Musical Monday

This song by Matthew West was a reminder to me when this time last year, I found myself struggling.  The weight of the world seemed to be on my shoulders.  Even in my relationship with our Lord, I felt weak and helpless. 

We have all been through times in our lives, whether it was a single situation that was over in a day, or a period in our lives where each day seemed to last a year and the journey seemed too much to bear, where the struggles we face seem too big for us to get through.

What a blessing to be reminded- we are not alone.  He is with us.  He is carrying us.  We can rest in His embrace and know that His will is being done, even if we cannot see it or understand it.

Sacred Sunday

This passage speaks for itself!  I hope and pray each of you has a fantastic week!

^"4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."  ~Philippians 4 v 4-9

Fortress of Faith- Study One: Pillars of Faith

This "Fortress of Faith" Series is meant to take us back to the roots of our Christian faith, and apply that basis to our lives as women who play a part in our modern Military.  In "Fortress of Faith: Foundation of Love," we were reminded that everything we believe, the essence of our Faith, the truth that surrounds our God is all based on this concept of love- the love He has for us, and the love He encourages us to have for each other.

In the next ten weeks, "Fortress of Faith: Pillars of Faith," we will look more deeply at what our Christian Faith is built upon.  We will spend several weeks on the following rough outline (forgive me, I am writing this study as we go):

Week one- Introduction (today)

Week two- Pillar One: God the Creator

Week three- Pillar One: God the Father

Week four-  Pillar Two: God the Son

Week five- Pillar Two: God the Savior

Week six- Pillar three: God the Spirit

Week seven- Pillar three: God the Intercessor

Week eight- Pillar four:  the Word of God

Week nine- Pillar four:  the Holy Bible

Week ten- Conclusion

Ladies, we are standing on the firm foundation of His love.  We know deep in our hearts that our God, our Savior, and our Holy Spirit guide us from an aspect of love.  We know deep in our hearts that our faith is built on a love so deep and so genuine we cannot fully comprehend its value.  We know deep in our hearts that our faith in rooted deeply in love.

However, love without God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God has no strength, has no power, has no direction, and cannot stand or be built upon.

My prayer is to take this journey with you as we rediscover the pillars upon which our faith takes shape.  My prayer is that we rediscover the many facets of our Lord and His Word, and that we reawaken a passion to gather our faith closer to us as well as a desire to share our faith with those we come into contact with us as we move from place to place.

I hope you will join me next week.  In the meantime, please think on the following:

Do you have a relationship with our God?

What does that relationship mean to you?

Do you regard the Son of God as your Savior?

Do you have conversations with the Spirit?

Do you dwell in the Word of God and accept it as the His true guidance for us?

Finally, I ask that you pray this week.  Please pray for me as I work on this study, and please pray for the readers who might follow this study.  Please pray for yourself, that He opens your hearts and minds to whatever He might wish to teach you through this study.

God bless you!

Musical Monday

 

 For all the boys and girls part of our Armed Forces.

 

You are worth more than gold!!!

 

 

Sacred Sunday

From The Message: Encouragement to avoid debate that results in argument.  Encouragement to speak gently or simply listen.  It is not our duty to argue someone into Heaven.  It is our duty as Christians, to offer an avenue, insights, experience, and direction according to His Will.  HE will bring non-believers in His time, in His way.

^22-26 Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.
~2 Timothy 2 v 22-26

2,000 Views Giveaway

WOW!!! 

 

Thank you, dear Readers, for following this blog.  You have helped this blog reach two thousand views.  You have responded with comments, emails, and shares.  You have inspired me to keep writing, and challenged me to address issues that affect you most.

I am honored to write to you, to share with you what our Lord has laid upon my heart.

In honor of you, I am giving away a short Bible Study.

A Woman After God's Heart is an eight week Bible Study that "challenges you to grow into Spiritual maturity.... Through eight weeks of study, you'll discover the core beliefs and practices of mature Christianity, dig into the teachings of Scripture, and reflect on the past, present, and future of your walk with God."

In order to enter the drawing for this giveaway, please follow the directions below:

1.  Become a follower.  There are different avenues to become a follower.  In the left column, you may join the blog directly, join through Google+, or join through NetworkedBlogs.  (Joining to follow by email does not notify me that you have joined my blog.)

2.  Share one of your favorite blog posts from Military Women of God on Facebook or Twitter.

3.  Leave a comment under THIS posting letting me know which blog post you shared so I may verify.  If you are a blogger, please feel free to leave the name of your blog as well as a brief description of it.

4.  Finally, please tell me how your learned of this blog, what you like about it, and what you would like to see covered in the future.

I will choose the winner of the giveaway in one week (Saturday, 20 April 2013).  I will then notify the winner to arrange shipping.

Thank you again for visiting, reading, sharing, and providing me with your thoughts! 

God bless you!

Musical Monday

In honor of the Military Child: the following song is performed by two MilKids.   A beautiful song from the perspective of a Military Child, what they go through, and a positive outlook on the military way of life.

Take some time this month to honor the children of our Military Members.

Sacred Sunday

From The Message:  This passage tackles head on Faith versus Works.  God bless you!

Galatians 3

The Message (MSG)

Trust in Christ, Not the Law

3 You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it’s obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough.

^2-4 Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!
^5-6 Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don’t these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God.
^7-8 Is it not obvious to you that persons who put their trust in Christ (not persons who put their trust in the law!) are like Abraham: children of faith? It was all laid out beforehand in Scripture that God would set things right with non-Jews by faith. Scripture anticipated this in the promise to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed in you.”
^9-10 So those now who live by faith are blessed along with Abraham, who lived by faith—this is no new doctrine! And that means that anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure. Scripture backs this up: “Utterly cursed is every person who fails to carry out every detail written in the Book of the law.”
^11-12 The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right: “The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that’s the real life.” Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping, a fact observed in Scripture: “The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them.”
^13-14 Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself. Do you remember the Scripture that says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse, and at the same time dissolved the curse. And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham’s blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God’s life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing—just the way Abraham received it.

^15-18 Friends, let me give you an example from everyday affairs of the free life I am talking about. Once a person’s will has been ratified, no one else can annul it or add to it. Now, the promises were made to Abraham and to his descendant. You will observe that Scripture, in the careful language of a legal document, does not say “to descendants,” referring to everybody in general, but “to your descendant” (the noun, note, is singular), referring to Christ. This is the way I interpret this: A will, earlier ratified by God, is not annulled by an addendum attached 430 years later, thereby negating the promise of the will. No, this addendum, with its instructions and regulations, has nothing to do with the promised inheritance in the will.

^18-20 What is the point, then, of the law, the attached addendum? It was a thoughtful addition to the original covenant promises made to Abraham. The purpose of the law was to keep a sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ (the descendant) came, inheriting the promises and distributing them to us. Obviously this law was not a firsthand encounter with God. It was arranged by angelic messengers through a middleman, Moses. But if there is a middleman as there was at Sinai, then the people are not dealing directly with God, are they? But the original promise is the direct blessing of God, received by faith.
^21-22 If such is the case, is the law, then, an anti-promise, a negation of God’s will for us? Not at all. Its purpose was to make obvious to everyone that we are, in ourselves, out of right relationship with God, and therefore to show us the futility of devising some religious system for getting by our own efforts what we can only get by waiting in faith for God to complete his promise. For if any kind of rule-keeping had power to create life in us, we would certainly have gotten it by this time.
^23-24 Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for.
^25-27 But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise.

In Christ’s Family

^28-29 In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises.

Month of the Military Child: Ideas

In brainstorming for ideas of how to make this month special for my Military Child, this is what I came up with:

Design a "Military Brat" T-shirt

Have your kids pick out a t-shirt from Wal-mart (or other inexpensive store).

Using fabric paints, have them design their own shirt with the following phrases:
                  Proud to Support My [Military Branch] [Mom/Dad]
                            Proud to Be a Military Brat
                                       I Am A Military Hero Too
              or whichever phrase you like that identifies your Kiddo as a Military Child

Design a Certificate of Appreciation

You can create your own if you have the time and are crafty.  Or you can go to Blue Star Families to print out a pre-generated one that you can personalize.


Throw a Party

Big or small, all mil-kids or mil and civ kids, make a cake, serve some icecream, and have the mil kids share stories about previous bases, favorite moments in military life, etc.  This allows them to share with each other and to share with civilian kids why they like or don't like the military way of life (and offers us parents a sneak peak into their real thoughts on our lifestyle.)

Be sure to include mil-type party favors and decorations.  Create some mil-style games.


Share Time

Something I think my Kiddo would benefit from is an opportunity to ask questions.  Take a moment to sit down with your kids and let them ask you questions about what you do in the Military and why.  Be as honest as you can.  Then ask them questions as well.  I believe opening communication with the kids is important as we struggle through deployments and PCS's.  Giving them an idea of why we choose this life will go a long way in helping them understand and cope.


Get Involved

Be sure to check your base events.  Most bases will offer some sort of event that will both honor the kids as well as educate them on what it means to be in the military.  Find out if your base has an event like Operation: Military Kids and sign them up before the event is full.  Or check out Soldier's Angels for a list of daily ideas to show your support.

Month of the Military Child

In 1986, April was designated as a month to celebrate the children of those who serve in the Armed Forces.

Believe it or not, this month to celebrate is news to me, and I have experience with the military since 1999.  Even now that I am a Mom of eight years, I have never once heard of any events on any bases, or by any spouses groups, or even from the Chapels that focus on the children, that get their perspectives, or that celebrate their triumphs as they are moved from one place to another, as they struggle through the absence of a parent through TDY's and Deployments.

 Apparently, I have been living under a rock.

However, I want to take this month and collect ideas that we can do with our children to show them our appreciation for THEIR sacrifices.

This month offers us the opportunity to pick their brains.  Let's gain their input and perspectives.  Let's offer them a chance to have a say about the life we have chosen, that they had no choice in.

I know previous moves have not affected my child so far.  However, we have an upcoming PCS.  He has known about it for a while, and he has struggled with it.  He loves the area we live in.  He loves his school.  He has friends he doesn't want to say goodbye to.  Plus, this time, he is experiencing fear of the unknown- what will his future home be like, what will his future school be like, will he make friends, etc, etc.

I know I have taken for granted the struggles my son must face each time we move.  I know I have taken for granted his ability to put on a smile and just work through it.  Such a tender age, and yet, he often displays characteristics of a grown man. 

Are your military children the same way?  Have you spoken with them about it?  Do they have opinions, and do their opinions play a part in the decision making?

I am certainly going to do my best to celebrate my kiddo's life as a military child.  I hope you all will join me.   And please pass it on to your military friends.  Please check your Base events to find out if they are doing anything to honor our kids.   Also check your local communities, some of them may be holding special events as well.

God bless our Military Children!

Musical Monday

This song was first done by Rich Mullins... This version by Third Day and Brandon Heath is a beautiful tribute to the original, and a beautiful rendition of the Creed we Christians abide by.

I hope you all have had a beautiful Resurrection Day with your friends and family!  Carry that gift of new life, of forgiveness, of grace and hope with you every day!