sober, solemn, solace

i have been addicted to soda for the past 4 years of my life.  i looked at the back of my diet coke can and was freaked out by all the acids and chemicals in there.  i am proud to report that i have been soda sober for 8 days!  eat it aspertame.

i went to the hohenfels high school football game against af north.  since there are only about 150 kids in the high school, their team is incredibly small.  i think there are about 24 guys on the team.  they scored the first touch down of the season tonight!  the final score was 44-6.  so although the team may be lacking in football skills, i love the football games.  there is such a community there amongst the parents and students who come to the game.  they actually cheer with the cheerleaders.  after we scored our first touchdown, every time the announcer would say the score "44-6" everyone in the stands would cheer because we finally got on the board.  whenever one of the players would do something good, the announcer would say, "who's your mama and daddy, stand up and be proud."  so the parents of the player stand up and wave their hands and the crowd cheers for them.  my favorite part of the game was the national anthem. the junior ROTC walked the flag (similar to what you might see at a&m- they were all dressed up and marched with whistles) on the field which took a good 2 or 3 minutes and no one, out of the couple hundred people that were there, spoke, played around, or made a sound (which is obviously very difficult with high school and middle school students).  it was incredibly solemn and respectful.  their parents are the ones who are fighting and putting their lives at risk.  they understand.  it actually reminded me of silver taps. 

i absolutely love my church.  i go to the protestant church on post and am just in love.  at every military base there is one catholic mass and one protestant service every sunday.  so in the protestant service, you have everything from presbyterians to baptists to assembly of God people worshiping under the same roof to the same God.  the preaching and the music are great, but thats not what makes the church the church- its the people, the community.  i have tons of women and families wanting to invest in me by inviting me to lunch, to coffee, to spend christmas with them.  every though i love my job and love my life, it can be tough living without my friends and family.  my Church does everything they can to combat any loneliness that i could feel.   they are my family in Christ.  i've also started to play the piano at both mass and the protestant service.  i've played the piano since i was in the 2nd grade but am always very reluctant to play in front of people.  God has pulled me out of that and given me an opportunity to serve Him and the Church.  i am so thankful.  not only is the protestant service unified, but the catholics and the protestants are team mates as well, working together to build the Church.  not something you see every day.  i feel like i'm understanding what Paul was talking about in Ephesians 4 about a unified church.  "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."