Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Rollercoaster
Everything changed again. We were told a few weeks ago that DM's R&R would be moved to sometime later in the year so I was really disappointed and grieved the loss of time with my husband. Today I got an e-mail saying that he might getting leave again. I'm excited to see him whenever it works out but it's really hard to keep getting my hopes up and having them destroyed over and over. I don't want to trust anything the Army says anymore - I don't even want to get excited about it because I don't want to be disappointed again. I know God will get us through this like he has gotten us through everything else but it's tough right now. Is this a struggle any of you have faced with military life or something else?
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Recent events in the life of a nomad
So I'm back in Texas now.
The first weekend I was here I went to Austin with my mom for a La Leche League conference. I really just went to keep her company and visit with friends but it was fun. I got to see my dear friend Willow, she drove in from Waco and spent all day Saturday and Sunday morning with me. I also got to visit with a group of friends that I met in Arizona when my husband and I were there for one of his trainings. It was a great weekend.
Since then I've been back in South Texas with my families. I've been able to spend time with my parents and brother as well as my in-laws and two of my sisters-in-law. We've gotten to watch some movies, and swim, and shop and all kinds of fun stuff. We even got to Skype with DM one night when I was with his family. I've also gotten to see some other good friends and cousins. And I have been doing homework, much to everyone's surprise with the amount of time I have spent on social activities.
:)
One of the more difficult things that has happened recently is that my husband's two week leave got canceled or pushed back. We were planning for him to be in the states in early August but then things changed and now we have no idea when he will get a chance to travel back. So that's been hard but we're looking for positive things and we think it will be better if his leave is towards the middle of the deployment so it's downhill after he goes back. We're looking forward to seeing each other whenever it works out.
Well thanks for reading! Feel free to post questions or reply to my blogs if there's anything you would like me to write about.
The first weekend I was here I went to Austin with my mom for a La Leche League conference. I really just went to keep her company and visit with friends but it was fun. I got to see my dear friend Willow, she drove in from Waco and spent all day Saturday and Sunday morning with me. I also got to visit with a group of friends that I met in Arizona when my husband and I were there for one of his trainings. It was a great weekend.
Since then I've been back in South Texas with my families. I've been able to spend time with my parents and brother as well as my in-laws and two of my sisters-in-law. We've gotten to watch some movies, and swim, and shop and all kinds of fun stuff. We even got to Skype with DM one night when I was with his family. I've also gotten to see some other good friends and cousins. And I have been doing homework, much to everyone's surprise with the amount of time I have spent on social activities.
:)
One of the more difficult things that has happened recently is that my husband's two week leave got canceled or pushed back. We were planning for him to be in the states in early August but then things changed and now we have no idea when he will get a chance to travel back. So that's been hard but we're looking for positive things and we think it will be better if his leave is towards the middle of the deployment so it's downhill after he goes back. We're looking forward to seeing each other whenever it works out.
Well thanks for reading! Feel free to post questions or reply to my blogs if there's anything you would like me to write about.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Updates!
Sorry it has been so long! It's been an extremely hectic time since I last blogged.
I spent some time out at my sister's house in Missouri and we had a blast together, along with Will my brother-in-law and Shiner and Gracie and Cricket the "devil cat." We had awesome food, like homemade brisket and frijole charros and Will even showed me how to prepare a duck which was delicious! We got to go fishing (I watched) and enjoyed watching movies on their new big screen. Mim let me help out at the vet clinic a few times which was a lot of fun. A litter of puppies was born while I was there so I got to see them grow from tiny blind babies into cute, chubby, active puppies.
My parents came to visit towards the end of my time in Missouri and we went to Silver Dollar City and had a good time together. We got to see the cave and watch glass blowers, black smiths, and bluegrass musicians along with other craftsmen.
After leaving Missouri I stopped in Louisville, Kentucky and spent some time with my long-time friend Jared, from South Texas, and got to meet his wife Mandy. It was a great time of fellowship and it was fun seeing a little bit of the city.
In Virginia I got to spend the weekend with my in laws, two of my sisters-in-law, and my adorable nephew JJ. Amy hosted us in her home and we had lots of fun together. We enjoyed nice walks in the park and some delicious meals cooked by Mom Love. Deanna painted an absolutely beautiful three-canvas scene of a koi pond with lilies for me so I am looking forward to hanging that in my house as soon as I have one. All of the Love ladies played hide-and-seek with JJ and it was hilarious! He kept telling us where he wanted us to hide and whenever he found us he would laugh so hard and tell us to hide there again.
Last week I took an intensive called Humanity Sexuality which was a really valuable experience. I truly believe that God has created sexuality in marriage as a way to bring partners together into a loving one-fresh bond of unity. The devil has been trying to distort this but it was always intended for great good. It was a good class and has definitely given me a lot to think about and a desire to help people holistically.
I am starting another intensive this coming Monday on group work. I will let you know how that goes.
Soon I will be back in Texas and I look forward to seeing family and friends down there.
DM is doing well, continuing to work hard, and facing new challenges and learning opportunities constantly. We are really looking forward to seeing each other.
I spent some time out at my sister's house in Missouri and we had a blast together, along with Will my brother-in-law and Shiner and Gracie and Cricket the "devil cat." We had awesome food, like homemade brisket and frijole charros and Will even showed me how to prepare a duck which was delicious! We got to go fishing (I watched) and enjoyed watching movies on their new big screen. Mim let me help out at the vet clinic a few times which was a lot of fun. A litter of puppies was born while I was there so I got to see them grow from tiny blind babies into cute, chubby, active puppies.
My parents came to visit towards the end of my time in Missouri and we went to Silver Dollar City and had a good time together. We got to see the cave and watch glass blowers, black smiths, and bluegrass musicians along with other craftsmen.
After leaving Missouri I stopped in Louisville, Kentucky and spent some time with my long-time friend Jared, from South Texas, and got to meet his wife Mandy. It was a great time of fellowship and it was fun seeing a little bit of the city.
In Virginia I got to spend the weekend with my in laws, two of my sisters-in-law, and my adorable nephew JJ. Amy hosted us in her home and we had lots of fun together. We enjoyed nice walks in the park and some delicious meals cooked by Mom Love. Deanna painted an absolutely beautiful three-canvas scene of a koi pond with lilies for me so I am looking forward to hanging that in my house as soon as I have one. All of the Love ladies played hide-and-seek with JJ and it was hilarious! He kept telling us where he wanted us to hide and whenever he found us he would laugh so hard and tell us to hide there again.
Last week I took an intensive called Humanity Sexuality which was a really valuable experience. I truly believe that God has created sexuality in marriage as a way to bring partners together into a loving one-fresh bond of unity. The devil has been trying to distort this but it was always intended for great good. It was a good class and has definitely given me a lot to think about and a desire to help people holistically.
I am starting another intensive this coming Monday on group work. I will let you know how that goes.
Soon I will be back in Texas and I look forward to seeing family and friends down there.
DM is doing well, continuing to work hard, and facing new challenges and learning opportunities constantly. We are really looking forward to seeing each other.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Where does our hope come from?
This week I've been thinking a lot about trusting God with the most precious thing in my life: my husband. I was talking to my father in law and he said 'it's a new level of trust, letting DM go.' That has been on my mind so much, I need to trust that God will take care of DM and the rest of us during the deployment. I think trust and hope are intimately tied together and 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 illustrates their tie and the struggle I'm facing. "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." (NIV)If I truly believe that God is in control of everything that happens on this earth and I really trust that Christ was raised from the dead the implications for my struggle to let go of DM and put him in God's hands are great. We share hope in Christ and we firmly believe that he was raised from the dead so he worthy of all our trust and I can DM's life and safety to God and know that he will be cared for and that is the best place for him. I remember what the late Jerry Falwell would tell us about doing God's work, he would say "you're invincible until your work is done." God is in control of all the world so I trust that He will keep DM safe no matter where he is and what he's facing, until he has completed the work God set him on this earth to do. My hope is in Christ.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The Lord my Rock in Time of War
As some of you have heard already, DM is deploying in just about two weeks, which is sooner than we expected. Of course we are disappointed to have to say goodbye so quickly but what he has to do is really important and I'm glad that he is ready. The commander called from Iraq and said 'I need my essential personnel here now. Pull them out of training and send them over immediately.' So DM got a voice mail yesterday letting him know that he will be on his way to Iraq really soon and that they will only spend about 48 hours in Kuwait instead of the usual 3 weeks. Thankfully he has received all of the training before so he will not miss anything even though he is going to be taken out of the training class before it is over.
Now we're looking forward to Easter weekend since DM should get a long weekend and his Dad is coming up to take DM's vehicle and spend a few days with us. Another nice thing about that is we won't have to share my car for too long, DM isn't a big fan of driving around my bright yellow 'bumblebee.' :)
It is also good that we found out about the earlier deployment date when we did, we were planning to go look at an apartment and sign a lease yesterday before we found out. Now we don't have to worry about setting up a household and then having to undo everything in two weeks. We're just going to stay at the Econo Lodge a little longer. It's not beautiful or spacious, but we have a place to sleep and it's easy.
I think God was preparing me for this, I had a dream about a week ago and all I really remembered when I woke was a feeling that God had told me DM was leaving very soon. Last night when I was mulling over the deployment I thought of that verse at the beginning of Psalm 144 that says God 'trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.' So I looked it up and the whole chapter is rich in meaning for us right now so I will share it here along with some of the thought it inspired.
Psalm 144
Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
O LORD, what is man that you care for him,
the son of man that you think of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a fleeting shadow.
Part your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.
Send forth lightning and scatter the enemies;
shoot your arrows and rout them.
Reach down your hand from on high;
deliver me and rescue me
from the mighty waters,
from the hands of foreigners
whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.
I will sing a new song to you, O God;
on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,
to the One who gives victory to kings,
who delivers his servant David from the deadly sword.
Deliver me and rescue me
from the hands of foreigners
whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.
Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,
and our daughters will be like pillars
carved to adorn a palace.
Our barns will be filled
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
our oxen will draw heavy loads.
There will be no breaching of walls,
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.
Blessed are the people of whom this is true;
blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
(New International version, retrieved on 3/31/2010 from
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%20144&version=NIV).
For DM and I, our family, and all those who fear the Lord He is our rock, fortress, shield, stronghold, deliverer, He cares for us even though we are temporary beings, He reaches down from heaven to help us, He rescues us from deceivers, He cares for our family members when we are apart (v. 12), He makes sure we have a home to return to and that we are provided for (v. 13-14), He protects us and hears us, we are blessed by Him, we are blessed because we are His people.
Some of the things that seemed especially applicable to DM and Dan: He trains them for war, He rescues them from foreign enemies, and liars, He cares for their families when they are absent. Another image that caught my attention in the context of battle was that of the mountains smoking after God's touch, I thought of missiles and bombs routing the enemy. This may seem violent, but to me it says that God will fight for His people and defend them against deceitful and evil enemies. The final verses appear to me to give the reason for war; the purpose of combat is to protect your family and your countrymen from harm and captivity so that they can live in peace and experience a blessed relationship with God.
I am thankful that we believe in a powerful God who loves his children and can protect them even in the midst of battle.
Now we're looking forward to Easter weekend since DM should get a long weekend and his Dad is coming up to take DM's vehicle and spend a few days with us. Another nice thing about that is we won't have to share my car for too long, DM isn't a big fan of driving around my bright yellow 'bumblebee.' :)
It is also good that we found out about the earlier deployment date when we did, we were planning to go look at an apartment and sign a lease yesterday before we found out. Now we don't have to worry about setting up a household and then having to undo everything in two weeks. We're just going to stay at the Econo Lodge a little longer. It's not beautiful or spacious, but we have a place to sleep and it's easy.
I think God was preparing me for this, I had a dream about a week ago and all I really remembered when I woke was a feeling that God had told me DM was leaving very soon. Last night when I was mulling over the deployment I thought of that verse at the beginning of Psalm 144 that says God 'trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.' So I looked it up and the whole chapter is rich in meaning for us right now so I will share it here along with some of the thought it inspired.
Psalm 144
Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
O LORD, what is man that you care for him,
the son of man that you think of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days are like a fleeting shadow.
Part your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.
Send forth lightning and scatter the enemies;
shoot your arrows and rout them.
Reach down your hand from on high;
deliver me and rescue me
from the mighty waters,
from the hands of foreigners
whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.
I will sing a new song to you, O God;
on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,
to the One who gives victory to kings,
who delivers his servant David from the deadly sword.
Deliver me and rescue me
from the hands of foreigners
whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.
Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,
and our daughters will be like pillars
carved to adorn a palace.
Our barns will be filled
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
our oxen will draw heavy loads.
There will be no breaching of walls,
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.
Blessed are the people of whom this is true;
blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
(New International version, retrieved on 3/31/2010 from
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%20144&version=NIV).
For DM and I, our family, and all those who fear the Lord He is our rock, fortress, shield, stronghold, deliverer, He cares for us even though we are temporary beings, He reaches down from heaven to help us, He rescues us from deceivers, He cares for our family members when we are apart (v. 12), He makes sure we have a home to return to and that we are provided for (v. 13-14), He protects us and hears us, we are blessed by Him, we are blessed because we are His people.
Some of the things that seemed especially applicable to DM and Dan: He trains them for war, He rescues them from foreign enemies, and liars, He cares for their families when they are absent. Another image that caught my attention in the context of battle was that of the mountains smoking after God's touch, I thought of missiles and bombs routing the enemy. This may seem violent, but to me it says that God will fight for His people and defend them against deceitful and evil enemies. The final verses appear to me to give the reason for war; the purpose of combat is to protect your family and your countrymen from harm and captivity so that they can live in peace and experience a blessed relationship with God.
I am thankful that we believe in a powerful God who loves his children and can protect them even in the midst of battle.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Savoring the last weeks before deployment
My husband is getting ready to deploy in the next few weeks, we don't know exactly when because it's the Army and things change constantly but it will be soon. My sister in law encouraged me to start a blog so that he and the rest of our family and friends can find out what I'm up to. I plan to post updates when I hear from him and try to write interesting blogs about what I'm doing for him and anyone else who is interested in travel, learning, food, and adventures across the United States.
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