of days ago, my dad's neighbor came over to the house and shared that his wife's sister had just passed away due to cancer. As many of you are aware, my dad is also dealing with extensive cancer. After this man shared about his loss, he asked if I would mind doing the graveside service for the family, and of course, I agreed.

This morning at eleven, I attended the funeral service and sat in the back of the room. The woman who had passed away was an Army veteran, so I was there in uniform. She was a faithful member of the AMVETS organization, so some of their members were there to perform the service. As I watched the service unfold, I found my heart greatly saddened by the fact that not once during the service was the Word of God opened, nor was there any hope offered the family from the Word. It was simply a very sad goodbye from her friends.

I later followed the hearse to the cemetery where I was given the opportunity to finally take this grieving family to the Word of God and share with them the living hope that we have in Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that something I said or read will make a difference in the life of someone there.

The days events however have served to sharpen my focus tonight on my own father. Tomorrow morning I will leave here and it may very well be the last time I see him alive. In just over two weeks I will report to Ft. Jackson and then on to Ft. Hood in September. I will no longer have the freedom to come to Florida any time I want. However, I will try to get leave within the next six months and return here again If my father is still here. Please keep him in your prayers as he struggles with decisions about his future. Tonight, as we talked, he shared with me his desire to terminate all treatments and to allow his life to take whatever course it will. These days are tough for him, but I know that Christ is sufficient. Pray that God would pour out His wisdom and grace upon dad's remaining days. Pray also for my mom who suffers through these days along with him. I think that it is often harder on the spouse, who can do nothing to change what is happening, than it is on the one actually going through it. Thank you for your prayers.

I begin tomorrow the final leg of my long vacation with my family. We will travel to Ft. Jackson tomorrow to attend a graduation ceremony from boot camp, and then travel to Asheville, NC to visit our dear friends at Biltmore Baptist Church. On Monday the 21st, we will head home to Tennessee where I will spend my final ten days with my family before heading of to CHBOLC (Chaplain Basis Officer Leadership Course).

T minus 18 days and counting!

New Army Service Uniform

Here we go again. Here is the the Army's new uniform that will replace the green, blue and white uniforms.

You can read about them at the following link:

http://pao.hood.army.mil/4id/Main/WhatsHot/ASvcUniform.pdf

Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Things My Mother Taught Me

To Value A Job Well Done
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

Time Travel
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

Logic
"Because I said so, that's why."

Foresight
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

Irony
"Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about."

Osmosis
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

Stamina
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

Weather
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

Hypocrisy
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

Circle Of Life
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

Behavior Modification
"Stop acting like your father!"

Envy
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

Anticipation
"Just wait until we get home."

Receiving
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

Medical Science
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

How To Become An Adult
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

Genetics
"You're just like your father."

Wisdom
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

Justice
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you"

New Army Combat Shirt

Army Combat Shirt 2

Photo by U.S. Army
May 04, 2007

The new improved Army combat shirt for men will be issued to Soldiers deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Source and credits:

http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/05/04/2995-peo-soldier-to-unveil-new-army-combat-shirt/

Share your thoughts about this new shirt - Leave a comment.

Manatees

I have been enjoying some time with my family in Florida . Yesterday we went to a Blue Springs State Park in Orange City Fl. about two miles away from my parents house. I lived in this town for about five years while in Junior High and High School. Many times during those years, I swam at this state park, but never did I see a manatee this close until yesterday.

Blue Springs is a fresh water spring that puts out hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per hour creating a large "boil" and a large creek leading from it. The water is a constant 72 degrees year round which can be quite invigorating to swim in. However, in the Winter, the water is warmer than either the water in the river or the ocean, so the manatees come to it to stay warm. Yesterdays manatee was a little confused and was still hanging around the spring when it should have left a month ago.

What was amazing about this manatee was that it swam into the swimming area coming right into the middle of a group of people allowing them to touch it and swim along side. several minutes later, a park ranger came over and told everyone to get out of the water. The manatee then swam over to the dock where I stood with my children and wife, and lifted its head out of the water and looked right at us. What an amazing creature!

I am enjoying these final weeks before the Army takes physical ownership of me. I have just over three weeks left until I report to Ft. Jackson, SC. On this trip my family and I camped two nights with my family in Barnesville, Ga. beside a large pond, small lake at the home of one of my college roommates. We also traveled to Ft. Myers Fl. to visit with my wifes parents and aunt and uncle for five days. We are now at my parents home visiting with them until May 15th.

On May 16th we will travel to Ft. Jackson to attend a basic training graduation for a young man from our church who joined the Army shortly after I did but left for training only three weeks after joining. We are proud of him! Way to go JR!!!! After graduation, we will travel to Asheville NC. to meet with friends and to speak to a group at Biltmore Baptist Church. Finally, before returning home, we will spend a day at Dollywood in Gatlinburg, Tn. I believe when this trip is over I will need a vacation from this vacation. Maybe I'll go visit Ft. Jackson.

By the way, imagine this -- On this trip we have managed to get six kids ranging from six months to 12 years, my wife and I (making eight of us), suitcases, tent, fishing poles and box, sleeping bags and pillows, baby bed, etc., all into a Dodge Caravan. Imagine ten hours of intimate travel time together like this. Oh, did I mention the tv/vcr combination sitting on the arm rests in between my wife and I.

I love my family and praise God for this wonderful trip we are sharing together. Thanks for your love and prayers.

God & War

Thank you to Amy at Gentle Whisper for the heads up about this weeks News Week. If you are interested in finding out more about the chaplaincy and about the difficulty of this calling, go to the following link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18367801/site/newsweek/