Called to write?

It has been FOREVER since I have blogged! And it wasn't on my radar to start again anytime soon. But about a month ago, I felt a very clear prompting from the Lord to start writing again. I have no idea why. I have no idea if He will use this for me or for others. I have put Him off for a month or more, but it keeps coming up--often. Weekly. Whenever I am quiet before Him, He prompts me. I have put it off--disobeyed--long enough.
Because isn't that what we tell our children: "Delayed obedience is disobedience"? So, if I am putting this off because I don't understand why He is calling me to obey or what the end result will be, isn't that disobedience? And because I strive to be obedient, here I am.......blogging, writing with no explanation or reason other than obedience.
Do I hope He does something with it? Absolutely! Do I secretly hope it is something big? Yep! But in my heart of hearts, I know that He never calls me to something that doesn't have some type of benefit--even if it is "just" to do something in me......in my heart.
Feel free to join me.......or don't. ;) I don't lead an exciting life. I talk about my boys--a lot! So maybe you will find me boring. But I will be honest and share the highs and lows of my normal life and hopefully I will find encouragement along the way for me and maybe you will, too.
And pray for me--that I would be obedient even when I don't see the reason for what He is calling me to do!

Small, mundane prayers

I am so excited about how God answered this simple, mundane prayer that I have to share.... 

I was headed to pick out new glasses today--a daunting task with no one to help but my boys (and we all know how helpful boys are!). I had been praying all week that God would give me just who I needed to help me pick them out. When I was there earlier this week, there was a woman I watched helping someone else who said things like, "Those are too big for your face." That's the kind of person I needed today! I normally take a friend or my sister or my mom with me to choose. I wear them for 5 years at a time, so I have to be sure!! I didn't have anyone like that with me today. So, I asked God to give me that someone in the form of a worker. (Honestly, I expected it to one of two women I had seen earlier.)

Instead, Gus was my answer. He was SO helpful--pointed out pros and cons of each pair, understood immediately what I wanted and found glasses I'm excited about after trying on just a few pairs. He didn't try to up-sell me or confuse me with a bunch of choices. He showed me what I should and shouldn't get so as not to be out of style when I wear them for the next 5 years. :) 

Gus is not who I thought would be my answer to prayer. He helped me the other day with a quote and I did not get the impression he would understand my need. He's been in the business 34 years (read: much older than I am), and, well, he's a boy! But I am convinced he was exactly the answer to the prayers I had prayed. Simple and mundane, though they were!!

But isn't it just like God to give me an answer to my prayer in the form of someone totally unexpected?! I love that about Him! He's full of surprises!!

Thanks, God, for Gus--my answer to that simple, mundane prayer.

Nostalgia

I suppose it has a lot to do with the fact that Chris is back at Vandenberg AFB in California and attending our close friends' church and having lunch with them. (A fact I am jealous of!) :) I am having a MAJOR nostalgia day.

I have pumpkin chocolate chip muffins in the oven--a tasty treat I was introduced to by a neighbor at Vandenberg.

I am listening to my "Worship" playlist on my iPod that has songs I haven't heard since.....well, probably since Vandenberg. It brings back so many memories of a church we attended that had such a unique bond between its people. A bond we have never again experienced. (5-card fellowship, anyone?!)

I had an acquaintance on FB mention something that took me back to our first pregnancy--at Vandenberg, which I miscarried, and all the emotions that went with that event. The bittersweet memory of a child I never knew. My Josiah who will be waiting to welcome me to heaven.

And that led to a memory of a dear woman who understood and who recommended a book that ministered to me in a way I so desperately needed at the time. I have since passed this book on to countless women when they experience a miscarriage. That woman passed away from breast cancer shortly after we moved away. But she is not forgotten.

Oh! the memories of all the special friends and events we experienced there--living with friends until we got our house on base (I am an expert at giving shots now); Thanksgiving when a friend's husband told me there had been a recall on the turkey I was serving to about 20 people (I'm still dreaming of a way to get back at him for that particular "joke"); watching our friends plant a church in a nearby town but knowing we were where God had planted us and loving them for understanding that; becoming parents for the first time and all that entails. And so much more!

We were stationed at Vandenberg almost 10 years ago for just 3 years.

I have special memories from each place we have lived. What an incredible blessing it has been to live an AF life. Yes, the moves are hard. Yes, I hate the good-byes. But I would never choose to not go because who knows what memories the next place will hold?!

Thank you, Lord, for the reminder of all these special people You have allowed me to know and who have blessed my life in so many amazing ways! I can't wait to see who else You will place in my life!!

Perspective

I hesitate to post this because it is super honest and I've struggled with wanting the whole FB world to know my honest feelings. However, since someone already said what I feared people would say, I thought I would go ahead and put myself out there.

Last Friday Chris was told he would be leaving for training at Vandenberg, CA for a month. It is for a good reason and I wouldn't say no even if someone asked me. But I don't have to like it!

On the one hand, some civilian friends and family agree that this was short notice and a lengthy time to be away. On the other hand, some of my military friends and family think how short it is and how great that it isn't a deployment.

Here are the things I think about......

One military friend had 2 weeks' notice before her husband deployed for 6 months. Perspective.

One family member's spouse was to be away for 2 weeks and I remember how hard it was for them to have them gone. Perspective.

One family member's husband has been deployed to the Middle East for year-long deployments 3 (or is it 4?) times. Perspective.

So, which perspective is right? I feel like a weak military wife. We are supposed to be strong and roll with whatever punches the military feels like throwing at us. I have friends and family whose husbands have been gone for months or years and I feel silly for being so down about him leaving.

But here is the reality and what I keep coming back to. This is the man I love with all my heart. This is the man I have vowed to stand by no matter what. So, being apart from him should hurt. Whether it's a week or a month, I hope I never stop missing him and wishing he did not have to leave.

Do I believe God will be my strength while he is gone? Absolutely! Do I think the boys and I will be fine while he's gone? Of course! Life will go on, because that's what you do.

But maybe being sad doesn't have to mean I'm weak. Maybe it just means the other half of my heart will be in another state and it's okay to be sad about that.

I will hold down the fort here in WY. I will get the boys where they need to be and be the Cub Scout Den Leader in his place. I will school our children and look for fun things to make the time go faster. I will enjoy the freedom to not cook if I don't feel like it and watch all the silly TV shows I don't watch while he's home. I will look for opportunities to spend time with other women so I can use up all my words in a day. I will make the best of it. But I will cry a few times before he leaves, again when I say good-bye and again some nights when I go to sleep. I will wish his toothbrush was next to mine because it means he's home.

Yes, it's just a month. Yes, it's a whole month. It's both. Perspective.

My house is so big.....

When we moved to Cheyenne, they didn't have a house for Chris' rank, so they got special permission to put us in the next level of house. We are feeling crazy blessed! And I'm finding it highly humorous since when we moved out of our house in Colorado, I had decided I never needed a house that big again. Now, here we are in a house at least twice that size (and I'm not exaggerating)! Please understand this list is meant to bring a smile to your face. So, here we go:

My house is so big......

• that I actually got off on the wrong floor coming down the stairs.....more than once.
  
• it has two staircases--one in the front and one in the back.
• we often miss each other by going up/down the opposite stairs.
• my boys say it is hard to find each other in it. (Which is pretty true.)
• the boys and I decided to use walkie-talkies one day to solve that problem.
• I don't need an exercise machine, I just go up and down steps all day long.
  
• there are large empty spaces that we wonder what to put in them.
• opening and closing windows has become my part-time job.
• when I lay something on a set of steps to go up, it usually migrates to the next set of steps at least once before reaching its final destination.
• our computer desk is in the eating area of the kitchen and is not crowded at all.
• Jonathan can reach top speed running down the halls.
• you can feel the climate change as you move between floors.
• I had to have maintenance call me when they arrived because we couldn't hear the doorbell from the attic where we were doing school.
  
• I am convinced I will need to hire help to keep it clean!
  

From the South to the West.....

During the transition, I have found myself contemplating the variety of customs, cultures and environments our country offers. Here is how our lives have changed.......

From the South to the West......

• from smocking and beautiful, long christening gowns to cowboy boots, large belt buckles and Stetsons.
• from humidity that makes it hard to breathe to air completely void of moisture.
• from a one-story modern home to a four-level historic home.
• from "y'all" to "howdy".
• from being called "sweetheart" or "dahlin'" and no offense was meant or taken to.....well, nothing has replaced that yet!
• from fire ants and spiders in our yard to antelope and ground squirrels (honestly, both are in our yard daily!).
• from being cooped up in the summer to playing at the playground for hours a day.
• from the land of 115 degree heat index to the land where 90 just feels like 90 and doesn't produce excessive amounts of sweating.
• from outdoor swimming pools to indoor.
• from 10 churches every mile to only one in sight during a 10-minute drive.
• from the beauty of a variety of colors of skin to the same pale color as me.
• from being the odd-one-out in how I talk to sounding just like everyone else.
• from the land of Civil War history to the land of how the West was won.
• from football to rodeos.
• from green grass and rolling hills to dry land and mountains in the distance.

But you know what is the same? The common courtesy of decent people. The same respect for our flag and our military. And people who love the same Lord.

Thank You, Lord, for the variety you've placed in our country and the privilege to experience it up-close-and-personal. Thank You for those across our nation who love and serve You and for the freedom to do just that.

In the span of a month....

In case you didn't know, we've moved. In the interim since my last post, we have:

- watched Chris graduate from SAASS (earning his third master's degree),
- celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary,
- gone to Disney World to celebrate it all,
- had follow-up procedures to my surgery to remove the stint they put in and could not find without putting me back under,
- celebrated with Chris as he pinned-on Lt Col,
- watched packers pack up our household goods and load them into a truck for the 8th time of our married life,
- spent time with family in Iowa en route to Wyoming,
- and finally moved into a beautiful, huge historic house on base at FE Warren in Cheyenne. (More on the house in an up-coming post.)
WHEW!! What a month!! We are so blessed!

Thank You, Lord, for being with us every step of the way, for going ahead of us to prepare our place, and guarding us from behind as we left people we love.