I recently saw this poster from WWII of a paratrooper jumping into combat and slumping over just as he hit the ground. The caption on the poster reads, “CARELESS TALK ... got there first”. The implication is that what someone may have casually said cost that soldier his life.We are a nation at war. Our enemy is both tenacious and intelligent. He will do whatever he can to defeat us and will exploit every possible bit of information to inflict damage on the US and our allies. Even the most seemingly innocuous comments can be used by the enemy to harm us or our interests. Operational Security continues to be an issue for our Armed Forces. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I must back away from the blogging community for an indefinite period, perhaps permanently. It would be easy to point a finger and blame someone or something but I won’t do that. It would also be easy to kick and scream about my rights or my desires, but that would be inappropriate. I love my soldiers and want to do what is best for them; even if it means not doing something that I love, like writing.
That said, thank you all for words of kindness and encouragement. I pray that I have been able to shed some light on the everyday events that our men and women overseas deal with. I pray that I have been able to offer insight into the struggles and triumphs that they experience. But mostly, I pray that I have been an asset to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ; an ambassador worthy of being used in the capacity to which He called me. I am grateful to have had this opportunity and hold no bitterness or angst at having to put my writing on hold. What I do, I do willingly out of respect for our leaders and love for our soldiers.
May God’s best be yours.
Training for Eternity
Chaplain (Captain) Brad P. Lewis
30 comments:
Chaplain Brad Lewis...my Brother in Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3
"We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father."
You Sir, are an inspiration and though Michelle and I will miss reading about your activities, we understand. May God bless you and yours. We love you Chaplain!
Chaplain Lewis,
I'm sorry to see your military blogging days come to such an abrupt end, but I know that with your talent, your writing days will not cease for long. Have you thought of writing a book about your experiences? I believe it would make an excellent read. And while you may not have heard yet, the Senate today had hearings where civilian bloggers, like Michael Yon, embedded with military units, had their blogs read aloud and pictures they'd posted shown to members of Congress. They were there to do what you have done with your blog, to provide a visual for those folks who haven't a clue of what you guys go through on a daily basis. Please know that folks back home are praying for you and your family, that you return home safe and sound. And yes sir, you certainly are doing the work of God's Kingdom and there are a multitude of us who sincerely appreciate that! As the apostle Paul points out in 2 Tim. 4:8, "in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing." You are indeed one of those who "love His appearing". Godspeed, Chaplain Lewis!
grace and peace,
Ally, veteran's wife, USA
Waco, TX
Dear CH Lewis,
I just recently got started on your blog and though I will miss new updates, am glad that the archive is still there.
As a seminarian aiming towards the Army chaplaincy, and being the friend to several chaplains, I will continue to pray for you and your ministry. That the power of our Lord will continue to move through you and to in the situations that you will be in.
With all hope and confidence in Christ Jesus, I wish you well.
In Him,
Shawn Lee
Dear Chaplain Lewis, thank you so much for all you do for our soldiers. I will miss your writing, but am so grateful to God that you are where you are. May God bless you and keep you.
You've got excellent posts that minister to many people: fellow servicemembers, your families and concerned friends and strangers. Please keep in mind that you and most of your fellow bloggers are providing an invaluable service that keeps up our morale, and provides a much needed counter to the very negative press the major media gives us. I wish the powers that be would see this side of blogging; it really seems to me that blogging is in the best interests of the military. BTW, there is a Senate hearing going on tomorrow specifically about the impact milblogs have; I follow www.michaelyon.blogspot.com and he will be addressing the hearing. This may be a good sign that milblogs will be encouraged, rather than terminated. I understand opsec concerns but most blogs, especially yours, do not present any problems. Not presenting your info and perspectives will cause more damage to our war effort than an occasional slip of opsec.
"Go quietly in the night" - Travel safe - be out of harms way. THANK YOU SIR! I'm proud of people who actually associate this War with the same facts that exist in ALL Wars - TMI is deadly. I keep wishing someone would make NEW posters for us all. You've inspired me to work on the old ones (since I'm not an artist - but a computer graphics person) - to adapt and post them for everyone who hasn't seen them yet.
What is quiet now ..will roar later,,,, I will be watching for your roar.
God Bless you and your work,
Patti
Chaplain Lewis: This is a travesty. When I want a shot of patriotism I go to your blog. When I need to know what's going on from a perspective other than the media, I go to your blog. It's made me laugh at times and at others I've cried. We are the losers. You will be missed but please sir, don't stop writing. You have the "it" in writing. One day you'll return. At least that's my hope.
I will miss the insights as I seek to become a chaplain, myself.
My thoughts and prayers will be with you! Be safe
Good luck sir, as a milblogger I understand where you're coming from and there is more to life then keeping up a blog. Godspeed and if you do decide to start blogging again, you'll still have me as a faithful reader.
Chaplain Lewis,
Thank you. Peace be with you.
Thank you for your service. Now I'll have to go through your archives to get my Chaplain Lewis fix. Hopefully it will remain available.
I'm a proud military mom living in Southern California! I Thank God for people like you over there with our sons and daughters. HOOAH! and HALLELUJAH! I understand the "why" as to why you have to back off on your writing. My family and I continue to pray for Godly Intecessors to cross the paths of soldiers daily! THANK YOU for heeding the call of our mighty God. You are in our prayers and thoughts daily.
Kathleen Sibert & Family
Proud Christioan Military Family in California
dear chaplin
you are in my prayers
73's
My son was released from active duty on the day you chose to end your writing. He is in the National Guard and will now go back to college. He had spent a year in Iraq as a medic, and those times when he did not contact us by e-mail or phone, your blog helped me keep some sense of contact with him. In addition, your writing filled in the holes in his stories because some of the things he saw are not easy to relate. And, your perspective helped me get a better perspective of his view of life. Your ministry is reaching much farthur than you can imagine.
Thank you very much.
--A mom in Nebraska
I always enjoyed reading your posts very much and I'm sad to see them come to an end, but I also understand why you're stopping it and I think it is to be commended. So like a chaplain to think of his men first and himself second! God bless you and all the military greatly, and I hope that you will soon be able to blog again.
We just now found your blog site. We liked it very much and are sad to read to are stopping but God knows what is best. If He's not using you here then He will be using you elsewhere so we can't be sad. Thank you for what you are doing and know for sure that your works will go through a fire one day not caused by a roadside bomb and will come out as pure gold. Thank you for caring to our soldiers souls. Everyone of them is precious to God and to us too.
Hey Brad!
I finally found out how to get to your blog, only to find you are ending it. I will have to catch up on what you have already written!
We love you and are praying for you and the family.
May God continue to bless your work with our brave troops. I will miss your posts but understand you feel this is best. Perhaps you can continue to write in a journal which can be shared after our troops are home.
Hoping to hear more from you as you can safely relay it to everybody back home. Most of all though, have a blessed Advent as we await the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Sem. M.L.
-St. Louis, MO
Dear Capt. Brad,
May God keep His Hand of protection over you and all our troops. You are a blessing to countless numbers of souls, both active duty and us "civies". I will take up the frontline battle of prayer for you now as you continue to be in the midst of where the Lord has placed you in His plan and purpose for Brad Lewis. I will miss your incredible writings, as I have "watched" you serve and give all glory to our Great & Awesome God! Be safe and know that we are praying for you, your family, all our soldiers, and their Commander in Chief! Mahalo & God Bless you!
Dear Capt.
Today is the first time I have ever stumbled upon your blog...
And I had posted on this very topic!
I have now updated my post with a link to you and this post....
Thank you so much for serving,
Mom of two in the Military ~ Pebble
Dear Captain,
I will miss reading your blog. I read often and then hadn't been reading many blogs at all since Christmas time and now I see that I'm behind. But I'll still keep reading archives because I enjoy your perspective as well as your heart for the Lord. I recently started a little blog of my own and your blog was a lot of my incentive to do so (not the same calibre of course!)
You can visit at http://the-light-keeper.blogspot.com/ if you would like.
God bless you and your family. I'll pray for you all whenever you cross my mind and know that God will hear.
The LORD Bless you
and Keep you
The LORD make HIS FACE
to shine upon you
And be gracious unto you
The LORD lift up HIS COUNTENANCE
on you and give you
PEACE ~
S H A L O M
I think I'll just leave the link up, even though I see the site has gone dark for ...awhile.
Dear Captain,
As the brother of an active Navy guy, I've been a regular reader of your journal and was quite sorry to see it end. I hope, beyond measure, that you're okay. Often, your writing informs my faith. More often, though, it moves me to tears at the struggles the soldiers endure on our behalf. Thank you for all you do and all you have done.
Dear Sir,
Only today have I spent enough time reading and absorbing your blog. Sir Winston Churchill said in his Memoirs of the Second World War, "The importance of secrecy and the consequences of leakage of information in war are here proclaimed." and thus we understand your ending the entries on this blog.
While you are refraining from writing, may I be bold enough to offer some reading? Your entries remind me of another American Hero, understated and under appreciated as you so moving write about your current day soldiers.
The writings of Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain are brought to mind in reading your work through the respect and awe of the soldier spirit, a spirit that only God can make and only God can call. The mixture of honor, language and of Jesus Christ and the creation of God are alive in well in your entries as they still are in Chamberlain's most of which were written over a century ago.
Sir Churchill wrote often of the honor and spirit of the American soldier but his 'spirit' was of God but he did not say God. Chamberlain however, lived with God through all his experience and writings as you do.
I want to thank you for reminding me and others that the American Soldier is still the finest in honor and 'spirit' that has ever stood on this earth.
From a veteran, a cancer survivor and a believer.
LivingtheDream
www.bizwizdumb.blogspot.com
www.theWeeds.blogspot.com
Chaplain,
I keep losing touch with your blog, only to catch up everytime you have to leave it for a time. I hope that this is only a temporary sabatical and not permanent. Your blog got me through my darkest moments of my seperation from my ex husband, and helped inspire me to keep going after what I wanted in life. I would hate for it to not be there when I can see some dark times coming again in what is a very chaotic life and career in the military.
I would like to thank our soldiers for risking life and limb for us. I don't understand war but I understand how mere mortals become heroes for us. Thank you to the men and women who may be as perplexed as I am but still fight for country.
Post a Comment