Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Busy Week

It's been a week since my last post. I know I wanted to post at least 3 times a week, but already I have a good excuse. My parents flew into town last weekend and I was very busy with them. I drove back from Pittsburgh on Thursday and picked them up Friday. We drove to Philly on Saturday to surprise my brother at his 30th birthday party. Yes, it's my younger brother and yes, him turning 30 makes me feel old.

We had a great time at his birthday party and we went out afterward and bought bathing suits and went swimming in the hotel pool. That was fun for January! We went to church with my brother on Sunday morning and after lunch we headed back to Red Lion. Monday we shopped for clothes, new bibles for my kids and even bought some newborn baby clothes that fit the build-a-bears we got a couple of weeks ago. Overall, it was a fun weekend with my parents.

Yesterday we drove back to Pittsburgh to spend another week-and-a-half here. We'll be coming home on February 5th so that the little lady can make it to ballet on the 6th. I'm looking forward to being back at my church because I sure do miss the fellowship and the sermons. I'm also missing the Cubbies that I teach on Sunday nights.

I hope to be back on a normal journal schedule beginning this Friday. It's hard to make new habits, like keeping a journal when you never have. I've tried before, but this time I want to make it work. So if you don't see me posting, feel free to pop me a note, ask me how I'm doing and tell me to post something. :)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The Good The Bad

Today was good day. The kids finished two days of school work in one so we can take two off this week. I also completed 10 of the 25 once-a-month meals that I'm preparing for the family I'm staying with.

Today was a bad day. The kids did everything possible but focus on school work. I completed only 10 of 25 meals today. I'm stressed, I'm tired and I really, really want a lot of chocolate or a cigarette.

Galatians 5:16 and 17 say, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."

So I might want some chocolate, or a pack of cigarettes, but what I really want is prayer. The true desire of my heart is to follow the Lord and to glorify Him in all that I do.

It's 10 p.m. and I'm hiding in my room so I can unwind from a stressful day. I've got my Bible open and I'm eating Reduced Fat Cheez-Its and some Craisins. They aren't exactly satisfying my cravings, but they were a better choice for me. Please pray for me. It's my first rough day since my husband left and I don't feel like I handled it well. I know I've got more rough days ahead of me and I need to remember to turn to the Lord rather than my fleshly desires.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Be Bold!

Kid #3 has a cold and kid #2 has a sore throat. Not the best situation while staying at someone else's house. School is pretty light for them since we are at the end of the fall semester and quite a few of their classes are over and new ones start back up on the 22nd. So I'm thankful that I'm able to give the kids some extra cuddle time right now.

Last night I read Acts 14 to kid #2 and Heffner kid #1 (HK1). When we were finished we talked about not being ashamed of God and being bold and telling everyone about Christ. It was wonderful! We prayed afterward and HK1's prayer was that God would help her understand the words we read in the Bible. It was such a blessing to see the two of them respond to the Lord.

On a side note, I am tired! I've started watching LOST from the beginning and I love it. I actually watched 8 episodes last night, finally forcing myself to turn it off even though I really didn't want to. I'll finish season 1 tonight and also start on season 2. I've got about 17 days to watch the other 4 seasons before the premiere of season 6. Yeah, I'm nuts, but it's not like I have anything better to do during the night right now.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Acts 5:40-42

It has been exactly one week since my husband left to go to war. That sentence sounds like the premise for a movie set in the 1940's. Seth left on January 6th to go to Indiana for training prior to heading to Afghanistan. He will be deployed for one-year with the promise that he will be home for the holidays in December.

The day after Seth left, I packed the kids up and headed to Pittsburgh to spend some time with the Heffners. The two oldest kids have grown so much since I last saw them and the new baby is so sweet. I'm so glad that I can bless them by being a nanny this month, while they bless me by letting me adjust to being alone by not being alone. :)

I am studying the book of Acts right now, following a study guide written by the pastor's of my church. I came across this passage and it really stood out to me:

Acts 5:40-42 says, "and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."

That passage makes me realize how lucky I am to live in a country where I can freely worship Christ. As my husband is preparing to go to an Islamic nation, I pray that he would not hide his beliefs and that doors would be opened for him to spread the word of God.

New Year, New Theme

The new year is upon us! Well, it's been upon us for over a week now, but sometimes I'm a bit slow on things. Not that I haven't had an excuse for updating this blog. Of course the holidays came and went and my son turned 9 years old. But the biggest by far has been my husband leaving for Afghanistan.

Seth has decided to write his own blog during his deployment. It's titled From the Front Lines and will highlight events during his training in Indiana and Louisiana and during his deployment to Afghanistan. He'll be leaving the states in March and should be home for Christmas.

I've decided to help keep myself sane by journaling during this time. I'm going to post all or some of my entries here so you can keep updated on how I'm doing and how the kids are doing. I'll post my first entry later today. I'm going to try to post at least three times a week, so wish me luck with that!