Migration

First day of Preschool

In a thought of drifting away from mainstream social media, I found a blogger app for my phone. Here's a test post of some of our recent adventures. Edit: The app is mostly successful, mostly in the way that I can easily upload photos from my phone, and save the entry as a draft. And then when kids are napping, I can edit the text on my laptop (a keyboard is tons easier!). So, yes, success!

Mopping the side walk

Hard Day

So it begins. In military living, if you have been at a place a few years (specifically overseas), you begin to see people leave. Goodbyes. Tears. Life becomes a bit more emotional.

It's very hard to say goodbye when you feel like you aren't done yet sharing life with the people that are leaving.

One Year

A year ago tonight, my water broke and we headed to Lester for labor/delivery of our expected baby. We didn't know if it was Aaron Matthew or Isabelle Lorraine that we'd be meeting. Time really flies when you are having fun (and raising young children).

It has been a glorious year. A year for stretching. A year for growing. A year of new challenges, new trials, new adventures. Sweet, sweet memories, bitter tears, frustration, joy, laughter -- all rolled into one year. In considering the lengths at which God has gone to get our attention with this assignment here on this island of Okinawa, I am glad that God's voice was heard and received (and obeyed) in our lives. I am so thankful that God is a God that pursues us through all our stubbornness. I am so glad that God is a God of comfort, an ever present strength in trials.

I am a big fat liar if I say this past year has been easy. It has been anything but - and life continues to throw at us anything and everything we can imagine. But God is in the middle of it all, and at the end of the day I can come back to the foot of the cross and sit quietly to learn where I can do things better tomorrow.

There have been a few times in my life where I really could not conceptualize where I'd be a year from now. One of them was my last semester at Michigan Tech -- knowing I was leaving school with intentions to enlist in the Air Force. Having no idea of timelines, jobs, or bases I'd be sent to a year from then was exciting. Even in a young Christian walk at the time, I knew God has big plans (which He did), and I was excited.

This time, now is another instance where I can't even begin to imagine what will be going on a year from now. It is not excitement that fills me as the primary emotion. Of course I am excited. But I am also weary. I long to say "isn't this enough?" and "how about some snow?" and "what now?". Ah, but when the Lord tells you to stay put, obedience is by far the best course of action. All I know is that Christ has been tugging at our hearts to stay put (yes, in this hot and humid land of eternal summers, and YES, we are still snow people....). When God keeps knocking, you really should answer and find out what His purpose is. So, with that said, we are making the efforts necessary on our part to allow God to open/close doors outside of our control to keep us here or send us away as He sees fit. We'll return to the states this coming February (or to another overseas assignment), or we'll be staying here a while longer. So in a year, we'll be here, or we'll be {there} -- wherever {there} is.

I love knowing details.

One thing I do know for certain -- this next year will be a wild ride for sure.

Happy Birthday tomorrow, little Isabelle Lorraine. I am SO glad it was you!

God is faithful

It's been one heck of a last few weeks - between Matt's long hours at work and Isabelle's night waking - makes for very tired, exhausted, and frustrated parents. God is faithful to give us rest the last few days.

Psalm 55:22 - "Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken."

Psalm 37:7 - "Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him"

Hebrews 12:1-3 - "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Tonight we get to disappear for a few hours after the kids go to bed to celebrate our 9 years of marriage. No fireworks will fly. No celebration of the masses. Just us, our favorite restaurant,  and some adult conversation.

Lofty Goals

Ah, the lofty goals we have. And oh how fleeting they are in the midst of raising young children. One of my most favorite sayings is "headdesk", to give you the visual of me sitting at my desk, and repeatedly dropping my head to hit the desk. It is the image of trying hard to get things done, but nothing ever gets accomplished.

I am desperate for some meaningful, useful, and practical organization help. I am busy ALL day, but when the end of the day comes, I have no idea what I have been busy doing. {headdesk} And I really dislike, no, HATE, that I never finished sending out Christmas cards. And that I'm still in progress making a Christmas gift, and that maybe by the end of this month I'll actually be able to put it in the mail.

I have a friend, and a fellow blogger, who just knocks my socks off with her creativity, motivation, and ability to GET THINGS DONE. What she accomplishes almost seems to border on manic... but with manic, there is always a down time. And with her, that isn't the case. She just, has got it together, yo. She is knit together tight with her eyes on Christ and gets sooooo much done. She recently wrote on her blog about planners, and I oogled her choice of planner with envy. It's beautiful. But, oh wait, you have to print it out and put it together. My envy stopped there; I can't even begin to muster the motivation to print and put it together. I almost toyed with the idea of asking her to build me one and mail it to me...

Baby steps, I think to myself. I'll run to the BX on base tomorrow and look at their At-A-Glance planners, and start from there. If I spend $10 on a planner that doesn't end up getting utilized for the long haul, I won't feel guilty about spending that $10. I need to make an effort to get organized, because if I'm going to do this homeschool thing (3 years down the road, mind you) then I need to have a good handle on organizing my weeks and getting things accomplished. Oh, to be able to manage a house hold during the week so we could go out and do things on the weekends instead of working on triage situations around the house. Sigh.

Been blessed by a few days of really beautiful weather here. Praying for God's favor for it to remain for a while longer before we enter the hot season again. {lastsummeronthisrockhereIcomeWOOHOO!}

Luke 13:34

Luke 13

34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’

As the girl slept until 8 am this morning (and we don't make habits of waking sleeping children), we missed our window for church this morning. While I am sad not to start the New Year in the house of God in fellowship with our friends and church family, I am equally blessed to have started my New Year the way that I did (not to mention getting to sleep in, horray!).

A while ago I had started with the PWOC in a Bible study with Beth Moore's personal reflection series on Jesus (a 90 day study). Though 90 days has come and gone, I am on day 62. The birth of Isabelle put a huge dent in what I had found to be a wonderful way to start my day - morning quiet time. I am slowly getting back to it when I can, and this morning was one of those blessed mornings.

Today's scripture was Luke 13:34-35, talking about the desire of Christ's heart to shelter the children of Israel, but that they were not interested, not willing to allow that covering to take place. I love Beth Moore's writing. Her discussion on these verses was compelling, presenting the case of a covering of immunity when we are walking in the will of the Father. That there are two levels of immunity as she suggests, one when you accept Christ as Lord of your life, you are immune from the fires of Hell as you will be with the Lord in Heaven. She suggests a second level of immunity, being only when you are walking in the will of the Father, under the covering of his protection as you live in obedience. She goes on to write about the two witnesses in Revelations 11, a picture of this second level of immunity. They could not be killed until they had fulfilled their God given purpose.

This picture of the covering of protection from Above is empowering. Your life will not end until God's purpose has been fulfilled in you. And if you walk in obedience to the will of God, you are covered under His protection. Not to say you will not experience trials, but that those trials must first come through the will of God for His greater purpose. And let's look back at the end of the verse 34... "and you were not willing".

I pause. And ponder. The children of Israel missed out on covering from above against Satan because they were not willing. Yes, it involves of obedience. But what better place to be than walking in the will of the Father and covered by His protection? Why would you not want this?

I want to be willing, Lord, all year long. Welcome, 2012, and may the God of my salvation bring me closer to fulfillment of His will for my life. Even if it means to obey.

And because I have some baptist background, I'll close with these hymnal lyrics, "Trust and Obey" as they came to my head as I was looking to close this post:

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
   What a glory He sheds on our way!
   While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
   And with all who will trust and obey.
   • Refrain:
     Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
     To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
2. Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
   But His smile quickly drives it away;
   Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
   Can abide while we trust and obey.
3. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
   But our toil He doth richly repay;
   Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
   But is blessed if we trust and obey.
4. But we never can prove the delights of His love
   Until all on the altar we lay;
   For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
   Are for them who will trust and obey.
5. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
   Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
   What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
   Never fear, only trust and obey.

Thanksgiving

It is a sad day when family has to leave. We just finished two wonderful weeks with Matt's mom (known as Grammie). It makes me really look forward to being closer to family so we can have visits like these much more often. We have more family coming for Christmas too!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (at least, in my heart, no snow here). Happy Thanksgiving everyone!