The Deployment

Friends

2007-03-09T00:25:00.000-06:00

I would like to send out a hearty "Thank You". Thank you to all who followed my travels while I was deployed overseas. Thank you to all who would let me rant and rave about various aspects, musings, and doings over these many months...and then cared enough to read them.

I am going to leave this blog up and running a little while longer, but not to worry. My little know existence in the blogosphere won't disappear completely with the abandoning of this blog. I invite you to follow me to my new blog. If you follow me there I lift up to you a hearty "thank you". For I am sure there are a myriad of things you could be reading besides my blog. Your following me there would mean the world to me, and if you don't follow my trail of posting once in a four month period I understand.

I look forward to seeing you at my new location.

Many kudos to Chase Abner for showing me the Wordpress website for my new blog.
http://jonathandavis.wordpress.com/

Hear Ye

2006-12-08T18:58:00.000-06:00

Well fellow bloggers. The time has come. For those of you who don't know I am back in the states. So that means that the "deployment" blog is no longer being true to fact. Hence, it is time to shut down this blog. I will be updating my future blog intentions on a couple more posts here at this site. But after that I have the full intention of making a new blog with a new name, so that it properly reflects this chapter in my life.

Thanks to all who cared to follow my deployment overseas, and took the time to pray for me and keep contact during that time. It was the much needed connection in my life that can keep a soldier sane in a very insane place. Thanks again, and hopefully I will see some familiar bloggers follow me onto the new blog.

Yes It Has Been 3 Months

2006-08-08T13:23:00.000-06:00

Well. This entry has been a long time coming. For those of you who do not know, I am back from Iraq. I have been stateside since late June actually. So, sorry for the complete lack of blog entry. I chalk up this blog's desert existence to a couple of things actually:

1. I use Firefox for my web browser and it has this very conveinient feature built into the program. Firefox will remember my passwords and logins for me. NOT so conveinient when you come home and start using a different computer, and forgot your password and login the second Firefox asked you if you wanted it to remember them for you. And thus you get a blog with no entries for 3 months.

2. The aforementioned new computer that I am using has a blazing interent connection of 24.0 Kbps. Yes, dial up. So I tend to stear clear of anything that I think might take a week to load because of the slow connection. But, I can't really complain at all. Slow internet connection is better than no internet connection. Also due to my living conditions right now it is a free interent connection.

And there you have it. Also I have been wondering what to do with my current blog. Sadly it may be going into dormancy. Since the blog was created to keep anybody who cared up to date about my doings in Iraq the blog has run its course. I am no longer on deployment, and I am entering into a new season of my life with my wife and daughter. I think these new events might deserve a new blog. I hope anyone who kept up with what I was doing found my adventure to be a worthwhile read seen through the eyes of a man seeking hard after God.

Speaking of new blog I have joined a new blog. It is called M*A*S*H. A close group of guys and I are going to start a book club for lack of a better term. We are going to go through a chapter a week, from certain books, picked by the members of the group. Our first book is "Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions" by John Piper. Add the blog to your list of links, it will make you more holy.

In the mean time I will keep cranking away on this blog until I find the motivation to come up with a new blog name and go from there. I would lovingly like to dedicate this blog entry to to my favorite BCM director. You have spurred me to this point.

Birth Announcement Cards

2006-05-07T02:28:00.000-06:00

About a month ago, give or take, Tarah asked if I could whip up some birth announcement cards to send out to family, friends, etc. So we had a friend who is very good at photography take some photographs for us. I asked her if I could have the originals because Tarah and I were wanting to make some announcements. She graciously agreed and below are the results.

Grape Face

2006-05-06T11:00:00.000-06:00

I got to see my wife and daughter today on webcam. I love doing that. Rebekah is becoming more and more amusing by the day. She is growing like a weed. I love it because her little belly is growing bigger than her body is, or so it seems. Her eyes have opened up very much and they are always looking around. I just love watching her. She is my daughter and I have a love for her that only I can give, a love that is unique from me. It is a love that will never go away. It is a love that I am only able to give because I have tasted and seen the love that flows from my savior.

Beautiful.

Love That Old Time Religion

2006-05-03T12:00:00.000-06:00

...or at least those old time hymns. There are just those certain hymns that strike a chord. This is one of those for me.

How Deep The Father's Love For Us
How deep the Father's love for us
how vast beyond all measure
that he should give his only Son
to make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss,
the Father turns His face away
as wounds which mar the Chosen One
bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon the cross
my sin upon His shoulders
ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know what it is finshed.

I will not boast in anything
no gifts, no power, no wisdom
but I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection.
What should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
but this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.

Check out what Isaiah had to say about it.

The Cupbearer

2006-05-03T11:12:00.000-06:00

On my quest to lay out the Old Testament in chronological order I have found myself to be stuck on the book of Nehemiah. More specifically the chapters 1 and 8. There was just something in Nehemiah's heart that just grabbed my attention and has had me lingering for a bit. Nehemiah was the cupbearer for the king of the Persians. One of his brothers shows up with some grim information. "Hey Nehemiah, yeah, news not so good. Jerusalem. In ruins. People. Very troubled. Gates. Burned down."

Nehemiah throws his emotions right out there on his sleeve.
Broken. His people had rebelled.
Torn. Bad news was brought to his doorstep.
Distraught. Over his city being in ruins.
Confident. God is true to His promise.

To be honest I think I was blown away by the selflessness Nehemiah had for himself. I am speculating that it is not a hard job to the the cupbearer for a king. Nehemiah's sole life force that we see is his distraught over his city, people, and nation. Yet, the source of his distraught isn't over what people will think if he tells them he comes from a city that is lying in ruins. The source of his distraught is that God is not receiving the glory from His chosen people that He is totally worthy of. Israel was God's chosen people and they completely dropped the ball. This was the source of Nehemiah's weeping, fasting, and prayer.

Some points that jumped out at me from this chapter.
1. Does my heart weep over the Godlessness in my country?
2. Am I so broken that I mourn, weep, fast, and pray continually for this Godlessness?
3. Does this Godlessness move me to a constant state of intercession for the Christless?
4. What steps are being molded into my life to be a man of action and not just an apathetic "man I'm glad that's not me" spiritual benchwarmer?

God took a cupbearer and delivered on His promise. Incredible.

Nehemiah 1:3-7
3 And they said to me, "The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire." 4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, "O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses."

Jon Paul Davis

2006-04-28T03:50:00.000-06:00

Pops, JP, or Dad. These are just a few of the names my father goes by. Some of you might be asking, "Jon, to what are we celebrating that your father would be the sole point and topic of this blog?" Well, my father has turned the big 50. So, to bring honor to my father I am going to list some reasons as to why my father is off the chain.

1. My father is an excellent provider. He consistently brought home the bacon and taught me the importance of doing the same.

2. My father is a jack of all trades. From vehicle maintenance and lawn care to plumbing repair and christmas tree light hanging, my father had the skills.

3. My father is a Game Warden by profession. I mean who else gets to pack a Glock .40cal to be able to enforce punks who like to poach deer in the off season. That is just cool.

4. My father is my father. I wouldn't have it any other way. My life has been incredibly impacted by his influence. He has shown me how much of an influence I will have in the life of my daughter.

My dad is incredible and I deeply enjoy our relationship that we have. I am looking to keep growing and knowing my father more and more.

Jon Allen=25 yrs old. Jon Paul=50 yrs old

Dust Storm

2006-04-20T07:14:00.000-06:00

About a week ago I am pretty sure we went through our first dust major dust storm. We have had some minor blowings of dust since we have been here but you have always been able to see. There would be a light haze on the horizon, but for the most part you still had visibility.

This storm on the other hand was something different. A buddy of mine and I were walking back to the barracks and I just happened to look back and all we could see was this giant brown wall cloud moving right toward our base. At first I thought we were going to outrun it to our barracks but I soon realized that it was moving at a pretty good clip. It was a unique experience because there was the "calm before the storm" thing that happened. Right up until the wall cloud overtook us there was no wind, dust, light debris, nothing. Right when it caught us there was rain, dust, major wind, and I even heard accounts of hail. I am not sure about that, it is just what I heard. I wish I had my camera so I could have made a video file of the storm coming and then overtaking us. But alas, all I have are two pics from our barracks front door and balcony.
The craziest thing was that no sooner than it started it was over. The most noticed after effect was the dusty haze that lingered in our barracks and the light coat of dust on our things in the barracks. Definately an experience to remember.

Dave The Horn Guy

2006-04-16T11:37:00.000-06:00

Dave is a horn guy. Dave plays horns. Check him out. Dave has a pretty kickin' promo video. Make sure you look at that. Dave the Horn Guy.

My Beloved Daughter

2006-04-16T00:52:00.000-06:00

Please enjoy the sweetness that is Rebekah Brooke.

Hosea, Isaiah, Before Nehemiah, Oh My!

2006-04-16T00:26:00.000-06:00

Recently I have made a decision. Well, actually it was a decision made at the goading of some divine inspiration, but a decision none the less. I am going to read through the old testament. I know this sounds like a lame decision to be made but I am pretty stoked about it. *the forthcoming sentence is rather embarrassing for me to admit* See, I have never read through the entire old testament. I have read some books, but not all. Whenever I have tried to read through the old testament I have always tried the "Genesis to Malachi" approach to it. I usually peter out somewhere around Joshua. Then I feel bad for quitting and moving on to something else. I then remember what I wanted to do, which is read through the old testament, but something inside of me says that I need to do it all from beginning to end, straight through, or it doesn't really count. So I go back. Start in Genesis, again. And then don't make it all the way through, again.

I like history. I was fairly decent at it in school. Dates, places, people the whole works always interested me. I finished Hosea the other day and finished the book a little confused. Not at the content of what Hosea was writing about (an excellent book on God's eternal and unfailing love for His bride) but at the placement of the book concerning the chronology of scripture. Hosea is towards the end of the old testament, yet he is talking about the forthcoming exile of God's chosen people, the Hebrews.

As the confusion and discombobulation passed, the inspiration came. "Jon, you like history. Why don't you study some old testament history and learn of my chosen people. You might even be able to read through the old testament in chronological order and get a full feel for what is being said in scripture. Oh, and this time don't be a quitter."

*The writer of this blog would like two things to be known: 1. No, God didn't really call me a quitter. 2. The above quotes do not imply that I heard the actual voice of God. Thank you for reading my small font type attempt at being humorous*

So, starting off on this journey, I double-clicked Firefox, Googled "old testament timeline", and the adventure began. I found out that Hosea was actually written around the time of Isaiah, and the puzzle pieces started to take place. And yes mom, it took me 25 years to come to this place.

In total disregard of the above mentioned thought process, I started reading the book of Nehemiah. And I am glad I did. Incredible book. I will be writing more later on what I have come across in my readings, general thoughts, and insights. If you are looking for some fresh insight from a man chasing hard after God, you need to get your Nehemiah read on.

Leave, Sickness, and Baby Happiness

2006-03-25T16:15:00.000-06:00

I am back from leave. It was an incredible time spent with wife, BABY, friends, and family. Being a father is an incredible trip. I am sick. It really has been a long time since I have been sick, and it stinks. The syptoms are kin to food poisoning, and I am feeling quite horrible.

You can blame the shortness of this blog on the coldcut sandwich that I had for lunch today. But please don't be sad. Be uplifted by a pic of Rebekah Brooke.

Burger King Sold Me Wrong

2006-02-21T11:14:00.000-06:00

When God calls you on the carpet it is about this much fun. It is about, oh, never exciting to be told that you are going about something the wrong way. If you think about it, you have everything under control when it is your way. You can look out for yourself, do what you want to do, and not have to deal with anyone unless it is on your time schedule. Since life is not one huge Burger King we have a problem. The problem presents itself in that the "all about you way" is not "God's way" and that is where things usually start to get way bad. Way.

Correction stinks. No body wants it. Yet, correction/discipline is one of the most used tools by God. His discipline is given because He loves us. The bible says that the discipline from God is for our own good because His discipline draws us closer to holiness. It molds us into the image of God.

Now that sounds really cliche, but please bear with me. Imagine when my young daughter gets old enough to sit at the table and she is snacking on a deliciously moist ding-dong. My little girl, new to the whole ding-dong experience, thinks it looks like a perfect projectile to be launched at mom's face. I catch her in mid windup and tell her you don't throw your ding-dong, you eat it. I take the time to train her not to throw her ding-dong and the training takes hold. Well, my little girl is not Jesus. She is going to mess up. There will be a time when she goes against what she knows to be true (ding-dong does not equal projectile) and will give it a launch. If I don't as a father discipline her for the things I have taught her I am showing non love towards her. I am reinforcing that it is okay to rebel, be disobedient, and that I don't love her enough to correct and discipline her in ways that I know are best for her.

The same goes with God. God has the perfect grasp on the concept that it is all about Him and that we think it is all about us. God, in his perfect love for us, will discipline us so we don't hurt ourselves in our stupor. God's discipline and correction bring the focus back to Him.

Hebrews 12:11 - For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

O God Where Are You Now (In Iraq?, In A Birth?, In Suffering?...etc)

2006-02-20T01:33:00.000-06:00

There is a fantastic song out there right now. It is called "O God Where Are You Now? (In pickerel Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)" done by the David Crowder Band. The song is actually a cover of a Sufjan Stevens song which is equally as excellent. This stringing together of musical genius is currently heavy in my rotation.

I used the song title as the blog title not because I am questioning my faith, but because of what God has been teaching me as of late. I am constantly engaging and wrapping myself around the idea that God can and is glorified in everything.

I was recently awarded the opportunity to bear witness to this on a recent mission. As the morning kicked off, there it was, a plethora of color vomited onto the horizon rising into the sky. An Iraqi sunrise. As I stood there amazed at the beauty of the whole scene being played out in front of me, a funny thought hit me. I am living in one of the most beautiful countries there is. The land is not just barren sand dunes. I am living near the Euphrates River and because of that there is green landscape scattered here and there. This greenery is spotty and mixes in nicely with the vastness of the wilderness surrounding it. This is a place where you can look to the horizon and seeing it spreading out forever. It was there in that turret, as I was cruising down that road, God's handiwork was on display for all to see. It was like when you walk into a great gothic cathedral. The overwhelmingness *how about that word* of the greatness of the cathedral was done for a purpose. It was done to cause one to wonder. To look up. It was done to give an invitation for the depraved to collide with the Divine. This is where I found myself on this morning. Getting lost in the expanse of the portrait laid before me.

The most amazing part of it all is that God did this all for Himself. To bring glory to Him. He didn't do it for me. He created this palette of visual extravagance for Himself so that I could see it, be wowed by it, be humbled by it, and then press in closer to God because of it. God is unashamedly about Himself. God is about the self glorification of God. He is ultimate.

So when I read the song title "O God Where Are You Now? (In pickerel Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)", it causes me to look at situations and see that God is being glorified in it no matter the situation. I am being taught to pause, think, and look to see how God is working in situations. Whether the situation is being diagnosed with cancer or watching an Iraqi sunrise. Going through your first child being born or having to deal with a friend going through sexual addiction.

The ultimate end is God receiving the glory. For us to realize it is not all about us, and then meet God in His story. To enjoy God and glorify him forever in everything you do. Also, get up early and check out the next sunrise. You won't be disappointed.

Oh, The Possibilities

2006-02-15T08:02:00.000-06:00

I was hungry the other day and found myself with nothing to snack on. I was crazy hungry. I found myself thinking of this thought, "What if our teeth were made to be edible?". The more I thought of this question the more this idea really started to catch on with myself. What if God would have designed our teeth to be edible in times of hunger. Okay, so this could work. Well, what could our teeth actually be made of? The only thing that came to my mind that made sense was yogurt. Healthy, hip, edible yogurt teeth.

Then I realized how foolish that would be. There are a whole lot of complications with having yogurt teeth. To name a few:
1. There is the problem of hardness. How can you make yogurt teeth that would be hard enough to tear through a steak but soft enough to eat them when you are hungry? You could make the tooth hard and make it taste like yogurt, but then you would have a yogurt flavored hard candy tooth. Not an actual yogurt tooth. Yogurt is soft. It matters, I promise.
2. Once you ate that permanent tooth how would you get that tooth back? You could easily wipe out all of your teeth in a single hunger crazed binge. Then you would be a toothless freak, and that is bad.
3. To address the replenishing problem you could maybe have a self producing yogurt gland in your mouth that would refill the tooth void once it is eaten. But that idea is so far out there it would simply be ridiculous. Lets think realistically here.

Then it hit me! Of course! We could produce prosthetic yogurt teeth. That way when you do begin to lose teeth due to old age, or you need something to fill the void from that pesky bar fight you just survived...solution...prosthetic yogurt teeth. It would be like pez, sort of. You would buy the teeth in multiples, wrapped in neat little packages. You pop one in. It looks like a tooth. You get hungry, eat your tooth, and then when it is gone you pop in your next yogurt tooth.

Different flavors. Different colors. The possibilities are endless.

Does anyone have the number to the patent office?

Billy says, "Golly, I sure wish I had two prosthetic yogurt teeth Mister!".

Back At It, or, Arrggghhh (My Weight Lifting Bellow), or, Jack Is The Man

2006-02-13T09:39:00.000-06:00

Tonight I decided to get back into the gym. I havn't gone in a while because I got really lazy when it came to gym matters. For about a month I was busy with work. We were going through a crap load of weapons making sure they were in good working order. And a crap load is a lot. I was working these crazy hours with no day off or anything and my body was on gym boycott.

Well now I am in love with the gym (again) as a way to pass time and blow off steam. With my leave dates looming around the corner the days have actually starting going backwards in time. So something to pass the time, I'm there.

About a week ago I became the happy owner of the newest Jack Johnson album. It is a unique album because it isn't your typical Jack album. The new album is the soundtrack for the movie Curious George. When I saw that the album was coming out soon, and that it was a soundtrack for a kids movie, thoughts of "selling out" began milling about in the cranium. Yet after the sampling you can do through iTunes and the subsequent purchase of the album I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the songs are a little off beat from a typical Jack album, but that is because they are songs written for specific spots in the movie. One of the best songs on there is a song about sharing. Very good song. I recommend the purchase. The best song on the album you can view as a music video. Title: Upside Down (go to the bonus video link). The great thing about this album is that it is an album for a kids movie, but well produced enough that adults will want to jam to Jack's smooth folksy beats. I do believe he might be one of the few artists who could actually pull this off.

Booya.

Randomness

2006-02-12T11:50:00.000-06:00

So, I have drawn the conclusion that being on deployment doesn't lead to much variation in life. Thus, I will just throw out some randomness and see where it goes.

Tarah is very huge now. And by huge I mean her belly because we are having a child. It is the most beautiful thing I have seen in some time. The due date is barreling down on us hard and fast. I am guessing baby Rebekah will be with us in the first weeks of March.

I am also guessing that is the time I will be home on leave *deafening applause* which is being much discussed in the Davis household. It is wierd because by the time I will be home on leave I will have been gone for roughly 9 months. It has been the quickest drawn out 9 months I have ever had to go through. Quite the paradox I know. Deployment time spent is unlike any other time spent. I am ready to be home.

For the coffehouse we have been talking about freedom in Christ. It has been some of the best stuff I have studied and listened to for quite some time. One of our main points that we hit is how we so often open up ourselves to allow sin in. We invite it in, fall in love with it, date it, make love to it, then justify it away in our lives. All the while wonderinig where this "freedom" is that Jesus talks about in scripture. In the end we end up free but in bondage. Free because we have accepted the gift of salvation on the cross, but in bondage because we are a slave to that sin(s). Check out what Jesus has to say about it (John 8:31-36). Jesus was all about starting the freedom journey through the salvation experience and then moving forward in progressive freedom.

Along with the freedom thing and how you can help people who are in bondage, there is a book out there that is pure quality. The book is called "The Gutter" and written by a man with the name of Craig Gross. You can find the book for purchasing at this sweet website or you can go to the website started by him and another guy. Good stuff.

I just purchased the album "Illinois" by Sufjan Stevens. Double good stuff.

Yeah, so in three weeks, give or take, I will be responsible for another human being! Crazy, mind boggling, scary, mysterious, fear. Yet, I can't wait for it to get here. Fatherhood. Bring it on.

I really like the song "Jacksonville" by Sufjan Stevens from the aforementioned album just purchased on iTunes. I grew up 45 minutes from the town being talked about.

So, in the words of Cosmo Kramer, "I'm Out!"

The Catch Up

2005-12-18T04:46:00.001-06:00

Well December has come and almost completely gone. It is pretty unbelievable that we are now on the back side of the hill. The first half of the deployment has gone by in a flash. The weather is staying a constant 45 degrees in the morning and getting up to around 75 degrees in the afternoon. The weather difference here is playing some mind games on me. It just doesn't seem like I should be sweating this close to Christmas. Although the rain has played some havoc recently. Rain+Dust=Mucho Mud. This is a proven formula. Check it out. It works. At least we had some fun with the mud.

Tarah is doing fanstastic. It looks like she swallowed a pumpkin over Thanksgiving. The wierd thing is I know that she is only going to be growing bigger as the months pass. I am anxiously awaiting the birth of our baby girl. What a wonderful time it is to be a father in training. I guess you never really can get all the training you need to be a father before your child comes. But I do know that as the birth of your baby is growing closer you do start to think about a lot of things and take a good inventory of all things emotional, mental, and spiritual. Tarah looks more and more beautiful every day. The whole pregnancy glow thing is definately true. There is a radiancy that flows from Tarah and makes her all the more adorable.

The coffee house has been rocking. We finished up our first series. For those of you who don't know our night usually looks like this. Hang out for a bit. Drink coffee. Card games and such. Then I give a message. Sometimes we have people who can play instruments pretty good. So we set up a time after the message for them to rock a couple of tunes. Usually something like a 3 to 4 song set. The message series I just got done teaching was based upon the teaching series by Louie Giglio called "For The Glory". An excellent series. If you havn't heard it I highly recommend the series to you. Here recently along with the the coffee house I have been doing a gathering of a couple of guys before the house starts. We have been coming together and talking about how can we practically apply "living for the glory of God" into our lives. What does that look like? What is holding us back? What are keeping that is holding us back? and so forth. It has been a really intense time with the other two guys besides me really starting to wrap ourselves around this idea and letting digest in us. It believe that God is really moving in the lives of men here and it is awesome to see it happening around some of my buddies and myself.

Well there you go. Enjoy the update of my life.

Warrior Father

2005-11-27T20:44:00.000-06:00

Tarah is now in her 24th week of pregnancy. It is the most amazing thing to see. The whole process of watching the changes of pregnancy. I am on the edge of my seat because whenever I get to see pictures of the steady growth it is mind boggling to even imagine that a human is growing inside of my wife. The pregnancy seems to be more real now to. We can see progress of what is happening through the growth of my wife's belly.

With this renewed realness comes the ever present reality that I am on the verge of being a father. I thought I would give you guys some access into what I have been thinking and reading about. What follows is an article that I wrote for our platoon newsletter.

The warrior father. This phrase flirts on the edge of being an oxymoron. Jumbo shrimp. Freezer burn. Two words that don’t seem to go together. Two words that are complete opposites but when put together are found to be a very unique word combination. Yes, the warrior father definitely has the potential to be an oxymoron. You think of warrior and you get images of brawn and strength. Accuracy and precision. A human machine that has a one track mind. Cold and exacting. You think of father and you get images of caretaker, bill payer, and minivan driver. A man who thinks only with his heart. Soft on the edges and banal.

Yet, isn’t this what we need? Like our jumbo shrimp, the combination of “warrior” and “father” does more than create another interesting oxymoron. The bringing together of these two words creates a desire, a craving. A portrait of something that burns deep in the heart of men. A longing to be the man that is full of brawn, courage, and valor. The man that saves the day with his brute force and loves with his heart. The man who balances the warrior and the father. Power with passion.

I find myself thinking of things like “warrior father” quite a bit lately. In early June my wife and I found out that we would be having a baby. The joy of this news, I can safely say, led to one of the happiest moments of my marriage. Yet, I was also inundated with thoughts of, “Oh crap, I am going to be a daddy”! The weight of this new aspect of my manhood hit me like a ton of bricks. Will I have what it takes? Will I be good? Will I love right? Can I love wrong? I was overwhelmed at this new fatherly role that was placed upon me with one phone call to my wife.

So I began to think of what it means to be “fatherly”. I began to realize that just being “fatherly” wouldn’t cut it. There was another aspect of becoming a father that needed to be meshed into this whole fatherhood thing. The warrior. But you can’t have one without the other. My family doesn’t just need the father. My family doesn’t just need the warrior. They need the one-two punch of the warrior father. A man who can display his might one moment and can turn and love with his heart the next. Command with zeal.

It is the warrior father who stares down the questions of his new position. He engages. He connects. He doesn’t let the unknown defeat him. He tackles the mystery headlong. The warrior father. Does he have questions? Oh yes. Does he always have answers? Oh no. He learns from his mistakes and relishes in his victories. Victories that can only come from living in the mystery, fighting like a warrior, and loving like a father.

I can not wait to hold my baby girl in my hands.

Welcome Back...But I Am Definately Not Kotter

2005-11-27T01:20:00.000-06:00

Yes. Yes it is true. It is yours truly re-entering the blogging world. There is this great thing in the world that has made its way to Iraq. This great thing is satellite internet. I never thought I would be able to sit in my barracks and surf the web. It completely blows me away. Maybe like it is blowing you away that I have actually updated my blog since mid August. Goo.

Well, I have done many a thing since mid August. So instead of bringing on the boredom of the 3 month plus catch up I thought I would amuse with some random musings running through my head at the moment. Warning: It is late at night and I am very tired.

Thinking about the Welcome Back Kotter reference has got me thinking about everyone's favorite teacher Gabe Kaplan. Mainly ol' Gabe has been running through my head because he sports one fine caucasian afro. The fro has me firmly entranced. Honestly I didn't even know who this mega tv star was that played Kotter on the series. I found out through the very informative Jerry Seinfeld. I was watching Seifeld on DVD and he made some reference to Gabe Kaplan and the joke rolled right off me. Then the next day I was reading a magazine that had an article about the Gabester. Once I made the Kotter/Kaplan connection the Seinfeld joke turned out to be one of his best jokes during that episode. Hmm. Very wierd.

The Kotter show also introduced to us a very young John Travolta. I mean come on. Who could resist the charm of the Sweathogs? John we still love you and always have.

"What?"
"Vinny is looking at me?"
"Oh, how can I resist that look. Please Vinny. Stop it some more."

Enough Kotter flashbacks. It is definately good to be back.

Bowels of Fury

2005-08-12T07:30:00.000-06:00

Having dysentery stinks. Figuratively and Literally.

Deep thoughts by Jack Johnson

2005-07-28T19:03:00.000-06:00

I have been reading some really good Articles lately in Relevant Magazine. Their main topic of discussion in the "Dig Deeper" section has been about the "Word of God". Dwelling on the phrase "Word of God" can bring up a lot of questions. One of the main questions that surfaces for me is, "If the Bible is the documented speech of God why do we tread so lightly with it?" It isn't somone elses commentary on God, it is His spoken word, God's story in plain view straight from Him. Yet, I know this fact, and the majority of the time I take scripture for granted, and approach with a flippant attitude.

For me it seems a while since I have truly heard from God through scripture (my fault but I am getting there), but isn't that the whole purpose of scripture, to HEAR God. To find a believer who hears from God on a consistent basis through scripture is a rarity. I believe the problem lies with our tendency to look at God with "Me" colored glasses. The central core of our actions are "Me" driven, and it bleeds into our relationship with God. These "Me" glasses mute our ability to hear.

Have you ever listened to your favoirite song while muted, it sucks. I have been listening to a lot of Jack Johnson lately (I would recommend the album Brushfire Fairy Tales). The music is awesome, fresh, and alive. If I could grow wings and fly on air made of Jack's music it would be true bliss. Alas, that has not happened so while I am grounded for now I must listen to Jack on the iPod. But if I were to crank up the album while muted I have nothing. The songs lose their beauty, their power and most of all their purpose. The "Word of God" is the 800W surround sound home theater system for the Soundtrack of God. It's our "Me" glasses that mute this song. Is it no wonder that scripture becomes lost on so many people. We press play on God's anthem, hear a muted song, and assume something is wrong with God.

It is time for us to stop looking at God with "Me" colored glasses and to start looking at "Me" with God colored glasses. Crush those "Me" glasses and let the word of God bring back freshness. The purpose of God's soundtrack is the sole glorification of God. When you are receiving the song at full volume you represent God for the glory of God.

So, crank up the song and let the Alpines play. I have some breaking to do.

Consistencies' Reward

2005-07-27T17:07:00.000-06:00

Yes,

For all of you who have heard that hard work pays off in the end...well it is true, at least true when it comes to sex. If you havn't heard the Davis clan is having a baby!

COME ON!

As you can tell from the previous sentence being in all caps and ending w/ an exclamation point, I am overwhelmed w/ excitement. Tarah found out about 4 days ago and the news has been slowly going around. Of course we wanted to tell all of our peoples because you all mean so much to us.

If you could I would ask you all to pray for our baby. The sucky part of it all is that I will have to miss the pregnancy (curses to you Army) but I am going to try and plan my leave for the birth of our child.

But, as I am now going to be a father, I will slip into my role and produce some fatherly advice to pass along to my friends concerning babies. This tip applies to all of you having sex (currently married), planning on having sex (when you get married), or those of you hooked by this paragraph because you are not sure where I am going with all of this talk about sex.

Tip # 1:
Yes, it is very possible to get pregnant only after quitting birth control for ONE month. I can only follow that one up with, "Didn't see that one coming."

Tip #2:
Remember men, the namebrand of your male contraceptive is very important to the QUALITY (plug for Trojan) of the contraceptive. Blast you Lifestyle!

Well, hope these tips help you all out. If anyone has any interesting baby advice I am all ears.

The Kuwaiti Experiment

2005-07-07T12:30:00.000-06:00

Whoa...serious blog rule breakage going on here. I havn't typed up anything for the faithful in some time now. But hey, throw me a freakin' bone here...I am fighting a war, dang.

Well, for all of you at home I have cooked up an experiment for you to try. With the proper following of these instructions you will achieve the long sought after and once thought fabled life of a soldier at war.

Here goes:
1. Start up a lawn mower and place it outside your bedroom window. This effect achieves the constant generator noise that just lulls a person to sleep.

2. Go and fill up a 5 gallon bucket full of sand and dirt. Next, throw said bucket of sand and dirt onto floor. Finally, run and jump around to stir up a fine layer of dust so that it settles on everything. (for special results find a super fan and have it blowing through your front door the whole day to give constant stirring effect of sand and dirt)

3. Take your clothes and wear them for about 4 days without washing. Next find the favorite spot your pet uses as the bathroom and place your clothes there for the rest of the week. Then once the week is up don your new outfit. Booya! You have now achieved the smell that one soldier acquires in a day.

4. Shrink yourself down to miniscule proportions, place all of the above instruments necessary to this experiment inside your oven. Preheat oven to 115 degrees F and viola...not only are you the worlds smallest man (think Guiness Book of World Records) you now know what it feels like to be a thanksgiving ham.

5. Finally, to bring this experiment to its full and final conclusion, you must vow to never use indoor plumbing again. First build a tin rectangle with a toilet in it. Set out in the above mentioned 115 degree heat, remove all ventilation and lighting. Next, go to the nearest shoe store, permanently borrow the balls of tissue they stuff down into the toe of the shoes, cut tissue into rough dimensions of TP and there you have it. Your very own experience of what it is like to take a shizzy in the desert.

Please enjoy, and keep me updated on how your own personal results turn out, and remember this experiment is currently being ran by the professionals who volunteered for it.

...You Can Taste It

2005-06-07T04:04:00.000-06:00

Sooooo...close. I am on the verge of being on leave. Our training is wrapping up here at Camp Shelby. It is sort of a scary thing to know that the training that is going to keep me alive is considered to be done. It goes to say that you can never get enough training to feel that you are ready to head to anywhere where there is combat going on. The only real evidence I suppose that you have had enough training is how you act when in the situation...only time will tell.
The good thing about all of this is the morale of the guys is excellent. Being on the verge of a 7 day leave is always a good thing, and I have been blessed with a young bunch of guys who take initiative to see that things get done right. There is a sense of motivation in that kind of mindset. Besides right now anyone would be motivated right now know that in a couple of days they are going to get to see their wife.

I am really excited. I caught myself thinking how I could be so calm, assured, and expectant of the future when I know full well what is in store for me. Maybe it is the guy in me that wants to go through a tough time. A season of life that can prove a mans mettle. To show that I have what it takes to get the job done. Done right. Being a leader and leading others to partake in the fruit of a battle won.

I need your prayers. Love you all.

Working It

2005-05-26T14:01:00.000-06:00

Ahh...good ole Mississippi. The weather has been pretty ridiculous down here. The other day we were outside at the temp was 91, heat index of 96 w/ 50% humidity. Goo.

Anyways...the training has been awesome, we did land navigation the other day. Pretty important. If i get lost it teaches us how to use the terrain features, maps, compass, and the such to navigate. The only thing is in the desert there are no real terrain features...mmmm...I guess I will tackle that prob when I get there.

I would like some prayer. There is another soldier in my unit that I believe is a recent christian and I have been able to talk to him some. He is interested in doing some bible study type of stuff. Pray for him to grow in his relationship with Jesus.

I have some training pics up on the site check them out.

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him

2005-05-26T11:52:00.000-06:00

jon davis jowler. www.jowlers.com

2005-05-26T11:44:00.000-06:00

hannibal...?

2005-05-26T11:40:00.000-06:00

chillin' in the barracks

Starting the Adventure

2005-05-22T13:26:00.000-06:00

The start of it all:

This is the first blog entry for Sgt. Jonathan Davis. I am in the eartly stages of my mobilization here at Mob Center Camp Shelby, MS. I have been pretty busy with a bunch of training. Doing stuff like nuclear:biological:chemical training, first aid, land navigation, and the general getting whipped into shape that comes with the military. If you have anything of interest for me (like what is happening in your world) let me know please.

I am hopping this will be an easier way (possibly) of keeping you informed and getting to know what is happening with you all.

For the Glory of Jesus Christ