About a month ago I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. At first, the diagnosis was terrifying, and as the minutes ticked by at a painful pace I started become increasingly depressed. How was I going to get through this? Being a celiac isn’t a temporary thing, it’s a life change. Complete and total discipline. Read More→
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We are getting down to the wire. I left my career in May (with my husband’s blessing) to start the Non-Traditional Licensure Program to become a teacher. It was with the understanding that I would most likely be able to find a teaching job by the time school started. That’s tomorrow. And I didn’t. Thomas agreed to that route because he knew that his orders would run out at the end of September. He is a member of the National Guard, but works full time at his unit under temporary active duty orders. When they have money.
That money runs out in September. Sometimes it doesn’t get dispersed until January. Government money running out means that our source of income–and now, the one income–is gone.
It’s so easy for us to think of Joy as happiness. It’s easy for us to be joyful during the times when money isn’t much of an issue. It’s even easier to forget that the Joy of the Lord is available to us when times are difficult. I (and my family) have been more at peace this summer than ever. We’ve managed to make it on only one income. We haven’t even had to give up that much. Much that really mattered to us, anyway. To be completely truthful, though, I do miss eating out as often!
In the face of seeing our income reduced by 90%, I find myself worrying as the date approaches. I’ve been looking in the classifieds and job searches online. It’s this fretting and fussing that has the potential to sap every ounce of joy from my life. Earlier this summer, it wasn’t as hard to take the leap of faith that would let me stay home this summer with our soon-to-be-five-year-old. Now that the summer is over, doubt and fear try to replace that faith. It’s a constant battle.
Waiting on God’s timing has always been the hardest thing for me to do. We have hope that Thomas will find a different job. We have friends that are helping us. We also hope that because of some newly added responsibility, funding for a full-time position will come open with his unit. But we are waiting. And seeing what I can see from my vantage point is scary. What I have to depend on is that God can see everything, even the things that I can’t.
Here are some verses that have become important to me over the past few weeks:
“How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” Psalm 36:7 KJV
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Isaiah 30:18 NIV
“Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Yet if you devote your heart to Him and stretch out your hands to Him, if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil [doubts and fears]* to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear.” Job 11:13-15
* I clarified evil in brackets here to make it applicable to this post and my family’s situation. It is not part of the original text. This verse was spoken to job from Zophar the Naamathite. He rebuked Job for questioning God’s authority and for allowing his doubts and fears to pull him into despair. We are commanded not to fear the future or worry for our provision (Matthew 6:34).
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I’m thrilled to announce that Delta Whiskey from our blog team has agreed to be our resident Wives of Faith Food Star!
As a proud Air Force wife, Delta Whiskey lives her life as a modern-day June Cleaver. Once upon a time she burned water on a consistent basis, but she has transformed into a great at-home cook, serving up healthy and delicious meals for her family. Stumbling her way through learning how to live the Gluten Free Life, she’ll take you behind the scenes and share incredible recipes for family suppers, romantic dinners, kid-friendly dishes and the dreaded table for one. Delta is happy to take requests and answer questions! Just drop her a line at whiskey(at)deltawhiskey(dot)us.
Don’t hesitate to write or comment with your questions. We look forward to this new and exciting feature at Wives of Faith!
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A Call to Prayer….
Five times a day a Muslim is bound to perform the Salaah, the fixed ritual of the Islamic prayer – worship. He should properly go to the nearest mosque to offer his prayers together with the whole congregation. Each of the five periods is preceded by the adhaan (or azaan – ezan as it is more commonly called). The muezzin (mu’adh-dhin in Arabic) calls out on each occasion:
Interesting isn’t it? Can you substitute Jesus and God for the above and what would it mean for you to declare these things aloud 5 times a day?
The last my husband was in Iraq there was a phone conversation where he was outside and you could clearly hear the call to prayer in the background (as he put it they are “serenaded” 5 times a day). A beautiful, haunting yet insistent sound. I think there’s a lesson there for us. Prayer is not taken lightly for Muslim men but is an integral part of each day, involving not only the actual stopping of activity but gathering together, ablutions beforehand, preparation, etc. It’s a serious thing. How much more so then, should we – who know the true and living God – take seriously our own call to prayer?
I am not saying you must stop everything, wash and fast, and run to chapel 5 times a day! We serve a God who can hear the simplest prayer on the run and the one where you are on your face for an hour or more. A God who knows we are but dust and hears no matter what. And yet . . . have we lost the awesomeness of knowing that GOD Himself is waiting to hear from us? In our ability to approach Him as a familiar Father without restrictions have we shed the fact that He is Holy too quickly? And what does that say to those around us, to our children?
I challenge you to sit and think about what God is calling you to do in regards to prayer in your life; to hear what the Spirit, our own Holy muezzin, has to say. Do you struggle with prayer? Believing God hears? How to pray? What to pray? All the above?! Then ask him to clarify. I want to challenge you also, if your husband is deployed to remind him of these things. To see the Muslim call to prayer not as an irritation but as an opportunity for prayer on his part as well!
(Info website with a recording if you have not heard the call to prayer and would like to: http://www.allaboutturkey.com/pray.htm)
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Before there was the television show, there was the book…
Army Wives: The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage by Tanya Biank
Recently I read the book Army Wives so I could review it for our Wives of Faith readers. It is a powerful book.
The original title for Army Wives is Under the Saber and it’s a very interesting nonfiction book about the lives of four different Army wives. The author, Tanya Biank, does a wonderful job of spotlighting four very different women whose husbands serve in the Army. She was able to talk quite frankly about these women’s struggles.
Pattie’s Review:
I have only watched a couple of episodes of the Lifetime series “Army Wives,” and they were early episodes. I was never hooked on the show, I guess, because my husband was deployed at the time, and his military career was nothing like the ones depicted on TV, and I just didn’t know much about the military. Of course, now the show is in its fourth season and is a runaway hit with women everywhere. (Perhaps I’ll catch it on DVD!)
That said, when I had the chance to order a copy of Tanya Biank’s book of the same title from Military One Source.com (I offer a link to this program at the end of this post), I was excited to read it.
While I enjoyed the book, I feel I must offer a disclaimer right away: this is a serious book. It’s not lighthearted or fluffy, and it’s not what might be considered a “fun” read. Tanya Biank is a serious journalist, and this book is an extension of many stories she covered as a reporter in Fayetteville, North Carolina in the early 2000s. She is an excellent writer, and while this is nonfiction in content, it is most certainly not scholarly or stodgy in tone. I read it fairly quickly as this nonfiction narrative flowed smoothly.
In this book, Tanya Biank examines Fort Bragg and the people who serve there. She chose four wives from different walks of life, whose husbands had different ranks and jobs, and different temperaments. She talks about their lives, their husbands’ jobs and service, how they lived, and in some cases, how they died.
I found Army Wives to be a fascinating look at military spouses on either side of 9/11/01. Because the stories begin before that fateful day, and continue through that uncertain time, and end after the war is in full swing.
I’d love to see Tanya Biank do a follow-up to Army Wives now. Not necessarily with the same women she profiles, but with other military women in different situations and facing different challenges. I think it’d be fascinating.
I am always fascinated by people’s stories—it’s why I’m a reader of books and a watcher of people when I’m out, why I love being a part of Wives of Faith, and why I’m a listener of stories in my real life. I think it’s also why I really enjoyed this book so much.
To learn more about the book and the author, visit Tanya Biank’s site here.
WIN THIS BOOK!!!
And now for the giveaway. While I enjoyed this book very much, I also want to share my only-read-once copy of the book with another Wives of Faith reader. (For any other bibliophiles out there, you’ll know what I mean when I tell you that my husband loves me, but not all my books—and with another move in a year after just having moved last month, you can see my predicament!)
No purchase necessary! Just leave a comment telling me one great thing about being a military wife. That’s all! One great thing. You’ll then be eligible for the drawing to receive my once-read, still-in-great-shape copy of this book. I’ll mail it as soon as the winner sends me her address.
Also, please be sure to include your email address in your comment. It won’t be public info for the public site, but it will give me a way to contact you in the event that you’re the winner.
So be sure to leave a comment starting now until Friday, July 9th at noon Central time. That’s when I’ll choose the winner!
Special thanks to Military One Source for the free copy of the book. It was sent to me for free
as a military spouse, not for review. To learn more about this program, click here.
You will need to join Military One Source to participate in this program, but membership is free.
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