Getting back to normal!

Hello everyone, well the day after my last post I travelled back home to Cornwall. I was really excited about this, as I could not wait to see my family after being away for so long.

I also got to go back to my home Corps for a meeting on Sunday which was great. Especially as I am leading the meeting this Sunday! I cant give the whole thing away, but I will probably post my sermon at some point after I have done the meeting on Sunday. But my blog post will be slightly short this week, as writing the meeting and sermon is taking up most of my time.

Its been a very busy week, and I am almost looking forward to going to work next week for a rest!

Its hard to imagine, unless you are in the situation, but sometimes, coming home can be just as hard as getting used to being away. That might not make sense, but trust me it is often the case.

Things and people change, in fact, in the space of six months things and people can change massively. One of the main places this is evident is in children, they grow extremely fast and its very strange to go away with them in prams and coming back and them being able to walk and talk!

But as well as physical changes, relationships also change. People don't just sit at home waiting for you to come back and their lives move rapidly. After months with no contact sometimes its hard to fit back into peoples lives.

Often it takes time to get to know people again, re-build friendships and catch up with all that has been going on over the past few months.

The problem I have is I have spent so much time away in the past 14 months, I came home earlier in the year after six and a half months at sea, but was home for less than 3 months before I went back to sea again.

But one thing through this time,  the time adjusting to being back at home and just generally all the time at sea, which has remained constant has been God and his love. Don't get me wrong, there have been times when it has been hard to see it, or it has not felt like it, but it has always been there, never changing, constantly remaining.

How do I know this? Well firstly I can feel it, I live it and I know it. But I am also re assured by what the Bible tells me;

Psalm 117:2 (NIV)

² For great is his love toward us,
  and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

  

This verse from the Psalms is just one of many which reassures us of Gods constant love. 

So next time you feel far from God, or you are doubting your relationship with Him, why not open your Bible and have a read of some of Gods promises to you.

 

The evidence is there for you to see. Gods love is here, constant and un changing, no matter who you are, or where you are.

 

The Sailing Salvationist

Here is a photo from my recent trip

Home Again

Hello, I'm sorry I didn't post last week, as you can imagine my first week back in the UK was hectic.

It's amazing to be back home in the UK after 5 months away. Its been great to meet back up with  my girlfriend, friends and family; and I still have more excitement to come as tomorrow I will be returning to Cornwall to meet up with my family.

But just because I have not been at work does not mean I have not been busy! In fact, I think I will have to go back to work soon for a rest!

One thing I have been up to in the past week is helping out with the local food bank. Food bank is something I have known about for a long time, but not really known much about. Every time I go to ASDA I have seen their bins for collecting food, and I have often thought I should put something in, but if I am honest I never have.

Food bank exists to provide emergency food to people and families when they really need it. But if I am honest I have thought in the past, people cant really be at risk of starving here in the UK, that's what benefits are for; to help people out when they really need it; Surely these people are just trying it on.

Helping out at the food bank distribution point last week was a real eye opener. I was quite shocked at how many people turned up and the different and varied stories they had. These people certainly were not trying it on, and I feel ashamed now that I might have thought that at times.

So next time you go shopping at your local supermarket why not pick up one extra tin and put it into the food bank bin, it really is needed and the people who use the food bank really are in need.

The Sailing Salvationist

Homeward Bound!

  Well this is the post I have been looking forward to writing for months. This time tomorrow I will be sat at the airport waiting to fly back to the UK! This post will be slightly different as there is not really going to be any of my usual spiritual ramblings in it, as I am currently doing my hand over to my relief so time is short.

        The past week has been another week of ups and downs; there have been a lot of problems with flights, which of course is very stressful when all you want to do is get home. At first we were due home on an RAF flight, which is an epic journey. It is not rare to spend over 30 hours trying to get home that way. Which when you hate flying as much as I do is a nightmare. Then we were told there was no space on the weekend RAF flight so we would have to leave the ship and stay at the military airport until the mid week flight; not a good thing to be told! But then there was no space on the mid week flight, so we were told they were looking into civilian flights. After being told we were booked on flights twice only to find out we actually were not I was not really a happy chap. But then finally we got our flight conformation and it was certain we were booked onto a civilian flight straight home. Believe me that is such a good feeling!

        I also had an e mail this week which confirmed I had a place to run next years London Marathon for The Salvation Army. I was really happy about this, although it does mean to do a 6 month training plan I have to start training on Monday! Oh well may as well get straight back to the UK and hit the ground running!

        Looking back over this trip it seems like this has been the longest 5 months of my life. I really have not enjoyed this trip. There are a few reasons of this, my heart is not really in the Navy anymore, I used to love going to sea, but this trip I just did not want to be away. The trip itself has also been quite bad, usually you have some good port stops to look forward to and break the trip up. But this trip we have only really had one good stop.

        This trip has been so hard for me, I have never ever struggled with being away before, and I have always loved it. But there have been times this trip where I was ready to jump off the side of the ship, swim to shore and then get a flight home. But then anyone who read my triathlon post will know I would not have got very far in the swim!

        I really have enjoyed writing this blog over the past few months. I was not sure if anyone would actually be interested in anything I had to say! But nearly 2000 people have read this blog and some weeks over 100 people read the posts. That's way more than I ever imagined. Thank you to everyone who has read it and even more to the people who have been coming back every week! I also need to say a big thank you to my Girlfriend, as due to the ships rubbish internet I cannot actually get onto blogspot, so each week I have e mailed here my posts and she has taken the time to upload them for me.

        I was only going to do this blog for the trip, but I feel there has been such interest in it I will carry it on when I get back to the UK. So hopefully I will speak to you all again next week when I am back in the UK! (It feels so good to say that!)

The Sailing Salvationist

Spiritual Man Flu!

Hello again, today is a big day. The day count is now in single figures, only 9 days until I get back to the UK! Whoop Whoop!

This week has been quite rubbish really, for the past few weeks there has been this nasty virus making its way around the ship. That is the problem with living in such cramped conditions with re-circulated air conditioning. Once a germ gets onto the ship it goes around and around from person to person; and this week it was my turn to get it.

I knew I was getting it one day this week when I woke up with a sore throat, this got worse and worse through the day. I went to bed thinking "Hopefully it will be better when I wake up". But that was not the case; much to the joy of everyone else on the ship I woke up and couldn't speak! Then I started getting the symptoms of full on man flu! Sorry ladies, you just can't understand how bad man flu actually is! I had a couple of really bad days, but I think now, although I am still a bit groggy and rough I am through the worst. I hope so because I want to be well when I go home!

I think one of the reasons I got this illness is because about two weeks ago I thought "I am fed up of getting up at 5 am, I only have a few weeks left, I'm going to stop going training." Since I have stopped going training it seems my body has just decided it has had enough and I end up waking up every morning feeling more rough and tired than I ever did when I was getting up at 5am.

But what has this little moan got to do with spiritual life? Well quite a lot really. When you look at it, this illness is a lot like sin in our lives. I stopped physical training and as soon as I did illness, aches and pains crept into my body. Much in the same way if I stopped my spiritual training, if I stopped reading my Bible and praying sin could easily creep back into my life.

That sin can also be infectious, spreading into others, as my actions could affect what others do and how they act. Just as this virus is spread around the ship via the cramped conditions. So my actions and what others see me doing in these cramped conditions could affect the
way other people act.

In the Bible Paul knew about how important keeping your spiritual training on track was, he wrote a letter to a young lad called Timothy. Timothy was a young Christian who Paul took under his wing and sent out to preach the Gospel. In a letter of guidance and encouragement
Paul said to him:
1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

I am quite surprised how my body has reacted so badly to simply stopping training for a few weeks, I thought it would give it a rest and make me feel better and more energetic; but I could not have been more wrong. It is also essential we keep our spiritual training up, even when
we find it hard and tough going.

So what is the point of this post? I know it has turned into a bit of a rant! Well the point is, keep up your spiritual training, even when it is tough, or there are other things you want to do instead. Don't get spiritually lazy. Because when you do, sin and old habits can easily creep back into your life.

The Sailing Salvationist

Making Waves

 Hello again, I’m not counting or anything, but just so you know I should be back in the UK in 16 days! The only time I am glad to see the RAF is when one of their aeroplanes comes to take me home!

            It’s not really been that long since I wrote last, only a few days, so I was slightly worried I wouldn't be able to think of anything to post. Yesterday I had an hour free and so I decided I would just try and go outside and sit still for an hour. Anyone who knows me will be able to tell you how hard a task I find sitting doing nothing! I am always on the go, and I really struggle just to sit doing nothing, I find it such a waste of time! Although I know I should do it a bit more often.

            I went and sat on some fire hoses on the side of the ship, just watching the world go by as we slowly sailed along. I started watching our wake and that set me off thinking.

            For those who don’t know, the wake is a V shaped wave the ship makes as it cuts through the water. As the ship pushes through the sea it splits the sea in front of it and this split water then travels down the side of the ship and off the stern, by which time it can be quite a large wave; depending upon how fast the ship is travelling. The faster the ship goes, the bigger the wake and disruption.

            This disruption to the sea acts as a visible marker of where the ship is, where it has been, what direction it is travelling in and how fast the ship is going. But the thing that really stuck me was how far the wake could be seen for; the disruption the ship made could be seen all the way to the horizon.

            But what on earth has all this useless information got to do with a blog about being a Christian on a warship? Well it set me off thinking. Often as we travel through life we are like a ship travelling along; and often we leave a wake behind us.

            The actions we take in life often affect those around us, either directly or indirectly. Just the same as a ship leaves a long trail in the sea via its wake, we often leave our own trail.

            In fact I would think just about everything we do affects others. From our personal relationships we have with people, to short chance encounters, right down to where the products we choose to buy come from.

            This all set me off thinking, what kind of wake do I leave as I travel through life? For many years I left a trail of destruction, I was steaming along at maximum speed, leaving a massive wake, but not really a positive one; as all I was worried about was myself.

            Now I am a Christian, surely the trail I leave should be better? I would like to say most of the time it is. But then there are also times when it is not as good as it should be.

            The thing with the wake is there is nothing you can do to erase it, modern warships try to lessen it, but it is always there, it is always a marker to show exactly where the ship is and where it is heading.

            Do the people I come into contact with know which direction I am heading in? Do they know from the way I act and the wake I leave that I am a follower of Christ and actively trying day by day to travel in his direction? They should do; the Bible tells us that they should;  

          
Matthew 5:14-16 (New International Version)
 ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.             As Christians we should always be shining out the light of Christ; that should be the wake that we leave. People should be able to see by our actions and the trail we leave the direction we are heading in. We should always try to affect people in a positive way, showing them that we are followers of Christ and that we are travelling in his direction. Being more like him every day should be our aim and our destination.
           
 So I would ask you today. What kind of wake are you trailing behind you? And in what direction is it headed?

The Sailing Salvationist.
(By the way I lasted 45 minutes sat doing nothing; I think that’s a personal record!)

William Booths Vision

Hello, sorry it's a very late post this week. Life has been very hectic and I have been very busy working out on the flight deck; which has meant I have not had time to get to a computer. Also the e mails have been down from Thursday night until today (Monday). As I can't actually get onto blogspot from the ship I always write my posts and then e mail them to my girlfriend who kindly posts them for me. So even if I had written a post on Friday it still would not have got posted until today! I sound like I am making an excuse for my homework being late!

        Anyway, as I say I have been very busy out on deck over the weekend. On Saturday I was stood on the flight deck waiting for a helicopter to arrive, just looking out to sea. Next to the ship, down near the water line I noticed a small bird. It was only a tiny little thing, yet here it was far out at sea. It must have flown for miles and miles, a massive journey for such a little bird. But what really amazed me was how close it was flying to the sea. It literally was skimming the waves about one inch from the surface.
      
  For some reason this made me think of something I have read a few times. It was a vision the founder of the Salvation Army William Booth had and then wrote down. It is called "A vision for the lost". It's a bit long for a blog post, but I thought I would include it, because it really is worth a read.

A Vision For The Lost
'On a recent journey I found myself thinking about the multitudes around me. They were living carelessly in the most open and shameless rebellion against God, without a thought for their eternal welfare. As I looked out of the coach window, I seemed to see them all ... millions of people given up to their drink, pleasure, dancing and their music, their business, anxieties, politics and troubles. Ignorant - willfully ignorant in many cases - and in other instances knowing all about the truth and not caring at all. Suddenly, as I thought about them I had a vision.In it I saw a dark and stormy ocean over which black clouds hung heavily. Every now and then vivid lightening flashed and loud thunder rolled, while the winds drove foaming waves into a tempest that was claiming lives. There were myriad's cursing, struggling and drowning, and as I watched some of them sank to rise no more.

The rock of safety

Then I noticed a mighty rock that rose up out of the dark angry ocean. Its summit towered high above the platform. Onto this platform, I saw with delight that a number of the poor struggling wretches were continually climbing out of the angry ocean. And I saw a few of those who were already safe on the platform helping others onto the rock. Many were working with ladders, ropes and boats to rescue those who were drowning. Occasionally someone actually jumped into the water, regardless of the consequences in their passion to "rescue the perishing". I hardly know which sight delighted me more - the sight of the people rescued, or the devotion and self-sacrifice of those had who rescued them. Looking more closely, I realized that the people on the platform were quite a mixed company. They occupied themselves in different ways. Some spent their days trading while others amused themselves by dressing up for the admiration of their peers. Many were chiefly concerned with eating and drinking and yet others were taken up with arguing about the people that had already been rescued. Only very few of them made it their business to rescue people from the sea.
What puzzled me most was the fact that although all of them had been rescued from the ocean at one time or other, nearly everyone seemed to have forgotten about it. And what seemed equally strange was that they did not even seem to care about the people who were drowning right before their eyes - many of whom were their own spouses, brothers and sisters and even their own children.

The Call

Those on the rock had received a call from the one who had Himself gone down into the sea. They'd heard His voice and felt that they ought to obey it - or at least so they said. They professed to love Him and to sympathize with Him in the task He had undertaken. But, they were so distracted by their professions, pleasures and their preparation for going to the mainland that they did not help Him. So the multitude went on right before them struggling, shrieking and drowning in the darkness. And then I noticed that some of the people on the platform were crying out to Him to come to them! Many wanted Him to spend His time and strength in making them happier. Others wanted Him to take away various doubts and misgivings they had concerning the truth of some letters He had written to them. Some wanted Him to make them feel more secure on the rock -so secure that they would be quite sure that they would never slip off again into the ocean.
So they would meet and climbing high on the rock they would cry, "Come to us! Come and help us!" And all the while He was down among those drowning in the sea trying to rescue them and looking to those on the rock for help.

The vision understood

And then I understood it all. The sea was the ocean of human existence. The lightening was the piercing truth coming from Jehovah's Throne. The thunder was the distant echoing of God's wrath. The multitudes struggling in the stormy sea were 'the Lost', ungodly people of every kindred, tongue and nation. That great sheltering rock represented Calvary, the place where Jesus had died for them. And the people on it were those who had been rescued. The way they used their energies, gifts and time represented the occupations and amusements of those who had been saved. The handful of determined ones that risked their lives to save the perishing were the true soldiers of the cross. The One calling on the rescued to help Him rescue others was Jesus Himself.

A time to act

Fellow Christians, you have been rescued from the waters, yet He is still in the sea calling for your help. Don't be deceived by appearances - men and things are not what they seem. All who are not on the rock are in the sea!Jesus is in the midst of this dying multitude, struggling to save them. He wants you to jump in and help. Will you jump or will you linger on the bank, singing and praying about perishing souls? Lay aside your shame and pride, your cares about the opinions of others and all the selfish loves that have held you back for so long, and rush to the rescue of these dying men and women.

Unquestionably the surging sea is dark and dangerous. The leap means difficulty, scorn and suffering for everyone who takes it. Yet He who beckons you from the sea knows what it will mean - and knowing, He still bids to you to come.
You have enjoyed your Christianity long enough. Going down among the perishing crowds is your duty. From now on your ease will depend on sharing their pain and your heaven in going into the very jaws of hell to rescue them. Now what will you do?'

        As soon as I had finished working that night I came to my office and googled this vision to re-read it. It set me off thinking, how much am I like that little bird at times? How often do I struggle and go a long way, working so hard to keep myself out of sin and out of worldly things. Yes it is better to be above the sea of sin, but does that help me save anyone else? Does it do anything to rescue the perishing from the sea? If I am honest I don't think so. Really that would make me more like one of the people in Booths vision who are just clinging to the rock, more concerned about themselves than those still in the sea.

        I remember being on exercise off the coast of Scotland about 11 years ago. One evening from the flight deck I sat watching Gannets fishing. Gannets are big impressive birds, they tend to hang around in large groups and they look for shoals of fish. Then from quite high up in the sky they put their heads down, tuck their wings back and dive like a dart into the sea, where they quickly snatch a fish before returning to the surface and flying away.
        
Surely Booths vision calls Salvationists and Christians to be more like a Gannet, flying above the sea, yet still making quick dashes into the sea to fish out those still lost in the sea of sin.
       
 Imagine how much difference we could make in the world if our Churches and Corps were filled with members who were more like a flock of Gannets than lone birds, only intent in keeping themselves above the water. Imagine a Corps where all members grouped together like a flock of gannets, searching the sea of sin, until individually they detached one by one; on rescue missions to dart into the sea and fish out those still drowning in the sea of sin. Imagine how many people we could save from drowning in a life of sin if we acted like that!

        So my question today is what kind of bird are you and your Corp or Church like? Are you too busy trying to keep yourself above the water, or are you willing to plunge yourself into the sea to rescue those perishing? If the answer is more like the first, I would urge you to re-read the vision and think and pray upon the last words in the vision.

"Now what will you do?"


The Sailing Salvationist