GOOD NEWS
We take joy in all things, Jake's friends and our firends have been a blessing to us. IF you have an update, baby's birth, marraige, happy event, event you would like to share.. email us - siefert@rice.edu.

For all you out there having these sweet new babies.. ever heard of gDiapers?

David Cook and Lindsay are engaged! Wedding plans to follow..

Christina Munday (Hunt), husband Matt celebrate the birth of their third daughter and are getting settled in Oz!

Rusty and Kelly are officially engaged!! Wedding plans will be posted when they let me know ;)

Jen Gutknecht and Brett Chamberlain, are married and had a beautiful reception this Saturday.. God bless you two!

Erica and GA Villarreal welcomed Adrienne, 6lbs, 13oz, 20 in. on August 6th. Baby Blog! Happy baby!!

The Jacob S. Siefert '01 Memorial Corps Chaplain Endowed Scholarship. Because of the generosity of so many people, the first scholarship will be offered fall of '08. The endowment means that the scholarship will be offered in perpetuity (for a long time, basically). We have been in contact with the chaplains at A&M.

We will continue to contribute to the scholarship, the bigger the endowment, the more generous the scholarship but we also hope that Crede Deo will affect other students in other insitutions as we seek ways to support education.

Direct questions about the scholarship can be directed to Brian Hervey, Dir of Development for Student Affairs at A&M. He was a chaplain in the corp so he has a special interest in its success.

We are in the process of creating a board of advisors, Jacob's Ladder. These are men and women to whom the scholarship recipient will have access to for advice on faith, sucess, and integrity as they navigate university. Jake would have liked this! Check this page for news and updates on progress!

Contributions should be sent to Texas A&M Foundation, 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, Texas 77840-2811. In the memo line write, Jacob Samuel Siefert. Other questions you may contact Johnathan Siefert, 713-884-0325. Thanks to everyone for your support.

Aggie Corner: Aggies and their families need our prayers.
Lt Jeremy Ray

Need Dry Ice!!? Call Jake's Corp Buddy Jesse and "A Dry Ice Company"

Special Request: Jake's friend Mark Miller has asked me to pass this along. (Jake was Mark's band manager for the 7 months after his return from Iraq.) Jake loved music and the bond he and Mark had was forged at least in part in sharing the joy of writing music.

From Mark: I am thinking about a new song idea regarding Jake and his influence on his friends. I want to gather stories from Jakes friends of how he directly or indirectly influenced their life in any way. Please send an email with any stories for any memories or instances you are willing to share.

markmillercountry@yahoo.com

Need updates from all of you out there!

Jake's website beforeOctober 20, 2005, for the year 2006

Janet's men's link

every WEEK!

August 18, 2008

Walking Home

There was a woman who walked the streets of my neighborhood. I haven’t seen her in a while, but for almost two years, I saw her. She walked the streets, sometimes with her hair in curlers and sometimes fully coifed, her head tilted up a little, not quite like she was looking towards heaven, and never a smile on her face. Her gait was ambling, less than purposeful, and honestly, nomalice in the telling, she didn’t look quite right. In the head, you know. She didn’t seem to be in pain, at least not the physical kind, nor did she look like a stroke sufferer, she was always alone. She wasn’t walking to get in shape, she was already thin, but I can tell you that woman clocked hundreds of miles just walking, all times of the day, heat or cold, rain or shine. I never spoke with her, but in my heart I knew from the first time I saw her, what she was doing. She was pain walking. Sometimes there are things that happen to us that we can’t handle unless we do something. The problem is that finding out what you can do isn’t possible, because your mind and heart and soul are so sore and torn, you can’t think straight. Sometimes you don’t even want to think straight, so the only option, and as crazy as it might sound (mind you the human mind has come to this conclusion more than you might imagine), is to pain walk, or if you are able, pain run.

You know of course, why I knew what the woman was doing. I’ve been there. She and I, unknown to each other, were pain walking together. There is solace in just moving in those dire times of need. I suspect that there is solace in being on the outside, where the sun still shines, trees' still green, and you can see the steady, true hand of the Creator at work. I suspect, that even if you don’t believe in God, the need for the kind of assurance and certainly that God’s nature provides is a balm to the human heart, so no matter our faith state, pain walking happens. I have been thinking about that woman, wondering what happened to her. I haven't seen her for a while. I know that sometimes, when our minds are broke, healing is delicate and difficult and unsure, not quite like the healing of a broken heart. I am a living testament to what God will do with a broken heart. Time, and faith, and grace will work miracles. I hope that the woman has healed. I hope that because I no longer see her bodes well for where pain walking got her.

I woke up this morning, with anxiety strong in me and the small but certain need to get out where the sky and the clouds are bigger than me. Turning to gaze out the window at the early light of day, I waited for the fogginess of sleep to leave. I have come to love those moments, those precious moments when reality and dreams aren’t much different, and prayer comes as natural as breathing. In the knowledge that human souls are meant to care for each other I accepted that my heart strings were tender and aching for some who are doing a different kind of pain walking this Monday. To Chloe and Bobbye and Dot, one child and two women who are walking their way to Heaven these last days of August, accompanied by families, walking with them, finishing the race of this life with Grace, supporting those they love with every ounce of love and faith in them, I will take a walk in the rain for you today and storm the gates of Heaven with prayer.

Quote of the day: That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going. Forest Gump

Bible verse of the day: Romans 8:18 "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

2008 Happy Monday,

2007 Happy Monday's

Jake, founder of The Solas Group, was passionate about new opportunities. One day you may see his and Josh's dream for a restaurant or bar listed here. Until then... We are happy to report that the Solas Group, with Solas Fide Logistics, LLC, handling full truck loads interstate and Sola Gratia Logistics, LLC covering intrastate hot-shot needs, has completed its first full year + of business! For information on employment or load pickup, call 832-368-4016. Our prayers for direction for the company are being answered and our prayers for employees who work with pride has been a blessing. Watch us grow.

Crede Deo - Places to make a difference. The Solas Group has a philanthropic entity, so check out opportunities here to be a part of the vision of making a difference.. For a more random and eclectic listing of people who we think deserve some attention for their desire to make a difference..

Fort Hood Soldier keeping soldiers safe.

Did you ever wonder "what the heck is all this solas stuff?!" It was Jake unobtrusively acknowledging and proclaiming his faith...

"Sola Gratia"

Ephesians 2:1-10

By Grace alone (Sola gratia),
through Faith alone(Sola fide),
in Christ alone (Sola Christus),
according to Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura), for God's Glory alone (Sola Deo Gloria)

Crede Deo - trust in God

We honor those who are serving our country ... we are praying daily for

1st Lt Michelle Campos - deployed to Afghanistan

Captain Chris Brawley - deployed to Afghanistan

David Moran , in country, in Iraq

SPC. Matthew Franklin
In-country. Please make some special prayers for Matt.. its dangerous where he is!!!

2LT Josh Siefert

John Wilkinson is BACK HOME! The VFA-211 Checkmates

HM3 Jeff Wright
VMGR-352 Det. A
UIC 41147
FPO AP 96426-1147
JeffreyWrightHM3@yahoo.com

Cpl Melvin Miller
MAG-39 S-4
Box 555750
Camp Pendleton, CA 92055

Cpt Ryan Renkin - Camp Roberts, CA

1Lt Michael Adams - the ultimate sacrifice, March 16, 2004. Jake's convoy was escorting and Jake was one of the first responders. Jake wrote about this in his journal and prayed continuously for him and this family although he didn't know his name. We do now and we still pray.

1Lt Jeremy E. Ray - the ultimate sacrifice, 3rd ACR, December 20, 2007, Kanaan, Iraq.

Sergeant First Class Jonathan A. Lowery - the ultimate sacrifice, 3rd ACR, of Houlton, Maine, who died on December 14th in Mosul, Iraq.

Staff Sgt Brian Craig, the ultimate sacrifice, 4/16/2002.

Capt. Chad Ogden - Marines, in cournty

1Lt Joe Trevnio - Corp buddy, in country flying helicopters
C Co 1-149th ARB
APO AE 09391

Lt Dan Moran - injured
3644 Binz-Engelman Road, No 5105
San Antonio, Texas 78219
for his talk at church go to www.cfbc.org

Capt. David Fraser - the ultimate sacrifice, contribution in memory of David can be made to The Captain David Fraser Memorial Scholarship Fund may be sent to P. O. Box 680132 Houston, Texas, 77268-0132. Honored with a memorial flag pole at TOPS Surgery.

2LT Sarah Frederickson
Safely back in the states!!

Jake's A1 Corp of Cadets buddies:
Peter Wetterauer
PJ Englebrecht
Will Oliver
Justin Tice
Bert Walker
TJ Saari

My Sweet Lord

The Lights of That City.....

Amazing Grace - Louis Armstrong

Why Me, Lord- Kris Kristofferson

Recipe for a sore heart- Work in Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuilla Mexico..contact siefert@rice.edu to donate computers and bicycles.

Mark Miller Country - Jake's friend and country singer. Jake spent a lot of time and effort as Mark's manager..