MamaArcher's Blog

Image by Dave Delaney via Flickr

It seems that people liked my twitter RT recap last week so I think I will continue with it.  There are so many great quotes that come through on Twitter each day that I just cannot help but to share them.  So here are a few for you to sink your teeth into.

• You should not believe your conscience and feelings more than the word which the Lord who receives sinners preaches to you. Martin Luther…
• RT @burk_parsons: A man preaches that sermon only well unto others which preaches itself in his own soul—Owen
• RT @burk_parsons: Either our religion will transform us or we will transform our religion to suit our sympathies—Horton
• RT @ReformedGlory: ‘I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatsoever! ” Isaac Newton
• RT @RevJohnOwen: The custom of sinning takes away the sense of it, the course of the world takes away the shame of it.
• RT @HavetheChoice: Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.– Mother Teresa
• RT @burk_parsons: No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good—Lewis
• RT @burk_parsons: The life of holiness is a life hidden in Christ and His holiness resulting in a life of repentance/faith/obedience.
• RT @burk_parsons: We need to be more shortsighted, thinking less about how holy we’ll be tomorrow and more about how holy we’ll be today.
• RT @ReformedGlory: “You lose your strength, Christian, the moment you depart from your integrity” Charles Spurgeon
• “Faith does not have value; it is the instrument.” Francis A. Schaeffer (The Finished Work of Christ: The Truth of Romans 1-8 )
• RT@ReformedGlory: Works?Works?A man get to heaven by works?I would as soon think of climbing to the moon on a rope of sand!George Whitefield
• RT @ReformedGlory: “The richness of God’s Word ought to determine our prayer, not the poverty of our heart.”Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• RT @burk_parsons: Sin will not come to you, saying, “I am sin.” It would do little harm if it did—Ryle

I am one of those moms who suffers from the Super Mommy Syndrome.  I like things to be perfect, they are far from it!  I like all my ducks in a row, they tend to waddle here and there.  I also feel guilty if I let someone help me rather than doing it myself.  These children were entrusted to me after all!

I do believe that children are given to their parents from the Lord and that it is the parents responsibility to raise them rather than pawning them off for someone else to care for.  Honestly, we are pretty capable around here.  We do not whine and ask for help when things get tough.  We tough it out!  This sometimes leads to neglect from family members because they think we have it all together and because the kind of help they offer is not what we really need.  I am learning to live with that.

Even though I have this great desire to be the mom of all mothers I realize how far short I fall.  Maybe that is a God’s way of making sure I remain humble in this area.  When you realize that the Lord entrusted these children to your care to raise them to bring glory and honor to him, well, that often seems an insurmountable task for one such as I!  I must rely on the Lord and not myself, it is only with his guidance, strength, and wisdom that I can be effective at all.  I definitely cannot do it on my own!

This Super Mommy Syndrome is some respects can be healthy.  It keeps one from shirking their responsibilities!  If we are focused on the Lord and seeking to do our best for his glory and not our own then it can also be a good propellant!  Sometimes though our own selfish and prideful nature rears its ugly head and then we have problems.  Sometimes it is hard for us Super Mommy types to ask for help or to even accept it when it is offered.  I have a prime example from today!

My hubby is out of town right now.  One of my children has standardized testing today on the other side of Anchorage (about a 40 minute drive).  My neighbor is taking two of her children so she offered to take him as well.  I said ok.  I woke from a dream this morning in which he didn’t make it on time and I was rushing around to get him there.  I called her when I got up and of course they were there and all was well.  I simply felt guilty because I was not taking care of getting him there myself!  I was letting another person take care of it.  I know this might sound crazy to most of you but I am being brutally honest here.

Let me ask you…..are you a super mommy?  Now let me ask you this, if you do not think you are a super mommy…..Do others classify you that way?  If so, then I would say you fall into that category anyway!

How do you balance your super mommy tendencies and high standards with accepting help from others and dealing with unnecessary feelings of guilt?

Airmen from the Kentucky National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group help to offload wounded Haitian refugees and medics from Puerto Rico National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters at the air hub Jan. 25, 2010, in Barahona, Dominican Republic.

Photo Courtesy U.S Air Force Taken By Tech. Sgt. Dennis Flora

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

I serve an amazing God! He is sovereign over all, fully of mercy, grace, and justice. He is one who acts providentially. He provides all things often times above what we can ask or imagine.  This past week during our daily devotion time we have been going over question number eleven of the Westminster Shorter Catechism and studying through the book of Esther.

Q. 11. What are God’s works of providence?
A. God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise,and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

Westminster Confession – Chapter 5: Of Providence by Westminster Assembly

I. God the great Creator of all things does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.

God has shown himself once again to be abundant in his graciousness and providence in our lives.
In two days this past week there have been expenses adding up to thousands of dollars that have just melted away. Some may chalk it up to coincidence or good luck and timing but I know what an amazing God I serve. I see his handiwork in how he orchestrates my life and am awed. To God be the glory!  All the while we are studying about his great providence, he provides us with tangible examples in our daily lives.

Let me share with you how God provided for us this past week.

• My older children were going to be attending an event which they told us would be at a cost of $60.  This fee was waived!
• My older girls just joined a figure skating performance competition class.  One daughter received a discount I did not expect and another was able to take her class for free due to the fact that she teaches there.  Another $60 waived.
• My hubby’s pay raise was more than anticipated by an amount of $85.
• My son, who has had a problem tooth for almost nine years, was in need of a root canal.  We have been putting it off because we just could not afford it.  We do have insurance but they did not have a preferred provider who works with our insurance that they would refer us to and with the dental costs being higher here in Alaska our portion was a very large amount.  My husband decided to take him in to the military clinic just to see if his case would be deemed an “emergency” case and could be treated there.  This was just a quick look over kind of appointment on a walk in basis that he was hoping to be able to get him in to be seen.  When he arrived they said they had an appointment that had been canceled and would look him over.  They went ahead and did the root canal then and there.  He has an appointment next week for the crown.  A total cost to us of $0!  This saved us close to $2000!

The Lord knows our earthly needs.  He knows our desires.  He providentially provides both when in his plan!  His plan for us is best.  The creator of our life knows what is truly needed and even provides that which is not needed but desired.  Praise be to God!

More importantly than our earthly needs and desires, He knows our eternal needs!  He provides that for his children!  Praise be to God!  In fact, that is his priority.  I am thankful that even when I miss seeing his hand at work, when it seems that earthly needs are not met, that I can trust in the fact that he has a plan and is working it out.  I can trust that he has eternal benefit at mind first and foremost.  He causes me to be amazed all the more and I pray that his glory is seen when at work in my life!

Image by Star's Fault via Flickr

There are things I see every day here in Alaska that I have come to love.  There are some things that are common to see here on regular basis that just are not so common in other places.  Here are some of those daily or almost daily sightings that I just love!

• Snowmachines and ATVs running along side the roads.
• Kennel Trucks with musher sleds on top.
• Dog mushers racing their dogs.
• No matter what season it is, people are out and about using the trail and climbing the mountains.
• Bush planes.
• Ice Fishing tents on the lakes.
• People wearing only jackets and sweaters when it hits 30 degrees because it is warm.
• Moose, bear, and dall sheep along the roads and in yards.
• Bald Eagles are as common as robins in other parts of the country.
• Wearing real fur is not only acceptable but almost expected!
• Homemade ice rinks in people’s yards.
• Paragliders jumping off the mountain tops.
• Mountains, mountains everywhere you look.
• The most AMAZING sunsets I have ever seen.
• Trees that literally lay down under the weight of the snow.
• Great big and rugged beards!
• People checking out each other’s rifles in the Fred Meyer parking lot.
• Dip nets.
• Downtown murals in Anchorage.
• Beluga Whales swimming in the Cook Inlet.
• The unbelievably long days of sunshine in the summer.
• Fireweed, ferns, and arctic poppies.
• More outdoor trails than you could ever imagine hiking.
• Diversity of the scenery(tall pines, scrawny pines, rain forest, ocean side, tundra, majestic mountains, volcanos, hot springs).
• Snow & Ice sculptures.
• Whalebone carvings and native Alaskan art.
• Gorgeous Alpenglow.
• Snowshoes….I especially love the old wooden ones.

What is it that you love about where you live that maybe isn’t so common elsewhere?  Other Alaskans, can you add some more?

It is still somewhat early this morning.  I was up much earlier than I like today.  It is still dark, of course.  The children are all in bed and my house is understandably very quiet.  I took my husband to the airport this morning.  He is off to San Antonio, where we lived before moving to Alaska, for some pre-deployment training.

He will be able to stop in and spend a day with his brother and family and enjoy some good TexMex at Taco Cabana.  I think Taco Cabana is one of the few things I miss about Texas.  He will probably pick up a cherry lime aid from Sonic too!

He will then spend a week out in the field eating MREs and doing whatever they do out there for training.  He will only be gone a week so that is not too bad.  But as I drove away from the airport this morning I came face to face with a reality check.    We have known for a while that he was set to deploy.  As the time gets closer and closer it seems less and less likely that he will be pulled from this one.  I have been preparing for him to go but somehow actually sending him off for training shook me a little.  This is really going to happen. The time is quickly approaching when we will be living  this and not just thinking about living it.

There have been several deployments that he has been tasked for and then pulled from.  We have been through one short deployment before though and it was to a safe place.  This will be by far our longest separation and our first to the front lines in the war zone.

My concern is not for us here at home.  I know I will have a task ahead of me.  The older children can at least understand what is going on.  The younger ones will be more of a challenge.  In fact, one just came upstairs crying because he has already left.  I am more concerned, however, for my hubby and his safety.

I am so thankful for a God who is sovereign.  As our family moves forward, I ask that you keep us in prayer.  Pray for hubby and his safety, pray for our children who will be missing their daddy, and pray for me that I would trust in the Lord all the more.

Reality checks are good, not always fun, but good.  Thank you Lord that you are the one who decrees all things.  Thank you Lord Jesus for being my Savior, my Rock, my Strength, and my Refuge.