Being married to the "military" is not the world's easiest job but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  

My husband is a good and godly military man. I love that he is tough and strong and I don't have to worry about who will defend us if something should go south for our country. My husband is tough and will provide for us.

There are hard bits of life, especially when your husband is gone for 7, 8, 10, 12 months at a time. I've been blessed that over his 16 year career, and 7 deployments it has never been more than a consecutive 7 month stint of absense. Of course, a few of those were 4 months gone and 2 weeks home and 1 month gone and 6 weeks home. Heck, if it isn't at least two weeks, I don't usually even count it as being gone. One of these days I might sit down and try to figure it up in a count of actual days. It does add up after a while :-)

But there are good bits, too.. The honeymoon lasting for more than just a short bit after his return. The cards and flowers given on any 'ole day because we've missed enough "important" dates to realize that everyday is really important! The fact that we are ok with the other going away for a time of renewal because our family life is built on trust and love in one another.

I love talking with other military wives and being an example for them... showing them that they can indeed live this sometimes rough life and still be a Christian lady.

There have been times that people have said my husband and I only show people what we want them to see and that we fake being who we really are. People who see us on a daily basis and really try to know us understand that isn't true. I usually let all of that kind of stuff roll off my back but on occasion an exceptionally ugly word, said more than once and repeated to more than one person, will get back to me and it just simply hurts.  I've quit trying to do the confronting thing. I've learned that it just isn't worth it and there will always be denials but a good friend once told me that tiptoeing around the situations like they never happened doesn't really work either. In the end I know the Bible says that a mans deeds are known fully to God and that vengeance is His. It's not about what I think, or even really whether or not I'm hurt. God takes care of it all. 

What you see with our family is what you get. Are we perfect? Ha! No, not hardly! Not by a long shot! BUT, we trust God with our lives and know that we are right where He wants us to be. I love this life God has given my family. I love my rough, thick-skinned, sometimes a little-bit-too-honest husband. I love that my core beliefs and his core beliefs are what make us who we are and that we aren't willing to change just to fit what other people think we should be because we are wise enough to look to God and not man for answers. Not everyone in life is the exact same. God has different uses for different people. I'm perfectly happy with that!

Sallie

Rachel Anne has such an awesome story to share this week over our weekly coffee. You'll definitely want to go over and check her story out -- just click on the logo... but finish reading here first, of course ;-)

This week has been busy, but good. I still haven't painted my tables. I told ya, I've got a phobia or something going on...LOL.

School has not been as balanced as I'd like but we are reading a lot and I always feel good about school as long as we are doing that. I feel like as long as you can read and comprehend, you can do just about anything you set your mind to!

I prepared dinner for church Wednesday night and the best compliments come from the older folks. I always have leftovers and I don't mind that because my boys will eat all those up! I would rather have too much than not enough and sometimes cooking for 40 or 50 people can be a bit overwhelming when you are just starting out. I'm sure by the end of the year I will have my shopping lists down to a science :-) Oh, back to the compliments. Many of our elderly folks are now living alone as their spouses have went on to be with the Lord. It's almost amazing to me how many single elderly folks we do have because our last church had so many elderly couples. It does my heart good to know that my food makes them smile and gives them a bit of good home cooking memories. I know that a lot of people these days use a lot of boxed goods or prepared foods but I prefer not to do that if I can help it and its a true compliment when someone whose generation did everything from scratch approaches you and tells you that your roast is better than their's, or that your dessert really wow'ed them and asks for your recipe. These folks just bless me more than they know!!

Last night was a gorgeous night. The moon was HUGE in the sky as I was driving back from praise practice and I thought it must look beautiful over the water. My daughter and I quickly walked with the camera down to the beach but my camera, even with night photography setting on, just didn't get a clear picture. We decided to walk and talk and so ended up walking along the beach for about 45 minutes. I always enjoy these walks with my girl. She is so rebellious at times that I'm so fearful I've lost her but most times were like last night and I will take those moments anytime I can get them!

Today I spent nearly $320 at the commissary and still need to go back again for dairy, eggs, and more freezer stuff... my cart was so full, that I couldn't fit anything else in it and I was by myself. I figured a second smaller trip was the best idea. My prayer is this will last us most of a month as there is a LOT of food and I got some good deals. I just have to always remind the children that we aren't in a food crisis and they don't need to be like squirrels and save up for winter by eating it all today! Earlier, I mentioned I don't mind leftovers because my boys always eat them. That is sort of the rule in the house.. if there are leftovers, eat them so they don't get forgotten about and have to be tossed. Well, a few weeks ago I made TWO roasts so that I wouldn't have to cook the next night because we had a busy schedule. Unfortunately, Caleb, our 14 year old with the never ending hollow leg found the "leftovers" and ate the whole extra roast throughout the course of the day ALL-BY-HIMSELF!!! That was 5 pounds worth of good red meat! Like I said, never ending hollow leg! He's been eating crushed ice lately too.. maybe he is anemic?! Probably not... I think he's just a boy who loves to eat meat :-)

Well, that is what we've been up to... not the grandest of lives but we love it nonetheless! Besides, never a day goes by that I'm not confounded or curiously intrigued about some sort of happening around here... it's the perfect life that God has given us. I wouldn't change a thing :-) 

Sallie

Dear Mr. Doug Philips --

In answer to your question: NO, I have not solved the mystery but I have a good reason :-)

My catalog has not been delivered as of yet, but I would love to answer it as soon as I get it, or sooner if possible. Perhaps, you could put the catalog online like last year? Hint... hint... HINT!!

LOL...

Sallie

Train Up A Child Thursday is based off of Proverbs 22:6 which says "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."  

There has been much political discussion in our family the last several months. We have two children that will be old enough to vote in the next Presidential election and so we are instilling in them the need to understand why you are voting for a candidate and the importance of knowing your own beliefs. As we are a military family, my husband and I have both already cast our votes by absentee ballots... and I promise it wasn't through ACORN!

Convictions that are biblically based and good and right. They are what we should live our lives by. However, there are a lot of convictions that people have that are garnered by a few scriptures they only half quote or take out of context and for all intents and purposes are mostly opinion and less scriptural, when looked at in the whole. For instance, the scripture of Isaiah 3:12 is clearly translated in the Septuagint (by people who actually spoke the historical language) as tax-gathers and exacter's, yet modern translations call it children and women. When you look at studies of the words in the original languages you see the full meaning. The same goes for Titus 2's keeper at home modern day translations. I wrote a whole post on that earlier and you can read it here if you so desire. The point is that we have to be VERY careful that we don't get so caught up in what we think is right that we are willing to twist the Word of God to fit it. We should be twisting ourselves to fit the Word of God instead!   

I have been really discouraged, almost tragically so, in some of what I have read in blogs and websites regarding convictions during this election cycle. I find it heart wrenching that GOOD men of God would be more focused on pointing out that Sarah Palin is a woman than focused on what we've all known for a while, and what Barak Obama again reminded us of last night... that he approves of Roe v. Wade and would do nothing to change it.

No matter what you want to believe about authority in the home vs. authority in the church vs authority in politics, the Bible states that Deborah was chosen by God, that the Proverbs 31 woman did have her own business and went about her business in the town, and that the Titus 2 woman was not constrained to be a keeper AT home. We have to get over this Sarah Palin is a woman issue and it's wrong and get back to looking at what else the Bible says and leaves no room for doubt as to what it means: Thou shalt not murder! Abortion is murder. It is a choice to murder based on selfish ME ME ME reasons.

We commonly have lots of convictions in our lives and that is a good thing. To give one (Sarah Palin being a woman) so much recognition while completely making the other (abortion) a non-event in our speeches and posts is sinful beyond comprehension.

The lesson we are teaching our children is to 1) know what you believe, 2) stand by what you believe, and 3) make sure your priorities about your convictions are straight!!

What are you teaching your children today? Feel free to leave a comment and a link to share with others! 

Would you like to join in on Train Up A Child Thursday and be added to the list in my sidebar? Just send me an email with train up a child in the subject line and a link to a devotion you have written on your blog about training your children in the way of the Lord.

Sallie

Today is a busy day for me as I have dinner to cook for church... about 40 people on the list tonight so far I think. Victoria is my regular helper (is it a school credit for her, afterall) but she is working today. She usually only works one day a week but this week she is helping out three days. I told her that is fine as long as she doesn't fall behind on her studies. She is usually several weeks ahead so we have plenty of leeway.  She is going to meet me at church at 3:00 to finish up whatever we need to finish up there, which is basically just cooking the egg noodles and steaming the veggies. I am doing the roasted pork with hunter sauce here at home. I'm doing my favorite simple cake, too. Just add a small can of pumpkin to a spice cake mix and bake. No oils. No eggs. No nothing. It's absolutely perfect for this time of year! And, from what I've read, it is ok for diabetics, too. Gotta love that!!

Last night our family had a great dinner time together. The best thing about it was I didn't have to cook..LOL!! When we arrived at Cherry Point, and then attended the Newcomer's Brief, we were given a coupon book for lots of different places around the base. There are TONS of coupons in this thing and two of them were for a burger joint named Andy's. Mike used the single person coupon for lunch and he loved the Philly cheese steak that he got so much that we decided to use the $30 family coupon and have burgers last night. The food was delicious!! The burger special is original burger, fries, and a shake for $4.99. It was good food and I think we only spent a few dollars over the gift certificate so that was nice :-)

Andy's decor is a 50's style retro car kinda of diner. I loved it. Jesse still loves getting kids meals (he is our youngest, and very smallest child) and he was served up his meal in a cool car box. This is my mechanically brained child. He was in retro car heaven with his turquoise blue ford fair-lane cardboard mock-up! The box reminded me of one of my favorite shops online ~ Pedal Cars and Retro Collectibles run by Janice and Susan over at 5 minutes for mom. Andy's little mock up burger box reminded me a great deal of this little doozy... boy, oh boy, who wouldn't want that for Christmas?! It's really too bad these are mostly only for 3-5 year olds because Jesse kinda went ga-ga over it when he saw it. He does have a little pedal racer but it is an open frame. That's about the only thing my not-so-young'uns can fit there long legs into anymore.

In other blogging news, you may, or may not, have noticed that I've been adding affiliate links and changing stuff around in my sidebars. I will be rotating my main affiliate section (those two high profile places up there on the top left sidebar) every Monday while trying to list some of my favorite products -- I'm in love with that little acorn knitted hat -- to help you all find some good buys for Christmas shopping. This is about the only fair way I can think of giving all the affiliates I'm associated with a fair share of advertising.

BTW, I hate having lots of clutter in my sidebars but I also love so many places, too! Anyway, it's good netiquette to trade your links and such for free with folks, right?! Anyway, if you are a regular visiting friend of mine, then you know how often I like to change things up. You also know I appreciate your comments and critique. If the whole sidebar things ever get so cluttered you can't find my posts PLEASE tell me you think I should do a bit of cleaning up and make some space :-) What are friends for, right?!

Have a blessed day!!

Sallie