Well my friends, this may be my last chance to speak to you for a while as I begin my 21st year of military service Sunday morning. I have been retired for 6 years, and on Sunday I return to the job love.....soldiering.

I have been laid off since June 5th and since that time my family has not wanted for a thing. Sure we could have gotten the car fixed or the land bush hogged. But all of our NEEDS, and some of our wants, were supplied by my good loving God. He has got us through this trial! He has ONCE AGAIN shown Himself faithful. Now we move into another area of faith and challenges.....Army life....and combat operations in Afghanistan.

Unbelievably I am not afraid. The bad guys don't scare me. God is on my side! A little apprehensive that I can do a good enough job and scared I am a bit old for this?....sure. I ran a pretty fast mile this morning and didn't die afterward so that's cool. I squated 315 for a set of 8 yesterday. Now some of my powerlifer friends might say that's nothing, but anytime you squat for 8 reps, and I don't care if its light weight, YOU FEEL IT! Then I took 315 and did speed pulls with it.....which was kinda cool. But I digress.

I am so excited and honored to be able to do this again. The war on terror is being won and we will soon have victory. God is recompensing me for all I have lost. My military career was a bit unsatisfying the first time. I suffered some awful disappointments. So what is reconpense? That's God paying you back for a loss, failure, or disappointment that has damaged your life. Its God restoring what the satan, and you yourself, did to your life.

Right before July 4th weekend in 1998 I was in drill sergeant school and we were on a 5 mile run. I finished that run, I even carried the guidon (platoon flag) and called the cadence songs. But at the finish I started to feel really awful. I was hurting during the last part of the run and didn't know why. I collapsed unconcious......I had suffered a massive heat stroke! I was dying, my core body temp was 107.5! They rushed me to the hospital by ambulance and by a miracle of God I survived. I was almost discharged and did not get to be a drill sergeant because I was dropped from the course.

Fast forward to 2008. Do you know that I was laid of one month short of 10 years to the day of my stroke? And got my new Army career one month to the day of that stroke. In July of one year I lose everything career wise, In June 10 years later I get it all back. Also in Sep of 1985 I washed out of RIP (Ranger Indoctrination Program) due to extreme personal problems I was going through at the time. Now fast forward 23 years later, I will be at Fort Benning Georgia, getting a new lease on a new start in my military career in the same time period as when I lost my dream 23 years ago.

It has always bothered me I never got to serve in the Ranger Regiment. Even though I',m not going to the Rangers, God has given me a job I can be proud of and it starts at the same base where I went to RIP. My point is this: some of my greatest disappointments have been suffered at Ft Benning, but God is sending me to that installation to get it ALL back. God told David in 1Samuel after he and his men's wives, children and posessions had been carried of, He said "Go, pursue, and recover all!" That's what I'm doing.

God has blessed me with a second chance to work at a job that did not end with a bang the first time. Sure I served 20 years, I retired, I got a pension. But I had a lot of failure and disappointment in that career. Remember when you played games as a kid and you didn't like the outcome of a time at bat, a football play, or a game of dodge ball? You call for a "Do Over". Sometimes.....not always......we get a do over. And its marvelous when God does that.

Perhaps you need a do over. Perhaps there is something you feel is not finished in your life. Perhaps there is a disappointment in your life and you want to try again. Ask God to show you His will, and ask Him if His will includes a do over. You never know, maybe He will show you a do over like you've never seen. It will be better than the first time you did it. Or perhaps He won't give a do over, but He will give you a "Do Instead". In other words, He will give you something better than the thing you lost. Something so awesome you don't even miss or feel the pain of the first loss or failure. God is the God of second chances. Call on Him today.....seek His power of restoration and recompense.

Please watch the motivating video I have posted below....its awesome!!!!