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4/14/2020

A New Golfing to Greatness Discipleship Group BEgins

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Well, the process has begun. A new Golfing to Greatness Discipleship group has covenanted to God & each other to walk together for a minimum of 15 weeks to see what it means to be a Man After G0d's Own Heart.

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4/12/2020

In Greece During "To Pascha"

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One of the challenges and benefits of being in the Service is the potential for travel and living in other countries throughout the world.

Our time in the Service brought us to Frankfurt, Germany, Seoul, Korea, Tegucigalpa, Honduras and, even, San Francisco, California. In 1986 we received orders for an assignment in Athens, Greece.

This assignment was incredible as it assigned me to the Joint US Military Advisory Group (JUSMAG) in Athens as a liaison to the Greek Army for Aviation acquisitions. I was required to attend the Language School at Presidio, Monterey for 10 months to take Demotic Greek language (spoken Greek). I was also to receive a transition from rotary wing or helicopter aviation into fixed wing aviation and qualification into the C12 or Super King Air airplane. This was all pretty challenging and a blessing!!

During the Greek language training we were oriented into the history and culture of the Greeks and if you've ever seen the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, it perfectly depicts the culture and family life of the Greek people. The only difference in Greece is that they speak Greek, duh!! It is a  very, very tough language to learn, even if you have a propensity to learn other languages. It was arduous with six hours a day of Greek language immersion and up to four hours per night of homework..

Learning about the culture was extremely interesting as, I'm sure most of you know, it is one of the oldest cultures in existence with a rich history, and, oh, by the way, the New Testament was written in GREEK!!! So, the 10 months of language training and 4 months of transition training seemed like an eternity, but, in January of 1988 the five of us; Anne, Sharra, Garren, Taylor and I boarded the commercial flight to Frankfurt, Germany and a C141 flight out of Germany into Athens, Greece. Yup, a C141 flight from Germany because it was a security risk for military on orders to fly commercially into Athens due to the Achille Lauro highjacking in 1985 and the killing of an American sailor on a TWA airliner.  Additionally, there was alot of nationalistic antipathy against Americans from a terrorist group called November 17 targeting American military personell.  In fact, we had a Navy Captain killed by November 17 while we were in country. It was a pretty tough psychological time for the family, but, thankfully, it was also an amazing place to live and travel.

Ok, so, "To Pascha", what does that mean? Well, the second most important or celebrated holidays in the USA is Easter and we know that Easter is the celebration of the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ just as the number one celebrated holiday is Christmas, the birth of Christ. Greek culture is a Christian based culture and it is said that if you're Greek you're Othodox Christian and if you're Orthodox Christian, you're most likely from Greece.  Well, living in Athens Greece, "To Pascha" is the number one holiday in the country. To Pascha is the celebration of the resurrection of Christ in Greece. So, Easter is the most celebrated time in Greece. The traditional greeting in Greece during Easter is; "Christos Anesti or Christ IS Risen and the response is "Aleithos Anesthie" or He is Risen, Indeed.  What a cool statement, huh?  I loved that!! I used to confound some of the Greeks while during the year, I would address them with that greeting. It  used to be pretty humorous as they didn't quite know how to respond since it wasn't "To Pascha". But, isn't that the truth of EVERY DAY of the year; "Christ IS Risen!!" "He IS Risen, Indeed!!"  

Our time in Greece was wonderful, yet, very challenging.  We had our third daughter, McKenzie, while in Greece which is an incredibly amazing story on it's own.  I was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel while in Greece and, as I've shared earlier received a message from the Lord for our future in ministry through golf. One of the greatest things that resulted from that experience was knowledge of the Greek language and how it has helped me understand the word of God in a deeper way.

Thank you, Father.

Christ is Risen!! He is Risen, Indeed!!

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4/9/2020

High School, oh my....

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I don't know if it's the will of God or not, but, it seems that the more men I engage with deeply as Believers, the wheels began to come off of their lives in High School or College.

I fell off of the rails in my Junior year of High School.
​

Romans 3:10-12 English Standard Version (ESV)
as it is written:  “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”


I had been a pretty good student and a not-s0-good athlete at Waltham High School in 1968. My family was very solid with the guidance of my Mom and Dad. Through Mom we had solid guidance for our lives as citizens with statements like; "Make sure your underwear is clean. You might have an accident and we don't want to be embarrassed." or words to that effect, and the ever so present, "Just wait until your Dad gets home." I'd have to wait numerous times until Dad got home and it usually wasn't very pleasant upon his arrival. Dad was quite the disciplinarian. You didn't want to have to wait until he got home, trust me. He had a very good focus on life; "Do unto others as you want them to do unto you." Solid stuff, right, but, it was normally followed by a "swift kick in the pants" or a number of "swats on the bottom" with an open hand that followed not paying attention to the first command. I received innumerable of those swats due to my combative nature.

Again, my real combativeness began my Junior year of High School. Early in that year, my friend, Mega and I decided we were going to raid the liquor cabinet in my home which was normally quite full. We chose a fancy looking bottle that was quite full, yet opened and proceeded to drink much of the bottle of Vermouth and, of course, became incredibly "loaded" that Friday afternoon.  I thought I could conceal it by adding water to the bottle, but, when the family got home and I was curled up in the corner of the kitchen surrounded by my own vomit, my Dad saw the real truth.  Let it be known that a "swift kick" would have been welcomed at that juncture, but several "swats" were the order of the day for that little indiscretion. Unfortunately, that foray led to a penchant for becoming inebriated on a regular basis each Friday afternoon. In fact as I look back on those times now, I believe i was an alcoholic from 1968 - 2009, but, the Lord protected me so much so that the regular intake of alcohol never became such a problem that my life was completely wrecked by it, but, surely it was impacted and I'm so thankful that He saw fit to free me from that, an d many other things, in July of 2009.

There were so many other instances in High School that were out of line for a Believer, but, what I've discovered was somewhat in line for the regular Joe in America going through High School. Was anyone righteous? "no one does good, not even one."

This behavior continued and, even, got worse as I'll confess in other chapters, but, God protected me for so long and I am so very grateful.

How about you?

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4/8/2020

On Mission to Yuma ... for Him

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It was one of the most exciting missions I had been involved in since getting my wings and assigned to the Night Vision Laboratories at Ft Belvoir, Virginia and flying out of Davison Army Airfield. We had an amazing mission in December of the past year where we flew a UH-1M (Mike) model from San Diego to Virginia, but this latest mission was alot more challenging and tactical or mission-critical.

We were to fly our 0-2 fixed wing and our UH-1H to Yuma Proving Ground in the early spring of 1981 to support the “Lab” with their night vision goggle testing for the Bell OH-58 Ranger Helicopter equipped with a 50 caliber machine gun in preparation for the Hostage Rescue in Iran. Yeah, sounds pretty serious if not confusing, but, that’s the mission we were on early in 1981.

I was not used to the conduct of missions as in-depth as this. I had just graduated from US Army Flight School in Ft Rucker Alabama and spent about two months transitioning to the AH-1 Cobra helicopter before joining my unit at Belvoir. My time up to flight school had been spent, mainly, in Eschborn, Germany as a combat engineer officer with the 317th Engineer Battalion of the 130th Engineer Brigade. My last job had been a company commander for 170 or so soldiers. Our mission was to support the Battalion with heavy equipment and administrative/logistical support as the Battalion worked with tactical units in western Germany; preparing for the Russian onslaught. (which never happened, thank God).

So, individual missions like the one we were sent on was pretty new for me. Thankfully, I was accompanied by three very experienced Department of the Army Civilians who had been supporting the “Lab” for many years before I showed up. So, suffice it to say, I was the rookie in this operation and was, definitely, in a supporting role. It was all cool.

I had made a decision in February to believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior after being encouraged by a book I had been reading to read the Bible in the morning and pray to the Lord for strength and guidance throughout my day. I was very new at this, but had begun to recognize changes in my inner self as I daily encountered the Lord in His word.

As I said, we were supporting Bell Helicopter in their testing of the OH-58 weapon concept and we were mingling with the pilots from Bell on a nightly basis. One early evening, I saw an open briefcase and inside could read the covers of some of the paperback books that were in there. They were books from Kenneth Copeland and Kenneth Hagin, I believe. I could tell they were Christian books by the titles (of which I don’t remember) and my interest peaked. I began to look around to see who’s briefcase that could be and I caught the eye of the Chief Test Pilot, Don Bloom, from Bell. I asked him if the briefcase was his and his face lit up as he bounded over to me and reached out his hand almost screaming, saying; “You’re the one I’m supposed to talk to during this mission. What are you doing for dinner tonight?” “Ah, I’m available, I guess, soooo.” I said.  “Good. I”ll pick you at 6 PM.”

Don was there right at 6 PM and our conversation was spotty on the way to the restaurant. During our meal, he asked very pointed questions associated with my profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Finally, as we sat in the car on our way back to my billet, he asked the question; “Have you ever prayed the sinner's prayer?” “The what?” I said. “The sinner’s prayer confessing your sins to God and asking Jesus into your heart?” “No.” I said. “I don’t know what that is.”

Don said, “Let’s pray to Him.” And Don went through what I now know is the surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, but, at the time, was quite surprised with what he asked me to repeat after him. “Did you feel anything?” Don asked following our prayer. “No, not really.” I said. “Angels are rejoicing in heaven that you have come home, my Brother!! Praise the Lord.”

Years later, I believe I was “saved” before that moment. I remember making a decision as I read Matthew, Mark and about half of Luke. My comment in my mind was; “I think I could believe that this guy, Jesus is real.” In accordance with Romans 10:9-10 “9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” I was saved, but Don helped me grow further with his encouragement and the books he let me borrow.

The same situation probably exists for many of you. Do you believe? If so, how might we walk with you to “give the Gospel through golf”?

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4/7/2020

A Life Before REdemption

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How can there be such a stark difference in a life Before Redemption (BR) and After Redemption (AR)?

2 Corinthians 5:16-21
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; (C) the old has gone, the new has come! (D) 18 All this is from God, (E) who reconciled us to himself through Christ (F) and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. (G) And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, (H) as though God were making his appeal through us. (I) We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (J) 21 God made him who had no sin (K) to be sin [a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

That explains it, right there!

The stark difference in these two lives will become very evident to you as the stories are revealed and matched against each other, Lord willing.

This is a story about a young man born into a regular American family in the early 1950’s and growing up in that tumultuous time in American history. The times were good from a worldly perspective (more on that later); the country still recovering from World War II, the end of the Korean War was at hand, the country was fairing very well, economically and politically as President Dwight D. Eisenhower, that great American war hero, was in charge. I knew nothing of that, of course. I was just the first, but, second oldest child, in the family (more on that later as well); the apple of my father’s eye, I guess you might say. Boy, would that apple go quite sour over the ensuing years, yet, to be reclaimed over a time. Praise Him!

I wish I had a better sense of that time, but, I was just an infant. I do know that my family was the result of Norman H. Poirier, a French-Canadian born, first generation American the first son of Henry and Eva Poirier, both, originally from Shediack, New Brunswick, Canada. Henry was a carpenter, Eva, I believe, a stay-at-home Mom. My Dad lived most of his life in the “South” side of Waltham, Massachusetts where he attended South Junior High and later, Waltham Vocational School, “The Voke”, where he studied auto mechanics, I believe. He quit school sometime around the end of his time in The Voke to work as a mechanic and, later, to join the US Army. He had two brothers; Paul and Roger, who lived in Massachusetts as well.

My mother was Joan D. Higgins, daughter of William and Elizabeth Higgins of Belmont, later, Waltham, Massachusetts. I believe William was English, owned a pharmacy in the Waverly Square area of Belmont. He was ‘handicapped’ to some degree, as my Mom related to me. He was born with his legs up and under him, say, hyper extended, but, permanently, as far as I understand. This resulted in the physical manipulation of his legs to walk properly and he would have braces and have to suffer from pain all of his life. My grandmother, Grammie, on my Mom’s side was from English routes by way of Vermont. Her last name was Barnaby and we would visit Vermont infrequently. They called Grammie the Matriarch of the Family. What I know, mainly, was there were a lot of sisters in that family, eight, total, I believe and they lived in various parts of Massachusetts.

We had myself as the middle child, my sister, Paula, who was 4 years my senior and my brother, Chip (Norman) who was 2 years my junior. Tumultuous was how I might describe our childhood times. Lots of stories there. Might have to expand on those in the next book. Lol.

My recollections of these family times were a bit mixed. My grandfather on my Dad’s side seemed to always be grouchy, almost mean most of the time. My grandmother was a sweetheart, always hugging on us and giving us treats. It did feel uncomfortable when visiting their home though. There always seemed to be some type of tension. On my mother’s side, there was a bit more joy and comfort; always lots and lots of people at family gatherings. And great food, don’t let me forget that. Funny how those early times seem like the only thing in the world until the time lingers on, families change, grow, disperse and, now, seemingly are non-existent. Sad, eh. But, a sign of the times, I believe. Praise Him.

So, I was pretty happy and comfortable throughout the early years. I can remember moving from our Marguerite Avenue location in my sixth-year of school. We went from a fairly small home to a larger home in a new subdivision of Waltham. It was an incredible place. What I remember mostly about those times after the move was how much Mom worked every day of the week and how Dad worked at least 6 days a week. We, pretty much, prepared ourselves for each day with Paula being the supervisor of our activities and when we got home from school, it was the same, but, it didn’t matter that much. It’s just the way it was.
​

Up until late Junior High School at North Junior, things were quite well under control and solid, but, some things were beginning to boil up inside and were beginning to change inside of me and around me as well.

Next story soon.

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