Pursue God ....

"And He said, Your name shall be called no more Jacob [supplanter], but Israel [contender with God]; for you have contended and have power with God and with men and have prevailed." ~ Genesis 32:28 (Amplified Bible)

This verse was part of a devotional reading today. It can mean so many things to so many different people, but today it says to me, pursue God. If there is something that you want God to do in your life, go after Him until He blesses you!

I know I do!! After spending the last 13 yrs or so running from God, it feels so good to be running back toward him!! The feeling of all of the barriers being knocked down is amazing!!

Words

I hate not having the right words to say to someone sometimes. Especially someone who is hurting and sad.

Another Thing....

Now I remember what the something else was that I wanted to add to my last blog entry.
God has really worked on my level of contentment over the last few years. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with having stuff or wanting more out of life. It is the point at which all of that starts to take over your life that becomes the problem. Having a decent career a modest sized house and two cars in the garage is great. I had that. Deep down there was also that constant craving for more, more money, more cool gadgets, more tv channels, more prestige, you get the point.
This military lifestyle has taught me that even though, I may not have the the number of bedrooms or bathrooms that I want, or the amount of storage that I think I need, I can be content in where I am at this moment in time. Unfortunately it may take me a while to get there but trust me, I have gotten so much better.
The one commodity that I could have never gotten back is this time with my family. More precious than any thing else. I am so grateful that God has given me this opportunity to grow and stretch in Him.

The things that pop into my head during a sermon.....

I know I should be concentrating on what Pastor is preaching but sometimes my ADD takes over and I rabbit trail in my head while he's talking. (Sorry Pastor Wes) Those of you who know me well know my thought process!

So, I was thinking over the last four years and this adventure. Lately, God has brought to my attention a few of the things that he has been teaching me during this time. Today I was reminded of the fact that even though I had attended a big church in a big city, I was a snob. I only hung out with the people that I went to church with. I also had a tendency to be critical. 

God has blessed my life with so many different people over the last few years. That is the cool thing about being a military family. You get to meet people from all walks of life, ethnicities, back grounds and countries. In doing so, I have been stretched beyond my comfort zone. Not that that is bad thing mind you! I know I am a better person for it.
I just hope I have touched those lives as much as they have touched mine! 

Welcome 2013

Happy New Year!!!
I had a pretty uneventful day. Finished it off with church. :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Wow, I can not believe that 2012 is almost over! I can not believe that we have officially marked off one full year here on Okinawa either. As we were asked to give testimonies around the room about what God had done for us this year this morning at prayer, I was mesmerized by them. It was really amazing to hear what God has been doing in, through and around everyone at our church.

This year has really had it's ups and downs for us as a family. The awesome thing is that we serve a big God who is ready and willing to do anything we ask of Him. I know I have been personally smashed, shoved and stretched. I started out completely numb when we got here then progressed through the anger, depression and a myriad of other emotions. Trust me, not everyone is cut out for this military life and I am still wondering what the heck were were thinking doing this at our age, lol. My mil spouse friends who have been doing this for years are officially my heroes! I still don't know how they do it. The not knowing every two years or so where you will be, moving the kids around, getting the house ready to be packed, unpacking everything and getting it settled, etc. 
Keith and I were talking the other day and discussing our "purpose" for being here. Nothing has turned out quite like we had planned or envisioned. Oh and did I mention we still have another two years here on the island? Thankfully, everything turned out how God planned it! :) God has really blessed me with an amazing group of friends and acquaintances.  We have great neighbors here in our little "cove"/street/hill/neck-o-the-woods, whatever you want to call it. We have a wonderful church family full of great people who will give you the shirt off their back if you need it and Pastors who jump at the chance to love on us.
I am thankful for growing pains. Even though, God has pushed me out of my comfort zone, I know I will come out better for it in the end. I am thankful that God is our Jehovah-Jireh, our faithful provider. When I think that there will never be an end to this debt that has to be paid off, God shows up and says here is a bigger number in your check book! 
Part of me is terrified about what 2013 is going to bring as this will be another year of big decisions in our lives, but at the same time I am a little excited. I know God has big plans, I just hope I am open and receptive to what the year brings. 
In the mean time, like Pastor Chris said this morning, I am going to get off my rear and be an active duty Christian instead of the reservist!
May you all have a happy and blessed 2013.

Asking

This morning during prayer Ms. Carol, was talking about God knowing the desires of our hearts and wanting to bless us with them.
Why as Christian people are we afraid to ask for specific things? At least I know I am. Is it because we may get the answer we are looking for then actually have to act on that thing? Is it because He may have a different plan for us and we may not like the answer we receive? So many times we think we want something but we are not sure we really want it, or are terrified to move forward with something. Thankfully God knows whether or not it is for our benefit or not and the timing in which it should happen.
I am thankful for a loving God who knows the desires of our heart and wants to give them to us. Even the little things.

Thanksgiving

I have So much to be thankful for. I can not believe we have been here in Okinawa a year already. Time sure does fly. God is good because even as much as I miss home I am finding more and more things that I like about this island.

Our first Typhoon!

We survived typhoon Bolaven over the weekend. All in all it wasn't a bad experience, especially since we had no idea what was going to happen. Just like the hurricanes state side these things change almost constantly.
Well then we have a couple more, and Jelewat was the kick in the pants. Although we are very grateful that is was not worse!

Happy August!!

Well with August comes the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year! Ya know the time of year when you are torn between wanting the kids out of the house for a few hours and not wanting your bumming around buddies to leave you??? :) 

Blessed beyond measure

As I have been reflecting this morning, i can't help but go back to last night's worship rehearsal. We have this local man who comes in to watch the praise team rehearse almost every week. I think it is pretty awesome that he seeks out opportunities. Last night as we were doing our devotional we got to pray with him. He doesn't speak any English but our friend who speaks Japanese invited him to come over and she translated. Y'all know me and as it was my turn to pray, I not only had to clean up my Southern accent to Terumi could understand me, I also had to make an effort to be more deliberate and slow down my speech. At first I thought Lord, I can't do this. God is so faithful I calmed down and was able to get out concisely what I wanted to say. Although the best part was getting to pray for him.
How amazing is that?? Sadly in the states so many churches are robbed or worried about being broken into during services that they have become leery of letting people just wander in.
Yet here we are living in a foreign country surrounded by people who can barely understand a word we are saying, or in this case singing, and someone wanders in off the street just to be in the presence of our great God.
What a blessing to witness that kind of hunger?
Lord, let me hunger for more of you!

wow it's been a while!!!

Since I last posted we have been through spring break and Easter!! My how time flies!! And now the end of the school year for the kids is closing in! I am so proud of Jacob and Christina. They have done very well and Jacob has made the honor roll two out of these three semesters here! He got invited to the NJHS! I don't think he went to the meeting though, grrr! That is ok, once he hits high school!!! He also got an invitation to take a high school level algebra class next year in 7th grade. What an amazing honor, but we really don't want to stress him out. Maybe 8th grade, if he feels he is up to the challenge. May is a busy month. I just have to figure out what to do when school gets out in June to keep us busy. Hopefully we can hang out with some friends at the beach or pool. 

*warning* a bit sad

I actually got to join my friend, Troy for his weekly broadcast on YouServed radio this morning.  A luxury I have not been afforded in a very long time. Wow, what a show. It was a bit heart wrenching but well worth the listen. Today's guest was Daniel Gade who has a long list of credentials that I can not remember off of the top of my head now, one of which included him having something to do with West Point.  Anyway, he as started a book project. He is gathering letters from widows, widowers and even some vets that were written when they deployed. He read a couple on air and they were powerful! And yes I was crying. This is a link to his blog "In the Event of My Death"   http://intheeventofmydeath.wordpress.com/  


I know this isn't a pleasant subject but how amazing to share these thoughts. The crazy thing is what actually stuck with me after the interview was over. The hosts were sharing their stories about writing their own letters and what they usually did with them after the deployment was over and they were safely at home. A friend of theirs called in at the end and brought up a great point. How much of this beautiful poetic stuff do we share with out loved ones while we are actually together? If we don't say it, then why not? I guess I just needed to get that out of my head. 

Manic Monday

As hard as I fought it off, Monday showed up anyway! :(
We had a good quiet weekend. Watched a couple of movies, played around at the BX, did a  little yard work. Oh and went out to eat Friday night at a place in town. Yes, I am not nearly as terrified to venture out in town now. I still get nervous going outside of my comfort zone, but hey I'll get use to it eventually! It was fun and the food was yummy! Keith has really been practicing his Japanese. I can say hello, yes, no and thank you. That is about it. 
Looks like I have a busy week ahead! YAY! Love it!

purpose

So after watching Hugo last night I got to thinking. I know, that can be dangerous some times with me. 
With all the new age junk that Hollywood is spewing these days, at least most of the movies directed toward kids have a good message. I think it is important for we parents to talk to our kids about these concepts as well. 
In the beginning I thought the movie was kind of stupid, but as it began to unfold I could see where the Authors/Directors were going with the story line. The main character in the movie is trying to figure out if his life has a purpose. Aren't we all floundering around with that concept? I know as a parent, I am constantly urging my children toward what seems to be a natural niche for them. I'm 44 and some days I still wonder what God has planned for me. Am I doing the right thing? Is this really where I am suppose to be??? I suppose what I am saying is that is the cool thing about being a Christian and trying your best to listen and be open to the wonderful adventures God throws your way. Are they always easy???? NO! Of course not, look at our lives as a military family, we go from duty station to duty station, starting over making new friends, then leaving them all behind and starting over at the next one. My theme for the new year has seemed to be grow where you're planted. I am so thankful that the Lord has allowed me an opportunity to do so recently. 
Have a blessed weekend all!

God is just cool like that!

Ya know, my heart has always been in Women's Ministries, but over the last 10 yrs or so, God has steered me into kids' ministry. It's kind of cool to look back and see the people and  opportunities that God placed in my life to help me grow. Gotta love how God gets us out of our comfort zone, so we can be blessed!

ok, so I'm dwindling down to once a week now.....

Well, our weekend was slow, with yucky weather and a sick child. All of which are not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. Christina was sick with a fever, apparently some kind of viral thing. She had a horrible headache Sat afternoon which worried me. Of course a few hours later and she spikes a fever. Go figure. So, she and I spent Sunday and today at home. Man, I hated missing church too. She is all better now. Running around like a crazy person tonight. I'm thinking she has cabin fever. I don't blame her, I do too. Even though we got out today. I took her to get a strep test done. It still cracks me up that the military doesn't have a quick strep test, you have to wait a week. Although, I guess in their eyes it's a waste of money since you'll have to do the week long culture to double check anyway. *shrugs* What do I know anyway, right?? ha ha  We're assuming it will be negative since she hasn't shown any symptoms. I just can't wait until our new PCM sees her tonsils! I loved watching the residents at Lackland. They always cracked me up. I started out warning them, the it became a game to see what kind of reaction they would have to seeing how huge they actually are. :) I know I'm bad right???? I can't help it, it's that medical professional sense of humor. We're just twisted.
So, we spent the weekend watching it rain and watching movies and playing games. Christina bought a Mancala game with some of her Christmas/Birthday money. It is actually quite addicting! 
it's just another manic Monday! :)
Have a good week all!!

another year older

Wow, I can't believe I really am another year older. Almost half way through my 40's. What happened??? Where did the time go? My first overseas birthday even! :) Keith and the kids got me cards and a new purse. I got over 100 happy birthday wishes on facebook! How crazy it is that????  I am so blessed to have so many friends from all over. Crazy thing is, we really haven't lived that many places yet!!
We spent the long Presidents Day weekend hanging out and ended up taking the kids to Round 1, which was a blast!! It was so much nicer when there weren't a lot of people there, like on a Sat.
I am pretty impressed at the work we got done at the church too!! I am enjoying getting to know my new friends.
Speaking of, I have some of them coming over tomorrow and my house is a wreck plus I need to go buy something to cook for brunch.
Have a great short week!

what to write???

I am falling behind on blogging again! Ha ha!
We spent all weekend celebrating Christina's birthday. She had such a wonderful time with her friends who came over to sleep over Friday night. It worked out great since there were four of them. Most of you know how girl dynamics work. They had a blast. I watched the most creative, complicated, random, game of charades I think I have ever seen in my entire life. I guess it was a pretty good testament to how smart and creative these grils really are. :)
I got brave this year, and finally made cupcakes for Christina's class. It was nice to only have to make a dozen and a half. I still can't get over that she has less than 20 kids in her class. Then I made her a cookie cake, per her request for her party. I am happy to say it turned out much better than I had expected it to. :)  Jacob had to write a directional paper for language arts. She had them look up recipes and write them, then they got to make it all and eat it Friday. That was kind of fun. He'll make some girl a good hubby someday :)
We took Christina to Chili's for her birthday dinner, and they brought her ice cream, actually a milk shake and sang to her. She was so surprised!! :) I was trying to be sneaky about it, of course.
We had a great service this morning at church.  We have a MAPS team is here, and they are doing a super job on our renovations!! 
Well, I guess that sums up the weekend. I'm thinking I will make some tortilla soup tonight for supper. :) I have been craving it for weeks! 
Have a great week everyone! 

this morning's devotional

Wow, I am so behind on my reading, but enjoying Joyce Meyers' Bible study so much. This one is very profound and very true for today.
I have always heard my Mother say this and as I have grown older and hopefully a little wiser into my *cough* 40's, I have adopted the same philosophy.  God will help those who help themselves. I get so annoyed with people, and I know I shouldn't, when I hear them talk about their troubles and I don't see them doing an single thing to get up, and do SOMETHING to help themselves. I'm not saying God can't work a miracle in an instant to provide for a need. I am just saying that sometimes we need to take some steps toward what God wants us to do to achieve what we need. He will meet us somewhere along the line to provide for us. Anyway, I digress, but enjoy this word for the day. :)
As Joyce writes, we need to be encouraged to help others. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to minister to some of these young girls here. I have known that even though some of what I've been through is painful and embarrassing. It would come to be used for good at some point in my life! :) Thank you Lord for our trials!

Joyce Meyer: Promises for Your Everyday Life - a Daily Devotional

2 Corinthians 8:5 This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives.




God Works Through People

One morning I was having my quiet time alone with God, and I said to the Lord, "God, how can You stand seeing all the pain, starving children, human trafficking, genocide, injustice, degradation, poverty, in the world and not do something?"

I didn't say it as a complaint or because I was questioning His integrity, and I don't even know that I was really expecting to get an answer, but I just asked Him. Immediately His answer came back: "I work through people. I'm waiting for My people to arise and do something."

You and I are part of an army, the body of Christ, and it's going to take everyone doing their part to change this world. God wants to work through us, and He's calling us to put on love and get to work.

In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul talked about how the churches in Macedonia gave, saying, "But first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us [as His agents] by the will of God [entirely disregarding their personal interests, they gave as much as they possibly could, having put themselves at our disposal to be directed by the will of God]."

That just amazes me, because they didn't just give their money, they gave themselves. God's calling us to live the same way. And one person working for the Lord has the ability to make a profound difference! So how will you give yourself to the Lord and be His agent today? 

Prayer Starter: God, I invite You to work through me. I choose to lay down selfishness and pick up love so that I can be used by You to change the world.