"Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake." - Victor Hugo

I needed that...

Here's to a never slumbering God...

Until next time,
-C.

It takes a special person...

"It takes a special person to do what you do" is a comment I get over and over when people find out I am a military wife. They don't mean it to be an insult, but so often it ends up becoming one. It is almost as if they are insinuating that somehow I have some special features in my make up that make the loneliness, fears, isolation and anxieties of military life that much easier. Believe you me, I don't. In fact, those who knew me before I joined this crazy, mixed up life (who gets married and spends more time apart than together???), can testify that I did not hold the qualifications of a good military wife. I am fearful. I am anxious. I hate change. I abhor moving. I cannot stand being alone. I don't like doing things on my own. Military wife extraordinaire, I was not built to be!

But, the greatest part about God is He likes to use the ordinary, the ones who were not meant for the tasks at hand, in extraordinary situations. He likes to put the meek, timid ones in charge of spreading the gospel. He likes to take an unwed teenage girl and use her to bring the world redemption. He likes to use the stuttering, babbling man and deliver His commands through him. Yeah, our God likes taking the ordinary and using them for the extraordinary.

So, if you ever see a military wife, a single mom, a widow, a minister, a teacher or just anyone you think God built with some super special powers to do super special things, remember they were not. In fact, they are probably just ordinary, just like you, doing what God has set before them. It is so easy to not see ourselves in the people of God's word. We somehow think they held some key or knew some knowledge that we don't possess. Yet, usually the only difference between us and them is their willingness to answer His call.

"Elijah was a man just like us..." -James 5:17

Here's to all the ordinary ones...

Until next time,
-C.

Note to self...

I thought I'd repost a blog I wrote last year. It is one of those things I need to remind myself of constantly, how about you?

The Gentle Whisper

Man, I couldn't even go a month without writing. I sure did try, but words have been trying to leap out of my heart for days now. I guess the only thing to do is share them with you.

This scripture just pierced my soul and I am wondering if it will pierce yours.

"The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper."
-1 Kings 19:11-12 (NIV)



Elijah's story is that of a most faithful servant, who but in the same breath almost lost His faith altogether. In his inhale, he was amazed by God's faithfulness to him, yet in the exhale was struck by paralyzing fear as he faced adversity.


And as wind, earthquakes, and fire erupted before his eyes, he kept looking for his God. Yet, it wasn't in the loud, powerful promulgations that God made known His presence, but rather, through a soft, gentle whisper.



How often do we find ourselves like Elijah? Believing wholeheartedly in the power of our God in one drawed in breath, and then, watching that belief all but disapear in the next. Then, as God comes to reveal Himself to us, we become so fixated on monstrous, palpable demonstrations that we miss the faint sound of His voice saying, "Here I am!"



Can we get our respiration to reflect the truth of God's character? Can we find belief when circumstance entices us towards doubt? Can we focus our ears and eyes not on the sounds of the disasters that whiz by us, but on the gentle whisper that comes afterwards?



Faith is not for the meandering charlatan, but rather for the persistent pathfinder, who blazes through the unkown towards the sound of a simple hushed utterance.



Here's to hearing the gentle whisper...


Until next time,
-C.

Military Wives Bible Study

Military Wives!!!
Looking to start a Bible study in your area? Or do you already have one going? Here is a topical study (meaning every week is different and self-contained, no traditional "homework" style assignments!) I created for Jocelyn Green's Faith Deployed site/book:
Click HERE to download your FREE copy!!

Fighting addiction...

My name is Catherine and I am addicted to facebook...

Well, friends, I did it again. Deactivated myself from everyone's favorite social networking site...I can't even tell you how many days sober I am, maybe a month or so. It has been a strange adjustment because I think I might never go back.

The reason for my abrupt deactivation was due to a series of event that dare I say, made me feel anti-social. I was going through a phase of "me against the world" and a touch of "nobody knows the trouble I've seen" kind of mood when I impulsively nixed my facebook account like whoa. Then, something miraculous occured...I started getting my never-ending to do list done in the course of a day. Could it have been that that 5 minutes here, 5 minutes there, here a 5 minutes, everywhere a 5 minutes self-rationalized ("it's only 5 minutes") checking of the statuses of my nearest as well as my not so dearest friends was robbing me of precious time to complete the day's duties? I know, I shuddered at the thought as well. But, alas, my seemingly impetuous check in the box next to "deactivate my account" was buying me time, precious, precious time.

Not to mention, my mind that once whirled with "I can't believe she posted that on fb..." and "why did so and so go to lunch with so and so and not even send me a textvite?" and other paltry thoughts and analyzations quit whirling so much in a cyclone of negative thoughts towards others. I didn't have the need to "fb gossip" (yes, I just made that up...). You know what I mean? It starts with, "did you see what __________ posted on fb?" and then spirals downward from there where your source of information becomes a glorified twitter update.

We love facebook because it connects us with people we would most likely severe all ties with. But, I have found, in a way it disconnects us with those who we should be more connected with. When I replace a phone call to a friend or loved one, with a status check to see how their life is, I miss the opportunity to actually hear their stories, thoughts, and ideas. When I choose a post on an imaginary wall over a sit down, face to face lunch to see how life is going, I miss a chance to connect. It is almost as the one thing we want most from America's network, is the one thing it takes away. Ironic, isn't it?

I did a little research to just see if my hypothesis was true, if in fact, I was an addict.

According to Elizabeth Hartney of about.com, "some of the symptoms common to addictions are:" (italicized text is my addition)

•"Tolerance - the need to engage in the addictive behavior more and more to get the desired effect" Check. I found myself starting to check my fb more and more, even in bed, way past my bedtime, when I couldn't sleep at night. And perhaps the reason I couldn't sleep, was because I kept checking my facebook.

•"Withdrawal happens when the person does not take the substance or engage in the activity, and they experience unpleasant symptoms, which are often the opposite of the effects of the addictive behavior" Yup. Not knowing the latest fb status updates would often make me irritated and somewhat difficult to be around. If my husband complained of me checking fb or told me to stop, I would become very agitated.

•"Difficulty cutting down or controlling the addictive behavior" Ding, ding, ding. I'd try the old "time limit" theory which would fail miserably as I would have to check just one more fb page.

•"Social, occupational or recreational activities becoming more focused around the addiction, and important social and occupational roles being jeopardized" Don't want to admit it, but yes. Daily topic of conversation amongst friends: did you see ____ fb status? Wife and mothering skills were hitting an all time low as I wasted time on facebook.

•"The person becoming preoccupied with the addiction, spending a lot of time on planning, engaging in, and recovering from the addictive behavior" Sitting at a stop light, checking facebook. Sitting in a restaurant, checking facebook. Kid napping, time to check facebook. Waking up, check facebook. Go to bed, check facebook. (A blackberry did not help)

Yes, friends. I am a recovering facebook addict. Maybe one day I will find myself back on the social network, in moderation of course, but until I can beat this addiction, I need to steer clear of facebook and all its time wasting glory.

Here's to kicking a bad habit...
Until next time,
-C.

New Article over at Faith Deployed

Come all you weary...

My fav song of the moment...
Come all you weary by Thrice