Times of Ministry While Training

When I received these pictures via email yesterday, and saw the smile on his face, I felt such peace about us being apart. I'm not saying it's easy and I like it or anything; I'm just saying I love that he is there for the soldiers and ministering to them. God put him in this ministry for a reason, and I'm learning more and more to lean on God and trust that what we are doing is for His kingdom and His glory. He's the one smiling! (haha) In the picture below they are taking supplies to some of the soldiers and going to visit them.Yes, that means he got to ride in a Blackhawk Helicopter! I figured out those are his goggles on his head, covered to keep all the dust off of them I guess. It kind of looks like a [brown] smurf hat.Here he's having a service for his soldiers right where they are. I love seeing pictures like this!!

Here he's taking a little break or something with his assistant. For those who don't know, chaplains don't carry a gun...so, yes, I do a lot of praying for his assistant with the upcoming deployment! Actually, there's someone much bigger who has his back - God!!That's my man! (Even though I didn't recognize him when he first sent the picture...It was his hand with the wedding band that I recognized first.)

I sure love him and miss him!

A Renewed Heart

Over the last few days I've done a lot of reflecting, and what I discovered is this:

- I allowed other things to creep in and distract me from the most important relationship ever, my relationship with Christ!
- I allowed the weight of "my world" to fall on my shoulders and was not giving it to God.
- I was allowing things that I have no control over (like the upcoming deployment of my husband) to control me and get the best of me.
- I was not growing.
- I was not focused on anything significant or eternal...and so on.

But...PRAISE GOD...He did not leave me. He used a book on a shelf, while I was walking through a store praying to Him to help me get out of the rut I was in, to catch my attention - "A Woman After God's Own Heart"...that is my desire, I told Him! I want to be that woman - one who seeks to know Him and grow in my relationship with Him each day, one who doesn't allow the day to day demands or struggles get to me in such a way that I lose focus of what God would have me learn or experience for His glory.

Two weeks ago, early on a Sunday morning, I believe God woke me up and laid it on my heart to go get my bible and read Joshua 1. I did, and He spoke to my heart. Three times in the first nine verses of Chapter 1, God told Joshua to be strong and courageous. He told him to meditate on His Word day and night. He told him not to be discouraged and that He would be with him wherever he went. I believe God was telling me the same things that morning.

You would have thought that the next day I would have gone back to His Word and started in Chapter 2 of Joshua, but I didn't. Here's the catch. After about an hour of prayer and drawing near to God last night, I felt like God was leading me to pick up another book I had purchased by the same author and go directly to the chapter on Fear. I hated jumping into the middle of the book, especially when I was hardly through the first one I started reading this week. Do you know it took me right into Chapter 2 of Joshua?! In that very moment I knew that for two weeks I had missed out on what God wanted to show me the very next day in Chapter 2, and so on.

My heart has ached, and all the while God was trying to speak to me...trying to comfort me...trying to teach me something new about who HE is in my life. I would pray off and on throughout the day, but mainly for my husband and his soldiers and other people in my life who asked for prayer, but I was neglecting to draw near to God.

Today my heart is whole again. In fact, that took place last night as I surrendered everything to the One who knows me from the inside out, the One who knows what the future holds and what is best for me and my family, and the One who is in control of all things and is victorious! My heart is renewed!

Psalm 51:10 says, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." That was my prayer, and he was faithful! Psalm 51:12 says, "Restore to me the joy of my salvation..." That, too, He has been faithful to do! I praise Him for a renewed heart and a renewed focus.

The word is out.

I write and erase, write and erase...

Today we got word of where our husbands will deploy to. All I can say is I'm thankful they didn't announce to us when via email. I hope we get to hear that with our spouse beside us! If I could have it my way...I want to hear that from my husband as he holds me in his arms and tells me everything's going to be OK. Hearing anything when you can't talk to your spouse for another couple of weeks just stinks! That's all I'm going to say about that!

Lots of bubbles!

This evening makes night #2 without my husband. I miss him very much! This morning I woke up feeling like something was missing...kind of like when you go on a trip and as soon as you leave the house you start wondering if you forgot something important...like your passport or your purse, not just a pair of socks or something insignificant. Except it's more than that. I don't want to say it's an emptness I feel; it doesn't go that deep because God filled that void many years ago, but it's just a big part of my heart that's missing and I can't get it back until he returns.

Anyways...the twins and I went to get some groceries and just sort of hang out for a little while. When we returned home, we had dinner and then the twins were unloading/reloading the dishwasher and I ran upstairs to check emails and blog a little before turning in for the night...then it happened. Darby calls from downstairs, "Mom! The dishwasher is spewing!" I thought I'd find that it "threw up" in the sink due to the garbage disposal, but when I arrived in the kitchen there was water and bubbles everywhere! It took us about an hour to clean it all up, but we did it.

The moral of the story...don't buy different types of soap without telling your kids! I guess I confused him a little. Either that or he wanted to see what would happen when you use dish soap instead of dishwasher detergent! :) I'm kidding. The kitchen floor is squeaky clean and we're all doing fine. God is good and keeps us moving along. Maybe it all happened so we'd focus on something totally different than not having dad around... oh wait a minute... I was thinking, "Where's dad when things like this happen?!" at one point. Then we set out to do all that we needed to do to make sure nothing got ruined, and later we'll have a good laugh when we get to tell dad what happened while he was away.

Why we moved off post...

I've had several people ask me why we moved off post and so I thought I would give an answer.

I don't, however, have an answer for those who would ask me what is best when it comes to deciding whether to live on or off post. It's totally a personal preference and both have their pros and cons. It's also a preference that might change - as it did for my family!

From the moment my husband found out he was in the Army, I really wanted to live on post. In fact, I was a little adamant about it. I'm not really one who always feels comfortable home alone at night so, with the knowledge of lurking deployments, I thought that living on post would eliminate more of the feelings that sometime accompany that. My husband, on the other hand, liked the idea of living off post, except for the thought that a very short commute to work would be nice. The twins, like me, also liked the idea of living on post and making neighborhood friends. That didn't really happen at our first house on post, but it did at our second place so I figured they wouldn't ever really go for living off post.

Then, just a few weeks ago, we all entertained the thought...

BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) recently went up and the thought of having an actual house to ourselves, not a duplex, appealed to each of us. Looking at the price to rent a home that was almost twice the size of the place we were currently living in, and less expensive when you look at the fact that they take all your BAH when you live on post, made it even more appealing. And then the other factor of our twins not liking the school district we were in...and, well, it all begins to unfold as we drive by this big, beautiful home in a very nice, quiet, safe neighborhood just outside the post (making our commute only a few minutes longer than before), and then we drive by this HUGE, brand new school that looks great and is rumored to be a really great school...and not a one of us was left with anything to think about. It was perfect...it IS perfect.

This evening my husband and I were chatting about how much we love living here. It's such a nice house. It's relaxing, and private, and the twins are happy as can be about their new school. All is well, and God is good! We thank Him for the blessing of this home. The guest room awaits friends and family!!!

Another Move

This weekend we're in the process of moving off post. It's not something I wanted to do when we first moved here, but just recently we decided it might be nice so we prayed about it, and last Saturday went looking very close to post (the one thing we both agreed had to be so for us to make another move)...and, within a few hours we found a house we all loved very close to post, with a huge, new school for the twins (another reason we thought a move might be good!).

I still can't believe it!! On Monday morning we went to the housing office and asked if they could waive the 30 day notice...and, praise the Lord, they said they could! On Wednesday we got the keys to a beautiful home...and tonight we're 98% moved out and just have a little more to clean. The only glitch...the twins both woke up vomiting in the middle of the night and my husband and I have done most of the moving on our own. Surprisingly, it hasn't been bad at all though.

Our prayer tonight is that we don't get sick and have trouble finishing the moving and cleaning after church tomorrow. Due to the twins sickness, we left our couches and our bed set up so as not to disturb them and are spending one last night at our house on post. They slept or watched T.V. all day while we moved, and this evening we worked a little while on setting up the new house so they could comfortably move over there tomorrow if they're still sick.

And, at the end of the day, we're praising God for a beautiful home to live in for the remainder of our stay (because we're not moving again until the Army moves us!!!) and for how well the move has gone.

Pray for our Soldiers!

This is a photo of one of my husband's soldiers. It brings tears to my eyes every time I run across it. As many of our service men and women are still in harm's way, please don't forget about them. And, as many still prepare to go to the battlefields, don't forget to pray for them and their families as well. The battle might not be as intense, but until they all come home we must not forget to lift them up in prayer and extend love and care for the families on the home front, or to reach out to those who have lost love ones.

Thank you to all those who serve and to their families. I know the sacrifice is great!

Thankful Thursday

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13








It's been so long since I've actually written anything, and I miss it so much! I was just about to get off the computer when I realized it was Thursday and I had much to be thankful for.

As I was searching for a verse about being thankful, I came across the one above and, even though it doesn't talk about being thankful, it just seemed to resonate with me and speak to my heart. I have so much to be thankful for, yet in the midst of a very busy week I've found myself to be a little grumpy. Days and days of rain, and tons and tons of things to do at work, seemed to get the best of me...

That is until a wonderful friend reminded me, "the sun IS still shining...we just can't see it right now."

We talked for a few minutes during my lunch break and those few little words went a long way. As I reflected on my attitude and went back to work, I saw the fruit of my labor and no longer felt aggravated. I had been dwelling on the negative (lots and lots of work to catch up on from my vacation) and never even noticed how much was actually being accomplished. The piles on my desk were almost gone!

God reminded me today (through the words of a wonderful friend) that He is my strength, and He is my sunshine! There is nothing that He and I can't accomplish TOGETHER!

Just to name a few...I'm thankful for:
-Friends who speak the truth in love. I needed out of that slump!
-The opportunity we had to spend time with family and friends in Texas.
-A beautiful, wonderful wedding for my daughter and her husband.
-A wonderful husband who has been such a huge help to me and is such an encouragement (he did all the unpacking and grocery shopping when we got back from Texas since I had to go back to work!).
-Loving, sweet kids. I just love them! It was so awesome to get to be all together this Christmas!!
-My job, which provided the money we needed for the wedding.
-Life!
-The love of Christ!!!
-My boys...who are urging me to get off the computer to watch the football game with them and eat pizza and relax!

Our Daughter's Wedding

Oh, Happy Day!!! She was the most stunning bride I've ever seen...and is still glowing! What precious bridesmaids... they prayed over her before her wedding! Big brother...The groomsmen, ushers and ringbearer (and my FOUR boys!) The bridesmaids and flowergirl...beautiful! Moments you never want to forget... Congratulations Skyler and Whitney!!! It was a beautiful day! Meet our new son...

Their first dance...
Daddy holding tight before he must let go! I wanted to put these two pictures together because I love her countenance on both...

The day could not have been more perfect!

(I'll add more when I have time...)

It's been such a long time...

I wish the times of writing here weren't few and far between right now, but, unfortunately, I have little time to write...much less think! I appreciate the emails that let me know I'm still thought of and being prayed for during this time. Thank you!! After the wedding is over, the holidays pass, and I'm back home and life gets back into a routine, I hope to be here again writing more often. Until then, I hope to have a few moments here and there to keep friends posted on the wedding events, and ask that you continue to keep us all in your prayers...especially this Saturday when we give our only daughter away to be wed.