Homes for Our Troops

Last night Jon and I met a man who is a plumber with Homes for Our Troops. This is a group of homebuilders who build new homes (or upgrade existing ones) that are handicap accessible for troops who return home in wheelchairs or otherwise impaired. It seems like a great program- I never would have even thought of that need!!

Kids' Church

I began a new ministry today. Well... the ministry isn't new... I'm just new to it.

Anyway, I'm helping out with Kids'Church at Ft. Stewart.

With so many of the chaplains deployed, these ministries are severely lacking in volunteers... and with the surge and accelerated deployments, it is all happening quite quickly... as in... last week.

There are about 80 kids Kg-5th grade who come on a Sunday morning- this is one of those ministries that is all the chapels on post, plus unchurched kids that the bus picks up or whose parents drop them off. In that way, it's more like an AWANA program than a Children's Church. It only lasts about an hour, though, so there's barely enough time to realize what's going on before it's over! This morning they took a count of how many kids have a parent deployed right now- about 75% of them do. As you can see, it's vital that we keep reaching out to these families right now.

There is actually a possibility that I could be hired as a contract worker for the children's ministry. There's a bit of a process that has to happen, but it would allow me full reign of the ministry- and get paid for it!! From what I know of the position so far, it seems perfect for me! I won't know anything for a few weeks, but it looks promising!

Since the gospel service continues well after Kids' Church, I was able to go and be with Jon for the last half hour or so of the service. And... I didn't have the urge to cry AT ALL! Improvement... (funny sidenote... I was talking to one of the other KC volunteers who attends the gospel service, and she comes from an Anglican background- she said she was entirely caught off guard her first time!)

Anyway... I'll keep y'all posted... happy Sunday!

amazing grace?

we saw it tonight. today was the opening day of the amazing grace movie. my parents went to see it earlier in the day and had given it good reviews, so i was quite excited. i won't comment on the movie for now except to say that you should go see it! Christian cliches were kept to a small minimum... and after googling them when i came home, i realized that john newton (who spoke them in the movie) actually originally penned them!

that is all i shall say on the movie... for now...

no, coming home at close to one in the morning, there is something else pressing on my mind: the woman who sat next to me at the theater. she was the epitomy of what you don't want the person sitting next to you to be! She talked through the entire thing... it seemed like every thought she had she vocalized. any moderately emotional part, she responded with "mmm... how cool..." or "that is so cute" or "good for him!" or "that's just great"- it drove me crazy. i digress.

the point is that, between the previews and the movie, a coke commercial celebrating black history was shown. this woman, the SAME one who sang the praises of william wilberforce and the abolitionist movement, she said during this commercial, and i quote, "blah blah blah."

BLAH BLAH BLAH?? you're at a movie celebrating abolition of slavery and you "blah blah blah" the black history commercial?

so what... we should abolish slavery but supress the race after that? we should avoid any contribution they have made? it's a 30 second coke commercial... you are bored with history after 30 seconds? you glorify the "amazing grace" of God (and rightly so), yet you are unwilling to extend his grace in your own life by recognizing what a particular race has accomplished?

blech.

if there was anything i could have changed about the movie, it would have been that woman.

i am so stinkin high-tech.

here it is, folks...

getting annoyed with trying to remember to stop by?

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all you do is enter your email address in the top right column of this page, and you will get an email notification every time i post. no more wondering when in the world i'm going to post or if it's worth your time to check.

happy subscribing!

just in case you were wondering...

tomorrow's expected high here in hinesville is 78 degrees.

armyspeak

i have realized that, in spite of my valiant efforts to make what i say make sense to civilians, there are some things that need to be explained. keep in mind that everything i'm about to say brings with it about 5 other things that should be explained, and if you have military experience, you'll look at this and will want to add several exceptions and specifications- this is not an exhaustive explanation, but hopefully it will help this life we now lead make more sense for most of you!

each installation (for our sake, an installation is a fort- like fort stewart- it is the geographical location) has a chaplain that stays there and runs the chapel ministries at the installation. each brigade has a chaplain, and each battalion has a chaplain. there are typically several battalions in a brigade. in the active duty world, the first several years of your career are spent as a battalion chaplain. (this is what jon was in iraq and will be after this year of being a trainer.) battalion chaplains serve their unit (battalion) AND usually a post chapel.

ft. stewart currently has 5 post chapels. these are basically church buildings and are run similar to a large church that has different campuses across town. each faith group (protestant, catholic, islam, wiccan, etc) has access to these chapels. for example, at ft. stewart, there is catholic mass; protestant traditional, contemporary, liturgical, and gospel; as well as other meetings for varying faith groups.

when we say that jon is the "associate pastor" at the gospel service, that is not his full-time job- he is still a chaplain trainer. however, he also has responsibilities at this church service. the gospel service has about 300 people who regularly attend and has its own small groups and ministries- just like any other church. the difference is that some of the ministries are post-wide- for example, the youth group is the post youth group- regardless of what service you go to on sunday morning (or if you go at all), the youth group meets at one of the chapels on sunday nights. ladies Bible study (pwoc), single soldier ministry, and kids' church are other examples of this.

i've also had the question- "what is the gospel service- aren't all services gospel?" a post gospel service is predominantly african-american; the music is the style of gospel music you may hear on the radio (NOT southern gospel, mind you!).

i hope that clears things up a bit!

comfort zone? what comfort zone?

i'm drained.

if you read my husband's blog, you know that he was assigned (and gladly accepted) the associate pastorate at the gospel service here on post. if you know anything about me, you know that i am not exactly "gospel service" material.

in my background, "expressive worship" means you smile. and... that's about it. during songs, you probably fell into one of four categories:
1) stood there and looked grumpy
2) stood there and looked pleasant, sometimes mouthing the words
3) sang (most people were in this category)
4) smiled while you sang
those in the fourth category were the charismatic expressive folks. they may have even raised their hands on occasion, but you brushed it off because, well, they came from a different background.

if you are like me, you also attended a service that ended by the designated time (either noon, or possibly 12:15) to allow for the lunch crowd to get to their favorite restaurant- and if you weren't out by that designated time, the pastor probably heard about it. you may have even had a burnt roast on those sundays because the longevity wasn't expected.

fast forward to february 18, 2007. picture me, with the afforementioned religo-cultural background (i may have made that word up), standing (even swaying sometimes!) in a service, a quite expressive (putting it mildly) service... for two and a half hours... suffice it to say it was a different experience.

i have to admit, i enjoyed it. the people were loving and friendly, welcoming us into their congregation with open arms. i am quite excited to get involved in the group and get to know these dear folks better. the senior pastor (a chaplain) and his wife seem like really neat people that we will benefit greatly from working with.

there were times during the service that i just wasn't quite sure what to do. each tradition of worship has its own mores and norms... and this was not my tradition. i'm sure that the more i attend there, the more comfortable i will become with it. in "prepping" me, jon had encouraged me to just do whatever i felt like doing, and not try to make myself be someone i wasn't. on the other hand, i didn't want to look disapproving (my resting facial position, i have been told, looks "mad" or "stern"). so, this morning, i decided to stretch myself... i smiled.

long, but worth it...

in honor of black history month, i thought we should take a moment to think of the slavery that still is happening worldwide.

there is a movie coming to theaters next friday called "amazing grace." it is a story of true events that led to abolition of slavery in england. i have been excited to see it ever since i first saw the trailer a month ago... i would encourage you to check out the amazing change campaign - it is a website dedicated to helping slaves- both literal and economical- worldwide. look around there to see some of the things that are happening globally.

yesterday at pwoc (the army wives' bible study i have been attending), there was a special speaker who worked in vietnam and northern thailand for several years as a missionary. one people group he talked about especially stuck out to me- the shan living between myanmar (burma) and thailand. this people group (300,000 in number) were forced from their villages in burma and told that they would be killed if they returned. however, thailand won't allow most of them into their country, either- most of them are literally living in the jungles between the guarded gates of both countries. children are often either abandoned or sold into slavery or prostitution (which are really synonomous...)

have you heard of the dalit? they are a people group whose name literally means "untouchables"- 250 million people who have been told by the upper castes of india that they are less than human. if even a dalit’s shadow falls on an upper caste person, that person is polluted according to caste rules. (that description comes from this website.)

if you want more information that any of these sites have, just do a google search- you will be amazed what you come up with.

if you are like me, you will look at this information and say, "so what? what in the world can i do about it? nothing." you know, in some ways i agree. i don't believe that signing a petition will honestly end slavery- it is a much deeper issue than american popular opinion. however, i do believe that we do the body of Christ good to be informed on these issues, to at least KNOW what is happening. to pray over these people groups. to do what we can to help the truly needy in our world.

keep in mind, too, that these people also have little to no Christian witness- some are persecuted horribly. we have brothers and sisters who are suffering in chains even today.

and honestly, i think that many churches and Christians- not wanting to be named among the social gospel movement- have gone too far in neglecting the physical needs of those around us. yes, you will get taken advantage of. yes, you may feel like it's just a drop in the bucket. is that what you would tell Christ? you didn't contribute to the food pantry because people take advantage of it? that you didn't give to a charity because you think it's probably some grand conspiracy to take your money?

maybe so. i know that i would rather err on the side of showing love. isn't that what Christianity is all about? helping the poor, the widows, the orphans... showing love to those who would never see it otherwise...

here are some practical suggestions if you'd like to get involved. this is just the tip of the iceburg. if you can't give, then pray. pray for these people to know Christ, and pray also that they would be free from the physical torment in which they are currently living.

World Vision
Samaritan's Purse (they have a cool catalog at christmas that you can actually buy "gifts" for someone in a third-world country- gifts like chickens, bibles, school supplies, a well, farming equipment, etc)
Amnesty International
Peace Gospel
Compassion International


if you know of other groups that focus on enslaved, displaced, or impoverished people groups, feel free to list it in the comments section.

where in the world is hinesville?

so for all you northerners who aren't really familiar with georgia geography, here is where we live. as you can see, it's near the tip of south carolina.

by the way, last night at 9:00 when i was driving home from class, the bank sign said it was 59 degrees. nice.

on this day in history...

a baby was born.

he would grow up to be an incredible man.

he would be thoughtful, sensitive, fun, and driven.

he would also be my husband.

happy birthday, darling!

(go over to chaplainfisher.com and tell him happy birthday!)

only in the military...

is the background "music" of your ladies' Bible study artillery and such going off at a nearby field, shaking the entire chapel...

(by the way, we can hear it booming loudly at our house- miles away...)

an open letter to customer service reps

if you are a customer service representative and you ever get me on the phone, please, i beg of you, do not call me "hun." or "sweetie." or any other term that makes me feel like an 8-year-old.

actually, unless you are my husband or a very close friend, please do not use any sort of term of endearment whatsoever. i am NOT endeared to you.

i may sound like a teenager on the phone (and look like one in person...), but i assure you that i am a grown adult.

i am not "playing wife." the account i'm calling about is real.

and especially, ESPECIALLY, if you can't give me any information because my husband's is the only name on the account, ESPECIALLY then i am NOT AT ALL endeared to you.

never mind the fact that i can spout off his social and date of birth faster than i can my own (when people ask me for mine, i have to think a minute- his comes to mind first these days).

unless you want me to start paying my bills with pretend money, please start treating me like an adult.

pwoc

i went to my first pwoc meeting today. pwoc is protestant women of the chapel- it's a national Bible study at military installations. i wasn't really sure what i expected, but it ended up being good.

it didn't start out so hot... i called the installation chaplain's office for directions for the specific chapel it was at. i got lost (long story) and arrived to the chapel 20 minutes late... only to see a sign on the door that today's meeting got moved to another chapel- one i am familiar with and is much closer to my house. i got there 30 minutes late... but apparently all i missed were songtime and announcements.

there were probably 35 women there, of all ages. everyone was incredibly friendly... actually, people were more friendly here than at any of the churches we've visited. the very nature of a military installation-based group is that there is CONSTANT turnover- every two to three years, everyone moves. so, unlike a church that has had people who have been there for the past 40+ years, anyone who has been there longer than about 6 months is an "oldtimer"- new people are the spice of life.

of these women, the overwhelming majority of them said good-bye to their husbands (most of them for the 3rd or 4th time since 9/11) just a couple weeks ago. the 3rd infantry division (located at ft. stewart) is in the process of deploying... unlike last year, I am the one who has a husband at home while everyone else is alone. it made me very thankful that we're together, yet at the same time, the feeling that one day very soon I will again be the one dealing with stateside life alone loomed in the back of my mind.

it is great to have a group like this, though, in those times. a group that laughs at the same "you know you're a military spouse if..." jokes, that cries just as much (if not more...) than you, a group that asks not what your husband does, but if he's in the country or not (because really, that's all that matters).

have a good day, and keep the troops in your prayers...

new house pics

here they are! the house is still a work in progress (especially the wallpapered kitchen...), but it looks great already. there's also a formal dining room and spare bedroom that i didn't deem it necessary to take pictures of. (the dining room is our next project, but right now still has cardboard boxes as the decor...)

enjoy!

(sorry for the double- the pictures are represented as text in my "edit" box, so I can't figure out what to delete!)

fixing the unbroken

i'm sitting in a motel room bored out of my mind.

okokok, so that may be a slight overstatement... but just barely. jon is at drill, and i am waiting for him. i briefly considered staying home this weekend, then i remembered what it was like the time i DIDN'T go with him...

anyway, this time on my hands prompted me to make a change to my blog. i attempted doing this a few months ago, but when the template changed, it did some crazy things to the site- it was like the new one was on top of the old one. i quickly changed back to the original and took it as a sign that i shouldn't try to fix something that isn't broken.

then, i went to josh's site... and realized that blogger beta is equipped with new template options- woohoo! (what? copying him? no. not at all.)

i'm not so sure i agree with that statement anyway- "if it's not broken, don't fix it." i think that just because something is still functional, that doesn't mean it can't get better.

and... with all of these new changes in life, i suppose my blog needs a lift too. (side note- i found the camera this week, and jon found the cord- pics soon I PROMISE!!) i have realized that i am, in many ways, a completely different person than i was two years ago...

two years ago next weekend (why do i remember these things?), jon gave me a ring. i was already starting to plan a wedding, calling friends and family to let them know the news!

i view life much differently now than i did then. two years of marriage- one spent with a spouse in a war- will do that to you. i have joined a new family, gotten to know my own in a different way, met new friends, and gone through things i never imagined. i'd like to think i'm much less critical and judgemental now. i feel that i am. i realize that if i expect people to accept me for who i am, i must in turn accept them for who they are- even if it is very different from me. i have learned to be much more gracious and much less harsh. i have realized that i don't know as much as i thought i did.

i hope you enjoy the new look...

mmmmm.... pudding....

here's another of my favorite things: cook 'n serve chocolate pudding.

i hadn't had it since i was a kid, and when i was at the commissary (military grocery store) the other day, it looked darn good.

and let me tell you, it was.

jon even crushed up hershey cookies in it for me!

if you have never experienced such a delectable treat, i suggest you get on it right away!

a change and an answer

first of all, suffice it to say i'm not president bush's biggest fan right now.

now that that's out of the way...

i have, once again, changed my educational mind. after looking into the degree programs columbia offers a little more thoroughly, i discovered that the teaching minor is only available at their home campus- in missouri (i thought it seemed a little too good to be true...). without that teaching certification, i'm not all about a degree in history... so... (drum roll please)... i am doing sociology. i have always been interested in it; i was just never sure what i could do with the degree. after looking through the program, i realized that i am much more drawn to it than to history. it's in a way a ministry degree through a secular worldview. it fascinates me. i brought the idea up to jon, who got more and more excited about it the longer we talked about it.

rhonda- since you asked, the bedroom is slate blue- two adjacent walls are a darker color, and the other two a slightly lighter color. i love it. the living room has an oak chair rail- white below, and a slightly-bluer-than-sage green above. the ceilings are vaulted in there. the study has a deep chocolate brown on three of the walls and a lighter brown on the other one. that room has a huge top to bottom window that lets in a lot of light, so the dark looks really nice. :-)

did you all see that lost is going to start coming on at 10 instead of 9? boo.

i will soon post pictures... have a good weekend!

from monday night

i felt like i could vomit.

the sky was starting to darken. it had been quite sunny today after a heavy rain last night. i have had increasing feelings of emotion about this evening- anticipation mixed with fear, doubt, and excitement. i walked into the building, not quite knowing which of those feelings was the strongest.

i have taken the plunge. four years since i waved good-bye to moody bible institute, i find myself enrolled in more college classes. this time, i’m attending columbia college, and will major in history with a minor in education.

so here i sit. the professor is talking about the city of ur (sidenote, i have jon’s laptop, which happens to contain an 80-slide power point of ur- i’m looking at pictures of what she’s drawing on the white board…)

now that i’m here, i feel much better. students in front of me are furiously writing every word the professor says. the woman in front of me is working out the cramp in her hand. that i can see, i’m the only one with a laptop. nice. i’m sitting in the back corner (close to an outlet) with no one next to me. there are probably 25 students, most military. some are adorned in ACUs, others just have the distinct haircut.

it is certainly and odd feeling, going back to school. I haven’t completed an assigned reading- let alone written a paper- in years…

i have now been in class for an hour and 45 minutes- only three hours and 15 minutes left (yes, for those of you who are math-impaired- that’s FIVE hours!)

this is going to be a long night…

to everything turn, turn, turn...

sorry i disappeared. i have been living in the dark gloomy world of no-internet-at-home.

yes, we're back. we moved. to a climate that demanded i actually turned my air conditioner on in the truck in january. yes. it's wonderful. (just don't talk to me come june...)

we ended our time at grace christian academy on a tuesday, closed on our house on wednesday, and headed to michigan on thursday. i enjoyed this trip much more than thanksgiving, for we could actually spend time with people instead of on the road back-and-forth! unfortunately, i got sick the night before we went to be with my family, and didn't get feeling better until the day we left... suffice it to say i was a bit foggy the whole time.

we got back into fayetteville late on friday, packed on saturday, and loaded the truck on sunday. thankfully, rocky and carolyn were there to help... and help us unload... and help us paint...

yes, the day after we moved in, we got the bedroom and living room (complete with vaulted ceilings and a chair rail) painted. we really couldn't have done it without rocky and carolyn. their experience and willingness to help went miles in getting us moved in and feeling at home.

we've now been here for a week. i start classes tonight- eek! haven't been to school in a while... this is weird... i'm taking western civ I at a local campus (from 5:30-10:30 pm) and western civ II online. fun fun.

that's as much of an update as i can cram into this post... i promise more interesting thoughts are to come!!

peace in the storm

december 23, 2001. five years ago today.

when i woke up that morning, i was in a hurry. it was a sunday, and i had decided late the night before to stay over at my friend sara's house, instead of trying to brave it home in the typical michigan blizzard. being that it was a sunday, i had to leave her house quite early in the morning to make it home to get ready in time for church.

the alarm sounded, i grabbed my sweatshirt and headed for the door. i stopped to get my keys from the counter, but they were not there. i must have left them in the car, i thought.

i headed out the door to a still-dark december morning. the chill in the air was biting, and i headed quickly for my car on the opposite side of the parking lot. i saw a man walking near my car, and thought to myself, now i have someone to say 'good morning' to! (what can i say, the spirit of christmas affects even me in the wee hours of the morning!)

what happened next will never leave my mind. it has greatly impacted my life over the last five years, and i am sure it will continue to. glimpses of that morning come back to me; i am aware of things i never was; i will never be the same person.

that man, that seemingly innocent man across the way, approached me. he made me get in my car, wanting me to drive somewhere... but i didn't have my keys. come to find out, in her habitual cleaning the night before, sara had moved them. God only knows what would have happened had she not done so. after he realized that, he took my wallet, and throughout the course of our 15-minute encounter, threatened to kill me several times. he then took me back behind the apartment building, where the morning only got worse. thankfully, he never touched me... physically anyway.

in the midst of what was going on, my cell phone fell out of my purse, and he didn't see it. after he left- again, threatening to kill me- i saw it there on the ground, and called sara for help. we called 911, and the police came... and didn't believe my story. no, instead, they spent the rest of the morning telling me that it's criminal to falsely report a crime. it didn't make sense, they maintained, that i could be at such peace after such a horrific event had happened to me. what they didn't understand was that i was not alone that morning- the Prince of Peace was with me the entire time. i was thankful that what could have happened didn't, but more than anything, i had the peace of Christ in me.

i don't say this to imply that it is inappropriate to ever react to circumstances, that the peace of God protects us from emotion. it certainly does not- God created us to be emotional creatures. but what it does mean is that, in the midst of the trials, in the midst of the emotions, we have been promised that Christ sent us a Comforter- and that the Holy Spirit indwells those who belong to him. He has promised us peace, not as the world gives- as only He can give.

i really don't know how to put that in more practical words. i don't know what "having God's peace" means to you, how it makes you feel, how it changes you. i don't know how to say it without sounding cliche. that is certainly not my intention.

but what i do know what i felt that morning. i know that, sitting outside, freezing cold, wondering if i would ever see my family again- that somehow, in some indescribable way, i felt at peace.

so this christmas, i pray for you to feel that peace. like i said, it may look differently in your life. whether it's a deployment, a debilitating disease, a family crisis, a traumatic event- i know that Jesus offers his peace, which passes our understanding.

merry christmas.