November 3, 2025

What Yous Need

Admitting that we spent our lives doing what we thought we wanted, only to learn we never truly had a choice. Our idea of the world was presented to us as “the way,” without any alternative lesson.

Boot camp stole that image from me. I hold no grudge against it, but I do wonder how they managed to sneak it in on me… on us. As I am no better or worse than anyone else, I too have been wandering and wondering where I have been.

Parris Island, 1997

Silence. And then—thunder. There is no bracing, only impact. A series of orders, almost incomprehensible. We move like sheep. They have complete and utter control over what we thought we were.

Your name is Recruit. They didn’t want a long relationship, so they let us keep our last names. Nothing more. We were in recruit status. They took everything: hair, clothes, and our first names. We were reduced to what our fathers made us and what they could take from us. We were nothing and no one. Just a bunch of “Yous.”

And do you know what “Yous” do?

What they are told.

And guess what “Yous” need? Food, sleep, and training. Everything else is a gift. Also, never say thank you. No one is thanked for doing their job.

You are forbidden from saying “you” or “I.” Uttering those words was like asking for scorn and pain. As long as YOU existed there, we would never have peace.

Yous know this has to be some form of abuse. You can feel that in your core. But you persist… this recruit persists. After all, they said Yous cannot leave.

Then one day, it makes sense…

In giving up everything, I was made to take inventory. Everything I believed I wanted or thought I already possessed was only a possibility.

Who was I without it?

“Why do YOU want to be on the ground so badly, Recruit?” he uttered, setting his trap.

Without thought, “I” began to speak.

“I don’t… I—”

“I….. I got your ‘I’! Get on your face, since you want to be on the ground so bad!”

He must have seen me staring at the ground. Why was I staring at the ground?

To establish the truth, they took everything.

You are just like the other “Yous.” The only difference was what this recruit was doing in the moment. I realized that if I could not stop the ground from falling away, then I should simply assume it is always there.

You learn that your purpose is to be present, truthful, and capable.

God. Country. Corps.

If you were found outside of Good Order and Discipline, there would be hell to pay.

Your country would pay.

Your Corps would pay.

You are only marked by the actions you take now.

But who are you, Recruit?

Life will keep asking you the same question until you tell the truth.

“Yous” must first lead themselves, and to do that, Yous must know who Yous are “without.”

They released us knowing that we knew what Yous are capable of—and they gave us the title of Marine.

God is going to ask, and the answer of plumber, carpenter, doctor, lawyer… those are not who you are, but what you do.

To know yourself, you will have to seek the Creator to understand what you are.

That is the beginning of being a Godly leader.

When I was younger, my best friend and I used to go to Blockbuster to rent video games. The store also had books you could buy for each game that showed you how to be successful, where the secret places were, and how to elevate your character’s abilities. We would reference this book to master the game.

The book for this… is the Bible.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Bible References & Why They Apply

Luke 9:23 – “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

- Boot camp required self-denial and surrender of identity. Christ teaches the same path to true identity.

Philippians 2:3–8 – Christ “emptied Himself” and became a servant.

- The stripping away of ego mirrors Christ’s humility and obedience.

Romans 12:2 – “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

- Your mind was reshaped with intention and discipline.

James 1:2–4 – Trials produce endurance.

- Hardship is training, not punishment.

Hebrews 12:11 – Discipline yields righteousness.

- Pain had purpose. It produced clarity and strength.

Galatians 2:20 – “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

- The moment the “I” returns is the moment identity aligns with the Creator.

Micah 6:8 – Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly.

- This is the foundation of Godly leadership.

Proverbs 27:17 – “Iron sharpens iron.”

- Brotherhood, refinement, and shared struggle shape identity.

Matthew 7:24 – Build on the Rock.

- The Bible is the guide — the game manual for life.

You Does Not Equal What

November 10, 2025

Corps.

Pressure reveals identity. When pressure is applied, the first thing that shows up is what is already inside.

You do not suddenly become someone new—you become visible to yourself.

Deciding to be confidently chosen means accepting that who you are shows up in your decisions, not your intentions.

We plan and plan, but sometimes the ground still falls away. The planning isn’t wasted—it is evidence that you were already stepping forward.

The truth appears only when you move in the direction of the plan.

I remember when my father asked what my plans were after high school. I thought about Job Corps.

He said, “If you’re going to do that, you may as well join the military.” He had a point—they would house me, pay me, and train me for four years. That four years became twenty-six.

In boot camp, you meet every type of man—millionaires, drifters, dreamers, men with options, men with none. You wonder why they chose this path. Or if the path chose them.

Maybe this life attracts a certain type of person. Or maybe it reveals us.

Boot Camp Moment

“Just do what you are told.” That was the first lesson. Not blind obedience—acceptance. Decision made.

You asked to become a Marine. So I stopped complaining—unless it was an opportunity to laugh.

Amazingly, I was already having a good time. Acceptance allowed me to see the training clearly.

They weren’t hiding anything. They gave us everything. Good Order and Discipline doesn’t need secrets.

“GET ON LINE NOW!” The bellow cracked the air. We moved with purpose, the tips of our boots barely casting a shadow over the line. Consequence had arrived.

I held my rifle by the front sight post with my left hand, arm parallel to the deck. Pain was there, sure, but I had no interest in acknowledging it.

My Drill Instructor noticed me. He marched straight toward me.

“SHOW ME YOUR TRUE COLORS, RECRUIT!”

I stood there. No flinch. No grimace. No performance. “This recruit has no idea what the Drill Instructor is talking about.” Silence.

He stared at me, searching for something—and then he walked away.

I remember thinking: Did I just find something no one told me about? Did I make him disengage? Or did something in me make him step back?

All I said was the truth: I really didn’t know. I was just doing what I was instructed to do. I no longer had a single feeling about it.

The truth is, I knew it wasn’t personal. I was simply present, doing what I was instructed. Sometimes, being there means you will pay.

That moment stayed with me. It taught me something deeper about discipline.

The Lesson Learned

Every time we received incentive training, it was because we left the moment.

We stopped believing or knowing that they would take care of us.

We stopped doing our work, and that stopped them from doing theirs.

We had to learn to do what we were being counted on to do regardless of how we felt about it, whether rain, sleet, or snow was present.

What you feel is important, but it is not more important than what is.

The only power you have is in the now.

This is the heart of discipline—and the discipline of the heart.

These lessons echo timeless truths found in Scripture.

Biblical References

Proverbs 24:16: For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth again. — Pressure does not define the man—it reveals his endurance.

Matthew 7:16: Ye shall know them by their fruits. — Identity is shown in action, not intention.

Hebrews 12:11: Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness. — Discipline teaches action over emotion.

 November 17,  2025

Spontaneous Combustion, or Else

No, that isn’t a threat. More of an acknowledgment, if you will, that a little discomfort goes a long way — and it takes a whole lot of hard work to be lazy.

There’s a moment when you realize you don’t really know. This is the small moment of discomfort — admitting that if the ground fell away beneath you, you wouldn’t even consider yourself an anchor in your own sight. Then you wonder… what else could prevent collapse? Every step becomes interesting. Then the question becomes: What do I have control over? And to what extent is that control actually effective?

I learned the work that allowed me to be lazy.

In preparing for a deployment to Afghanistan, my unit had to complete several cycles of training. We met with a few different units and quadruple the number of personalities. Better to get the friction out of the way before we are all armed to the teeth.

We entered a cycle of execution (not people, but tasks), then debriefs on what we could sustain or improve. Problems are injected and reactions measured. At the end of every event, we’d all return to the room, sift through the results, and discuss what actually happened.

Sometimes these conversations turned into backroom discussions — group vs. individual accountability. A Major once said, “Y’all didn’t complete these tasks” to my Captain. I paused the room:

“Y’all is a very powerful word. Since this is the first I’m hearing of this, could you be a little more specific?”

The Major laughed. “You have a way with words, Sergeant,” he said — with a tone that suggested he knew exactly the weight of that word.

Sergeant = Servant.

When I was in that position, I understood the role. A servant leads by responsibility, not authority.

So Why Spontaneous Combustion?

When I was young, I used to watch science and surgery shows. I had a curiosity for how things worked. I would take things apart just to understand what was going on. One day I saw a show asking whether spontaneous combustion was real.

They found what they thought might have been an explosion or crime — but there was no mess like you’d expect, just a body mostly burned away, wrapped in a blanket, smoldering. Only the lower legs and feet remained. The rest was burnt blanket and chair.

Turns out, the person had been smoking. The cigarette burned through the skin, and the body’s fat melted into the blanket — creating the perfect slow-roast environment. Not spontaneous combustion. Just a flame that built in silence.

Did you know that if you pile oil-soaked rags in a corner, they can self-ignite? The oil heats itself slowly — gathering more and more strength — until finally it bursts into flame.

Discomfort works the same way.

Small things — ignored, buried, avoided — don’t disappear. They heat. They gather. They wait.

And when we refuse to confront what we don’t want to face — we don’t just break.

We burn.

Spontaneous combustion is never actually spontaneous.

It is the result of slow heat that no one acknowledged.

The result of unattended responsibility.

The servant carries the flame.

This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine…

It would seem to me that there may be something to my little flame and my servitude.

Biblical References

1. Matthew 5:14–16 — “Ye are the light of the world… Let your light so shine before men.”

   - Your flame is not meant to be hidden. Servanthood is visible leadership.

2. Galatians 6:5 — “For every man shall bear his own burden.”

   - Responsibility is personal. The servant carries weight willingly.

3. James 1:2–4 — “Count it all joy… when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”

   - Discomfort is not damage. It is refining heat.

4. Proverbs 4:23 — “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

   - The slow burn begins inside before it ever shows outwardly.

5. Romans 12:11 — “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.”

   - It takes work to be “lazy.” Discipline creates the appearance of ease.

Target Audience & What They Will Extract

Target Audience:

This blog speaks directly to leaders, service members, veterans, instructors, men in positions of responsibility, and anyone who carries weight quietly. It also resonates with those who are beginning a journey of self-awareness and personal accountability.

What Readers Will Extract:

- The understanding that discomfort is not an enemy but a signal.

- A powerful metaphor for responsibility: unattended heat becomes destructive flame.

- A reframing of leadership as servanthood — responsibility over authority.

- Insight into how small, ignored issues compound into major problems.

- A reminder that their “little light” matters, that discipline is unseen work, and that the refining fire produces strength.

- A biblical grounding that ties personal responsibility to spiritual maturity.

24 November,2025

Stiff-Necked People: A Paradigm Shift

There is a cycle that repeats itself every time a new group of recruits arrives.
They come from every kind of place, carrying whatever identity they think will protect them.

But the truth is simple — they resist because they cannot see.

As instructors, the mission is not to break them, but to show them the way to live.
To drill into them the truth that could save their lives.
We push them because what they cannot see can cost them everything.

When I was a recruit, we didn’t just try to survive the training.
We tried to outlast the instructors themselves.
We wanted to control how much of our flesh they would take.
We wanted a say.
We wanted to prove we understood the game.

“Get it now, rest later.”
We forced them to punish us on our time — they had the schedule to keep, not us.
We were willing to go where they sent us, but we demanded to decide which parts of ourselves would be given up in the process.
We created our own religion of crime and punishment so we could rest.

Leatherneck.

There is pride in that word.
But also a warning.
Because resistance does not mean strength if it keeps you blind to the truth.

And then there is the question:

You are not what they told you.
You are not who the world shaped you to be.
So who are you?

If you are not I, and I am not you, then who are we?
But they were once where we are. And we forgot, they had walked in our shoes and tried our games.
Did Yeshua not walk in our shoes?

This is the struggle of identity.
Not just in boot camp, but in life.
We resist the very thing designed to save us, to grow us, to make us whole.

We are a stiff‑necked people.
But we don’t have to stay that way.

Transformation begins when we stop resisting God’s correction.

Do not get wrapped up in the title of Marine. Everyone likes the title until it is time to do the work.

Men

Scripture References (KJV)

Exodus 32:9 — "And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people."

Acts 7:51 — "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost."

Hebrews 12:6 — "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."

Romans 12:2 — "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind."