A Simple Thanksgiving

So I am very sad, I had to change my whole background because of one slight misjudgment.  I was helping my mother "fix" her blog (i.e. make it look nice).  I made a really neat header and was trying to find the perfect background to go with it.  I found one that worked, but for some reason the previous background she had kept showing up.  So I looked in the FAQ's as to what to do about this problem, and went to fixing it.  I did and was like wow...that looks awesome now!  So I immediately went to my blog and did the same thing to mine WITHOUT previewing it first.  Sad day...it was not the awesome blog that was my mother's.  It turned out the background I used before contained fall foliage that I was unaware of, and it hindered the reading of the text.  I was thinking it would just show up white like it was before, but I was oh so wrong.  So I had to go about finding another new background and "fix" my own.  I loved how it looked before this all happened, but I guess I'll just have to get used to this one. Or maybe when Christmas comes closer I'll just redo it all over again?  We'll see...

On another note, it's Thanksgiving and I had wonderful day with my parents and husband.  It was quite quiet around the house, Cam and Kristen were unable to come this weekend so it was just the four of us, plus 2 dogs and a cat.  There was a lot of lounging around and it was much needed after a hectic week and a half.  We ate cinnamon french toast for brunch and then watched the Lions do well, and proceed completely blow their 3rd straight game.  Grandpa came over for supper later and it was good to see him.  The food was fantastic!  I love the Thanksgiving meal: turkey, taters, swiss-k beans (my mom's specialty), corn casserole, broccoli salad, and Grandma's pumpkin pie and strawberry tapioca (which was newly added to the menu this year).  MMM...so good.

Tomorrow we're headed to Bass Pro Shops for some black Friday deals.  I am scared...I have never been out in the public on black Friday.  I don't prefer to be mobbed by people, or stand in long lines just for a good deal.  Granted, if my husband was all for it, I'm sure we'd go, just the two of us, but since he's not a big shopper I don't push it.  But my mom and dad want to get some deals and I thought what they hay, it could be fun.  It'll be an adventure for sure.  I'd best be getting to bed though, since I have to get up early in the a.m.

Finally, it wouldn't be a Thanksgiving post if I didn't write about what I'm truly thankful for.  I need to remember the spirit of this holiday year round, and I haven't done the best job at it recently.  I am thankful most of all for my Savior, the LORD Jesus Christ and a God who loves me and has awesome plans for my life.  I praise him for all the blessings I have: a mother and father who love me and the Lord (and will do anything for Steve and I as well as my bro and future sis-in-law); a husband who is doing all that he can to provide for our little family and seeks God's will in all that he does; a puppy dog who, even though he lives far away, still sleeps in our bed when we come to visit; a brother who I can share anything with (and also has found me a new sister); a family of in-laws who are there whenever we need them; and a job where I have another extended family of co-workers and bosses who love what they do and in turn make me want to be a better teacher.  God is so good!

It is Well With My Soul

Ah...the 1/4 century birthday.  It has come and gone, and yes I do feel older.  For the first time in a very long time, this birthday made me think about the fact that I am getting older.  I don't know why I felt that way (I told Steven maybe because I'm married, but have no child yet...he had no comment ha ha).  Or maybe it was because I used to think 25 was so old.  I know it is no where near old, Steven also pointed out I have barely lived my life.  25 is young!!  I also still feel physically young...my metabolism is still high and I can exercise without too many aches and pains.  It was just the thought of turning 25, a quarter of a century old, that got me all anxious about this birthday...maybe I just thought too much.

Anyway, it was a great birthday.  All is well with my soul (we sang that at church yesterday too!) and I have so much to be thankful for.  Another year added to my life is nothing to be anxious about.  I have an awesome church family whom I love so dearly and I know God brought us there for a reason.  I received so many happy birthdays from fellow members and friends that it didn't feel like I was miles away from my own family.  I also got to celebrate the day along with so many other special people in my life.  An older gentleman from church turned 80 yesterday, our pastor's mother turned 85, my husband's best friend turned 25 as well, my two very good friends from camp turned 23, my b-day twin from college turned 25, and another friend from camp had a birthday as well (although I don't remember how old she is).  That's a lot of years there...and I think it's fantastic I share the same birthday with so many great people!!  I didn't know anyone else with the same birthday until I was in 8th grade...and now I can't even count them all (I'm sure I'm forgetting a few friends and I apologize)!!  I am so blessed, and I need to remember to be grateful for ALL of those blessings all of the time.  I am glad I call Christ savior and have a Lord that is so good to me (although I forget how good sometimes).  He always has a plan for good, not for evil.

Terrific/Terrible Tuesday

I realize I have not kept up with this blog like I intended to.  I wanted it to be about our Coast Guard journey mostly, but so far I expended that topic.  There isn't much to write about when all we're doing is waiting.  So since the name of my blog is We Live By Faith I've started writing more about what's on my mind and heart as well.  I still feel I don't have enough time to research topics and/or thoughts regarding scripture (seeing that I want to back up my thoughts/ideas with an exegetical blog rather than just rambling about my own ideas of what I think it might mean).  Therefore, I have decided to do some weekly posts and since our saying around the center on Tuesdays is either "Terrible Tuesday" (if a ton of kids show up unexpectedly/staff is gone for some reason or other) or "Terrific Tuesday" (if numbers of children may be a tad lower than normal taking a little stress off the teachers).  I am officially posting my highs and lows on Tuesday each week.  (It also helped that I had a particularly great day today and I praise God for it!)

The Terrible's

-scraping ice off my car this morning for the 3rd time this week

-taking knock-out sinus meds last night causing me to be slightly groggy and unwilling to get out of bed when my alarm clock first went off

-having to be creative when figuring out dinner with less than desirable grocery items in the pantry, fridge & freezer

The Terrific's

-SUNSHINE

-the heater is finally running at work

-playing Duck, Duck, Goose with 3 year-olds and getting paid for it

-watching a group of 3 year-olds run, gallop, crawl, waddle and roll around the climber on the playground -hearing the kids' laughter knowing they are having a ball (and secretly hoping Ms. Ashley is their favorite teacher)

-lots and lots of hugs from a little blond boy before he left, and his goodbye words "I love you Ms. Ashley"

-not having to close (i.e. clean the classroom/bathrooms) tonight

-voting with a pen and paper, old fashioned but it still works (I hope all you of voting age did the same!)

It started off a little rough, but by the end the day turned out great.  All thanks to a little a lot of patience given to me from the Holy Spirit and a Father who knows exactly what I need to make me smile.  God is GOOD!  ALL THE TIME!!

We Got A Date

No this is not a post about date-night with my husband (nor one about a due date to clarify for those of you who are curious).  Which reminds me, we haven't had one of those in awhile. One where we go out to eat at a nice restaurant or go to a movie...oh where was I?  A date you say?  Yes, Steve got a date! 

His lieutenant/CG recruiter reserved him a spot for March 1, 2011.  What does this mean?  It's finally official.  He's in.  He shall be deemed seaman/airman/fireman recruit in a few short months.  So where do we go from here?  Well he will be heading to MEPS to swear into the delayed entry program (DEP).  I am slowly learning what all these abbreviations stand for, but I still have a long ways to go.  Steve informed me I better start learning now because everyone uses them and since I will be a Coastie wife, I too must know what they mean.  YIKES!  Anyways, he will leave for boot camp on that date, which is in Cape May, NJ.  It is 8 weeks long, so he's looking at an April 22, 2011 graduation date (as long as everything goes well and he doesn't get reverted i.e. have to repeat a week for some reason or other).  Then he will move to the new unit and get settled in, which we will find out where during the 5th week of boot.  I plan to finish out the "school year" since I was graciously moved up to a coveted spot in the preschool room at the beginning of the "school year."  Then I will join him at the end of May wherever he is stationed.

The details aren't all worked out yet, but I know God will provide housing for me for a few months (seeing that our apartment lease is up January 31st).  I have also been praying that He puts us at a station where Steve and I, both separate and together, will be able to bless and serve others in our new community.  As scary as it might be to move to a new place which will more than likely be fairly far away from our immediate families, I am excited about this change.  God has place this dream on Steve's heart, and he is leading our little family as best as he knows how, with lots of God's guidance and help.  Knowing the hand of God is in this whole process makes it easier to be excited about the move as well.

Oh and God defintely answered prayers in allowing Steve to have a reservation spot for March 1; it is better than what we could have even asked for had we asked for a date ourselves.  God is good all the time!

How is Your Spiritual Life Doing?

Let me start by saying I love our church.  It's small, but the people's hearts are BIG!  I love singing in the praise band, and our pastor has brought some challenging word to his sermons as well.  I've always been taught that preaching truth from the Bible is the most important part in choosing a church.  Sugar coating the truth won't do, blasphemy is an extreme no-no so if the truth (though hard to swallow at times) is not being preached at your church...RUN.  Find another place because a church not lead by a Bible believing and preaching pastor is no place a Christ follower should be.  OK...on to the real item of business.

This morning's sermon by Pastor Ken has made me think a lot about my actions lately (mainly my patience level with my preschoolers at work).  He started in Mark 8, talking about how Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was.  Peter replied "You are the Christ," and Jesus told them not to tell anyone about him.  He was showing humility...

Then Ken went on to read through Jesus' proclamation of his death and resurrection...but he focused on the fact that Jesus had to suffer.  He a cross to carry...and he asked us if we could imagine ever carrying something that heavy know that we would die on it soon.  Have you ever carried a cross?  Jesus did...for all of us, he carried it to his death so that we could have life.  It reminded me of one of the passages in Philippians (which I used to have memorized, but have since forgotten...I need to get back at memorizing scripture!!) 

Paul says "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider quality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant...he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" Phil. 2:5-8

There is that word again: humble.  I used to think I was a pretty humble person, I like to serve others and I don't mind doing things and having them go unnoticed.  But Ken ended with a story that I will try my best to summarize.

There was a pastor who led a church and whenever anyone who asked him to pray for him/her, he/she would lose his/her faith.  This pastor soon became unpopular in the town where he pastored and stopped being a pastor.  One day he was walking along a road and met a man.  This man told the pastor he was a Christian in a business where he was required to be cut-throat and cold hearted.  The pastor asked if he could pray for the man, and the man said "Yes, of course!"  And after they were done praying, the man lost his faith.  He became even more cut-throat and cold hearted.  Several years passed and the man was walking down the street in the same town as before and ran into the pastor again.  The pastor knew the man had lost his faith, but the man came up to him and said "Thank you for praying for me!"  But the pastor replied "Why thank me, you lost your faith?"  The man answered "Yes, but that showed me that I needed to make changes in my life, that I needed my faith back and I grew closer to God."

Ken  then asked us what kind of person we would be if we were to be stripped of faith.  He reminded us that there shouldn't be a difference between our spiritual life and our other life.  If one proclaims to be a Christian...EVERYTHING is spiritual.  See what I mean about a challenging message?

So I'm going to be open and honest and say that some days, if my faith was gone I could be a pretty impatient and mean individual.  I don't like when the kids don't listen to me, so I try everything and usually resort to raising my voice.  I hate to admit it, but realizing it is the first step to change.  My words are often sarcastic and sometimes cruel, (little kids don't understand adult sarcasm at all!) and I desperately want to change that.  I have since graduating from high school, and I will say that I have improved only by the grace of God and the guiding of the Holy Spirit.  So my challenge for this week is this...When (because I know it will happen) the kids start getting on my nerves, I will stop and listen for His voice that says "Ashley, they don't know any better.  They are 3 years old and need you to teach them, not get angry with them.  Because anyone who welcomes a little child welcomes me..."  Mark 9:37 is my prayer for this week as well.

So how is your spiritual life doing?

Happenings as of Late

So the past month has been um...busy and I can’t believe it’s the end of October already.  I know I haven’t posted in awhile and that’s exactly why.  Here are some of things that happened in sequential order...

1. Streptococcus bacteria type A Round #1

I was diagnosed September 17 with strep the after working 8 hours with a sore throat and fever.  I went to the doctor, he looked at my throat, felt my tonsils and decided it was strep.  No culture, so strep test no nothing...10 minute appointment and I was outta there with a script for amoxicillin in hand.  I took the rest of the day off and half of the next day.  By the weekend, I was feeling much better, and I even sang at church on that Sunday. 

2. Camping Out in the Cold

We went camping for our anniversary.  Yes, you read right...camping!  We went to Yankee Springs Recreation Area and had a blast.  It was cold, and the ground was hard to sleep on, but I enjoyed my first adult experience tent camping.  Fortunately we had amazingly nice/clean showers and restrooms to use though.  We also went fishing in a borrowed canoe, which was quite the experience given the wind we had to fight without an anchor.  We forgot a few things which we will remember next time, but overall it was a good time and we definitely want to go back in the future!

3. Streptococcus bacteria type A Round #2

Skip ahead 2.5 weeks from 9/17 and it’s back.  I came down with a sore throat on a Thursday, went to work the next day (again with a super sore throat) and sucked on cough drops all day.  I ended up doing salt gargles and the soreness went away on Saturday, but then came the fever and very painful body aches.  I thought taking some OTC (over-the-counter) would help, but oh how so very wrong was I.  I ended up in immediate care October 3^rd with a fever of 102 and rapid pulse.  The PA was AHMAZING!!  She was so kind and couldn’t believe I was actually there with a smile on my face...and yes I was smiling through the pain and chills/cold sweats.  She did a strep test (and we were there forever waiting for the results! Thanks hubby for staying with me even if you really wanted to be home watching your Lions) and it came back positive.  So another round of antibiotics were prescribed, this time something a little stronger such as Keflex/cephalexin.  Along with the strep, I also developed sinus and chest congestion and had a cough (which still remains a little today) that last for about a week after the antibiotics were done.  I am so glad I’m feeling better finally!

4.  Memorials and Family

The next weekend we had a memorial service for Steve’s uncle who passed away at the end of September.  It was a nice service complete with a 21 gun salute and taps.  I made it through the entire service with no tears, but when that song was played, I couldn’t help but let them fall.  Even though I didn’t know Rob very well, that song gets me every time.  It was nice to be able to see some of Steve’s family again.  We got to hang out with his cousins who live in Utah at the Air Zoo and it was a lot of fun.  I miss those guys and really wish they didn’t live so far away.

5. Football

So this past weekend was all about football...but only one of my teams won.  It was very disappointing.  The Buckeyes lost, the Broncos lost, the Wolverines even lost, and the Lions lost in a very nerve wrecking/heart wrenching game.  The only ones who won were the Spartans.  And well, we won our fantasy football game too which counts for something since our QB was Shaun Hill who got injured right before half-time.  And yes, you read right again, I am playing fantasy football.  My husband is the manager, but he always asks for my input regarding player/game decisions.  It’s kinda fun!

So that pretty much catches you up on the things going on in our life.  Except the final piece of news which Steve received about 1.5 weeks ago.  He got a possible ship date for basic training.  This is a whole other post, but I wanted to put it out there because it’s finally real.  We’re really doing this CG thing and I’m excited (and a little nervous).  The next step now is for him to go to the MEPS center to get sworn in to the CG in a kind of preliminary way.  This will happen mid-November to mid-December, which seems to be quickly approaching!!

  Happy Friday! God is good all the time!

Something New

I've been wanting to change my background/layout for sometime now and just couldn't figure out how to get html script from another website onto my blog.  But I figured it out and it didn't really take me all that long...hopefully this won't lead to me changing things all the time.  But until I find what I really like, it just might mean changes every few weeks or so.  Sorry!  I do hope you like the new background for now though.

Anyways, this is short and sweet because Amazing Race is on and I've already missed half of it, and this is one show hubby and I definitely make sure to watch on Sunday nights.  I do have a much needed post to write about exciting happenings in our lives, but it will have to wait for now... I'll keep you in suspense until about midweek when I might have time to sit down and actually write a post (the past month has been crazy busy with weekend plans, illness, work and more work).

May you see God's abundant blessings in your life today!