Soap for Jesus

I have been waiting on this to post, as I'm not sure how to write it. But since my cadet status - and my corporal status consequently - have been blazoned across the internet, I feel I need to update you all. The promotions we were waiting on happened the other night at my new Squadron. Four good, hardworking cadets were picked. I was not one of them. The only reason I am aware of is because of the facts that a) I don't mix very well and b) I have six months left in the Corps and it's not worth their while to promote me. I'm sitting here considering whether to change my Twitter background from corporal's stripes, and I am changing my computer username from Cpl. S. Jones to Mademoiselle Sian - and my personal picture from corporal's stripes. I can't deny that it's made me feel like a failure, particularly knowing the internal reactions of some people in the Corps. However, I earned it once, and nearly had sergeant. I think I'll be proud of that and le...

They sold them every year. People in green and brown clothes and people in blue, smiling, with a box around their necks or in their arms, full of small red paper flowers. Other people came up and put some money in the buckets they had on their arms, and walked away with a little red flower that they'd put on. 'Course, not everyone did it. My family was something Daddy called "pacifist", and he hated the people in green and blue. Every time he saw one of them, he'd call us together and herd us past them as fast as he could. Still, that didn't stop my sister and I looking. In the end, Marissa stopped looking. She said that Daddy was right, and it didn't really matter. After all, it was just a paper flower that people wore a few days and then forgot about. It didn't seem to matter that much to them, so why would it to us? I didn't care about what everybody else did. It was the people in green and blue that I watched. And they were there, year after ye...

11-11-11, whether British or American. Armistice Day. Veteran's Day. Remembrance Day. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day, on the eleventh month, the Armistice was signed in 1918, "officially" bringing an end to the First World War. Since then, at 1100 hours on November 11th, two-three minutes of silence are held to remember the fallen who died that we might live today, and those currently serving and dying in foreign countries - whether we agree with the wars or not. The past three Saturdays I've been involved in selling poppies to the general public. The Poppy Appeal is part of a nationwide group that makes and sells poppies to the public, calling them to remember - and never forget. Across Britain, perfect strangers are united with one bond - a splash of red on their lapels or tops, calling them to remembrance. Tough biker jackets, upper class dainty scarves, a grubby child's little jacket; all share one common feature - the poppy. There's some coats t...

I'm nineteen years old with a fairly unusual past. I have two names and two personalities (no, I'm not schizo). I'm British (half Welsh, 3/8 English and 1/8 Irish with a dash of Scots), redheaded and passionately love my country to being willing to die for her. I love America and Americans dearly to wanting emigrate there. America is "the Promised Land" in spite of its failures, as Britain is "the Land of Hope and Glory" to Americans. I'm independent and very dependent. I'm silent and talkative. I love CCM rock and choral orchestral pieces. I'm crazy about the Royal Air Force, a member/cadet of the Air Training Corps and planning to join later as an officer, but I want to marry and have loads of kids. (As an ex-feminist to a degree, God's done really well on that one!!) I adore military drill, both narrowly watching it done, learning it in depth and performing it with precision. My soul overflows into music and song, both listening to, si...

*chuckling* Apparently my web address needs some explaining. Why do I have my blog title as "Cadet for Christ ~ Running the Course" and my address as an apparently random "http://jjwatc1290.blogspot.com"? To explain. JJ are my pseudonym initals - Jane Johnson. W stands for writings. ATC is the branch of my organisation - the Air Training Corps. 1290 is the Squadron I then desperately wished to join - Wednesfield. So in short - Jane Johnson's writing; Air Training Corps (Squadron) 1290. Random to thee, but not unto me! Hope this has explained. ;) ~Jane

A while ago, I buzzed a comment asking what people would like me to blog on next. Out of three people, two asked for a blog on music. The third asked for a hole-pick in musicals - something which, although I love them, I am looking forward to doing. To start with, I'm going to cover my MP3 in several blog posts. :D That might give you a kind of idea of what I listen to. I also may post links of songs that are special for me, and/or the lyrics that make that particular song stand out. I'm expecting participation in my Buzz and my comments on here, since you asked for this! :D To start with, I'm a weird person, and my ranges, like my moods, are wild, weird and wonderful. Ie, varied. I'm not going to go through and tell you every button on my MP3, because listing "Record Now", "Now Playing", "Music", "Genre", isn't anything to do with it. Go on, smile....you thought I was being blonde. :P And no, dear politically correct people, ...

As God has been working on me and things are changing in my life, as I start my last two years of being an Air Cadet and intend on missing a good section of that for the States, and as I do not blog that much about cadets, I have been considering whether to revamp my blog. I admit, I am proud of my identity as a cadet corporal. I still support our Armed Forces and will do so in any way I can. However, since the Boss left, I have grown away from 196, and I think I only still go for the sake of the past. I have no future with either the cadets or the Armed Forces - a fact which, once admitted, will probably shake loose a lot of my followers from Twitter who put up with my Christianity and follow me as a sub-member of the Forces. I am still a cadet for Christ, but the atmosphere is no longer untarnished - God knows whether it can ever become clean again, thanks to my stupidity with Cadet Rivers. I know God has forgiven me, but the fingers pointed and the sudden drop in language watch (min...

My last parade as a fully active member of 196 Squadron was on Remembrance Sunday, November 14th, 2010. See if you can spot me! Oh, and ignore the fact that I changed step JUST before I passed the camera...now why are you all looking for it? :P

I am confused. I have three deep desires, longings, dreams, whatever, within my heart. And they appear to be completely incompatible. The first is the remnant from what I used to be before my last backslide. I had and have still a passionate desire to serve God and my country. I love my country with all the patriotic fire I possess and I would willingly die to serve her. As an Air Cadet Corporal, growing and developing within the Air Training Corps organisation, my passion, interest in the Royal Air Force and the strong stand God enabled me to make at my Squadron for His glory seemed to point to one thing. I was and am aware it will be an extremely hard life, that my desire to serve Christ and my passion for my country may sometimes seem at odds; my antipathy to men, attitude towards marriage, and the result of my first serious backslide left me convinced that singleness was for me – as well as the fact that it is a higher calling than marriage and I wanted – and want – to reach ...

Ignoring combats*, which I hate because 1- they aren’t smart and 2 – they are army clothes, there is one piece of my uniform which I hate. Not with a passion, as I do camos*, but I really don’t like my RAF jumper. It’s one of the biggest ones on the Squadron, about four sizes too big, with a neck that gapes around my collarbone, sleeves that need to be doubled up, and a hem that also has to be tucked under as it reaches to my knees. It’s a good, thick blue grey wool, with a pocket on the sleeve for a pen as well as having the blue-grey shoulder patches with epaulettes for brassard and rank slides/flight tapes. In the icy blasts of winter, it provides a wonderful warmth. But for all of its serviceable self, most 196 girls – definitely myself, any rate, and my mother – hate our jumpers. Why? Because they literally hang like feed sacks. They don’t give a hint of a shape or a figure, and when you’re used to walking round in a smart blue shirt with sleeves rolled up, a belt around your ...

Two encouraging pieces from two books I am working through at present...I believe they will bless both my followers and my teammates. Evidence Not Seen ~ Darlene Deibler Rose Darlene Deibler was a remarkable American missionary, who God granted the strength to "be a good soldier for Jesus Christ" throughout the hell of WWII, locked into a Japanese concentration camp in New Guinea. At this particular time, she was in the headquarters of the Japanese secret police on death row. Here is some of her story in her own words. "...Though grateful to God for my deliverance, the terror of the night and the gravity of the watchman's situation were too critical to allow sleep. The burden of my intercession was on behalf of the watchman, that God would protect him and obliterate from the memory of those lecherous, malevolent reprobates all recollection of the events of that night. Thank God, Saartje and the others from death row had returned to Kampili, for their sakes as well ...

Okay. So put it bluntly. I've lost my best friend due to cadets. I don't like cadets for that reason. I'm tired of being treated like a cadet by the other NCOs when I'm told I can't be one. I feel threatened by the growing dependence of the sergeants and the CO on the other corporal over me. Which sounds more jealous as not, but the other three NCOs are starting to pair off. Okay, their friendship, not my problem. What is, is that the other corporal is finding out stuff first about the Squadron and what's going on, and then telling me, which is making it extremely difficult. What does it look like to the cadets if the senior corporal knows nothing about what's going on, and the junior corporal does and is telling me about it? How am I supposed to keep respect for rank when I'm treated as though I haven't got it? Well! The problem was cleared up between the CO and me, nominally, on the Sunday afterwards...gave him some chocolate and told him I was sor...

My Squadron as I will always remember it..last summer and autumn it became home and second family to me. The Boss the head and father-figure, Andy, Scott, Gem, Aid, Jay and I individual cadets bound together to keep the Squadron going...the hardcore of the Squadron. 1 sergeant, 3 corporals, 2 cadets. How much I wish I could go back. How much.

Yeah, organising a Sqn attack on your commanding officer within 30 minutes, complete with party poppers, blowouts and throwing confetti in his face IS one of them. However, he enjoyed it, and we were happy. Sgt. R. and myself are at the front of the parade, and we're killing ourselves laughing. The CO is cowering back after my confetti attack as another party popper explodes over him. All of us gathered for a photo with him afterwards...I don't look too happy because I didn't want to be in there for personal reasons. It took Luce and Shan to physically carry me across the room. (Could I do them for assault on an NCO?) ;D So...yeah. Another thing I shouldn't be doing is having to apologise to him tomorrow night. I was out working with the Sqn on Saturday, and witnessed yet another attempt at backstabbing the previous CO. Needless to say, I was fuming with the CO (because he started it), and said to Sgt. R. (through sobs *grimace*) that sometimes I thought I hated the CO....

I don't know what to say. :) Maybe an introduction? Why I have created a blog: Because my best friend, Amzi, has a blog on here and I wanted to add her as a friend. Who am I: Jane Johnson will suit you. Red headed, blue-eyed, half English, half Welsh, full blooded Briton. I'm home educated and a born again, Bible-believing Christian, (I don't think much of most denominations so I won't label myself), and very untypical. My life goals are to serve Jesus Christ in every area of my life and to witness to His power in every way that He enables me, and secondly to serve my country in the way I feel called to. I believe it is possible to combine both of these roles, and for this reason, I am aiming to enter the Royal Air Force. At present, I am a cadet of the Air Training Corps, a non-commissioned officer with the rank of corporal. Sounds fancy, isn't really, just a lot of work. :) I have sub-goals: I want to join the ATC again when I leave the RAF, and work my way up to ...