Simply Because "You" Asked

 This was on an email I get and I just had to share! Enjoy! :)

Simply Because "You" Asked

By Cindy Meadows

 

I remember my district superintendent telling us that he could call his wife in the middle of the night and tell her to meet him anywhere, and she would get up and come - without explanation - simply because he asked. His point was that she trusted him and loved him that much! I was impressed. I was also wondering in my heart, if I trusted my husband that much. Not that I don't have a great trust in and love for him, but my own reasonings and questions are what would get in the way. I finally concluded that her trust and love were greater than mine.

Trust and love are truly the fruit of planted seeds that have grown over time. When I pondered on that wife leaping out of bed in the darkness, driving off toward the unknown, I couldn't help but relate the incident to our own personal responses to the Lord's requests. How many appeals does He bring, in prayer or in His word, and is our love and trust deep enough "to leap into action," simply because He asked? Or do we respond with our own arguments (Lord, come let us reason together) and questionings?

Are we easily led?

The Bible, besides being a wonderful love letter filled with promises and blessings, also includes His desires for us, what He would like us to do to please Him. How much attention do we give to those mentionings? In our Year of Covenant, I want to lower my yielding point. Was that a request, Lord? I want to hop to it! Like David's mighty men who risked their lives to bring him water from a distant and dangerous well, I want the Lord's designs and desires to quicken in me immediate action, simply because He asks. My responses acknowledges the greatness of the One who is asking.

In II Chronicles 15, Azariah, the prophet, had a "word" for Asa, king of Judah. Asa had already done much cleansing in the land, and Azariah confirmed to him that his work would be rewarded and that he should continue. He did proceed to destroy idols and also repaired the altar for burnt offerings. He then gathered the nation together to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Verses 12-15 really surprised me:

"And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to yearn for Him with all their heart's desire and with all their soul; And that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. They took an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with cornets. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath . . ." (Amplified).

The nation was so zealous to get back to God and to please Him wholeheartedly that they were excited about entering into a covenant with Him. This was not a forced consecration but complete love and trust. If God was asking, they were saying yes. They even wanted those who wouldn't enter into the covenant to be put to death. Perhaps that zeal was slightly overdone, but who could deny their passion to please their God? They took their oaths with shouting and music and rejoiced at the entire affair! One scholar said they were so excited to please the Lord that they had to rejoice in their vows, and yet took it all so seriously they didn't want anyone around who didn't feel the same!

What an example they left for us, footprints to follow! Theirs was a path I would like to follow. What is it You want from me, O, God? What might You be requiring? I want to be zealous to perform it - simply because You asked!

Bunched up big girl panties...

Yes, I actually wrote that title! LOL  I looked at it and laughed! Oh well... it is the truth these days.. :)

Some of you may remember, one of my favorite sayings is "Put on your big girl panties and deal with it!"  Well, needless to say I have had them on these days. However they are not feeling all that comfortalbe anymore! I am ready to let someone else deal with things here..

Let me explain a little...

Hubby has been gone about two weeks and four days. In that two weeks and four days, I had to get a new alternator put in the car. Yes, he tried to get it done before he left, but there wasn't enough time so it still counts in my book! :)  Finally get that fixed on Wednesday, the following Monday I was doing the good wife thing and trying to clean up the car. So, I took it over to the auto center and was vaccumming it out. Went to pull up so I could spray and wash it, it wouldn't start! So, thankfully there were two gentlemen there that one had jumper cables (for some strange reason hubby had taken mine out, they are back in now!) and the other pulled his truck over there and jumped me off. I drove straight to WM. I was worried that if I came home I would be stranded here so I figured best get it fixed now instead of waiting. At this point, I was still trying to be optimistic, this isn't so bad, Right?  Right! I only had to pay for labor on the alternator because I had just had that replaced the last time hubby was gone and the shop here worked with the mechanic in the other place and replaced it under the warranty. Thank you Jesus! My battery was also FREE! :) I guess it was still under warranty as well. So thank you Jesus!! :)

Well, I have to admit I prayed Lord, it has only been almost two weeks and I don't want to have to deal with anything else... I guess he laughed.. although, I am not really feeling like laughing at this point..

My dryer is acting up.. Sometimes it wants to dry and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I have to run loads of laundry two times or more.. It is really driving me nuts. I guess I need someone to come check it out. Although, not on the top of my list right now. You will understand in a bit.

The car, is still making that noise I think. Yes, the same noise that the NEW alternator was supposed to fix! So, now I have to find sometime in my crazy schedule to go and spend the day at the repair shop to let them see if it is the alternator again or something else... UGH! I really dislike auto issues without my hubby here! I have no idea about any of that...

I have a cold! UGH! Well it is the same old stuff I always get with my allergies or sinuses.. YUCK! I am trying to stay in today well, until boy scouts tonight and hopefully that will help.

I am trying to work on some burp cloths for my SIL to give to someone as a shower gift. I finally have the designs done, but for some reason my software keeps giving me an issue and shutting down. So, I uninstalled it and went to reinstall it last night. However, in the process of trying to get my book out for the code to reinstall this software, I found a leak and mold in my closet! I had called maintenance last week to come and fix a leak where my return unit is. Well, evidently they didn't get it all fixed much less really try. Anyway, it is still leaking and now has leaked under the base boards and into that closet! It has damaged and probably ruined my embroidery software books, two for sure. I am praying that when they dry out a little it will be better. Right now, if you try to open the pages, they just rip... Any suggestions on how I might save these? I need that code that is on the very front page! UGH!!!! So, I called maintenance last night and he came and looked at it and said he would have someone over today.. Still not here. I have moved everything out of the closet and the unit return closet so they can hopefully get it all cleaned. I want all the mold cleaned as well. I am also going to call the housing office to see if they will do anything about my damaged books!! UGH!!!!  Which I doubt they will. I don't need these books all the time, but there are times I do. There are still lots that I don't know about my software. I might could find some used ones, but will it be reasonable price without the dongle and software? I doubt.. :(

So now do you see why my big panties are all wadded up? They are definetly in a bunch! I am trying to take a deep breath and deal with it all one thing at a time.

Hope you all have a blessed week!
Love and hugs,
Lanitha

Busy as a bee.... Update..

I am sorry it has been a while. I have been busy. In some ways, I have decided that is a good thing, other ways not so much. It is good because it keeps me occupied and I worry less. Bad because I have been soOOOOO tired! However, I hope it makes the time pass faster! :)

Saying goodbye this time wasn't easy.. As an update, hubby is good. He is working long hours and all. We don't get to talk much, but I sure do love when we do! Love it even more when I can see him! Miss him dearly!

The kids are doing good. E has been working hard so far this year and I hope it stays that way. So far, I really like his teacher. The other day, she really impressed me and I feel blessed that we got her. I hope it stays that way. I had heard she was good and really stressing reading. Well, today I saw her when I was leaving to give her the book I got for the class. Anyway, she said she meant to send home a sheet and show me how E had done. He did awful! It is on a sheet with sentences and he has to fill in the blanks with some of the vocabulary word or high frequency words. Anyway, we went back to the room and she let him do it again. I had talked to her before about a sheet like this how he has trouble reading it and all that. So, she had said she could help him with words in the sentences, but not the words to put in the blanks. She let him read this sheet over and fill in the blanks again, with her help and marked out the other bad grade with the 100! :) Now, that makes her good in my book! Not that she gave him a second chance, but she was willing to help him and told me about it. :) :)   I also have a teacher from church that is going to start tutoring him I hope next week. She works at another school here. Another girl, going to school to be a teacher is going to work some with him as well. I think.. So, hopefully things will get better for him. :)

L is doing great in school. Her teacher said she has really picked up reading and moving right along! I also got a note I think on Thursday that she will be getting an award! For always demonstrating Gator traits! :) So proud! I am so thankful (even if I have to be the one to deal with it) that she saves all the attitude and drama for home. Well, I hope she does.. lol

I have started my sign language classes and things are going good. She says I am learning fast and she thinks I know a lot.. LOL :) I am not sure about all that, but I am trying. I have been spending more time with the lady from church and she is teaching me more. I also went to a social and workshop with her on Saturday. I think for me the best thing is to communicate more. I still have lots of trouble reading their signs, but they are so fast! Now, if they talk some, I can do it.. but without voice.. I am so lost! I have met more of the hard of hearing and deaf from her as well. I went to lunch with some the other day. I couldn't believe how some of the other people around the restaurant treated them. You could see them staring and all. Just was a different experience for me. Then, this morning a gentlemen that has not been to our church in a long time, came this morning! We saw him yesterday and he said he would come. They say he gets offended about signs easy, so we were nervous. I told him that I was slow and still learning, but I would try! Sometimes that is all we can do. Also a lady that I met at the luncheon came to church with me this morning. Her and her daughter. They were not used to our church atmosphere, but I think she was okay with my interpreting. She is an interpreter, well of sorts. She isn't certified, but grew up with it and all that. Her husband is a chaplain and is deployed right now so her and her daughter have been looking for a church to go to while he is away. So, not only did I have a new person to interpret for, I also had someone who is really good watching me! DOUBLE NERVOUS!! She said I did good and I think she is even more curious how I am interpreting when I am hard of hearing myself. It is a "God thing!" That is for sure! :) She has said she will help me if I want to learn some secrets of the trade. :) So, we will see..

This week I have volunteered at the book fair almost everyday. I worked most afternoons. It was good, because I got to meet some of the other moms here. Most of the people I know are from church, not a problem, but I need to know my neighbors as well.

I don't know if being tired was just an excuse, but Wednesday night after church I had a complete meltdown! I couldn't get out of church fast enough. Then, when I went rushing out and trying to get home not only for me, but because the kids had school the next morning and it was already 9pm. My car was blocked in.. I waited another 10 min. before I could get out. I couldn't get the kid in bed fast enough. Then I lost it! Well, even before they were in bed I think. Which is hard because I want to be so strong in front of them. I hadn't heard from hubby and I knew he was moving from one place to another. Then, my FIL is bugging me and when you are trying not to worry and remember that "No News is Good News." You don't need someone always messaging you or emailing you.. "any news?"  Then, I had a flesh moment at church with my signing. I am really trying to do this and I have felt it was God's will. Not only me, but others say that as well. Anyway, just felt very discouraged! I wanted to talk to my hubby so bad that night. I just needed to hear his voice. After a good cry and some praying and worshiping to a song or two, I felt so much better when I woke up the next morning. :) I did go to bed a little earlier too, so I am sure that helped as well.

Well, I guess that is about it. I am finally uploading pictures from who knows how long, so maybe in the next few days, I will post some pictures. :)

Hope you all have a blessed week!
Love and prayers

What Military Wives are made of..

What Military Wives Are Made Of

by Married to the Military 

 

It was just another harried Wednesday afternoon trip to the commissary (grocery store on military bases). My husband was off teaching young men to fly. My daughters were going about their daily activities knowing I would return to them at the appointed time, bearing, among other things, their favorite fruit snacks, frozen pizza, and all the little extras that never had to be written down on a grocery list. My grocery list, by the way, was in my 16-month-old daughter's mouth, and I was lamenting the fact that the next four aisles of needed items would wait while extracting the last of my list from my daughter's mouth, when I nearly ran over an old man.

This man clearly had no appreciation for the fact that I had 45 minutes left to finish the grocery shopping, pick up my 4-year old from tumbling class, and get to school, where my 12-year-old and her carpool mates would be waiting.

I knew men didn't belong in a commissary, and this old guy was no exception. He stood in front of the soap selection staring blankly, as if he'd never had to choose a bar of soap in his life. I was ready to bark an order at him when I realized there was a tear on his face.

Instantly, this grocery aisle roadblock transformed into a human..."Can I help you find something?" I asked. He hesitated, and then told me he was looking for soap.

"Any one in particular?" I continued.

 "Well, I'm trying to find my wife's brand of soap." I started to loan him my cell phone to call her when he said, "She died a year ago, and I just want to smell her again."

 Chills ran down my spine. I don't think the 22,000-pound Mother of all Bombs could have had the same impact. As tears welled up in my eyes, my half-eaten grocery list didn't seem so important. Neither did fruit snacks or frozen pizza.

I spent the remainder of my time in the commissary that day listening to a man tell the story of how important his wife was to him -- how she took care of their children while he served our country. A retired, decorated World War II pilot who flew missions to protect Americans still needed the protection of a woman who served him at home.

My life was forever changed that day. Every time my husband works too late or leaves before the crack of dawn, I try to remember the sense of importance I felt that day in the commissary.

Some times the monotony of laundry, housecleaning, grocery shopping, and taxi driving leaves military wives feeling empty -- the kind of emptiness that is rarely fulfilled when our husbands come home and don't want to or can't talk about work.

We need to be reminded, at times; of the important role we fill for our family and for our country. Over the years, I've talked a lot about military spouses...how special they are and the price they pay for freedom too. The funny thing is; most military spouses don't consider themselves different from other spouses. They do what they have to do, bound together not by blood or merely friendship, but with a shared spirit whose origin is in the very essence of what love truly is. Is there truly a difference? I think there is. You have to decide for yourself...

Other spouses get married and look forward to building equity in a home and putting down family roots. Military spouses get married and know they'll live in base housing or rent, and their roots must be short so they can be transplanted frequently.

Other spouses decorate a home with flair and personality that will last a lifetime. Military spouses decorate a home with flare tempered with the knowledge that no two base houses have the same size windows or same size rooms.

Curtains have to be flexible and multiple sets are a plus. Furniture must fit like puzzle pieces.

Other spouses have living rooms that are immaculate and seldom used. Military spouses have immaculate living room/dining room combos. The coffee table got a scratch or two moving from Germany, but it still looks pretty good.

Other spouses say goodbye to their spouse for a business trip and know they won't see them for a week. They are lonely, but can survive. Military spouses say good-bye to their deploying spouse and know they won't see them for months, or a year, or longer. They are lonely, but will survive.

Other spouses, when a washer hose blows off, call Maytag and then write a check out for having the hose reconnected. Military spouses have to cut the water off and fix it themselves.

Other spouses get used to saying "hello" to friends they see all the time. Military spouses get used to saying "goodbye" to friends made the last two years.

Other spouses worry about whether their child will be class president next year. Military spouses worry about whether their child will be accepted in yet another school next year and whether that school will be the worst in the city...again.

Other spouses can count on spouse participation in special events...birthdays, anniversaries, concerts, football games, graduation, and even the birth of a child. Military spouses only count on each other; because they realize that the flag has to come first if freedom is to survive. It has to be that way.

Other spouses put up yellow ribbons when the troops are imperiled across the globe and take them down when the troops come home. Military spouses wear yellow ribbons around their hearts and they never go away.

Other spouses worry about being late for mom's Thanksgiving dinner. Military spouses worry about getting back from Japan in time for dad's funeral.

The television program showing an elderly lady putting a card down in front of a long, black wall that has names on it touches other spouses. The card simply says, "Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. You would have been sixty today." A military spouse is the lady with the card, and the wall is the Vietnam Memorial.

I would NEVER say military spouses are better than other spouses. But I will say there is a difference. I will say, without hesitation, that military spouses pay just as high a price for freedom as do their active duty husbands and wives.

Perhaps the price they pay is even higher. Dying in service to our country isn't near as hard as loving someone who has died in service to our country, and having to live without them.

God bless our military spouses for all they freely give.

Psalm 91

Abiding in the Shadow of the Almighty


1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High

shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD,

He is my refuge and my fortress:

my God; in him will I trust.

3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,

and from the noisome pestilence.

4 He shall cover thee with his feathers,

and under his wings shalt thou trust:

his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;

nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

6 nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;

nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

7 A thousand shall fall at thy side,

and ten thousand at thy right hand;

but it shall not come nigh thee.

8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold

and see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge,

even the Most High, thy habitation;

10 there shall no evil befall thee,

neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee

to keep thee in all thy ways.

12 They shall bear thee up in their hands,

lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:

the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him:

I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him, and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him,

and show him my salvation.



Battling a spirit of fear.. My hubby leaves soon and I have to say that I have known it was coming, but now that it is here.. the fear is starting to set in. Not "fear" of being alone, but the "fear" of worry and the unknown. I can handle being here and all I have to do while he is away, but as a wife I will worry. I am trying to give that fear to God and I know that he will protect him, but it is easier said than done. Just please keep him and the other guys going with him in your prayers. Also continue to remember those that have been over there and the families left behind.

Hugs and love