This has been a special week for me. As a Christian, this week holds special significance as we celebrate the holy days of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and tomorrow Easter. I conducted two Good Friday services. A shorter devotion at noon focusing on Psalm 22 and envisioning the cross, and later in the evening a Tenebrae service. The Tenebrae is one of my favorite services throughout the year. Tomorrow I'll be up early for our 6am sunrise service and will be conducting the Easter celebration for my regular morning service.
I spent quite a bit of time this week working on preparations for the upcoming airshow, the Joint Service Open House. We look to have a substantial chaplain presence there for the public to learn more about what the various Chaplain Services bring to the fight.
I've also been fairly engaged in caring for a family whose child has been very sick. We are celebrating that the news has been good this week.
Debbie, my wife, has been working very hard, especially today. We are going to have several of our staff over for dinner tomorrow afternoon including some family of one of our folks who is very sick in the hospital. My wife has an incredible spirit of giving and is hugely gifted in the art of cooking. She is a true support of my ministry in so many ways. She makes me much better at what I do that I could ever be by myself.
The week has also been a big one as I received some big news. I have been given a new assignment. While the assignment is official, I'm going to wait a bit to announce where and when I am going. But I've known about the possibility since even before I returned home from the desert because I was told I was being nominated for this particular assignment which only a few Air Force chaplains have the opportunity to do. Being a special duty assignment, it has its pluses and its challenges.
I wasn't looking for an assignment. My plan was to finally settle in without facing long TDYs or deployments for a bit of time so that I could invest some time in leading my congregation and interfacing with my squadrons at a deeper level. And I truly enjoy being part of this team. The pace is quick but it is a true joy going to work each day. However, as the saying goes, "flexibility is the key to airpower". I think this new assignment will be just as rewarding for a number of reasons including the big one of knowing and enjoying who I will be working with.
