Reality Check

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.

Saving Faith or the Devil’s Drug?

“It is now almost universally supposed that saving faith is nothing more than an act of the human will, which any man is capable of performing: all that is needed is to bring before a sinner a few verses of Scripture which describe his lost condition, one or two which contain the word “believe,” and then a little persuasion, for him to “accept Christ,” and the thing is done. And the awful thing is that so very, very few see anything wrong with this—blind to the fact that such a process is only the Devil’s drug to lull thousands into a false peace.” —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

Operation Denali

Saturday night my hubby and I attended the annual banquet for the Society of American Military Engineers.  It was a good evening out.  Hubby and I were all dressed up and had an evening out together.  The key note speaker at the banquet was the best speaker we have ever heard at one of these events.  I want to share a bit with you.

The speaker was Marc Hoffmeister. Marc is an US Army officer and 1992 West Point graduate currently stationed at Elmendorf AFB, AK.  Marc was wounded by a roadside bomb while serving on a Military Transition Team as an embedded trainer with the Iraqi Army.   He shared with us a bit about trying to deal with the devastation of his injuries and how his wife Gayle challenged him to overcome.  He told us that she announced one day that she was going to climb Denali!  Realizing that she was determined and he could not let her go alone, he determined to take up the challenge and Operation Denali was born.

Operation Denali Mission Statement:

Enable four Warriors wounded in the Global War on Terrorism to overcome devastating combat injuries and successfully summit 20,320 ft Denali, the highest mountain in North America, symbolizing the strength of our Nation and those who defend it.

He shared with us a very inspiring story. He spoke of not only the challenges of the climb in which only 40-60% of those who attempt actually summit. Denali is a dangerous mountain in which people loose their lives each year attempting to summit.  Imagining the challenges of attempting such a big climb is intimidating but image doing so without all of your limbs.  Yes, these wounded warriors climbed and summitted the mountain with prosthetic limbs.  He told stories of how they even passed other teams on the mountain.  That was rather encouraging for them, not so much so for the other fully bodied teams.  Why even try to attempt such a feat?  Reaching the summit was the goal but more importantly than actually reaching the summit were the following objectives.  Even for the few who did not actually summit, their objectives were reached.

1.  To raise awareness for the needs of severely injured service men and women
2.  To  work together to overcome our physical limitations and achieve a common goal made to seem insurmountable by the impact of our injuries on our lives.
3.  To demonstrate by performance and example that no obstacle is so great that the human spirit cannot overcome it

Let me give you a little bit of perspective on this challenge.  A little lesson on Denali.  Denali meaning the High One or the Great One is the Native word for the mountain that outsiders refer to as Mount McKinley. Denali, being North America’s highest peak, rises to an elevation of 20,320 feet amidst a sea of glaciers and other peaks that compose the Alaska Range.  Here is a photo I took from Anchorage, several hundred miles away.

For a closer look and updated photos check out the webcam from Denali National Park & Preserve. Their view is from Wonder Lake.

Please make sure to do your part in supporting our veterans.  They give up so much for the freedoms we all enjoy!  I ask that you share this story and encourage others!

To read more on this inspiring story visit Operation Denali! You can also see a slide show of the expedition. You can read their expedition journal too!

Take some time to learn more about Operation Denali and be sure to leave me a comment too!

Quotable Quotes

I thought I would try something new today. Since I cannot think of anything to really blog about. Well, I do have a few ideas but not enough time today to put them together. I thought I would share with you some of my favorite Twitter quotes today. Twitter is a bit crazy with so much to keep up with but at least it is only snippets of information. I follow a lot of great people that challenge me to continue to strive to bring God glory. I thought I would share some of their quotes with you today. If you follow me on Twitter you probably have seen these RTs but they are good ones to ponder on again. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of them, which is your favorite, or if you find one particularly challenging.

Enjoy…..

• RT @ReformedGlory: Christ did not die for any upon condition, if they do believe; but He died for all God’s elect that they should believe.  JOHN OWENRT
• @burk_parsons:Toward a genuine life-Let’s be more concerned to preach what we practice than always attempting to practice what we preach.
• RT @DonWhitney: Things I wish I’d said: “With many things in life, we will suffer the pain of self-discipline or the pain of regret.”
• RT @Quiet_Daisy Thy mercies have brought me to the dawn of another day. Vain will be its gift unless I grow in grace increase in knowledge(VofV)
• RT @voiceofthesheep Why is that those who go early & rush for best seats at a show, or buy best seats for a game, pick worst seats at church?
• RT @Tabletalk_Mag: After you tried the higher life, deeper life, and your best life now, go to the all-encompassing Gospel for all of life.
• RT @MonergismBooks: “To will is of nature, but to will aright is of grace.” – AugustineRT
• @Burk_Parsons Christianity isn’t just a relationship, it’s a religion that encompasses all of life existing in God’s relationship with us
• RT @MonergismBooks: “Morality may hide corruption, but faith only purifies the heart from it.”- John Flavel

Copywork & Handwriting

Image via Wikipedia

When teaching penmanship, basic grammar, spelling, literature, accuracy, punctuation, vocabulary, sentence structure, attention to detail, and memory skills copywork and handwriting books are a great resource.  There are many different curricula available for such things but you want to make sure they are books of substance?  We do not want to just have busy work. When trying to instill godly character in our children it is important to use a curriculum that addresses those needs as well.  I have several listed here that you may want to look into.  We have used several ourselves!

A Reason for Writing has been around for a long time.   They offer curriculum for grades K-6th.  All of the lessons are based on scripture verses.  Along with learning good penmanship children are memorizing and sharing the Word of God.

Memoria Press has a little bit of a different approach.  Their books not only contain scripture but also classic poetry, literature selections, Latin sayings, and hymns.  They also have a great explanation on their website of the benefits of copywork.  They offer a primary set consisting of three books, a cursive book, as well as a composition and sketch book.

Veritas Press has a handwriting series entitled Classically Cursive.  There are four books in this series.  These reproducible books originated by the folks at Logos School are all you need to teach cursive handwriting.  These books use scripture and the catechism.  The four books are entitled, “Bible Primer, Ten Commandments, Shorter Catechism, and The Attributes of God.”

Last but not least are the Journibles.  These are actually designed for older teens and adults.  Yes, we adults can benefit too!  I am very excited about these and am looking forward to investing in some for myself.  Here is a description from the website on these books.

Each book is organized so that you can write out your very own copy of Scripture. You will be writing the Bible text only on the right hand page of the book. This should make for easier writing and also allows ample space on the left page to write your own notes and comments. From time to time a question or word will be lightly printed on the left page; these questions are to aid in further study, but should not interfere with your own notes and comments.

So there you go!  Several great resources for meeting the needs of handwriting and copywork but also attending to our spiritual needs.  Do you have any other great resources for this?  Have you used any of these?  Which are your favorite?  I would love for you to share!

Do You Fear?

I find that fear is a constant battle for me.  I tend to worry about so many things that I shouldn’t.  I fully acknowledge that this is a major weakness.  It is one that can only be overcome by the working of the Lord in my life.  I need to continually seek him for healing from fear.  I came across a quote today that slapped me upside the head!  It is something I already knew but when you come face to face with the bare bones of the issue it often makes your head spin.

Our fears are grounded in either a failure to believe in God’s strength or a failure to believe His gospel. — RC Sproul Jr

Lord,

I praise you Lord, Creator of all, You are God!  Mold me into your image, may I be surrendered, softened, and easy to mold.  Cleanse me, heal me, create in me a clean heart, one that is absent of fear and clings to you.  I know that worry can not add a single day so let me not waste the ones you have given.  Draw me closer to you that I may never fail to believe and rely upon you.  Remove my self-reliant tendencies.  May you be glorified in my life!

Amen