Early morning prayer

I was truly blessed today as I attended Bolling AFB's annual prayer breakfast. The guest speaker was Chaplain Cecil Richardson, the next Air Force chief of chaplains. This was the first time I have heard him speak. He certainly lives up to his reputation of being a great speaker who can connect with his audience. Many times one hears speakers who you realize that after time passes little to nothing may be recalled of the presentation. This one though offered several key ideas and anecdotes that I suspect I'll carry in memory for the rest of my career. I especially appreciated his description of how Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that became our Star Spangled Banner. If you have never done the research you should read up on it, and read the entire poem/hymn. I find the last verse to be especially encouraging. You can read about his message here.

The Air Force's Singing Sergeants were out in force. They were amazing. I loved the expression they put into their music. My music background is instrumental, but I have to say these folks needed no instrumental accompaniment.

Rain and ice are coming in tonight with rain tomorrow. Will make it interesting for my first service early in the morning. It can be challenging marching in our dress shoes in the snow and ice. But hopefully the roads inside the cemetery will be cleared by the time service start.