Are We There Yet?

I have been very optimistic and now, in the last days of this deployment is when I really have to pull myself together and say, "Hey, it is almost over. Even if he was supposed to be home in 5 days, but has no orders, and had to cancel his plane ticket home.... It will be ok. Right?" As I try to reassure myself of these things, I don't 100% feel better about it. When things are hard, what do I tell every one else to do-- to turn to God. It is time for me to take my own advice.

So now, I open my Bible to Romans Chapter 5. 

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;  

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:  

5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.  

11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

First, I would like to turn my attention to verses 3-5. "Tribulations worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed..." I know this, of course, when you pray to God to give you patience, in return, He gives you something to be patient about. That trial, that tribulation will make you stronger. When a person is stronger, they are hopeful, they know that they can accomplish all things through Christ.

As it says in Philippians Chapter 4:
4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: [and] again I say, Rejoice.  5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord [is ] at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing' but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, bretheren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned , and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

We must know that God is in control, and all good things are in Christ the Lord.
And we can. So now, I am putting a smile back on my face, because I know that the Lord is in control.
Philippians 4 continues in verse 13 to say, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 
There is a lesson to be learned in this tribulation, and out of it will come experience and hope; and yes, of course, patience too. Make it your goal today to smile, even if something is going wrong, or the fact that your soldier is away from you- God is in control!

Custom Blankets

I am now making blankets. You can custom order 

them to fit you and with your favorite design*

 

This is the first blanket that I made. The fabric is fleece, and the 

same design is on both sides. I cut and tied all four edges.**

 

This is the second blanket that I made, for Brenda Keddell. 

It is also made of fleece with a plain tan fleece on the back. 

I also cut and tied all four sides.** I have one more

of this blanket that is currently for sale. 

Contact me on here, or by email rutter_melissa@yahoo.com.

*As long as I can find the fabric. 

**Color in the photo may vary to that of the actual blanket.

Better Half

  

It is currently Valentines Day in Korea. Today is a day to remember why are here. The Lord has given me my life. He has my story written in His book from the beginning to the end. If it wasn't for Him and the life that He has given me, I would have never met my husband. Thank you Lord for the things and people you have carefully placed into my life, I love you soldier!

Deployed Valentines

Valentine's Day is coming up-- Our first married Valentine's Day. Like every other holiday so far, we will spending it miles apart. Yet, I will not let that bother me. Valentine's Day is just a Hallmark Holiday to me. It is just another day closer to my soldier being home. I love him so very much, but I will treat it just like any other day and put another "X" on the calendar.

You should show your partner that you love them every day; there is absolutely nothing special about February 14th! The Lord, our God loves us unconditionally each and every day, whether we deserve it or not. Do yourself a favor and make it a priority to do something special for the one you love more than just on holidays. You will have a better relationship for it. Then do yourself another favor and thank the Lord. Not only for His unconditional love, but also for the blessings He has provided to you.

This year I sent my cousin in Afghanistan a bunch of homemade Valentines to pass around the soldiers over there. Hopefully they will receive the package in time. Thank you to all the soldiers serving every where-- I hope that you know you are loved and appreciated whether it is Valentine's Day or not!

 Roses are Red

Violets are Blue

Thank God for our Troops
We APPRECIATE YOU!

Tender Love

My soldier is on the other side of the country, and it is the little things that I miss the most. I miss my husband being by my side, holding my hand, and the comfort that his presence brings. I miss the kisses on my forehead, the late night walks, and early morning talks. But soon, that deployment will be over. Less than a month now.

Baby, You Are...

by David L. Weatherford 

my sunny sky, 

my favorite high, 

my bed so warm, 

my port in a storm, 

my sweetest gift, 

my emotional lift, 

my best friend, 

until the end,

my inspiration,

my destination,

my shining light, 

my day and night,

my heart healer,

my anger chiller,

my pain reliever, 

my spring fever,

my gem so rare, 

my answered prayer,

my heart and soul,

my life made whole,

my merry-go-'round,

my "up" when I'm down,

my best chance, 

my last dance,

my best shot,

my sweet kumquat,

my energizer,

my appetizer,

my morning sun,

my evening fun,

my dancing partner,

my heart's gardener,

my source of laughter,

my everafter,

my heaven sent,

for who I'm meant,

my burning fire,

my greatest desire,

my soul mate,

my sweet fate,

my dream lover,

my "before all others,"

my confidence,

my common sense,

my reason why

until I die.

Just in case you didn't know.

In the hardest times during the deployment: I've turned to my Bible. I've turned to God. I've turned to my soldier for comfort. But I have also learned something very important- I am his motivation. I have to be strong. The soldier is only as strong as the home front.

Dear Deployment,

We've almost beat you!

Love Always,

Melissa :)

Care Packages 101

Have you ever wanted to send your soldier a care package but don't have the time to put one together?
There are many places that will pack and ship packages for him or her for a decent price. Here are some of those websites:
TroopsCarePack.com
MilitaryCarePackages.net

Many people ask what type of things to put in care packages. Well, it depends on what each individual soldier likes, but here are some suggestions that I found:

Baby Wipes- packets are better than tubs.
Beef Jerky/Slim Jims
Energy Bars
Hot Sauce (Tabasco, Red Devil, ect.)- wrap glass bottle in duct tape and place in doubled zip lock bags.
Sunflower seeds
Peanuts
Seasoning salt (Lawry's, ect.)
Atomic Fireballs/Jolly Rancher hard candy (for service member use)
Smarties or SweetTart candies (for local children who prefer sour style candy to build relationships with  community)
Powdered Energy/Electrolyte Replacement Drink Mix (Gatorade, ect.)
Chewing gum
Avon Skin So Soft- great for removing face paint and also reputed to be an effective bug repellent (the latter seems variable based on personal experience and reports)
AA-cell Alkaline Batteries
Personal Hygiene gear: disposable razors, toothbrush, toothpaste
eye wash/drops (visine, ect.) for flushing dust and sand out of eyes)
Zip-lock style plastic storage bags- assorted sizes, heavier freezer style bags are better
Prepaid phone cards so service member can call home

There is also a list of Equipment Suggestions and What Not to Send in a Care Package HERE.

I would also suggest that you use the flat rate military boxes that are free from the post office. They get to the troops MUCH faster when shipped overseas.

I hope this helps you! If you have any suggestions let me know. Thank you.

Blessing Jar

This morning, I am reading my new book that came in the mail yesterday. Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman's Soul. This story really spoke to my heart and I would like to share it with you.
Psalms 50:14-15 reads, "Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me."

Life hadn't been so easy. In fact, the list of tragic events and difficulties ran longer than my grocery list. I felt exhausted. Yet my strength was needed to hold together the pieces of the stress-free life my family once knew.

   "Why do I have to take four shots a day?" Jenna Marie, my kindergartner, asked repeatedly. The explanation of being diagnosed with juvenile diabetes didn't seem to justify her.

   "Just how big is the tank that Uncle Rusty is driving? How far away is the Gulf War? Who is that guy Saddam anyway?" my four-year-old son questioned.

   Beep, beep, beep-- the steady rhythm of my premature baby's heart monitor echoed in the background. This was our moment by moment reminder of how fragile life really is. 

   Marty, my husband, and I had learned to expect the unexpected. It seemed we had anticipated the bad, and braced ourselves for it. We had lost our focus. The challenges of life so overwhelmed us that we weren't seeing the blessings God provided us daily. 

   As a family, we were reading of God's faithfulness to David, Joseph, and Moses. 

   "Why can't we read about God's faithfulness to us, the Mitchells?" our children asked. At a loss for words, I looked to my husband. 

   After a long moment of silence he said, "We can and we will. Jenna, you go get the special note card out of Daddy's drawer in the study. Jason, you go get the box of crayons and markers."

   The children hurried off, full of excitement. Daddy had an idea, and they couldn't wait to hear it. I sat pondering, wondering what my "non-seminarian" husband might be thinking.

    When my children returned we all sat Indian-style on the family room floor. Everyone sat quietly, all eyes on Daddy as he began to speak:

   "There are times in our lives that we don't always see God's blessings right away. Sometimes they are disguised, and the things we once thought of as bad, or scary, turn into a wonderful blessing. Think of the caterpillar. He isn't very pretty. And I wonder if Mr. Caterpillar screams, 'Let me out of here! I  can't breathe!' But then one day, just at the right time, we see something happening. We see God's plan, the miracle of a beautiful butterfly."

   Reaching for the note cars that Jenna clutched tightly in her hands, Marty continued. "Tonight, we're going to think back and remember how God has taken care of us and blessed our family over the past few years. Then we are going to write these blessings on my special note cards." 

   "But Daddy, we can't write words," Jason said.

   "We couldn't read them even if we wrote them!" Jenna chimed in.

   "You're right," Daddy replied. "But you can draw." 

   For the next half-hour our family remembered, drew, laughed, and even shed a few tears as we recorded God's faithfulness to the Mitchells. After tucking the children into bed and saying goodnight to Marty, I went out to the garage, dug around a cluttered shelf and found an old dusty pickle jar. I found an old set of puffy-paint I'd purchased months ago when the children painted t-shirts. On the side of the old jar, I painted, "Our Blessing Jar." I gathered the note cards, folded them in half, and dropped each one into the jar. Finding a colorful ribbon, I tied it into a bow around the lid as if it were a present, leaving it as the centerpiece on the kitchen table. Before I finally went to bed, I placed another stack of Daddy's special note cards alongside the jar.

   The next morning the children found their way to the breakfast table. "What's this?" they said while opening the lid.

   "Its our blessings. We have a Blessing Jar."

   "Let's see how many blessings we can think of today!"

Jenna shouted with excitement.

   "You know, Daddy says that God is the one who gives the blessing. We just need to keep track of them," Jason reported.

   And for the past ten years we have. Our children now read for themselves their stories of God's faithfulness to David, Joseph and Moses. They have learned to trust when they can't see past their cocoons. Tonight I added another blessing to the Mitchell family's Blessing Jar. 

   "Lord," I wrote." Thanks for the nights when all seemed dark, when challenges knocked on our door like a regular visitor. Thanks for the special note cards and crayons. And thanks for giving us a way to read about Your faithfulness to the Mitchells!"

This really made me think about the blessings in my life. It is true, through every hard time, every rough day, ever challenge that the Lord gives us, there is a blessing!

Uniformed Angels

The Prayer of A Soldier

Lord, I ask for courage.
Courage to face and
Conquer my own fears...
Courage to take me where
Others will not go.

I ask for strength...
Strength of body to protect others...
I ask for dedication...
Dedication to my job, to do it well...
Dedication to my country,
To keep it safe.

Give me, Lord, concern...
For those who trust me
And compassion for those
Who need me, and Please Lord...
Through it all be at my side.

My Love

Because we love them, we do all that we can to make their lives better. Our soldiers mean the world to us. I know that I will do anything in my power to make this deployment just a little bit better for my husband.  I would hope that the families and friends of all the soldiers take care of them while they are deployed with letters and packages, phone calls and Skype conversations. It brings tears to my eyes to know that this isn't the situation though. There are some soldiers over seas who have never received a letter. That is about to change! 

 

The Silent Ranks
By This Website

I wear no uniforms, no blues or whites,
But I am in the Army cause I am his wife.
I'm in the ranks that are rarely seen,
I have no rank upon my shoulders.
Salutes I do not give.
But the military world is the place where I live.
I'm not in the chain of command, Orders I do not get.
But my husband is the one who does, this I can not forget.
I'm not the one who fires the weapon, who puts my life on the line.
But my job is just as tough. I'm the one who's left behind.
My husband is a patriot, a brave and prideful man.
And the call to serve his country not all can understand.
Behind the lines I see the things needed to keep this country free.
My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do our kids and me.
I love the man I married. Soldiering is his life.
But I stand among the silent ranks known as the Army Wife.

This is for all of the spouses out there of someone in the military. Military husbands are hardly ever mentioned or given credit. But they are out there, and they endure the same thing that military wives do! Thank you all for supporting the troops!!! 

A Soldier

There is discipline in A Soldier

you can see it when he walks,

There is honor in A Soldier

you hear it when he talks.

There is courage in A Soldier

you can see it in his eyes,

There is loyalty in A Soldier,

that he will not compromise.

There is something in A Soldier,

that makes him stand apart,

There is strength in A Soldier

that beats from his heart.

A Soldier isn't a title any man 

can be hired to do.

A Soldier is the soul of that man

buried deep inside of you.

A Soldier's job isn't finished after 

an 8 hour day or a 40 hour week,

A Soldier is always A Soldier 

even when he sleeps.

A Soldier serves his country first

and his life is left behind,

A Soldier has to sacrifice what

comes first in a civilian's mind.

If you are a civilian- 

I am saying this to you....

next time you see A Soldier

remember what they do/.

A Soldier is the reason our land

is "Home of the free", 

A Soldier is the one that is brave

protecting you and me.

If you are A Soldier-

I am saying this to you....

Thank God for EVERY SOLDIER

Thank God for what YOU do!

-Angela Goodwin

Alpha and Omega

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" Revelations 1:8

This book of the Bible is the Revelations of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his servant, John. The book is the unveiling of the coming of Jesus Christ, and the unveiling of the plan of God for the world and especially the servants, the Church. The book describes what goes on "behind the scenes", in heaven. This book reveals that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, which means the beginning and the ending. He created the world and everything in it, and he will be the one who takes that away, who brings the end.

As you read the first Chapter of Revelations, you will begin to see what the Lord has planned. In Revelations 1:19, it reads, "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;" The judgement day is coming. Are you forgiven? The Lord died on the cross for my sins and yours. If you don't know the answer to this question, see my post called Romans Road. God Bless.

Grace

Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. - Ephesians 6:24

  What do you have that lasts forever? Not much unless it is connected to the Lord Jesus Christ. So many things we love and pursue are hollow, fleeting, shallow, and vain. But grace comes, grace stays, and grace lives with those whose love is the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither time nor the grave can strip away our grace in him when he is our Lord and he is our love. 

"God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that can be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish one from the other."  

From the Whale's Belly

When you are down with no place to go, 

Look to the Lord,

He will direct you where to go. 

When your path is split,

and there is a fork in the road,

Look to the Lord, 

He will direct you where to go.

In the good times,

and in the bad,

The Lord is waiting for you,

Call out his name. 

Pray for forgiveness. 

Pray for salvation. 

The Lord is listening,

He will direct you where to go.

The whole theme of the book of Jonah is salvation. In Jonah 2:9, it says "But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay [that] that I have vowed. Salvation [is] of the LORD." In Jonah's hardest, trying times, He calls for the Lord. This is a great example of what we should do in our every day life. We should fear the Lord more than we fear the sea. That is what the sailors are taught to do in this book of the Bible. The sea represents sin and earthly things. The sailors prayer in 1:14 and their sacrifices in 1:16 show a changed heart. Not only this, but they were also physically saved from the sea in 1:15. 

If you have some free time, read through the book of Jonah. It is commonly called the "Book of God." It has several great life lessons. Just remember, in the hard times of life, God has a plan for each and every one of us. There is a lesson to be learned, and no matter what, the Lord will never leave you or forsake you. He has promised us that in saying, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." -Hebrews 13:5

Patience a Virtue?

Have you ever prayed for God to give you patience about a certain situation? I have always said, "I quit praying for the Lord to teach me how to be patient because He just keeps giving me situations to be patient about." But, isn't that what life is all about. We should pray for the Lord to make us and mold us into the person that we ought to be. When I am lacking in patience, I should confine in the Lord.

The Army, or military in general definitely requires some patience. Not only from the soldiers, but from their families as well. There are going to be times when you have no idea what is going on. Times when you haven't heard from your soldier because he is out in the field. OR just the opposite, you, the soldier hasn't been able to call home because you are in the field, or on a mission, or just busy with work. Times when you are waiting for your orders and it seems like the military are dragging their feet! Times when you are waiting for a letter, email, or phone call. As a matter of fact, I've learned that it is that way with just about any thing that has to do with the military.

The Lord gives us tasks to keep us busy while we are waiting on those simple things. We can get impatient about it, or we can learn to see the blessings in those tasks. For me personally, it is school that keeps me busy. School, friends, and family. Slowly I am developing those patience skills, and I thank the Lord for giving me tasks to be patient about!