This is USS NIMITZ (CVN 68), a 100,000 ton city/airport being tossed around in the Indian Ocean in 2007.  The flight deck is about 90 ft off the surface of the water so you can see, we were in quite a storm.
 
Ships are meant to be at sea, that’s where they belong.
 
I am a guy who loves and often communicates via metaphor and the ship at sea is perfect for the way I view the world.  Lots can happen at sea, you might hit stormy weather, you might mess up and run into something by mistake, or you might take hostile fire.  When you are out there at sea, where you are supposed to be, damage of some kind is inevitable and should be expected. 
 
I have often thought of Church as a safe harbor, but as I have grown, I see Church as more of a shipyard, where they break out the hammers, welding torches, etc, and bend the metal back to where it is supposed to be.  A place for me to go and repair the battle damage and get me ready to head back into the fight. 
 
I view Church as a place for broken people to come and get fixed up, not a place for perfect people to hide.  So, you won’t find me campaigning at Church.  I’m just another person there getting repaired and sent back out for another week at sea.  My life has been a process of walking to, from, and when things are right, with God but I am a work in progress and I certainly don’t ever want to put myself in a position to judge others.  I just want to humbly make my way through life, and do the best I can to please God and let him work through me.
 
Separation of Church and State is critical to me.  I have seen what Sharia can do to a population and we have examples in our history of the Church of England or the Vatican, doing some horrific things in the name of Christianity.  I can understand why the founding fathers sought to keep organized religion separate from the government, especially if this was to be a country with the freedom of religion.  On the other hand, a huge super majority of Americans, consisting of many faiths and religions, believe in God.  Except for a very small percentage, Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Baptists, etc, and even people who don’t go to a Church, believe that there is a God.  Most of us have that in common.
 
From reading through the discussions back when the country was founded, I see a couple of powerful statements.  The first is the importance of the separation of Church and State, which I agree with.  The second is that the State should not be separated from God.  “In God We Trust” is a critical aspect to our system because it overlays a moral responsibility over capitalism, which through our history as a nation, has allowed us the benefits of competition, but has also encouraged us as a country to reach out and give selflessly.  Americans are a very generous people, both locally and internationally. 
 
My last act in the Navy was to go to Chennai, India, for the sole purpose of doing community support.  I had the honor of helping clean up an orphanage and spending time with the kids.  No other country has the power to show up and have a positive impact all over the earth like we do. 
 
This is a great nation, under God, and we shouldn’t forget that.  We should be proud of that, and not apologize for it.