Tag: Air Force Academy

A Little Introduction to Religion

Posted on by Andrea

 

 

 

Religion: Awful or Awesome

My brain’s not only too full, it must be full of rocks or nuts for me to write about religion! Could there be a more divisive topic, awful or awesome, and sometimes both, and even neither, just… mediocre or lukewarm?  

                                                                            

Allow me to ‘splain why I’m gonna. (The word ‘splain is a reference to the hit movie Princess Bride, so don’t get in a huff just yet! There’s more to come!).

My First 50 Years

 

We can’t blame my religious beliefs on my parents. There were the occasional Easter morning visits to the local Lutheran church, and I’m not saying that’s because my mother enjoyed dressing her daughters in the latest groovy 60’s fashion ensembles.

 

Boogie over to 1980, when I was a freshman cadet failing classes at the US Air Force Academy. They assigned me an Academic Adviser (an officer in the Air Force, not another cadet), who invited my needy, confused self to a Friday night Bible Study.

 

There I saw fellow cadets who seemed to have something I wanted: real (sober) joy. I kept attending and have always thought I became a Christian that year. But I didn’t obey Christ, or even think about knowing Him. I only knew some things the Bible said, but the demanding, in-your-face-world of the Academy was beating me down. Survival was the goal. By graduation, I wasn’t attending the Bible Study or church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By 1985, I was living without God and spinning out of control. Thankfully, I turned once more to God, rededicating my life to Him at the local Lutheran church.

Fast forward 30-some years. As a Christian, after going to Bible Studies, teaching Sunday School, homeschooling, doing missionary work, and surviving a cult-ish place, I entered a time of depression.

I’ll tell the rest of that amazing story with posts called “Loved from the Pit.”

 

Apologetics

Because I’ve lived without God so much, I often argue with myself about Christianity to make sure it’s the real deal, and therefore worthy of following. I think God likes when I do this; He can handle it. The practice of giving reasons for what one believes is called Apologetics, and I’m gonna write about it. I gotta figure this stuff out, cuz I don’t want to miss anymore, or be misled and hurt again. Maybe we can struggle through that together. I’m no expert, but I know One.

 

Emmanuel Moments

One reason I’ve been a Christian so long is because I’ve seen God work in my life, and no, not His physical Being, but in circumstances beyond coincidence, or “the odds”. I call those times or ‘signs,’ “Emmanuel Moments” or for short (not intended to offend!) E-momes). Emmanuel means “God With Us” in Greek (spelled Immanuel in Hebrew. It’s in the Bible in Matthew 1:23.)

This is one reason my depression was so difficult. I knew that I knew God existed, I just couldn’t figure out why He made and used me so poorly. (I see it differently now, of course! Hang in there!) So you can bet I’ll be writing about those pivotal Emmanuel Moments, and other times where it seems He just wants to let me know He’s with me, and cares, and I’m on the right track. (It won’t seem so hokey once you’ve read a few.)

 

Postscripts:

I gotta warn you, I have a strange sense of humor, but I’ll keep it in check and will never mean it to be disrespectful you or God.  I love the Lord and I don’t think He’ll mind if we have a bit of fun with the Gift of Humor He gave us, and shows in His own Book.

I’m not ready to write about other religions. For now I’m concentrating on my own. 

Ready to explore Christianity, and what that means in real life? Brain too full? Yup. Myb2f.blog.

 

 

 

The Military and the Academy

Posted on by Andrea

Why I’ve got to write about:

The Military and The Academy

My Dad (on the right) and another sierra hotel pilot with a North American F-86 Sabre Jet

I’m “Spawn”

As you see in the picture above, my dad was a fighter pilot in the Air Force, which makes me an unruly “military brat.” But I prefer the term old pilots at his squadron reunions favor: spawn. I’m spawn, my husband’s spawn, and because both of us were in the Air Force, our kids are jointly spawned.

 

Two Sons Are Serving

In fact, we would have three generations of Air Force service, but two of our sons chose the Navy. One’s a Marine, the other a Submariner. When the Navy offers your spawn ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) scholarships to college, wise “parental unit” spawners go with the junior spawns’ choices. (Sorry, Air Force) Because free is good.

 

My Fighter Pilot Dad

He flew not one but two tours during the Vietnam War. A tour was 100 combat missions, which usually took just under a year to accomplish.Only one tour was required, because they were so dangerous. But he volunteered for the second. I’m proud of my dad’s courage and service, though it came at great cost to us. And I’m grateful we spawn (my sisters and I) learned that despite the family’s hardship, it’s important to serve and value our country. 

 

The Air Force Academy

That ‘service’, patriotism, and the education, drew me to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy.  After graduating from USAFA, I fulfilled my 5 year commitment, and got out, or separated, from the Air Force in 1988. My 5, or 10-year military career (if you count the 4 years of the academy and a year of civilian preparatory school) was not happy or fulfilling. It colors my view of government and the military, but I still believe in serving one’s country, and the need for the professional armed forces. I have a dream that one day our military will be effective, efficient, and led by a qualified military and civilians who know what the services and nation need, and have the will to get it. It’s a dream.

 

 The Air Force Academy Chapel, Colorado Springs, CO

 

My Husband

My husband served in the Air Force (Logistics) for 27 years, including being a squadron commander three times, and a group (many squadrons) once. That made me the boss’s wife. (Oh boy). On September 11, 2001, he was deployed to Turkey, supporting the troops to ensure Saddam Hussein didn’t violate the “no fly-zone” we were imposing. I knew enough about the military that after 9-11, my husband might not be home for quite a while. Those were good times for no one on the home front. 

 

Veterans

Since I’ve been looking at the military all my life, and exploring a small bit of the world of serving Wounded Warriors, and veterans, this is a passion of mine.  It’s also a God-given interest, because without that gift (of interest in the military) I would not be able to handle well having sons in the military, and would probably put my head in the sand till these interminable wars are over. 

 

I have a dream that one day our military will be effective, efficient, and led by a qualified military and civilians who know what the services and nation need, and have the will to get it. 

There’s a lot going on with the military, and I’m no expert. But I’ll write about it, cuz I’m a spawn, a co-spawner, and a mom of spawn-makers, and my (spawn-ish) brain’s too full. Myb2f.blog.