Friends

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

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

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

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

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

...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

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

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