Since June 1 we have officially been homeless. No need to feel sorry it's actually a good thing. We are in the process of transferring from one duty station to the next. It was bittersweet to leave Ft. Bragg after almost 7 years, but definitely the right time. I look at it as the place where I finally "grew up" so to speak. We were blessed to spend a couple days with my Aunt Carol & Uncle Bobby in Virginia. They are strong believers and it was encouraging and challenging to see what they have endured over the past few years and the relationship they have with God.
We left their home on June 3, Brian's birthday and traveled to Kentucky to spend the night at my sister's house. We enjoyed a nice birthday dinner at Bob Evan's - Brian's choice and were surprised to have her give us a Wii game system. We were so excited!! It was something we had enjoyed playing at our friends homes and were going to save up to get at some point, definitely not a necessity, though. She bought him a game as well. The next day we headed on up to Ohio to visit Brian's old workplace and then head to his parent's house to settle in for a couple weeks. It is absolutely beautiful at their place- 5 acres with a large yard, creek, lots of trees to climb- all the things that help keep little boys busy and parents sane. We have enjoyed several visits with my parents as their work schedule permits.
We are looking forward to resuming our "normal" life. Having our own home again with our 'stuff' will be wonderful. This time of rest has been long needed and is deeply appreciated. It is giving us a time to reevaluate things in ourselves, our marriage, and our family and make adjustments. We know that God has something new in store for us at Ft. Polk.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
PLAYING FAMILY
This morning I received a compliment that really warmed my heart. One of Brian's soldiers who had been spending time with us recently, asked at breakfast this morning if she could come back after church and play. I laughed and said "What game did you have in mind?" In all seriousness she said "Can I come back so we can play family?". I almost cried.
This soldier is new to the army but chose this career later in life. So I'm not talking about a teenager here. She misses being able to laugh and joke with her son, who is close to John's age, her brothers and and her mom. She said being at our house just feels safe. She knows the sacrifices she has had to make to do the right thing for her family and is thankful to have a place to be real and loved for who she is, mess and all.
I know that God knew how I needed to hear that this morning. I have been really tired, physically and emotionally, lately just from everything that we are going through and just want to withdraw into myself. It was a reminder and encouragement from my Father that it is truly worth the time and energy that is necessary to show God's love to those who are hurting.
This soldier is new to the army but chose this career later in life. So I'm not talking about a teenager here. She misses being able to laugh and joke with her son, who is close to John's age, her brothers and and her mom. She said being at our house just feels safe. She knows the sacrifices she has had to make to do the right thing for her family and is thankful to have a place to be real and loved for who she is, mess and all.
I know that God knew how I needed to hear that this morning. I have been really tired, physically and emotionally, lately just from everything that we are going through and just want to withdraw into myself. It was a reminder and encouragement from my Father that it is truly worth the time and energy that is necessary to show God's love to those who are hurting.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Fort Polk
Well the time has come for us to finally leave Fort Bragg. We have been here almost 7 years. We moved here when John was 5 weeks old. We have made many good friends here and said goodbye to many as well. Brian has deployed twice here and is more than ready to go somewhere else to play Army.
We received our official orders to Fort Polk this week. We will report there at the end of June. I sent our housing application yesterday with all the necessary documentation, so hopefully we will be on the wait list soon for housing.
This is our first real PCS- permanent change of station- since this is the only duty station we have been assigned to. We are taking it day by day and know that things will fall into place in God's time.
The hardest part always is saying good-bye to the people who have literally become family to you. I just don't think about it right now, because it will sneak up on us all to fast.
My grace is sufficient for you... 2 Corinthians 12:9
We received our official orders to Fort Polk this week. We will report there at the end of June. I sent our housing application yesterday with all the necessary documentation, so hopefully we will be on the wait list soon for housing.
This is our first real PCS- permanent change of station- since this is the only duty station we have been assigned to. We are taking it day by day and know that things will fall into place in God's time.
The hardest part always is saying good-bye to the people who have literally become family to you. I just don't think about it right now, because it will sneak up on us all to fast.
My grace is sufficient for you... 2 Corinthians 12:9
WLC and Surgery
As I said in my last post, my body has been a little out of whack lately. I have been dealing with a lot of lower abdominal pain for almost a year, which has progressively gotten worse, at times causing me to reschedule a day due to the pain. Thanks to a good friend at chapel, I got the name of a great doctor who was experienced in dealing with this situation. I was able to get referred off-post- huge answer to prayer. The process of getting in to see her went quickly. She reviewed my chart and let me know that it was in my best interest to have an exploratory laproscopic surgery to determine the cause of the pain. Sounded good to me so we scheduled it for March 27. No problem, right. Think again. We are in the Army after all.
Brian had been scheduled to go to WLC - Warrior's Leader Course- a preparation for becoming an E-5. This was a very good thing that we had been praying for over a year to happen. The dates were going to be March 4 -19 which worked perfectly with my surgery date. However, as is common in the Army, plans changed at the last minute. Since, Brian hadn't been promoted yet, he was bumped from that class because they had too many people who already had received their E-5 who needed to take the course. We knew the bumping was a possibility but weren't thrilled at first. But as always, God's timing is best. Our entire family had just had a really terrible cold. Brian still was having difficulty with his voice and extremely exhausted, the day he had been scheduled to leave.
I called my doctor as soon as I found out Brian wasn't going to see if we could change the surgery date. Thankfully, she had an opening on March 20 which worked out perfectly. Brian would be able to be around throughout the weekend to take care of the kids and it would give me the few days I needed to bounce back from the surgery.
As of today he is officially at WLC and we will see him again in 2 weeks. I am recovering well. Still get exhausted a little faster than usual, but nothing this Army wife can't handle- with all my friends:)
Brian had been scheduled to go to WLC - Warrior's Leader Course- a preparation for becoming an E-5. This was a very good thing that we had been praying for over a year to happen. The dates were going to be March 4 -19 which worked perfectly with my surgery date. However, as is common in the Army, plans changed at the last minute. Since, Brian hadn't been promoted yet, he was bumped from that class because they had too many people who already had received their E-5 who needed to take the course. We knew the bumping was a possibility but weren't thrilled at first. But as always, God's timing is best. Our entire family had just had a really terrible cold. Brian still was having difficulty with his voice and extremely exhausted, the day he had been scheduled to leave.
I called my doctor as soon as I found out Brian wasn't going to see if we could change the surgery date. Thankfully, she had an opening on March 20 which worked out perfectly. Brian would be able to be around throughout the weekend to take care of the kids and it would give me the few days I needed to bounce back from the surgery.
As of today he is officially at WLC and we will see him again in 2 weeks. I am recovering well. Still get exhausted a little faster than usual, but nothing this Army wife can't handle- with all my friends:)
Believing God
Long time no post- sorry. I'll be posting a couple to get everything up to date.
First of all, I am really excited due to a Bible study I have been doing with PWOC. It is called Believing God by Beth Moore. Ironically, I actually decided last minute to do this. I had made up my mind at the end of last semester that I was going to join the weight loss Bible study and get rid of the extra weight I had gained during my time on Effexor for postpartum depression. It totally seemed like that was where I was being led. Well unexpectedly over the Christmas break, the pain I had been experiencing for months got much worse and I had many days where I cried out to God trying to figure out what was going on. Due to the process of getting in to be seen and so on, I had way too much time to think about what was happening to my body. The hardest part was having so little control over it. Obviously, trying to make the ever important lifestyle change was going to be more of a challenge than I needed to take on at the moment. I prayed over the other Bible studies offered and thought this would be a great way to just "get a little farther along" in my spiritual walk. WELL, God has a plan that's for sure. This study digs into whether we just believe in God or truly take God at his word. The weekly video lessons have been challenging and the daily study takes it to a whole new level.
So, I have been praying things believing that God will come through- not necessarily in my time or plan but looking for him to show up. Too often we miss his 'miracles' because we weren't paying attention.
In regards to praying specifically, I have a dear friend who has been through an incredibly trying year due to her husband abandoning their family and all the emotional, financial, mental stress that has created. We have watched in awe as time after time God has come through providing for his daughter. She and I had been talking and knew that the child support was in process, but no one could say exactly when she would start receiving it. Once that came in, her financial load would lighten tremendously. She had said in passing one day that she would love to go to the Third Day concert coming to our town. It was just a wish, but she knew that with money as tight as it was, that it wouldn't be possible. I prayed one afternooon in the car, telling God exactly how much money she needed to come in so she could pay all the bills, take care of the kids and also be able to splurge on this concert. I also was very specific about when she needed the money to arrive because of the due dates on certain bills. Well, lo and behold a day before I had asked God to have it arrive she had received the exact amount she needed and was able to buy not only tickets for her family but also for our family as well. We are looking forward to spending those hours at the concert in celebration for what a mighty, all-knowing, amazing and loving God we serve.
I do believe God!!!!
First of all, I am really excited due to a Bible study I have been doing with PWOC. It is called Believing God by Beth Moore. Ironically, I actually decided last minute to do this. I had made up my mind at the end of last semester that I was going to join the weight loss Bible study and get rid of the extra weight I had gained during my time on Effexor for postpartum depression. It totally seemed like that was where I was being led. Well unexpectedly over the Christmas break, the pain I had been experiencing for months got much worse and I had many days where I cried out to God trying to figure out what was going on. Due to the process of getting in to be seen and so on, I had way too much time to think about what was happening to my body. The hardest part was having so little control over it. Obviously, trying to make the ever important lifestyle change was going to be more of a challenge than I needed to take on at the moment. I prayed over the other Bible studies offered and thought this would be a great way to just "get a little farther along" in my spiritual walk. WELL, God has a plan that's for sure. This study digs into whether we just believe in God or truly take God at his word. The weekly video lessons have been challenging and the daily study takes it to a whole new level.
So, I have been praying things believing that God will come through- not necessarily in my time or plan but looking for him to show up. Too often we miss his 'miracles' because we weren't paying attention.
In regards to praying specifically, I have a dear friend who has been through an incredibly trying year due to her husband abandoning their family and all the emotional, financial, mental stress that has created. We have watched in awe as time after time God has come through providing for his daughter. She and I had been talking and knew that the child support was in process, but no one could say exactly when she would start receiving it. Once that came in, her financial load would lighten tremendously. She had said in passing one day that she would love to go to the Third Day concert coming to our town. It was just a wish, but she knew that with money as tight as it was, that it wouldn't be possible. I prayed one afternooon in the car, telling God exactly how much money she needed to come in so she could pay all the bills, take care of the kids and also be able to splurge on this concert. I also was very specific about when she needed the money to arrive because of the due dates on certain bills. Well, lo and behold a day before I had asked God to have it arrive she had received the exact amount she needed and was able to buy not only tickets for her family but also for our family as well. We are looking forward to spending those hours at the concert in celebration for what a mighty, all-knowing, amazing and loving God we serve.
I do believe God!!!!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Movie & a Surprise Homecoming!!
Today was a great family day for us. After running some errands with the boys this morning, I woke up Brian who had been up most of the night talking with one of his spiritual mentors. We surprised the boys by taking them to the on-post theater and seeing the movie Tale of Despereaux. It was a really great movie that we all enjoyed. One line that really stuck out to me was "It is said that grief is the most powerful feeling but forgiveness is so much more powerful" . I know I'm not quoting it exactly but it gets the point across. It really made me think how true that is. We have experienced this many times in our family and it is so amazingly true. No matter how painful the wound or offense may have been there is a profound depth to the healing that occurs once forgiveness is given. I know the movie was for kids but it definitely has some important concepts to think upon.
Anyway, after the movie we went to the PX to pick up some items and while we were there Brian got a phone call from his friend who has been deployed for the last 6 months that he was home. We hadn't expected him until next month sometime. Brian's eyes filled with tears and we quickly purchased our items and headed to the barracks to pick him up. John and Titus were totally surprised because we had given them no idea what was going on. They were so excited to see Daddy's buddy. We have enjoyed just hanging out with him tonight and thanking God that one of our fellow warriors has returned safe and sound.
Anyway, after the movie we went to the PX to pick up some items and while we were there Brian got a phone call from his friend who has been deployed for the last 6 months that he was home. We hadn't expected him until next month sometime. Brian's eyes filled with tears and we quickly purchased our items and headed to the barracks to pick him up. John and Titus were totally surprised because we had given them no idea what was going on. They were so excited to see Daddy's buddy. We have enjoyed just hanging out with him tonight and thanking God that one of our fellow warriors has returned safe and sound.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The shepherd and his sheep
This past month or so has been incredibly hectic at times. There have been many times that I wanted to get on here and share my thoughts but either lack of time or energy kept me from doing so. During this time I learned a new perspective on why somethings in life happen to us. I went through a period of time in which our family was intensely busy with helping others and then one day I was so physically exhausted, as well as mentally and emotionally I'm sure that I literally had barely enough strength to walk from room to room. I was not sick with the flu, just weak down to the very inner core of me. Due to this I was forced to step back from a good deal of what I believed I was supposed to be doing. During the first day this occurred and the week or so afterwards which involved lots of downtime for me and our family, I had an insightful conversation with a dear friend. She explained to me that when a shepherd feels that a sheep is not walking where he wants him to be that at times he will break his leg and then carry him around his shoulders until the leg is fully healed. I took some time to really think about this. It's not that any of what I was doing was displeasing to my Shepherd, just possibly though I was not walking at His pace. He knows me better than anyone else and knew that in order to slow me down and provide my refreshment He would have to weaken my entire body. Pain in and of itself doesn't really slow me down since due to different physical things I deal with it chronically. I have learned to adapt. I found it very intriguing that during this time of "breaking my leg" I didn't really experience much pain, I was just too drained to do anything. After about a week my normal level of strength returned.
Due to this experience I am striving to listen more closely to my Shepherd as well as the incredible husband and friends that I have in order to protect myself from total exhaustion. I know that a lot of what drives me to do and help others is the realization that our time is so fleeting on this earth and I want mine and my families life to truly show the love of Jesus to those around us who are searching so desperately for a sliver of hope.
Due to this experience I am striving to listen more closely to my Shepherd as well as the incredible husband and friends that I have in order to protect myself from total exhaustion. I know that a lot of what drives me to do and help others is the realization that our time is so fleeting on this earth and I want mine and my families life to truly show the love of Jesus to those around us who are searching so desperately for a sliver of hope.