Welcome to my fire house, it is like no other… Here we answer the call of the needy, the hurting, and bring calm to the chaos… This is my fire house, a place of provision, security, and accountability all in one… Here we eat together, pray together, play together, and share our burdens… This is my fire house, it is like no other for only here can we be real with one another… Here we […]
My hands are lifted to a burning window with arms outstretched wide… My answer to your hurt, my comfort to your suffering, is before your eyes… My words have been imprinted upon your heart since long ago, yet you turn away… My love has been long since shown for you yet you return to the flames… I promised you that I would never leave you nor forsake you… Yet I have stood here amidst the pain, the torment, and all […]
In our lives, as we strive to make a difference we often come to a very dangerous crossroads. We work, sacrifice, and pour our passionate efforts into the development and improvement of our world. We give of ourselves in ways we never thought possible not even realizing how much of ourselves we have given away in the process. And then it happens… All of our work, all of our efforts, and all that we have developed is suddenly taken from […]
In our lives, have you ever noticed that we often self impose limitations upon ourselves thereby diminishing our God given capacity? We find excuses based on social judgements, our age, our physical characteristics, or we discredit our own intellectual potential. This can occur for a variety of reasons. The following two reasons occur most frequently: Our environment- One who is passionately pursuing excellence often suffers when their environment is in turmoil, is negative and condemning, and those in our fellowship […]
The fire service will always be a profession of continual learning, training, and education. It is a part of the very identity of the fire service. Our citizens call for help and firefighters respond no matter what the emergency may be. This implies that firefighters must be ready for anything so their learning must be continuous. We are continually adding services to our already large service delivery model requiring a constant discipline of training, education, and development. In the face […]
Is life tearing your world apart? In the middle of our broken moments…. When we are at our lowest… Remember the power of a kind word spoken… Think of those who are also at the end of their rope… When life attacks and we feel that we are spent… What if we spoke words of peace and encouragement? By choosing love instead of anger… We are rescuing others from danger… By practicing hope in the face of adversity… We lift […]
In the midst of the storms of this life, have we considered how well we are communicating with the One who controls the winds and the waves? In the middle of the firefight when the flames are raging, how well are we communicating with the Ultimate Incident Commander? “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me for in you my soul takes refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to […]
An offering of my heart to God out of gratitude for my family: Several years ago, I fell upon the ground and cried… I begged for God for a love that only He could provide… In my weary heart, is where I submitted to His love… Unaware that my life was under His divine guidance from above… We met seemingly by chance with our guarded hearts… A conversation in a coffee shop was our simple start… After that day, we […]
The shift ends, our bodies are tired but our spirits are at ease. The aches and pains of a tired and worn body is worth the contentment we receive by fulfilling our calling. Thus another day dawns and begins with the rising of the sun, rising of our bodies, but do our spirits rise as high as they once were? To be truthful, our hearts and minds often grow weary from all of the pain and frustration. Our tears often […]
A man sits with his head in his hands weeping. He has just suffered the loss of his wife in a tragic accident. In one moment, they were together and in the next a car struck her, taking her young life. As I checked for a pulse in a lifeless and broken body I knew there was no hope for her. I turned to see his eyes only to hear him say: “Why aren’t you helping her?” I stood with […]