Today, a good friend reminded me of an amazing gift given to me from my sweet husband, two years ago on New Year's Eve. I thought I would share that gift again, with all of you! (Please remember to scroll down and pause the background music.)
* IF THE VIDEO DOES NOT COME UP, PLEASE CLICK HERE TO WATCH IT!
From the Bombardier family to every man and women in uniform, both active duty and veterans, who have answered the call and given up so much for our freedom, we thank you! Your dedication, courage and heroism does not go unnoticed. May God bless you and keep you safe. May God bless America!
To the many Mamas that I know who have seen their precious sons and daughters, turn from young men and women into courageous and proud soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors, I salute you! You carry them in your hearts while they protect our country, with dignity and grace. May God's peace fill you and may your children be held in the palm of His hand until they are returned safely into your arms.
To my own wonderful husband, who proudly served our country! Thank you for being a shining example to your children of what a true Patriot is. We love you!
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze
A young Marine saluted it, and then
He stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought, how many men like him
Had fallen through the years?
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many Pilots' planes shot down?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, Freedom is not free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen"
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
at the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, Freedom isn't free!!
- Kelly Strong
Even us "big kids" had fun trick-or-treating!
E
The kiddos ready to head out for their loot!
Tonight was Kai's 2nd round of trick or treating and he didn't want his camouflage makeup on.
Our beautiful "Angel".
Soldier boy with his guardian angel watching over him.
Proud American soldier!
Big boy, Adam (25), still loves dressing up!
The whole crew, minus Amanda, who chose not to dress up, although she went along for the fun!
PUMPKIN CARVING TIME!
Everyone had the opportunity to get down and dirty!
Separating the pumpkin seeds for roasting!
THE FINISHED PRODUCTS:
MORE HALLOWEEN FUN AT A LOCAL PARK!
One BIG Pumpkin!
A very happy little girl!
Taking turns at a beanbag toss game!
His smile melts this Mama's heart!
My triplet "babies" after a day full of Halloween fun!
Twelve years ago today, he walked into my life, (actually "typed" into my life since we met online) and forever changed it. He has since become one of my greatest blessings. Ever.
On that late night in November, never did I expect the stranger I had just met to not only become my husband and prove to me that soul mates really do exist, but not in my wildest dreams did I ever think that God would use him so powerfully to bring me back to my Savior.
Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that we would not only add one, nor two, but three precious children to our newly blended family.
Never did I think I would become the happiest woman in the world by saying "I do" to this stranger.
Never did I think he could wipe my tears away and make me laugh hysterically in the midst of a pain and sadness.
Never did I think I would find myself standing in awe of him as I watch him fulfill his role as an amazing father, playing with our kids and leading them by example.
Never have I felt what love truly is, until I felt it through the eyes of this stranger.
Am I ever glad that I really believe in never saying never!
Happy 12 years together, baby.
I love you with all of my being.
...and I'm oh, so glad!
Below is a day in the life of sweet hubby. He knows how much my readers love those "ain't God amazing" stories. So, he offered to share one of his! (written on Monday of this week) I hope it blesses you as much as it blessed me.
You know its funny, everyone has one of those "Mondays" every once in a while. Me? It's been a long long time. See, I love my life, my family, my friends, and I know everything I have is because of my Lord and Savior. To me, its amazing how His plan affects me each and every day.
Today was no exception. I had to work 180 miles north of my home today, a classic Monday morning. When I started the car this AM, something was gnawing at me as i was pulling out of the driveway. As I made my way to the end of the street, I heard this subtle buzz. Actually, it was more like a "BUZZZZZZZZZZ........ BUZZ!" And it was gone. I stopped, got a coffee and hit the highway. Everything was cool.
I drove the whole way without incident. It was 5 am, 7:15 am when I finally reached the exit off the highway. As I came to my first red light and started slowing down, the car said, "Ummmmmm... time for a day off." She stalled, hiccuped, and shut down in the middle of the road." Damn it! What the h*ll?" She would turn over but not start. I'm sitting in the middle of a three-lane highway saying, "Oh yes, here we go." I get out and push her off the road, and then begin the standard "MAN" routine. You know.... jiggle this wire, poke this piece of plastic.... looking for a hose thats fallen off. I even did the old "TAP everything to see if something's stuck". NO GO!
So I call the wife to tell her the good news and to get a number to call for a tow. She says, "Yes, we have roadside assistance. Call this number.... " I write it down and prepare for the usual, "The tow truck will be there in about 30 minutes", and end up waiting 2 hours on the side of the road. But nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! We accidentally didn't put the roadside assistance on my 93 Ford Escort Wagon (Don't ask me what we were thinking, but I assure you, its covered now!) and now I'm at an impasse.
Fortunately, the idea popped into my head that my GPS has an "Emergency" button. I hit it and find out that I have a WHOLE BUNCH of garages around me. I'm about to do the eeiny-meeny-miny-mo thingy, but stopped and prayed to Jesus. I simply asked for his guidance to help me get through this. I picked a garage called "Kelsey's Garage" which was .2 miles up the street. I locked up the car and started walking.
Upon getting there, I requested a tow from the shop owner, a man with a heavy, thick Greek accent. "I have an old man who is my tow truck, don't worry. He's not expensive either. I call him, eh?" I said, "Yes, please!" He does. After hanging up the phone he said, "He'll be here in 5 minutes, relax, have a coffee." Hanging on, the tow showed up in 10 minutes... AMAZING!!! If you've ever had a car stranded, you know its a wait for that tow truck. You spend an hour or two watching the horizon for anything that LOOKS like a tow truck.
Anyways, I got in the truck, and we headed out. He said, also in a heavy Greek accent, "You know, I just don't understand this country. I mean, I love it, but it's such a mess. I thank God I have just what I need, because of God I'm OK." Where did that come from? I said, "Yes, God takes care of all of us. I'm nothing without Him. But don't worry, he's going to deliver this country back to a better way of life." He responded by saying, "You know what? You are right." We began to speak politics.
I struggled to decipher the Greek accent. When we got back to the shop (1 minute later), he said, "I usually charge $80.00, but for you, $35.00!" I said, "Well, thank you! Thank you very much! "
To make a long story short, it ended up being the timing belt, notorious for going bad in a 93 escort after 55k miles. I had just hit 56k. Sheesh! I should've drove circles around my block until it broke!
Anyways, it was a $450.00 repair, unless there's valve damage, then who knows. I said, "Go for it." like we had a choice here. I sat down and said another prayer to God. "Please Lord, take this situation, and help me. Please let it be just the belt, and please make this as painless as possible. It's your plan Lord. I'm here to follow as I always try to do! Amen."
Just then, my phone rings. It's the owner from my last job, calling to tell me my sales commission check should be ready for me (money I've been waiting a few months for... argh!) tonight, or tomorrow. AWESOME!! I thanked him and said it would be great because I was sitting in an auto repair shop with a $450.00 repair. He said, "Call me tomorrow and we'll have it for you."
YESSS!!
I sat and stared out the window for the next three hours and really thought about it.
God's plan is amazing! I mean, to the average Joe, this morning would have been a nightmare. But, when I look at it, God was watching over me EVERY SECOND!! Here's what I figured out:
1) I got stranded 180 miles from my house, this is true. But think about it. He left me safe on the side of the road, .2 miles from a wonderful garage owner who didn't try to rip me off. He also didn't leave me on the side of the INTERSTATE with cars flying by at 70-80 miles an hour! And we all know a tow at 6 am would've been hours of waiting. His hand guided me to that spot, and he let it go.
2) He then gave me His sign. Whenever people begin to bring up God to me in a conversation, I know that's Him saying, "See? I'm here for you! Relax!"
3) And lastly, when I was at my lowest of the morning, he had a phone call made to me to say, "See? The bill's covered! No loss!"
When you see all the small things God does for you everyday, everyday is awesome! I see his Works in me everyday.
Thank you Jesus for taking care of me today and blessing me with so much!!!
Scott (a/k/a Sweet Hubby)
I saw this cartoon quite a while back on a friend's site and immediately thought, "That's me!" Oh, how I wish it weren't, but sadly, it is.
I know it's been way too long since I posted about the goings-on here, but there's been lots of changes around here that have pulled me away. I'm back!
'Nuff rambling.
Let me tell you why I mentioned in the previous post that I am walking completely and blindly by faith.
I'm just gonna blurt it out. ::deep breaths:: Just gonna go out and say it!
Ok. Here goes.
Sweet hubby quit his job to go into business on his own.
Whew! There I said it! It's even scary to read in words. Yes, in this economy. He quit his job.
This is something that he's been wanting to do for a very, very long time. Scott is one of the hardest working men I know. God opened a huge door for him to step through. He prayed about it and now, we're on the other side of the door!
It's scary on this side of the door.
I have to admit that this is something I prayed very little about. Yes. You read that correctly. Very. Little.
You may remember my writing about God calling me to be a more submissive wife. This is something I continuously am challenged by, although to my credit, I must say I have moved forward in the "stepping back" department. I absolutely share my feelings and thoughts, but have definitely allowed Scott to solely decide what he feels is best for our family. My only request is that he pray about it. I know he does. I trust and love my husband. I trust and love God even more. But I waiver, about both, at times. (I think that's the human side of me.)
So, while God may have opened what appears to be some financial freedom for us, which we've desperately needed since adopting 3 children in 2 years, I think "the bigger door" was opened for me to walk through.
This decision was of gigantic proportions in my book, being that I'm the financial consultant in our home. Yet, I know God's decision of granting what I have been asking of Him for so long, to make me more like the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31, instead of what today's society believes a wife/woman should be, is even bigger than not having that steady-we-know-it's-coming-weekly income. I have to believe that these doors were opened because the sovereign and omnipotent God we serve has big plans for us.
I feel like we are walking in the darkest of nights with no moon out. But although there are moments where I am overshadowed by doubt and discouragement, I know that He upholds me with His powerful hand as He leads me, leads us, one step at a time. I just have to continue to let "thy word be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto thy path." - Psalm 119:105
If we come to mind during your day, could you please stop a moment and say a quick prayer for Scott's new business endeavor? Also, could you throw in another quick little prayer for me that I continue to remain obedient to what the Lord wants from me.
One last thought. Boy, how I wish the river was frozen solid when we stepped out of the boat!
Defined in the dictionary as:
The act of submitting; the act of yielding to power or authority; surrender of the person and power to the control or government of another; obedience; compliance. acknowledgement of inferiority or dependence; humble or suppliant behavior; meekness; resignation.
I've been finding myself in prayer and deep thought for many months now about the very taboo subject of being a submissive wife. I know it's been the Lord speaking to my heart AND it's been something that I've really wanted to achieve. I have chosen this season of Lent to really practice this form of discipline, if you may. Can I tell you how hard it is?
I don't think I need to express how much I adore and respect my husband. The Lord has blessed me with a smart, very loving, Godly husband and an amazing father. Probably one of the best fathers that I've ever come across, without spoiling his children. I know I am blessed beyond measure in my marriage. So, why is it so darn difficult for me to follow God's word when it comes to submission.
At first, I thought I had a Type A personality, or what I thought were Type A traits. I've been doing lots of reading on both Type A and B and then came across a personality test by Discovery Health. I was pleased to find out that on a scale from 0 to 100 (0 being Type B - 100 being Type A) I scored a 38. A mix of both, but tend to gravitate towards Type B. This is what my score meant:
Sounds pretty good, huh? I thought so, considering the fact that the Type A personality didn't seem like too much of a nice person to me. It definitely wasn't the person I want to be. I digress.
Back to what my topic is about, Submission. Can't really blame it on that Type A personality now. I do like how I am. But, I wish when it came to my husband I'd be different.
The Lord clearly tell us in St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians (5:22-24) -"Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything."
Like every couple, we've had some rough patches in the almost 12 years we've been together, but I can honestly say that we have a wonderful, loving relationship. I fully respect my husband. I love that he takes care of his family and is a wonderful provider. I absolutely see him as the head of our home and although his walk with Christ may not be what I (notice the Type A kickin' in) may want it to be, I know that He loves the Lord with all his heart and is a faithful servant. So, if he is my perfect dream man, why is it that I keep going back to the same question? Why do I feel that I should always put in my two cents and not trust 100% when he chooses otherwise without giving some sort of input? In the end, we always end up talking about whatever the issue was and coming to a unanimous decision. But, why should there even be a discussion?
In 1930, Pope Pius XI said something that is still very relevant to today's society. He said, (Casti connubii, 10 cf. The Navarre Bible — Captivity Epistles):
“The submission of the wife neither ignores nor suppresses the liberty to which her dignity as a human person and her noble functions as wife, mother, and companion give her the full right.
It does not oblige her to yield indiscriminately to all the desires of her husband; and his desires may be unreasonable or incompatible with her wifely dignity.
It does not mean that she is on a level with persons who in law are called minors. And minors are ordinarily denied the unrestricted exercise of their rights because of their immature judgment and not having enough experience.
I have to say that I totally agree. I've always been the kinda girl that is not big into women's rights. Yes, women should have the same equal rights as men when it comes to voting, employment, etc., but I am still very traditional when it comes to a man and a woman's role.
This entire post may sound like a bunch of blundering words thrown together, if so my apologies. This typical-of-me-controversial-topic is one that, as I mentioned earlier, has been on my mind for many months now and today I randomly decided to toss those thoughts down on "paper". This is something my heart is really calling me to do, As I read back the words I just wrote, I am clearly seeing the need for prayer asking for more humbleness and humility.
Since I have met so many wonderful Christian women (and men) that truly try to live by God's word daily, I would love to hear what your take is on this subject. Do you follow God's word as He intended us to when it comes to submission? If not, why? If ever I wanted comments or feedback on a topic, this one is it. Please either leave me a comment or EMAIL me. (If you do leave a comment and you think it may be something I may have questions about, please leave me your email address also.)
Of course, as always, those "Anonymous" comments will be accepted as long as they are respectful.
By the way, Scott's been way too busy lately to read my blog, so chances are he won't even get to this. But FYI, I have not told him that this is one of my Lenten sacrifices. I did mention that I am doing something different and I am hoping by Easter he could be the one to tell me what it was that I did.
Hugs and blessings,
Before you watch the video below, I think it needs a bit of an explanation. You see, I've had the little button above on my sidebar for weeks now. I came across it when a few of my bloggy friends participated in this carnival a while back. I loved the idea that Linda at A 2nd Cup of Coffee had created. I thought, "Hey! That was so much fun watching! I wanna do it!" But, as always the weeks dwindled down to days and as Christmas approached and the craziness engulfed me, time ran out. Just a couple of days ago I decided I wasn't going to participate because I had nothing clever to do and certainly wasn't in the frame of mind to come up with something.
Fast forward to Christmas evening. Sweet husband said to me after the night was almost over, "I have one more gift for you but I need to assemble it. So I'll do it tomorrow." Again, craziness ensued and I forgot about the gift.
Last night, he came home from work, we had dinner and he said, "Don't come out of the room until I tell you. I'm getting your gift together." I had totally forgotten. Finally, about an hour later, he appears. He takes me by the hand and says, "Stand here." as I positioned myself on the marker (a shoe) he had placed in our living room for me to stand at. I also noticed there were two video cameras in the room. One to record him directly as he was speaking to me, the other to record the entire scene. I felt a bit strange, but then again, living with my husband I should know that nothing is strange. The man amazes me.
To fully understand why he had done this I need to explain just a bit more. Shortly after Thanksgiving, I had seen on a friend's blog how she and her hubby had a tradition of exchanging love letters for Christmas (Thank you, Sara!) Sweet husband and I have been trying to save money so I had brought up to him about only exchanging love letters for Christmas instead of gifts. He agreed. Well, as I was shopping, I realized that I couldn't do that. It didn't feel right. Although I loved the idea of exchanging letters. So, we agreed on giving gifts and the love letter issue was dropped.
Going back to tonight, sweet husband's gift was just that, my Love Letter....on video! I had no idea he was putting this together and of course, he had no idea of the blog carnival since he's really not into the blogging world unless I drag him there. So, after having decided not to participate in I See What You're Saying, my mind was quickly changed and I thought I would share with the world what an amazingly, creative and loving husband I have! Here's my love letter from him. It may be a bit cheesy for some, but to me it reminds me of the millions of reasons why I love this man so! Have fun!
By the way, two things you may not know. My favorite all-time movie is When Harry Met Sally and I always seem to burn Texas Toast. Ugh!
(PLEASE REMEMBER TO SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM AND PAUSE THE PLAYLIST BEFORE WATCHING THE VIDEO!)
I hope you enjoyed that! I sure did! Thank you, baby!
PLEASE CHECK BACK SOON! THERE'S GONNA BE A DOUBLE NEW YEAR'S GIVEAWAY CELEBRATING 100,000 VISITS TO MY SITE!
Tonight, December 26, 2008, as I sit here pondering about where I am in my life, it occured to me, I did win! No, I didn't win millions. For that matter, I didn't even win $20. But what I have, no money in the world could ever give me. I have a life that I love, a husband that I cherish and feel at times that God has gone way overboard in blessing me with. I have six children who make my heart beat and I would give the world for. I have a very close family who I could always count on. And of course, I have a Savior who died for me so that I could have eternal life. I HAVE INDEED EVERYTHING I NEED!
P.S. We had an AMAZING Christmas! Check back soon because I'll be posting details with pictures.
