I'm thankful

I got up this morning with my back hurting, but I am so thankful that I can feel pain and walk upright. There was an onion smell in my kitchen, but I am so thankful that I could afford to buy groceries. My day is going to be so busy running from my Dad's side of the family to my mom's, but I am so thankful that I have two families to eat with today. My husband was grumpy this morning when I woke him up, but I am so thankful he is home this year and with couples all around us splitting up I am thankful we are not! My van is in need of an oil change, the back doors have to be locked by hand, one of the back doors sticks and it needs to be cleaned, but I am so thankful that I have transportation. My carpet needs replacing, but I am so thankful for my comfortable home. I was cold, but I have warm fuzzy socks and a comfy hoodie with soft sweat pants. I am so thankful.
It is so easy to get caught up in the negatives of the day and to look at the glass half empty, but if you are reading this I can assume several things about the many blessings in your life.
My heart and prayers go out to those that can't read this today. The ones that aren't quite sure where there extended families are today. The ones that don't have a home. The ones that are cold with no relief in sight. The ones that are hungry and any meal would be welcome and thanksgiving meals are just a dream. they live in our community. They are right around the corner. They are tired and need hope. Look for them and you will find them.
My brother carries the little throw blankets in the back of his car ready to give them to someone that is cold. He knows where the free meals are offered in his community, so he can take them to get food or at least tell them the times and locations.
We must be prepared to help others. If someone in need stopped you right now, could you help them? Do you have any cash in your purse? Do you know where the meals are served in your community and what times? Do you have an extra blanket in your trunk? Do you even know where the local Salvation Army is located?
Go and be thankful for today and God's many blessings in your life! Look to where you can share those blessings. God will put them in your path!
We have so much to be thankful for and so many wonderful things in our lives. Don't let anything get in the way of seeing God's blessings in your life!
Happy Turkey Day!
Much Love,
Christie

The Plant in my Day

I try to smile at everyone. I figure it is a small gesture that will go along way. When possible, I always try to ask how are you today just to let them know that someone really wants to know. Everyone always responds the same way to that question... they are always good or fine or great! (I know they are a bunch of liars, but that is another topic for another day) Well yesterday was different. Everyday at school I go through the lunch line like everyone else. I always say, "Hey, how are you today?" to whichever lady is there. I say, "thank you" when they hand me my tray and go on about my day.
One thing I have learned through my years of teaching is that you can tick off the principal and be better off than if you make the custodian, cafeteria workers or secretary mad! So I am always nice. It is a genuine nice. I am not doing it for those reasons. I want to be nice to everyone. Make their day a little brighter. Makes me feel good about being kind.
Ok back to the story! So there is one little lady that I almost look for everyday. She is soft spoken. She has kind eyes and always smiles back at me. She is African American, a little shorter than me, maybe a little older and packs a wisdom like you wouldn't believe. Yesterday, I was having a bad day personally. The school day was good, but I was sad. I was so excited to see my favorite cafeteria worker right as I walked in the door. As soon as she asked me if I was eating today, I smiled and said yes. I asked her how she was doing and her response blew me away. She said I'm good. Then she studied my face for a minute as I smiled at her. She then began to speak words that are still ringing in my ear this morning. She said, "you have Jesus in your heart. I knew it the first day I saw you. Not everybody around here do. You can tell by the way they act. I'm a child of God too and I know. The Bible says you better be kind to those children of God. Not everybody is you know. ewww they best not mess with a child of God! You understand what I am saying? The Lord has us planted everywhere in different parts for a purpose and I believe that." I was grinning from ear to ear. Did she really just say that she saw Jesus in me the FIRST time she saw me?! Oh, Lord let it be true! I loved her addition, too... letting me know that those that mess with a child of God will regret it! I began to tell her how she absolutely made my day! That was the best compliment I ever receive! I also nodded in agreement with her about the whole don't mess with God's children idea. As she walked away I told her that I loved her wisdom. She smiled and I smiled back. But the thing that stung in my spirit was her words about purpose. My prayer today is that God use me for His purpose and glory every where I go!
The Lord planted her in my day to speak wisdom, truth and life into my sad spirit! Look for your plant today. Not plant like a green one, but like someone who has been put there for a purpose!

Time to slow down...

I have been so busy the past two weeks that I did not even realize that it is summer "break". I have gotten up every morning, got ready, and hit the road. I have had so much to do. It crossed my mind Friday that I needed to slow, but I quickly dismissed it. There was still so much to do. Saturday I woke up feeling a little run down. It would have been nice to rest, but it was my brother's birthday and there were plans and things to do. So I trudged on. Sunday I felt even worse, but there was no way I could rest. By Monday I realized that I was sick and I went to the doctor. After 3 hours of waiting, xrays and tests he said go home and rest. I did not have time for that. Could he not give me a shot and send me on my merry way? So I left and thought,"why did he give me a antibiotic if nothing is really wrong?" I got up Tuesday and went harder today than any other. I had planned to rest, but then the phone rang four times in a row. People needing me to do this or that... and of course I said yes to them all. I felt terrible, but I knew I HAD to do all of the things on my list. Around 5pm, I stopped by my Granny's to see how Michaela and Harlee were doing (they were spending the night with Granny). My phone rang again. I didn't recognize the number, but something told me to answer it. It was my doctor. He said that my chest xray showed pneumonia and that I needed to rest. The words rang in my ears like a shot gun. If I had only slowed down and listened to that still small voice, perhaps I would not be here right now. Perhaps I would not have pneumonia. Even as I type I am coughing uncontrollably waiting on my hubby to get my cough meds. The Lord tried to get me to rest. He tried to whisper in my spirit that I was going to much, but in an act of inadvertent rebellion I trudged on. Why does God have to knock my feet out from under me in order for me to listen? Well guess what... today I am resting. I studying for my Sunday school lesson and my test Saturday and taking naps in between.
The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Ex 33:14

AHA Moment

I totally just had an AHA moment. My daughter just turned 12. She will not swallow pills. She will gag and cry and scream that she is going to choke. It makes me so mad. So after a very dramatic traumatic episode with trying yet again to swallow a pill. I was livid. She spit water in the floor, down the front of her shirt, she had disintegrated pill running down her chin... it was absolutely infuriating me! I looked at her and said, " I am so offended that you do not trust me enough to do what I tell you to do. Why in the world would I hurt you or put you in harms way? I almost died getting you here. I worked so hard when you were a baby to make sure that you were safe. I didn't give you hard candy. I introduced the foods when the doctor told me to. I never failed to fasten you in your carseat. Why, why, why would I put my child that I love more than life itself in harms way??? It is crazy that you think your 12 year old mind knows more than my 40 year old mind! That you know something that I don't know! that you can tell what is best for you better than I can. It is a slap in my face and it hurts me beyond measure that you do not trust me enough to simply do as I ask and see that it is for your best!"... wow my own words to my daughter penetrated my heart like a dagger. How much more does God love us? How much more should we trust God? How much must it break His heart that we have so little trust for this almighty God that not only created us, but created the entire universe?! Oh how you have humbled my heart tonight, Lord. Forgive me for my unbelief. Much Love!

MilSpouses Rock....

Military spouses ROCK! We rock for many reasons, but one of my favorite reasons is the sisterhood!
My husband was deployed in '08. I went through the whole deployment blues thing. Hubby was the only soldier in his unit from our state. There were no other wives within 5 hours of me. We are reserve, so there were no bases near. There were no other wives at my church.
My mom was worried, but really didn't know how to help or what to say. She heard a lady at her church speak about being a military wife in a non military town. After the meeting she asked the lady if I could call her. Of course she said yes. I can remember making that call and not even being able to speak.
I cried on the phone to a complete stranger. This is something I couldn't even do with my dearest friend. Though my family and friends loved me there were things that even love couldn't understand. I don't think I even spoke more than 10 words the whole time. Connie (the military wife I had never met)calmly told me about her experience and told me about scriptures that were close to her heart or helped in some way through that time in her life. I am not sure what those scriptures were and I couldn't tell you what she said exactly, but what I do remember is that she was there for me in a way that no one else could be no matter how much they loved me.
Eventually I met a military wife from my area. Her husband wasn't deployed though he had been. She found out that I really had no one in my life that understood what I was going through and she came over helped me. She told me that I would be ok and that I could do this deployment.
She was right. She was right because she had been there done that and probably got the t-shirt.
So we ROCK, because we Rock together!
Much Love to you all...

Letter to my husband

Dear Jamey,

I don't tell you how I feel about you very often. I don't voice all of the things that I think about you. It is hard for me to express those feelings.

So here are just a few of the things I love about you...
* I love how you rub my back until I fall asleep when I have had a bad day.
* I love how you help with the laundry and dishes.
* I love how you cook when I am not feeling well.
* I love how you crank the car on cold mornings to let it warm up.
* I love when you drop me off at the door at Wal-mart!
* I love when you open the door for me.
* I love when you plan date nights for us (ps its time!)
* I love when you play with the kids.
* I love when you write poetry.
* I love when you read the Bible and Bible studies to me.
* I really love when you pray for our family!

I know God has a plan for you that is bigger than you can dream right now. Times are so hard right now, but I know that it is all a part of God's plan.
Love,
Christie

10 Tough things about being a Military wife

This list is much easier to make than the last. Some are funny, some are sad, and some are just plain frustrating, but I bet you will agree that they are all quite true!
1. Learning the Acronyms... PCS, NCO, MOS... ugh! Are you kidding me? Can we just say moving, boss and job like normal people?! After 10 years as a military wife, I catch myself talking in acronyms! Sometimes me and the kids make up our own and make him try and guess what they are....
2. Waiting... Waiting for pay to be straightened out, waiting to find out if you are leaving or not, waiting for the tricare to return a call, waiting for someone at Tricare to answer my call, waiting, waiting, waiting... as Dr. Suess would say... we spend a lot of time in the waiting place. I don't know that I deal with this one well. Would be glad for some advice!
3. Saying goodbye to your soldier... this is the hardest one to me...I usually cry and tell him I love him and cry some more... I hope to be a little more graceful the next time I have to say goodbye.
4. Saying welcome home... I know this one seems strange, but after a long adjustment period following his overseas deployment I feel this one is the most overlooked hardship as a military family. We have functioned as a single parent family for so long and he has functioned as a single soldier for so long... it is really hard to mesh again. I read After the War comes home and prayed and focused on making our family mesh again.
5. Telling the kids that there is an impending deployment... As we are stressed and focused on preparation for the year without our spouse its hard to remember that there are others that will be greatly affected by this deployment. My baby girl still cries when we talk about deployment. We talk about what will change and our plans. We also focus on what we will do when he returns. It gives us something positive to focus on.
6. Being restricted with our health care provider... we learned after my husbands first mobilization that Tricare was not well received in nonmilitary towns. So we learned that we could pay and keep our regular insurance while he was deployed. This actually worked out well, because several places filed it secondary and we did not have to pay much for visits.
7. Being around people that don't have the same communication values as we do... that means they cuss like we say "the". This is tough, because when my daughter was little she would ask about those words and what they meant.
8. Standing in line for IDs... we waited 3 hours for our last IDs. We made up stories about the lives of the people that were waiting, too. I am just thankful for the cushy chairs and tv while we waited.
9. Going through vehicle inspection to get on post... With four children and the two of us after a 6 hour trip in our minivan... well let's just say I am quite sure they were regretting pulling us over!
10. Not knowing... not knowing what the future holds is tough... not knowing with each phone call if our world will be rocked or not. Prayer and faith in God are the only way to deal with this one. Jeremiah 29:11 keeps us going!

10 things that are great about being a military wife

This is a tough one, but I think I can do it....
1. Pride in my hubby... I am so proud that he not only willingly sacrifices for our country, but he loves doing it!
2. Love meeting new people... I love the instant connection with other military wives. I was wearing my Army wife T just the other day. I was on an elevator and another wife struck up a conversation about Army Reserve life! It was great! We prayed for one another and I felt so blessed to be a part of this family!
3. Enjoy travel discounts... love Disney and Sea World discounts along with many other destination discounts!
4. PX/Commissary... If I am close to a post or he is mobilized on a stateside post, I love to visit the different px/bx to see what's new.
5. Sense of community... No matter how far apart we all are, we somehow feel a great sense of community. You can see it in the support for each others posts alone. It is great to know no matter what city you are in there will be a sister close by... you just need to look for them!
6. Opportunity for ministry... there are hurting people everywhere you go, but as a military wife we can minister to one another in a way even our closest civilian friend never could!
7. Opportunity to see new places... even in the reserves there are such opportunities to go places you would probably never go on your own. We were invited to an awards banquet at St. Simon's Island in Georgia. We would have never just up and went on vacation there, but we had a wonderful 3 day weekend there we will never forget.
8. Time... time apart is not a good thing, but the time he returns is so precious. The funny thing is that he has to go away in order to have those close times when he returns. I hate when he leaves, but it is all worth it when he returns.
9. Family Strength... When my hubby was deployed, the kids really had the opportunity to pull together and show how strong we can be together. The great thing is that it continued after he returned and we grow closer and stronger in the Lord everyday!
10. Car tag... this may seem silly and it is not the discount that I love... its the opportunity to let the world know I am proud of my hubby!

http://www.wivesoffaith.org/10-great-things-about-being-a-military-wife

It's just fitting...

It's just fitting that my very first blog is my favorite Bible verse! I actually have many favorites... Psalm 46:1, Phil 4:13, James 5:16, Jeremiah 29:11 and many others. For today, I am going with Psalm 46:1. I am writing this particular blog for the Military Spouse Blog Carnival, so I chose the one that I most often quote when things are not so great in my life. Some of the darkest times in my life have came when my husband was deployed. The verse that always gives me great comfort is Psalm 46:1... God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in times of trouble. When my mind begins to fill with worry and fear, I quote this verse. It brings me great comfort knowing that no matter what He is ever present, always here no matter who is not here. He is my strength, it is not of me that I make it through trial after trial. He is my hiding place. In Him I can find refuge!
http://www.wivesoffaith.org/my-milspouse-bible-verse