A Beautiful Bride is with the Groom

It seems so surreal.  My husband heard on the news on November 29th that there had been six soldiers killed and what a horrific story of betrayal by those our men are training.  After he shared the story with me, we both thought what a sad story.  Then two days later I got the news that my friend's son had been killed in Afghanistan and when sharing the tears and story with my husband, we realized the connection.  What heartbreak we felt since I knew this soldier's father. 

We attended the memorial service today and what a day!  I remember when the soldier's father got the news a couple years ago that his son was called to war and we shared tears then of fear of the unknown.  No matter how scared this father was, he was so proud that his son had made the decision to volunteer and even more proud was that soldier when I had the honor of meeting him in uniform before he was deployed!  That proud father was still proud today and can live life knowing that his son sacrificed for all of us and knew what he was doing all along the way.  That young man is a Christian and to hear EVERY person talk during the service let his WALK with the Lord shine right through their stories without any need to say, he did it because he was Christian.  I think every person in that service knew, he did it because he wanted to live like Jesus and to do that, you live like Jesus...showing so much love and compassion to your immediate family all the way to your entire country you are fighting for!  I am forever thankful to this young man and will NEVER forget the impact and respect I never knew I have for every person who fights for our country.  THANK YOU.  Romans 8:28 was the verse of the day at the service.

Things to Think About During Desperate Times

Don't EVER let ANYBODY let you think they have the whole marriage thing down, no matter how perfect they seem as a couple in front of you. Things go on behind doors in EVERY marriage.  There are a couple MAIN things to keep in mind:

You are the ONLY one who knows BOTH sides of your marriage (your spouse does too, but I mean for people you will ever talk to or consult about your marriage)

Once you evaluate your marriage appropriately, you really need to decide whether you are IN or you are OUT and STICK with that decision otherwise it's not fair to yourself, your spouse or your kids to go up and down up and down emotionally...I know we should have made this decision when we said our wedding vows, but things change and people change after that day UNFORTUNATELY.

Are you and/or your spouse Christians and how is your RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ? Not just attending church or doing prayers, but your direct relationships with Jesus Christ? You both need to have this relationship on your own before any marriage can work the way marriage was made to work. So if one or both of you is not close to Jesus Christ then 1st YOU need to become a Christian, I can help you do that if you want and 2nd YOU need to live a life as a beautiful bride so that your spouse will be drawn to that lifestyle.  This is THE determining factor in your marriage along with knowing that YOU are the ONLY thing you can change.
Hopefully these are some good things to think about:) I Corinthians 7:12-16

A Heart Wrencher for Pet Lovers

My husband and I had to say goodbye to our sweet dog Sadie yesterday.  We found out about a month ago that she had cancer and the vet gave her 1-2 months to live...we got a great month.  I never would have thought that the Lord could use an animal to speak to our hearts, but it became more and more obvious in more ways than one that this was a very logical way for Him to speak to me and us. 

Isn't God's timing unbelievable!  God knew that we needed to reach deeper conversations and feelings before we completed our adoption applications.  He sure made it happen and I don't believe it would have been possible without this tragedy in our lives.  For those of you who know me intimately, know how I have longed for children for some time...those same people also know that Sadie was my first little girl, I took her everywhere a mother would take her children.  It didn't matter if I was going to run to the grocery store and be gone 15 minutes or I was going to travel for several days, Sadie was by my side.  She was such a beautiful example of what we now know, we will be capable of, with human children.  Also, since Sadie only lived 1/2 the life we would have expected a healthy dog to live, we also look at precious life in a different way...knowing that we don't know, only God knows how much time we have or that we have certain people in our lives.  We need to live life to the fullest!  There's a song that says, "Today is a gift that you've been given, live the most of your life every minute you're in it!"

So the verse this time is an amazing passage that came to me the day I learned about Sadie's illness (John 16:20-24).  The Lord gave me this precious dog and now he is taking her away from me, but I will soon have those children I have been longing for and begging him for for so long.  It's another season in our lives of the Lord giving and taking away.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families~may we be thankful for every precious life that we are able to touch and have touch ours~enjoy a time of fellowship this Thursday!