As  a contributing author to the Faith Deployed website, I was recently interviewed by it’s founder, Jocelyn Green. Her website is a fabulous resource for military spouses seeking information, hope and encouragement.  Do check it out:  faithdeployed.com  In the meantime, here is the interview.  Please pardon me for allowing this post to be ‘all about me.’  You’ll discover I’m really not much different than you…just a recipient of God’s undeserved amazing grace.

1)     How many years have you been an Air Force wife? 23

2)     In what ways does it get easier with time to be a military wife?

When we first came in the Air Force, I was horrified when I was told my husband would probably have to do a year-long ‘remote’ tour. Just the thought of being apart from him for such a long time made me a nervous wreck. But as time went on, his TDY’s got longer and longer. We were able to gradually get used to being apart from one another. By the time we had been in the AF for ten years, he actually volunteered for a remote assignment so my son and I could stay in one place during my son’s high school years. I NEVER envisioned us making such a decision when he first became active duty. But when the time came, it was a very easy decision to make.

In what ways does it stay the same or get harder?

For me, the moving has always been the hardest part of military life. Accessible houses are always more difficult to find. Our choices are much fewer than everyone else’s. After 36 years of using a wheelchair for mobility, it’s getting physically harder for me to unpack all those boxes and put things away. YET, with each move, God has shown Himself faithful and has ALWAYS provided exactly what I have needed. I have experienced God in ways most people have not. My faith has grown much stronger as a result of all of our moving.

3)      As you mentor newer military wives, what do you try to impress upon them? In other words, what are the most important lessons they should grasp as soon as possible?

I think the most important concept for them to grasp is that they are complete in Christ. It’s Christ who makes us complete, not necessarily our husbands. When we find our value, security and significance in Christ, we can love our husbands more unconditionally and support them in their military career.

4)    What tips do you have for adapting to changes that always come?

Life is all about change. Nothing remains the same forever, especially for women. Usually, most of us perceive change as a loss. But God is a God of new beginnings. He’s always doing new, exciting things in our lives. We will seek Him and find Him when we seek Him with all our heart. When we hold on to the past and refuse to let go, we miss what He’s doing right now.

5)     Do you still get lonely? How do you deal with that?

I think we live in a culture that is plagued with loneliness. Yes, I still get lonely, even when my husband is home. Women have a deep need for meaningful relationships with one another. And when we don’t feel as though we have that in our lives, we get very lonely. At each new assignment, I pray that God will show me someone with whom I can make a connection. For me, it must be a spiritual connection that’s rooted in Christ and share my passion for the things of God. God has been more than generous and has given me life long fiends throughout the years.

6)    Tell us about your involvement with PWOC. What can military wives gain from being involved in a chapter?

I have been involved with PWOC on many different levels throughout the years. From a regional president to writing Bible studies specifically designed to meet the needs of the women in this group, PWOC has been the ministry through which God has called me to serve. Military wives have much to gain from becoming involved in their local PWOC. With Bible study being the core of this group, women have multiple opportunities to grow spiritually while developing those close relationships that are so important to us as women. Being able to connect with other military women on this level is what sustains us while our husbands are gone. Being involved in the leadership of PWOC allows women to use their gifts and talents to serve others, making their time at each location filled with purpose and meaning. For many women, their involvement in PWOC has meant the difference between thriving and simply surviving not just a deployment, but the entire time the are at their duty assignment.

7)     What are your favorite Bible studies to recommend to military wives?

I can’t really recommend any specific study or studies. Different Bible studies minister to different people at different times. The most important thing is that you are taking a Bible study. God is going to speak to you through His word, regardless of which Bible study you’re taking. Just be open and ready to receive what God has for you. Allow scripture to transform your inner self – the place of thought, feeling, will and character. Learn to read the word so that it changes you, instead of you changing it to fit your needs.

8)      Have you made any mistakes as a military wife that you have learned from which you can share?

When I found out about our assignment in Tucson, AZ, I was mortified. All of our friends and family are in the East, so I was devastated to think we’d be so far away from them. I’m sure my claw marks are still imbedded into the interstate roads leading west, as my husband literally had to drag me along behind him. Once we got to AZ, I was even angrier. I could not see my family without buying expensive plane tickets. I cried for the first six months we were there. In between my anger and my tears, God began to show me that he had a plan for me being there. I gradually began to surrender my anger and slowly embraced what I felt He had called me there to do. The more I saw Him working, the more excited I became about being at that location. By the time we left two years later, God had given me a productive and effective ministry, 4 wonderful life-long friends and to this day, Tucson is our most favorite assignment. Lesson learned? God is God of the assignment system. Even if our assignments are not where we think we want to go, I’ve learned to go with an open mind and an open heart to what God has planned for us.

9)    As a paraplegic, you have had to overcome more challenges than most of us can imagine. And yet I know you invest so much time ministering to the needs of others. What is the importance of focusing your attention outside of yourself and your own circumstances?

God doesn’t call perfect people, He calls those whose hearts are perfect towards Him. I’m living proof that God can use anyone,regardless of your physical circumstances. Even with a physical disability, I feel very strongly that God has called me to do certain things. Nothing gives me more joy than being obedient and doing what God has called me to do, whether it’s writing a Bible study, serving breakfast to the poor and homeless or babysitting for a special needs child so that a weary mother can have some time to herself. There’s nothing joyfulor fulfilling about being inwardly focused, in fact, it just causes us to feel even emptier which leads to deeper despair. It’s a vicious cycle.When we’re inwardly focused, we cannot be God’s hands and feet reaching outward, being fruitful and effective for His glory.

Life With God by Richard Foster is really good!  Here is just one small excerpt from another contributing author:

Christians feed on Scripture. Holy Scripture nurtures the holy community as food nurtures the human body. Christians don’t simply learn or study or use Scripture; we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love, cups of cold water, missions into all the world, healing and evangelism and justice in Jesus’ name, hands raised in adoration of the Father, feet washed in company with the Son.      Eugene Peterson

We have a spiritual life that needs food just as our physical bodies need food.  But the goal of reading Scripture is not to simply fill us up.  It’s to lead us to greater love: to greater appropriation of God’s love for us and for us to have a greater love for God and others. To read Scripture for any other purpose means that we are trying to control what comes out of it rather than letting it control what comes out of us.

Oooooooh!  Great stuff, Richard.  Thank  you!

I can’t wait to begin reading the newest book in my library:  Life With God by Richard Foster.  Here is a quote from the jacket cover.

As we read Scripture, we should consider how exactly God is with us in each story and allow ourselves to be spiritually transformed.  By opening our whole selves - mind, body, spirit, thoughts, behavior, and will- to the page before us, we begin to grasp all the Bible has to teach us about prayer, obedience, compassion, virtue, and grace and apply it to our everyday lives to achieve a deeper relationship with God.   Life With God is an indispensable guide to approaching the Bible through the lens of Christian spiritual formation, revealing that reading the Bible for interior transformation is a far different endeavor than reading the Bible for historical knowledge, literary appreciation, or religious instruction.

Anyone care to join me?  I’m sure I’ll be blogging about it.  Would love to hear your thoughts.

Are there any more comforting or reassuring words than of those of our Heavenly Father when He tells us, ” I will be with you?”  I don’t think so.  At least not to me.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.  (Isaiah 43:2)

I just returned home after going to North Carolina to take my mom to her first Chemotherapy treatment - the first of a series of six.  This was a first time experience of this sort for both of us, so there were lots of unknown’s as we embarked upon this journey.  We just took it one step at a time, one lab at a time, one clinic at a time.  It was a grueling day followed by an overnight stay in the hospital.  She had a port-a-cath inserted prior to her treatment - a lot for anyone to endure at one time.

My mom was taken care of by a wonderful nursing staff and excellent doctors. God reveals himself to us in many different ways. We clearly saw Him through the kind and compassionate outpouring of support from everyone at the hospital.  Sadly, the entire floor of the women’s oncology wing was full that night.  She is clearly not alone in her battle against this disease.

Do you need to know God is with you today?  He is, my friend. He is. For us it’s cancer, for you it might be something else.    He promises to never leave or forsake us, especially when the going gets tough.  So be encouraged. You’re not alone. You may be walking through the fire, but you will not get burned.  God is with you.

Oh my.  Have you ever seen such devastation?  The images alone tell the story.  Human suffering on a level beyond which  most of us can comprehend, especially as we sit in the comfort of our homes and workplaces.  My heart is hurting so much for these people.  How can we help?

Here is a list of Disaster Relief and Non-governmental Organizations.

American Red Cross International Response Fund:  redcross.org

Action Against Hunger: actionagainsthunger.org

Mercy Corps: donate.mercycorp.org

Operation Blessing International: community.ob.org

Project Hope: projecthope.org

Salvation Army: salvationarymusa.org

United Nations World Food Program:  wfp.org

Yele: yele.org

Faith-based Organizations

American Jewish World Service: ajws.org

Baptist Global Response: baptistglobalresponse.com

Catholic Relief Services: crs.org

Christian Aid Ministries: networkforgood.org

Compassion International: compassion.com

Samaritan’s Purse: samaritanspurse.org

World Vision: worldvision.org

Please consider making a donation to the organization of your choice.  And keep these precious people in your prayers.  “Continue to remember the poor.” (Gal. 2:10)

Has God made you a promise that has yet to be fulfilled? Are you plum give out from waiting and wondering when it’ll ever happen?  Are you weary and worn down from staying alert and watchful for any glimmer of hope that what has been promised will indeed take place?

Welcome to my world…..and Abraham’s!  In my study on faith today, I was reminded of several things.  When it comes to God fulfilling His promises, there are five ways we can always say never.  I am once again inspired to keep on keeping on. If Abraham could wait for 25 years for his promise to be fulfilled, I guess I can wait a while longer for mine.

Lessons learned from Abraham’s faith walk:

1.  God is never in a hurry.

2. We’re never too old to do what He has called us to do.

3. God never forgets to make good on His promises, no matter how long it takes.

4.  Never assume God is not working when you don’t see Him, feel Him or hear Him.

5. Never give up!

There you go, my friends…five great ways to always say never!

I love reading through The Message.  The words used and the phrases penned always seem to bring clarity to the portion of Scripture I am studying.  This morning I read from 1 Timothy 2:10 where Paul continues to instruct  Timothy as to how believers, in this verse women, should live.

And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.

As I read through this again, my heart is heavy at how we’ve distorted our definition of beautiful from God’s definition of beautiful.  We have put so much emphasis on what we look like on the outside; how we dress, how we wear our hair (or in my case, the color of my hair!),  how our faces look (heaven forbid we have a wrinkle or two), what accessories do we have to complete our outfits?  I’m all for trying to look nice, stylish and put together, but what bothers me is our tendency to overdo it.

By God’s definition, what makes us beautiful is not what we look like on the outside, but rather,  how we actually spend our time.  Do we use our time seeking after selfish pursuits from which we alone will benefit or do we use our time to serve others?  Do we wake up asking ourselves, ‘How can I do something beautiful for God today?’  I don’t know about you, but the times I feel the most beautiful are the times I am doing something for someone else.  I can be all dressed up and still feel empty inside if all I am focusing on is myself.

I want to become more beautiful this year.  As I write this, I am starving from cutting my calorie intake to a mere 1500 calories per day in an attempt to fit into my clothes a little bit better.  But ultimately, this is not the kind of beauty I want to achieve.  I want to become more beautiful by doing more for God.  I want to make a more assertive effort to help the poor and needy in my community.  It’s very cold outside right now.  We’re supposed to have some snow by tomorrow morning. I’m sure there are people all over my town who are cold and need shelter.  ‘How can I help?’ is the cry of my heart this year.

Will you become more beautiful with me and commit to doing something good for God this year?  There are so many people with so many needs. Let’s ask God to show us where He wants us to help Him and how He would like us to serve.  This is a prayer I know He’ll answer.  And my friends, think how beautiful we’ll become!  Hollywood and it’s stars won’t have a thing over us!!  Let’s do it, shall we?

Oh, my friends! Did you know God is the God of new beginnings?  I love that about Him.  In His tender mercy and kindness, He gives us new opportunities for growth, health and wholeness.

Has 2009 been a hard year for you?  I know it has been for some of you.  But Scripture is clear - we can get past the past and look forward to what God has for us in the future.  Read what Isaiah has to say about it:  Forget what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present.  I’m about to do something brand new.  It’s bursting out!  Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers through the badlands. (Isaiah 43:18,19  The Message)

As we look back on the events of 2009, it’s good to reflect and remember.  But if the events are not as we hoped they would be, we must not stay there, dwelling on what went wrong or lamenting about what could have been.  Learn from the experience and move on.  God promises to bring restoration and healing to any situation when we stay focused on Him.

Paul wrote the following in Philippians 3:13,14: But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

We cannot undo the past.  Unfortunately, unlike the game of golf, in life there are no mulligans. There are no ‘do-overs.’  But God’s mercy abounds - He brings new situations into our lives, another chance to ‘get it right.’

God is calling us to move on.  He is calling us to participate in the wonderful future He has planned for us.  Get up.  Shake the dust off. Don’t miss what God is doing right now to change your life forever.  See it Sister, and embrace it with gusto!!

Happy New Year!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Nashville with our son this past week.  Since we enjoy going to movies together, we decided to see ‘The Blind Side.’  Oh my…how this movie stirred my heart and rekindled my desire to make a real difference in someone’s life.

My most favorite time of ministry was when I worked as a volunteer at Target Dayton, a ministry to the poor and homeless in Dayton, OH.  Every Friday morning I’d go very early to make breakfast.  Friday was French Toast day and I was affectionately known as one of the ‘French Toast Flippers!’  I became very proficient at mixing a mean batch of batter and frying up some pretty darn scrumptious French Toast.

But what really stole my heart was the people whom we served, especially the women.  I learned very quickly that, but for the grace of God, go I. None of us get to choose our parents.  Had I been born to a mother who was poor and addicted to drugs or alcohol, I would be no different than those whom we served.  I learned much about the depth of God’s love, grace and forgiveness while leading a Bible study with 5 of the women.

My heart once again stirred with a deep desire to help the poor, we visited the Nashville Rescue Mission the day after Thanksgiving.  What an amazing ministry.  Reminded me of Paul’s words in Galatians 2:10, “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”

Are you looking for something that will give you deep, lasting fulfillment?  Trust me, my friend.  You won’t find it in a store, you won’t find it on sale, you won’t find it in a bottle, and you won’t find it in pill form.  Step outside your comfort zone and help the poor.  You won’t be sorry you did.

LOOK: “Let all who love your saving way say over and over, “God is Mighty!”  Psalm 70:4 (The Message)

LEARN: Psalm 70 was written by King David at a time when his enemies were breathing down his back.  They threatened to kill him on more than one occasion, and this is just one of the many times they were literally hunting him down.  David was growing old; his strength was waning.  As always in such situations, David turns to God and cries out for help.  “God!  Please hurry to my rescue! God, come quickly to my side!” Who has not called out to God with a similar sense of urgency at one time or another?

What I love most about about David is that he was real before God.  No pretense.  No pride.  He just came to God with a wide open and tender heart. David often starts his Psalms with cries to the Lord, pouring out his complaints.  Time after time, David questions God.  “Will the Lord walk off and leave us for good?  Will he never smile again?  Is his love worn threadbare?  Has is salvation promise burned out? Has God forgotten his manners?  Has he angrily stalked off and left us?” (Psalm 77:7-9, The Message)  David was honest and at times, David was doubtful.  Is God really here for me?  If He is, why is He hiding?

Although David may have started his Psalm crying out to God in complete and utter despair, you quickly discover David’s greater conviction is that God is mighty and able to save him. He knew God’s hand could rescue him from any bad situation.  David ended each heart-wrenching Psalm with the thoughts of hope and trust in God’s unfailing love. “But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.” (Psalm 71:14, The Message) The rest of the Psalm focuses on the effects of God’s saving help.  Not only will David be saved and rescued, all believers will find hope that they too, will receive the same type of deliverance when facing a similar situation.

Not many of us feel like praising God when we are in the middle of trouble. Yet, the apostle Paul tells us to “Thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” (1 Th 5:18) It took me a while to figure out that God does not expect us to thank him for the troubles we’re facing, but we can thank Him in anticipation of our deliverance from them. This is how David was able to praise God in any and all hard times.  He knew God was mighty and that His help was certain and effective.

LIVE: GOD IS MIGHTY
1. Mark what strikes you as significant in the information above.
2. Identity a time of trouble you may have experienced in the past, or are currently experiencing.  Describe your initial response towards God in this situation.
3. Assess how David’s example of praising God, no matter what, might motivate you to do the same?
4.  If you were to give God thanks in all circumstances, analyze how this might help you?
5.  Write a prayer asking God to help you give thanks in anticipation of His mighty rescue.