ChristianMilitaryWives

A Season Of Stepping Down To Step Up
 August 17, 2010

Why is it better to obey than to sacrifice?

Last night at church, the speaker (Marco) talked about low self esteem.  He then showed a photo of himself wearing thick goggle like glasses (they almost looked military issued) and dawning a great part in his hair and explained that as a child he had very low self esteem.

In my younger years, I battled with low self esteem.  I never thought I looked good enough and I always doubted myself.  For instance, I thought it would be fun to try out for track... but, I didn't because I didn't think I would have been fast enough.  Or, what about the time I had a cute pair of jelly shoes (yeah, back in the 80s) but I chickened out of wearing them until other "cool" girls started wearing them.  The truth of the matter is, I shouldn't have worried about what other people thought... but, I did.  Who cares if I wouldn't have been the fastest runner on the team, or who would have really cared if I had worn those jelly shoes before they were really popular?

Worldly self esteem seems to revolve around posessions, finances, and accomplishments.  As Christians, our sence of being a good person should not depend on any of those things.  Our self worth and self esteem should reflect who we are in Christ and the wonderful talents God gives us.  We should not worry about what people say or do against us, as all that matters is our relationship with Christ.

Psalm 16:2 reminds us, “I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’”

Psalm 139:13-14 - For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

As military wives, it can be easy to fall into the trap of gossip which can create others to have low self esteem.  We need to steer far away from talking about others or even having inside thoughts of judging others.

Don't worry about what others think of you.  The only one that matters is our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Live for Him, strive to have a personal relationship with Him and everything else will fall into place.  You will feel complete and filled with His love - thus, overcoming feelings of insecurity.

As I sit here, I have a million things that need to be done.  I need to go to the post office, I need to clean the house, I have paperwork that needs to be done… I, I, I…

It’s vital to ask yourself… where is God in my life today?

So often, we forget the most important things in life.  Here are a few imperative questions to ask yourself. 

-Have I prayed today?
-Have I read my Bible?
-Have I talked to loved ones and friends about Jesus today?
-What is my relationship with Christ like at this moment?

At the end of the day, or when all is said and done - the most important thing in life is not about the dishes being clean.  It's not about your husbands relationship with Christ or your friends relationship with Christ... it's about YOUR relationship with Christ.

I challenge you to commit to bettering your relationship with the Lord... you won't be sorry. :)

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CMF/CMW members are part of a worldwide prayer family. They submit prayer requests to the Home Office to be published in the monthly prayer reminder (Battle Plan) which is mailed to the entire fellowship so we can all pray for one another. We have prayer at the Home Office for more urgent or confidential requests. We also publish the Battle Plan electronically via E-mail for those who wish to receive the published requests daily. Any urgent or time-sensitive requests that we receive are also added to the Electronic Battle Plan (EBP) to enable our partners to pray immediately.  CMF members may send their prayer requests from a "Submit Prayer Request Page" under the members section.

CMW is a ministry of CMF.  If you have not joined CMF, please do so now so that you can take advantage of many wonderful benefits such as The Battle Plan, free study materials for military families and so much more.

Having trouble sleeping? You’re not alone! Last month, veteran military wife Rosie Williams wrote a great column on the subject called “Zzzzzzs Please!” Today, I’d like to just share with you some great Bible verses for those nights of insomnia. (You might also check out the “Go-to Scriptures for when you’re fearful or anxious.”) Print these out and keep them on your nightstand.

“On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night” (Psalm 63:6).

“Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord” (Lamentations 2:19a).

“I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,  that I may meditate on your promises” (Psalm 119:147-148).

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8).

“When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared” (Proverbs 3:24-26).

“You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you” (Psalm 91:5-7).

“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me” (Psalm 3:5)

“He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:3-4).

“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him” (Psalm 62:5).

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3).

“He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD” (Psalm 112:7).

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).

This post first appeared at www.faithdeployed.com.

“Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God” (Isaiah 50:10b).

Ever since I bought Sara Groves’ latest album Fireflies and Songs, the song titled “From this one place” has really stuck in my mind. I bet most of you can relate to the theme of the song, too. She talks about not being able to see the road in front of her, not knowing what the future holds, and how scary that is. Here’s the chorus:

“From this one place I can’t see very far/ In this one moment I’m square in the dark/These are the things I will trust in my heart/ You can see something else”

Does this sound like something you have said or felt before? One struggling military wife once told me she felt like she was so in the dark she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face, and it was all she could do to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. If we haven’t been in that place yet, I’m pretty confident that it’s only a matter of time before we are there too.

But the comfort comes in knowing that while we can’t see much from our point of view right now, God sees it all. He sees the big picture, and as Sara says in her song, He “can see something else.” Oh how we long to know what it is that God sees that we can’t! But if we could see it all at once, we wouldn’t have to trust Him. And I believe God wants to use the dark times of our lives to build our relationship with Him. In our darkest hours, it’s what we believe about God’s character that will sustain us. Do we believe that He is sovereign and in control? Do we believe that He is trustworthy? Our answers to these questions are more important than knowing the answers about what tomorrow will hold.

I absolutely love what Carolyn Custis James says in her book When Life and Beliefs Collide:

“God’s character is crucial, for there are moments in life when God’s goodness and love seem to come under a blackout. No matter how we strain our eyes, we cannot see any good, not a trace of God’s love . . . When faith cannot find something tangible to grasp, we are compelled to fly back to the ark of God’s unchanging, unfailing character. But faith will not find much of a foothold here if God is a stranger to us. Faith, in the finaly analysis, is trusting someone you know, even when you don’t always understand what he is doing” (page 73).

In a devotion titled “Faith Challenged” in the book Faith Deployed, Army wife Rebekah Benimoff shares this:

“When a young lady who once served on the chapel praise team with me learned that her husband had been killed in Iraq, those of us who served with her were shaken. while some people I knew were certain that God had told them everything would be okay, I had no such assurance. What God told me was quite different. He said that no matter what happens, He would carry me through. And to this day, He has” (page 216).

Rebekah was in the dark about her husband’s future, and about her future with him–as all of us are. But she learned to put her hope in the One who knows it all. “He can see something else…”

Jocelyn Green is the author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encoruagement for Military Wives, along with 14 other contributing writers, and maintains a Web site for military wives at www.faithdeployed.com.

The Power of Prayer Really Does Work!

 

Have you ever heard someone say, please pray for me, or I need all the prayers I can get?  Do you ever talk to the people after you have prayed for them to see if they are doing better?  Are you part of a prayer chain for your church?  Have you been to a church service that has time of prayer for those who need it, sometimes specifically for someone’s health?  There is a method to the madness of me asking all of these questions!  I have had the rare opportunity to see prayer work first hand.   I encourage you, if you don’t already to follow through with your prayers and check on the people that you are praying for, get involved with the prayer chains for your church family, the results could change or save a person’s life!

In the past week, we thought that we were going to lose a close family member.  This family member has had health issues for many years, and has come back from the brink of no return over 20 years ago..which led to all the health issues she is currently dealing with.  It was a scary time on Friday when we received the phone call that she was in the hospital and that they were hooking her up to a ventilator to help her breathe and get air into her lungs ( she has severe scar tissue and about 48% capacity in her lungs from the illness over 20 years ago).  Her struggling to breathe for the 3-4 days prior to Friday also caused her heart to race, averaging around 146 beats per minute ( a resting adult should be between 65-80).  I must also add that she is in her mid-70s, so bouncing back is now in slow motion due to age! On Friday she was admitted to the ICU.

Prayer requests went out on Friday to several churches in the area from friends and family.  Prayers were happening in great numbers, and all over the country.  These prayers continue through Sunday services, and many still pray for her recovery.

On Saturday we made it to the hospital to visit her, prepared for the worst, and honestly we pretty much got it.  She looked horrible, the true meaning of death warmed over.  She was a pale grey, with tubes and machines hooked up and helping her.  She was medicated, but still fairly aware and coherent.  She said her good-bye’s to her sons…thinking she wasn’t going to make it.  They didn’t think she was going to make it either.  It was an emotional and difficulty visit.  Holding her hand was like holding an ice cube, they were VERY cold.

As I said previously, prayers were being said and requested.  She requested me to pray for her twice in the 10 minutes we were in the room with her.  This amazing lady has a great faith in our Father, and was relying on him to give her peace and to give her family peace.

On Sunday I travelled to the hospital again, expecting to see the same as Saturday, preparing myself to deal with it.  I was blessed, and amazed at the difference 24 hours had made!  She was still on the ventilator, but she had great color!  Her skin was pink!  Her hands were warm!  She was still tired and medicated but what a difference!  Praise the Lord!!  We did know that several of the churches that had her on their prayer lists prayed for her during their services on Sunday.  Adding even more prayers sent to our Father!

Monday came with even more blessings!  The ventilator was removed, her color was fantastic and she was making up for the 3 days that she couldn’t talk!!  Today was even better, she is off all the I.V.’s and even ate some lunch!  3 days ago the doctors didn’t have any answers and did not have a great prognosis.  While she still has a long road to recovery ahead of her, and it may slow her down some, she is a testament to the power of prayer!

There is no other explanation than the hand of God.  He put the right knowledge in the doctors and nurses so that she received excellent care.  But most of all he heard the prayers of hundreds of people.  The power of prayer is amazing.  When the person themselves say they knew they were at the end, that they prayed and felt the prayers working.  That they know that the prayer helped to heal them and keep them in their Earthly body for a bit longer, it is amazing to witness.  I am truly blessed to have been there first hand to see the amazing changes that happened, and I encourage to become a prayer warrior, for yourself, your family and friends and even for those people who you don’t know, but who you can help through your prayers!

She is clothed with strength & dignity she can laugh at the days to come.

Proverbs 31:25

This must be my favorite verse in the whole Bible. Proverbs 31 goes in depth to explain what most of us strive to be. Resourceful, hard working, eager, wise, profitable, praiseworthy & due reward. But while the rest of the chapter paints this stoic, constant woman I think this verse shows the joy she ultimately holds. The joy in the strength her Savior gives, the freedom to ultimately know that her “days to come” rest in His hands. As I reflect over the past years as a military spouse I have a secret to admit (shhh, come closer) I have not always been able to laugh at the days to come! Oh dear, some days I’m far from it. When my husband was assigned his third deployment in three years there wasn’t a laugh anywhere to be had. I kicked, screamed & threw my version of an adult temper tantrum. Didn’t the Marine Corp know that 3 deployments in 3 years & 3 children in 3 years were a bit more than I could handle? Didn’t they know they had one tired spouse on their hands? Because surely while they are planning a war on Terror they can consider my feelings right? Okay, so after a dose of reality (and lots of Ben & Jerry’s) set in, it was what it was & there was no changing the fact that he was leaving. But in the midst of the sick children, bill paying, house taking care-of & mere surviving I still failed to laugh. Granted, some days there wasn’t much to laugh about & plenty to cry about. As we are on the other side of this deployment, having survived, I am realizing I missed out on a perfect opportunity to walk in the strength & dignity that the Lord has clothed me in. I missed a chance to laugh at the craziness to come, laughing not in sheer lunacy but rather in the celebration that tomorrow would be another day. I am truly saddened by the missed opportunities for growth. Now I seriously doubt I will ever celebrate a day my husband deploys but I can celebrate the opportunity for God to move, work & show up.

That’s the purpose  for starting www.shecanlaugh.com, a weekly devotional website for military spouses. For us to be constantly reminded that we labor not in vain & that we can laugh at the days to come, only by His grace. So join me each week on the adventure the Lord is ready to take us on. Let’s grow together as wives, mama’s & daughter’s of the King.