The well of inspiration is not flowing.  It is dammed up by a week of fighting to breathe and function.  Except for two vital unavoidable duties of very short duration I have been in my rack or in a lounge chair trying to recover.  One of those duties was court.  The other was the wedding of a Peace Keeper and his lovely Bride who works in support services.

Besides lung and respiratory infection I have a muscle string that refuses to soften and relax.  Massage therapy brought only temporary relief.  Yesterday it hit so hard that I could not straighten to an upright position until I massaged it with a muscle relaxing cream.

The intriguing part of this experience is that when I had the unavoidable obligations I would receive suspension of all of the symptoms of the malady, even the restoration of my voice and strength, until I finished the obligation and then the symptoms and the weakness of the illness returned and I had to take myself to the lounge chair or my rack again.

This is not an unknown battle for me.  It happens when I am overloaded too greatly for too long a time and my body is weakened by the overload.  I have experienced it before and if I live very long I will experience it again.  Sometimes it has lasted as long as three weeks.  Most of the time I do well but occasionally I take on too much for too long and arrive here to learn the lesson yet again.  What you do not learn and practice, you get re-treaded until you do!

Why do I share this with you?  It is to give you the opportunity to know that even though I know that life has to be balanced I do not always achieve the goal of keeping it in balance.  When it is out of balance too long I pay a terrible price and it cost me time and stops me from functioning in duty except for short periods of unavoidable obligation for which I receive Grace and Strength that are not my own.  It does not matter that I am working to pay medical bills.  What matters is that I must keep it balanced and be reasonable as well as faithful.

My Commander-In-Chief is faithful even when I cannot be faithful.  I have experienced this provision many times and it never ceases to amaze me and bless me.  He does provide care for those who trust Him and makes special provision just when they need it.  There are numerous places in the Scriptures that tell us of these events.

The rest of the time they reap what they sow just as I am doing now.  Learning to listen to what I already know that my body is trying to tell me is my deficiency.  When I listen and honor it things go well.  When I push it for too long, things do not go well unless my Commander-In-Chief gives me extra Grace and the Strength to act upon it...

But I have not ceased to pray for you in any of these days.  We always made it to the Throne of Grace together and as long as I live, breathe and am conscious, we always will.

You are of greater value than I can describe to you in words.  Your deeds of duty carry ramifications that echo all the way through Eternity.  If you were not there doing whatever duty that you perform, then others could not perform their duties and all of the system of peace keeping and peace making would deteriorate and fail.  Each of you and every one of you are vitally important to the way of life that we know today.  If it were not for you, life as we know it could not and would not exist.  My Commander-In-Chief and I thank you.  With the deepest of appreciation and care, we honor you.  YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THE GOOD OF ALL PEOPLE!!! THANK YOU!!!

"BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!"  ALWAYS be alert, watchful, suspicious and wary.  Take the very best care of you as you care for and about others.  See to the strength and well being of your spirit as well as all the rest of you.  Your spirit must be strong for you to be successful.

Call or write if I may be of any service... Or if you just want to encourage me... Feedback encourages all who write... It helps to know we are reaching someone who reads the message.

As it has always been... So it still is!!!

"VICTORIOUS WARRIORS WIN FIRST...
AND THEN GO TO WAR,
WHILE DEFEATED WARRIORS GO TO WAR FIRST...
AND THEN SEEK TO WIN."  Sun tzu

Training and practice are everything!
Without it, the best results are not obtained!

ONLY LIVE PEACE KEEPERS SEE THE VICTORY!!!
THEY SEE IT ONLY BECAUSE OTHERS HAVE MADE THEIR ETERNAL
PAYMENTS OF SWEAT, BLOOD, TEARS AND LIFE FOR THAT VICTORY!

WITH THE DEEPEST OF APPRECIATION AND RESPECT...
BE BLESSED (A CONDITION TO BE ENVIED)...
BE SUCCESSFUL... BE SAFE...
[My injunction to be safe means doing all you know to do as you do your job... it means
doing the best you can with what you have where you are using all your faculties to get
the job done well and with good results conquering evil and keeping or restoring peace...
it does not mean to avoid duty and honor... it does not mean to cower or allow anything
to hinder you in the process of duty according to rules, law and ethics...  it means that if
the demand takes your earthly life you destroy as much evil as possible in the process. 
That is my definition of being safe... doing the best you can and leaving the rest to God
or whomever else is responsible... being best employed for the sake and protection of all
the things and people that we hold dear.]

I represent, write for... and give the credit to:
God the Father (my Commander-in-Chief),
Jesus Christ the Son (the Eternal Captain of my life) and
the Holy Spirit of God (my Eternal Teacher, Keeper and Guide).
In Christ I live... with Him and for you I serve...
And I rejoice that you are there whether you are Christian or not...
D. R. (Don) Staton, Chaplain to Peace Keepers,
Surviving Peace Keeper,
Virginia State Police Alumni,
RETIRED Police Officer Virginia Beach Police Dept.,
DCJS Certified Police Instructor,
Community Service Officer (Traffic Safety)
757-431-2190, chpln1@verizon.net
3709 Beacon Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23452
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