February 8, 2016

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

attributed - sir francis drake -1577

Lord, we all are homesick. We are longing for a place where we are understood, supported, loved. We are longing to be with You.

Thank You for the glimpse we get of that in our chapels. Thank You for the volunteers--the ones who teach the kids, rock the babies, hand out the bulletins, drive the widows, play the music. Thank You for quick and sturdy friendships. Thank You for Your word being proclaimed. Thank You for refuge, and recharge.

And we pray that our chapels will be a taste of our heavenly home for more people. Disturb us Lord. Don't let our Chaplains get complacent (from the Chief of Chaplains to the newest ones). Don't let us wait for someone else to step forward. Give us joy in doing Your mission.

Lord use us. Use us to save our veterans from depression. Use us to strengthen their marriages, show them hope for a future, help them raise their children. 

We pray for our chapels in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places around the world. And for the ones on the ships. May they be beacons of Your hope and may they be life-changing for our deployed.

Lord we pray for Ft. Stewart in its recovery from the tornado. Thank You for your protection, and please calm peoples' hearts. 

We pray for the health of many friends, including little Breck and Diana.

We pray for houses being bought and sold and rented. Lord, we trust in You as our all providing Shepherd. 

And we trust in You to lead us. We pray for the new orders coming--give us peace as we accept our new adventures. We pray for wisdom for the promotion boards. We trust You in all.

Thank You for blessing us with our Chapels.

Amen.