Day 28 of Thankfulness ~ What the Army Taught Me

Day 28: What the Army Taught Me-from childhood until now- And Why I'm Thankful for It Seems like a weird day (Thanksgiving Day), to be thankful for what the Army has taught me, but when you think about it, it's really not weird. If you are a military family, you know exactly why today is a great day to be thankful for the military and what it has taught you. There are many, many reasons why, but at the top of our lists, it's probably something to do with "never taking anything for granted, because it (whatever it is) could be gone tomorrow". Here is a list of what the Army has taught me, from childhood until now! This is why I'm thankful for this type of life. These hard lessons learned: 1) The life of an Army family is an adventure and should be treated as such, if you want to maintain any level of sanity. ;) Help children to get through the storminess, without being stormy, yourself. Because ultimately, there are orders in your husband's hands that are signed by the Army, but ordained by God. There is a reason why you have to go where you are going. Teach yourself and your children to anticipate what God will do, at this new duty station. Look for his hand. SEE his mighty works!!! 2) Make friends with every person you come in contact with, especially neighbors and church family. You do not know what treasure these precious people have for you, your husband, or your children. I'm not saying you will "click" with everyone. Not at all. I'm saying, you need to try, because that person is probably there for a reason! Don't wait until you've lived somewhere for 2 years and finally feel settled in and ready to make friends. You will regret it, when a year later, you have to say goodbye. 3) Facebook is awesome for keeping in touch with the sheer amount of these people that God brings into your life, via the military. I'm so thankful that Facebook has made it a lot easier to stay connected, because there is absolutely no way I'd have time to write, email, or call all of these wonderful people! <3 4) Race, ethnicity, culture, and background should make absolutely no determination of friendship, value, importance, or worth. No racism, or prejudice should be allowed in your home! I went to school with all races, and loved it. I'm so thankful that the Army made people "all the same" in my eyes!!! I would have missed out on many blessings!!! Don't miss out on these!!! This is so important! <3 5) ABSENCE DOES NOT MAKE THE HEART GROW FONDER!!! It is quite the opposite. Deployments, hardship tours, and even short TDY makes you independent, too strong for your own good, causes breaks and gaps in communication, and causes cracks in the marriage relationship! Bad cracks!!! Satan uses these cracks to wreak havoc. Divorce, drug abuse, and suicide, are high in the military. Don't naively think that your marriage will last because you love each other. TAKE GREAT MEASURES to communicate, not be so independent, and share weakness with your spouse. Communicate the best you can. I know it's hard but it's worth it. I learned this lesson much later than I should have. I thought being the strong, independent, Army wife, who can handle anything, was somehow a good thing. God showed me it's not at all. 6). Ask for help when you need it. There will be times that you have a newborn baby and your husband leaves. There might be times when he misses the birth of his child. You can't do it alone. You CAN, but it's not a pretty outcome, or healthy for anyone. Ask for help!!! 7) Make EVERY holiday and birthday a huge deal because there will be times that your husband will have to miss something. If possible have Thanksgiving and Christmas in October if he's leaving! Plan ahead to celebrate a birthday or anniversary early, if he will be gone for one of them. 8) Become the best cook you can be! You don't have to be a gourmet cook but you need to know how to cook, so you are blessing to your husband! ;) He's been deployed and eating in the mess hall (or worse), in the field eating MREs, or TDY eating restaurant or fast food. The last thing he wants is food from a box! :). *SIDE NOTE: Husband, you will have to endure one more meal at a restaurant, sometime soon after your arrival home!! :). The last thing she wants to actually do, is cook and do dishes! <3 9) Build intimacy in all areas. This goes along with #5, but deeper. Use your imagination. ;) 10) Rely on God, not yourself. He ordained this life for you, he KNOWS every detail of what has happened, what is happening, and what will happen. All you have to do is walk in what he has planned/allowed to happen, in a manner worthy, of him. Don't take your eyes off Him, no matter what!!! NO MATTER WHAT! Don't quit!!! "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)" There's so much more I could write! These are just off the top of my head! Feel free to add to them, in the comments!

Day 27 of Thankfulness ~ My Husband

Day 27: My Husband Yesterday I thanked God for marriage. Especially for the patience God has had for me and for my man, in our marriage, but today I want to specifically tell you why I'm thankful for James! For as long as I have known him, he has always been the most gentle person I know. He is especially gentle and loving with children, especially his own. The children love their father and rush to meet him when he arrives home, Quintin with his arms stretched as high above him as possible, trying to be the "first" one noticed, picked up, hugged, and kissed. My husband always kisses them and hugs them, and that says a lot for a man. A lot of men aren't that way and could care less. I don't think it would matter if we had one child, or ten... He would have a hug, or kiss, or word for each of them, upon his arrival home. He tells them he loves them, most everyday...another thing some men just don't do. He takes them with him when he goes places, always spoiling them with milkshakes, a toy, or candy. He teaches them life skills, hard work, and gentleness towards women, animals, and children. He has a soft heart for children. He's a great dad! I wouldn't want anyone else to be their dad. Let's just say, I'd have ten kids with him, just because he's always been a man I could trust with children, and he's the exact dad I would want to have. He's not a perfect dad, and hasn't been perfect, but neither have I been a perfect mom! :) I have always trusted his provision. He is a great provider, and would sacrifice anything to buy me something I happened to want! He would work three or four jobs before he EVER would allow me to work. He knows how hard I work everyday, here. He knows that if I worked, it wouldn't add much to our income, with childcare expenses, gas, and food. Most men are VERY naive in this area and push their wives to work because they think it will add to the income, but usually, it really doesn't. Plus, even if we did have some profit, we would lose things we don't want to lose (seeing our kids grow up, home cooked meals where we all sit at the table together, being able to be in ministry, but mostly...being able to homeschool)! My husband is very talented. He can fix anything, he's a great horseshoer, a hard worker; he can do anything, really. He is a fast thinker when it comes to doing something under pressure. He's a fast decision maker (sometimes to his detriment, but lots of times to his or our advantage). I know that I can trust him to fix anything, especially if it has wheels (which in have usually broken--lol!). He's not lazy, and even if it takes some time for him to get to something, eventually it will get done. I would rather have him hugging and holding kids than always fixing stuff, right away, anyway! He's pretty patient with me. I BREAK EVERYTHING! I lose stuff or forget something and he never seems to care, really. It might irritate him for a moment, but I can TRUST that if I do something, he's not going to go off on me. That's huge for me, because I'm a scatterbrain!!! I don't think through things very well, sometimes, so I make bad decisions, that usually cost money. Lol. He's awesome in this way. I like to keep the house and yard really clean (it's hard recently with the home remodeling and slow process of moving in) but I can tell you, that if I was a slob, or let something go 'a little too long' there would be absolutely NO mention of it. If I let my eyebrows go a little too long (which I would never do. Lol), there would be NO mention of it. Now if I was unhealthy and overweight, there'd be some mention of that because that's kind of a pet peeve of his, but he would still love me and be an encouragement, not a critic. He's never critical of me, and has never said mean things about me or to me. Now, he might be a little "unobservant" but that's where I get away with not shaving everyday. Lol! He might get a little mad at me for something I did or said, but he is over it FAST! He 'buries the hatchet' pretty well, which I'm awful at. :) He's really handsome, to me! :) <3 He's made a lot of mistakes...some he didn't learn from until later, but he keeps going. He doesn't quit. I can trust that he isn't going anywhere. That's HUGE for me!!! I've made a lot of mistakes, some I didn't learn from until later, but I don't quit either. I can trust that he'd not give up on me, no matter what I ever did. That's HUGE for me!!! He's a fun person. I'm kind of boring ! :). So we compliment each other, well! There's so much I could say!!! There's some I can't say about him but the point is, he's not perfect. He struggles like all of us do. And he has struggled with God, himself, his past, but is coming out stronger for it! Most of all, I know that he loves The Lord! He is learning more about Him, and that won't ever change! I love my husband and I am thankful for him! He has taught me a lot; lots of things I wouldn't have learned without him. He's perfect for me because where I am strong, he is weak and where he is strong, I am weak!! And neither of us are quitters! That's the perfect recipe for a marriage that will endure!!! <3

God's Love Story, Not Theirs ~ Day 26

This is a narrative, I wrote yesterday, for Day 26 of Thankfulness. Sometimes there are just not adequate, first-person words to describe why you are thankful for something. Or, there are too many dimensions to the story, that it's just impossible to relay it the way you want to. This story is real. It is gritty. It is grace-filled. One thing that it is not, is finished. If there is one thing in our marriage that I am so very thankful for, it is God's patience with both of us! I hope this story blesses you and gives you hope, when you feel there is none to be had! Happy Day 26 of thankfulness! Love Rachelle God's Love Story; Not Theirs Day 26: Marriage Once upon a time there was a little girl, 12 years old, scrawny, awkward, and not popular at all. Always going against the tide. Always different. Never really fitting into the mold. Her theme song could have been, and is today, and will always be: "Outcast" by: Kerrie Roberts http://youtu.be/FfJ2-N5EGRY She sat in a DOD middle school, sex education classroom, and endured the snickering and annoyed sighs of the other kids, as she raised her hand and answered the question, "What is the best way to not get pregnant?" with "Abstinence". She didn't care. She never has. She never will. In the same classroom sat a 12 year old boy, only 19 days older than her. He was scrawny, the new kid, awkward, too, but a little more popular. He was cute, now that she thinks about it. End of the year comes. She smiles and asks him to sign her yearbook. They weren't friends. Just two kids, trying to discover who they were. He signs her yearbook; the same way he signs his name, today. He doesn't ask her to sign his...doesn't even extend it. Maybe just shy. Maybe just wanting someone to take initiative. Maybe just wanting a real friend. She turns and walks away. What's the point? Her parents have had enough of public schools. They've had enough of the emotional and verbal bullying their daughter endures. They've had enough of God not being allowed in schools. They have decided to do something that's not very common at that time in history. And so, the girl leaves public school, to be homeschooled. The boy's name in her yearbook, is just that: a name....a cute face....a person she'll likely never see again.... Except for this thing called God's agenda...his providence....his careful weaving of a tapestry called His Plan... The girl goes on. The boy goes on. Two years pass and neither one thinks of the other, or even cares. One likes horses, horses, horses....and boys. One likes cars, cars, cars....and girls. One day the boy gets in trouble; his "punishment" is care for an Army Chaplin's horse. A love for horses comes out of nowhere...or does it?? The Chaplin plants spiritual seeds that will lay dormant for years...and years...and years. But they are God's seeds, to be watered in His timing. Remember, it's God's story; not theirs....God's story; not theirs. The girl's mom runs a boarding stable. The boy gets a horse. One day the phone rings. Is it the boy's dad, talking to the girl's mom....or is it God calling, setting up his divine plan? The boy and the Bay horse come on a cold day in March...the 17th of March....1997. The girl and the boy meet again. They recognize each other. But it's different now. There's more hormones, there's common interest, there's no one else, really. There's just them. That day turns into everyday. They ride, they pass notes, they sit in the barn window, they don't talk much, they just sit most of the time. They just enjoy being together and talking isn't really required. One day they kiss; and they just know they will be together forever. They want to be together forever. The army makes the relationship long distance....a couple hundred miles apart....for 2 years. Then 2300 miles apart for one year. God is weaving; God is weaving. Weaving two lives together, day by day. The boy becomes a man, a horse-shoeing man, still wanting the girl. He travels west. He makes a living with anvil, hammer, and nails. The man makes a ring from a horseshoe nail. The girl wears it while she waits tables. Lots of guys like her, but it turns out, she only has eyes for the horse-shoeing man. She saves her money; he spends his. She balances her checkbook; his account is never balanced. He likes chicken enchiladas; she likes beef tacos. She rides English; he rides western. She is clean and organized. His truck is a disaster area. They talk more now. They realize they are very different. But alike in many ways, too. Chris LeDoux blares on the grey truck speakers. Dual tires tear up the night and Bear Paw Road. They ride, they shop, they play Shanghai, they just sit, he prep cooks, she waits the tables. Sometimes a kiss is shared by the chip table, when the restaurant is empty. Sin starts to creep in but not the kind you're thinking. They go to church. They make it right. She forgives. He reconciles. God is weaving. It's His Story, remember; not their's. Twin towers fall. North Idaho boys choose to enlist and if not they ride around in old Chevys, jacked up, with a flag flying. The Girl's horse-shoeing man, leaves. He goes back to what he knows. The girl can't wait to get back to what she has always known. ....Army....Army....Army. But it will be another year before he's home. Another year until they get to be together. Forever. Another year before they get to marry. Another year before the night they've protected (not perfectly, but sufficiently, for five years) and dreamed about, can finally come true...the night they get to be one. The day comes when the man finally gets home. The girl is ready. Her white dress is altered to fit her slim figure. His dress greens sport one stripe. It's summer. But it feels like fall. The orange roses are perfect. The jade green dresses are sewn and are hanging in girls' closets. The girl's grandfather is ready with their vows. The girl becomes a woman that day. A wife. A lover, in every sense of the word. The man becomes a husband, a provider, a hero. A month and a half later, they find out they will soon be parents. The five and a half years that they dated was long enough. They wanted a family. It's what they always dreamed of. A boy child arrives. Satan starts to get a hook into the home life of these three people. A girl child arrives. War ravages and takes casualties...real ones but mostly emotional ones. More sin. The woman starts to get bitter, critical, and shuts down. She's isolated. The man realizes that there are issues but he doesn't know how to fix them, talk about them; communicate. He's isolated. And it's just not that pressing. Nothing grace and forgiveness and love can't fix, they naively think. More children, more sin. Hers and his. But it's God's story, remember. Not theirs. There's devastation, heartache, bewilderment and strife. Thick darkness. Sin. Satan has put one final, last ditch effort into play, to ruin one more family for his sick kingdom. Their family. Naivety on both sides, made them think they were fine. Obedience wasn't as pressing as it should have been. The friends...the lovers...the ones who had known each other since they were 12, faced a word that neither one ever thought they would face....divorce. And they faced an enemy that neither one thought had as much power as he does....Satan. But keep in mind, it's God's love story. Not theirs. GOD'S LOVE STORY, NOT THEIRS. Where the now humble hearts, lose their pride...where the hurt ones learn to forgive....where the sinners repent and turn around....there is God. He is always there. He was always there. He will always be there. He is God of restoration. He is God of Hope. He is God of healing. He is God who hates divorce. He is God who makes two people into one. He is God who wants nothing, not even man, to separate what He has joined together. He is God who strengthens this weak woman and this tired man, to keep going. He is God of grace and forgiveness of sin. He is God who builds and weaves a tapestry that looks like a mess underneath...with what looks like shredded threads, colors blended together in such a disarray that no one could ever see beauty in it....until it is turned over, to reveal a story....a story that will not be finished until one of them goes home to be with this God. He is God who is in two categories of story weaving: some parts He allows; some parts He arranges. But all parts of his story are weaved in such a way, so that in the end, He gets the most glory from them. This is I AM. This is GOD'S STORY; NOT THEIRS. Matthew 19:6. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate. http://youtu.be/775N1v94NkM

Perfection or Excellence

Perfection or Excellence? I'm really posty today, but I've been reading a book by Tony Evans called Kingdom Woman. It's co-authored by Crystal Evans Hurst (Priscilla Shirer's sister). She is a stay at home, homeschooling mom to five children. So far, it's been a GREAT book. Crystal is very real in her struggles, even saying about homeschooling/homemaking, and I quote, "MONDAY IS THE WORST!" (I knew I wasn't the only one and it was nice to hear it from TONY EVANS' daughter...LOL!). Anyway, one of the chapters really hit me this week. I used to be a perfectionist. But I was not excellent. The chapter talks about excellence. Perfection isn't excellence. Excellence isn't perfection. In my own words and from experience, I can tell you that perfection is tyranny. You are a tyrant and perfection is a tyrant to you. Perfection isn't home-life and it isn't fun. :(. None of this was mentioned in the book. I'm just telling you what I thought about as I digested the chapter. A few years ago I finally let the Tupperware cabinet go. Tammy laughed and Sherri laughed and James still laughs but at the time it wasn't funny to me (though it's hilarious now). Now there's another cabinet that I've really let go (the casserole dish cabinet). This doesn't mean I'm not excellent. Excellence calls into play the motivation behind why you do things. What is your attitude when you do the million things that no one will ever see or even know about, except Christ? When you fold laundry or do dishes, or make a meal for your family, do you have excellence in mind? Are you doing your best, with the best attitude possible? Are you not so prideful that you'll ask for help when you need it? Are you doing whatever it is you are doing, to glorify God, or to please man? I was a "people-pleaser" for so long and still struggle with it sometimes. There's stuff I'm not good at (decorating, sewing, arts and crafts, etc---that's just not me). Pinterest and Facebook are your enemy. Just because I love to cook (and sometimes I'm not even that great at it) doesn't mean I'm an excellent wife, and if you're not a very good cook, that you aren't an excellent wife. It comes down to, are you doing your best with the strengths God has given you? Are you trying to improve in areas that are lacking without being overly critical of yourself? Are you trying to please God or man? These are the differences between perfection and excellence. <3

The Pilgrim

The Pilgrim by Rachelle Phipps About a year ago I watched a documentary about one of my favorite heroes of the faith: John Bunyan. I copied a long segment that the narrator of the movie had quoted from Bunyan's writings, into my journal. Today, I have been really frustrated with wondering how my life has been worth living; kind of questioning my worth and value (which we all do), and wondering how me with all my failings and the sins which I haven't had victory over yet, can all fit into God's plan. I think sometimes life feels like a prison, like you're stuck in a certain failing, or circumstance. Sometimes its hard to see hope and hard to trust God. I started praying about these questionings and complained a lot about my "prisons of failings, and circumstances" and a verse popped into my head....the verse about "rejoicing over one sinner who repents". I knew it was in Luke but I couldn't remember where. I didn't want to take the time to look it up online because I knew I had written it on the inside cover of an old journal. I had written it there because the day I began that journal I had just been involved with two of my friends in leading a precious woman to the Lord; my dear friend Laura Hage. I later was able to disciple her and relate with her in a certain circumstance that came later in her life and in mine. And so that evening I had written Luke 15:7 and 10 into the inside cover of my journal. I really had no idea why these verses popped into my head today. They say: "Rejoice with me, I have found my lost sheep. There is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repenting than over 99 righteous people who do not repent....I tell you, there is much rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner who repents". Luke 15:7 and 10 I was wondering why God would want me to see these verses. I still didn't really understand why he was leading me this way. I read the first journal entry where I wrote these verses and wrote about Laura. I was going to close the journal and put it away but I started to flip around and I came first to the page where I had copied the segment from the documentary. I remembered how I had stopped the movie like ten times so I could copy the segment into my journal. This is what I copied: John Bunyan: "Who can know the length of his (God's) love? I do not know if I will remain a free man to preach the gospel of Christ, be locked in PRISON, or end with the hangman's noose about my neck. Whichever it may be- if through by freedom, or IMPRISONMENT, or yet by death, I can convert yet one soul to Christ, my life shall be well-spent. Prison or death- or liberty and life. I shall stand by my God and with bold heart, I shall pray that as this pilgrim, this UNWORTHY traveler comes at last to that great and celestial city to which His Lord has beckoned him come--his footsteps, his FALLS, his scrapes, and his TUMBLES, may chart the path for other WEARY travelers and this at last, one firm step at a time , may guide them home to God" It all came together for me today...I may not be in an actual prison, even though life feels like this for every one of us, at one point or another in life, and I surely am a failing, tumbling, weary traveler but Laura isn't the only one I have aided in finding the Lord. There are others. They are worth it!!! Thank you John Bunyan, for your timeless words. Thank you God for your perfect timing. Have a blessed day everyone! <3

But Then

BUT THEN, By: Rachelle Phipps Psalm 107 is an amazing Psalm. It's very real-life and honest. It talks about four kinds of people. In verses 4-9, the "wanderer" is highlighted. He is hungry and thirsty for something and he finds that only God satisfies him! In verses 10-16, the "rebellious prisoner" is featured. He is a prisoner to sin, and rebellious to God's authority. He stumbled, and suffered, and nothing helped...but then he cries out to God and he is saved and the chains, the cycles, the patterns, are finally broken! In verses 17-22, the "Sick Rebel" is submitted. He has been a fool, and in his rebellion, God has chosen to afflict him. This type of person learned the hard way, too, but God saves him, heals him, and gives this man something to praise God about! In verses 23-32, the "Storm-Tossed" man is highlighted. This man went out into the sea of life, worked hard, saw God work, believed God, but still, the hardships came, the peril stared him in the face, seemingly without reason. This man was at his "wits end", the NIV says. But God (my favorite phrase of all time), calmed the storm, and guided this man. In verses 33-43, the promise is stated for the ones who remain in rebellion and those who turn to God for salvation. Verses 33-34 highlight the man who stays in his rebellious state. The rest of the chapter gives a beautiful promise to those who surrender their life to The Lord. I have been each one of these men at one point or another, but especially the second and fourth man. I am so thankful that God is merciful and patient with each of us, not wanting any of us to perish in our sin, but to come to the knowledge of God's saving grace! I think this Psalm gives a beautiful picture of God's intense love and care for us. My favorite thing about it is all the "buts" and "thens". It reads like a story...a testimony! So beautiful!!!

Army Wive's Creed

Army Wives' Creed by unknown author I am the wife of an United States Army Soldier I am a supporter of the United States Army- an encouragement for the protectors of the greatest nation on earth. Because I am proud of my husband and the uniform that he wears, I will always act in the ways creditable to him, the military service and the nation he is sworn to guard. I am proud of my husband. I will do all that I can to protect and provide for my family in his absence. I will be loyal to my husband and the vows that we made as we entered the covenant of marriage. I will do my full part to carry on the values and goals we have set apart for our children in the same manner. As a soldier's wife, I realize that I play a vital role in my husband's decision to become a member of a time- honored profession- that I am doing my share to keep a live the principles of freedom for which my country stands. No matter what situation I am in, I will never do anything for pleasure, profit, or personal safety, Which will disgrace my husband, his uniform or our country, I will use every means I have to encourage my husband to be the best soldier that he can be. I am proud of my husband, my county and its flag. I will fly the flag and will always remember the sacrifices made by my husband and by generations of men and women that have served our beloved country. I will try to make my husband proud of the manner in which I accept his decision to defend my freedom an the freedom of all American citizens- For I am the Wife of an American Soldier.