Season of Blessings

It seems lately that I have truly been living in a season surrounded by the blessings of the Lord.
I am almost done with my CPE Unit (Clinical Pastoral Education, 400+ intensive summer unit in a Trauma 1 setting) and I am looking forward to finally finishing off this last pass/fail class for seminary; a ten pager and I'm done! Hallelujah, I'm so ready to move onward from seminary, and into the world of the Army.

The blessings continue though. I found out a few weeks ago when I would go to CHBLOC and where my first duty station is. I am going to CHBLOC September 13th 2009 through December 12 2009. I am so excited. This means from here I can go straight to my first duty station!! That duty station dear friends is Ft. Carson, Colorado!!! We are going to be moving out west to the home of the Rocky Mountains!! Lauren and I couldn't be more excited to experience the adventure God is sending us on through the Army out west. We are looking forward to getting into the many outdoor activities that Colorado Springs and Fountain Colorado have to offer.

At this point, I am continuing my physical training for CHBLOC and I am waiting to receive my orders via snail mail. God is so faithful! =) I also found out, after much online debate, that I am officially a 1LT. This is good as it gives us a little more financial ground to help meet our budgeting needs.

God is truly faithful... all this and a rockin vacation to the Riveria Maya coming up Mid August.
Christ is faithful and orders our steps. I never thought my desires to do missions work, and itinerant ministry would ever take the form of military Chaplaincy, but to me, that is exactly what the Army Chaplaincy is all about.

It's crazy how God forms us and places us exactly where we need to be, when we need to be there in order to fulfill the calling he has placed in our hearts long ago.

Faithful and True... That's My King!

Thanks for Reading!

My First Entry

Since this is my first post, I figure I should introduce myself and tell you a little bit about the journey I've been on to get to the point that I could create this blog. In fact, creating this blog is a miracle. Truth be told there is no way on earth I should have been selected to become an Army Chaplain. Let me explain...

As far as Experience and qualifications go, I am more than qualified. Its more along the physical fitness lines that I am describing. I'm realatively young and at twenty seven, one would think I would have no issues getting into the military. However, life being the way it is, I was 90lbs overweight and that barrier alone was keeping me out of the Army. I had no idea how long it would take the drop the weight, but I knew that I had to do it. It ended up probably taking longer than I needed it to, as I still have this nagging love for really good ice cream. The good news was, I was finishing up seminary during this process and I had the time to devote to exercise. I truly went at it. Everyday I ran and lifted, and ran some more. When I started, I could barely run a mile. At this point I am running 3 to 4 miles comfortably. My journey took months before I could even go through the inprocessing at MEPS. By the grace of God I passed MEPS on the first try. Anyone who knows anything about that, knows that is a miracle in and of itself. I didn't even goto MEPS for a year and a half until after I started my weightloss. Through the process though, God has taught me alot about discipline, patience and perserverence. All of which I know will be essential in the military ministry.
I suppose the long and short of it is, the journey to this point took a while. I found out about a week ago that I was accepted for Active Duty. This is huge because of the finanical blessing of God's provision this is turning out to be. Through it all, God has been faithful.
I am excited to hear the news about when I will be going to CHBLOC and where my first duty station will be. God has been so faithful, my loving wife has been completely awesome through all of this, and I am eternally grateful to her for her prayers, support and help along the way.
For Now though, I suppose I should end by saying, I'm looking forward to the news to come and I am continuing to place my hope and trust in the Lord for where he will place us.

The Journey Is Sure to Continue...

Be Blessed...

Ch (LT) Aron Stephens