"Encouragement for those facing trials" | Pictures of the kids "Do you ever wonder...?" "Count your blessings" | What a sweet heart.... "Words of Wisdom" How Jennifer chose her screename..
Rob xxxxxx says THANK YOU to YOU! Dear Family and Friends, I wanted to send a thank you message to all of the folks who have supported our troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The encouragement from home and outspoken kindness has meant more to the soldiers over here than many of you will likely ever know. Myself and my fellow armed forces members have been well-trained, well-equipped, and more aptly prepared than our enemy; and it is in large part to the network of spouses, children, brothers/sisters, mothers, fathers, cousins, friends and co-workers whom we have endeavored to defend. We have also liberated an oppressed people who lacked the very basics of medical care, easy access to food and water, and the common civil liberties that we experience in daily life. | Celebrating our homecoming My Dh will be on his way home very soon and will be in our arms on Thursday as long as there are no transport delays! We are so excited we can hardly stand it! I am going to try to get to the spa before he gets home and try to get beautiful and then he gets 4wks off that we will spend reconnecting as a family! Our Move to TravisAFB is scehduled for October where Dh will finally be doing his dream job teaching at the residency there. I dread saying goodbye to our church, but know this is the Lord's will. THanks for all the support ladies and I will try to be back on more regularly as we try to get back to "normal" around here. Love Jennifer ***********************************
For 12 years Iraqi children and citizens suffered at the hand of a small group of narrow-minded, cruel men. The United States Military with our coalition forces have shown me personally: incredible bravery, selfless dedication to purpose, and a reverence for the higher value of human life and liberty God granted us all. I am incredibly proud to serve my country and my God in what I have seen FIRST-HAND as the removal of evil and wickedness from a desolate land. I am also remarkably humbled at the cost by which we have made this stand. I will never know the full sacrifice of many of my brothers and sisters-in-arms have paid. I have personally spoken with people who have lost their mother or father at home while they were deployed. Children have run away from home, Divorces have been filed, firstborn children have come into the world without daddy's guiding voice and comfort to his spouse. My heart aches at the sorrow I have seen among my comrades...But my soul soars at the faces of hope and the promise of a tomorrow that has been bought with the blood of 12 years of Iraqi martyrs and hundreds of United States soldiers. Please don't trivialize the contribution you have made to this victory. We fight for you. We fight because of you. We fight for the chance to give to the Iraqis what has been passed to us simply by our citizenship within the greatest nation on Earth. It rings true when I hear the words..."One Team...One Fight"...This is the Right thing to do. We have been gifted by God with the Ability to impact a planet in a way no other nation has EVER been able to. The responsibility is beyond comprehension. To appropriately intervene without overstepping our bounds is a delicate decision. But be assured; there was no second guessing here; there was no war for oil; there was NO DOUBT that we had a duty and an ability to help a people suffering beyond many of our comprehension levels. "To whom much is given, much is expected..." If you aren't familiar with that phrase; check your Bibles. I am proud of my performance in this war. I am more proud of my fellow soldiers. I am most proud of the way of life all of you represent to us. Thank you for your open support. Thank you for your letters and packages. Thank you for your prayers. We are well. We have worked hard. We will be home soon. In God's Love, Capt Robert xxxxxx, DO, United States Air Force Ground Combat Support Air Forces, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ps: When you hear that voice of dissent, that outward protestation from the people we meet everyday; remember God's love for each and everyone of us and just be comfortable in the knowledge we have done well. If you must respond; be kind; and simply remind them the very right to express their opinion that day has been bought by the blood of thousands; and then tell them "our soldiers say: your welcome."
Emma | Grant | Riley
Group Shot | lil' William
back top
Awesome post Jennifer gave us!! Do you ever wonder how/when did you get "here" I was thinking the other day after watching Grant read and do his math WOW, I have taught my child how to do these things. I look back to when I was in college and knew all the answers and was extremely outspoken against homeschooling, I look back 3 years and see me struggling with the commitment to go through with the conviction, I look back a year and see me looking for the easy path to take in homeschooling, and now here I am using a very eclectic curriculum and speaking out with confidence and knowledge to our families watching my children learn. I went from against homeschooling to having a heart to do it but fear that I was somehow suddenly unqualified to teach my child now that they were older to feeling really at peace and seeing the benefits. This truly is just an example of the many ways the Lord has changed my life over the last 9 years, building one Bible study on another, one friendship on another, continually walking through a storm to see HIS calm at the other end. When did I get here? I got here slowly one step after another walking with my Savior it just snuck up on me. back top
This post shows what a sweet heart Jennifer has: My heart is aching for all the families on Parentsoup.... I think families of Parentsoup have lost 8 children starting on Christmas day till now. My heart aches as the holidays wil never be the same for these families. I am looking at my children in a whole new light, but that cannot possibly be the lesson behind so much pain. I cried out to the Lord last night for these families and as I was praying for them not being able to even comprehend how much pain they must be in it hit me. Our Heavenly father also saw His child die under horrible circumstances, and He knows the pain of these families better than anyone and can offer the most comfort. So I pray that these families are able to see the face of the Lord during these horrible moments and that we are able to share His Word with them... 1/02 **************************************************** | Jennifer's words of wisdom Umm ok, about ministry callings, may I say a word? This is a topic I have read on and feel really convicted on. I believe we all have a calling that is affected by the season of ife we are in. I feel this is also echoed in titus proverbs and other places. I think we fall prey to society's ideas in this ministry area and forget that our first and foremost ministry would be to our family, husband children..... If we are not meeting those needs I think we have no buisness seeking ministry outside the home.
This is hard cause we get our accolades from the public ministries, but really it is the quiet ones that are most important. I recommend Woman of Splendor, A heart like His. I hope I do not start something on this party day. I just want everyone on this board to know that they are part of ministry, a life to life evangelism that takes place everyday and has a HUGE impact on everyone around them! The most important ministry you will ever have is your life and leading it in a manner that it reflects Christ to others. Your heart, your life, your home is your ministry that can show Christ to others in real life everyday ways that people need to see. 2/02 back top
Encouragement for those facing trials: [Ruglet and others facing trials....] Can I please share what the Lord has blessed me with during these last year: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so alos through Christ our comfort overflows...we know just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort...we are under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened to us that we might not rely on ourselves but on God..." From a study by Kay Arthur... "What is the most important thing anyone could ever see in you in the middle of a trial, stress, suffering, rejection? It is Jesus. His Life. He is seen and not you. He alone gets the glory...There is one reason, only one reason, that we experience these things: so that His life might be dramatically seen in our deathlike circumstances. Listen to His life giving words, *For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh*2 Corinthians 4:11" I have found comfort and purpose for the trials we are enduring right now. Believe me more than once they have been more than I could endure, but now I realize what glory I can give to my Lord by how I chose to go about these trials. Romans 8:36-39 speaks about how we are more than conquerors, we have a greater power within so we need not whine and complain about these things but try to have a heart for our Lord and be a light unto to the world during these walks in the desert. I cannot tell you the freedom I am now experiencing during the trials we are experiencing having the realization of their greater purpose. I still get crabby, but I am soon convicted to be joyful and to let these circumstances glorify the Lord and not my whining. I hope sharing this helps someone and does not sound pushy I really meant it as a blessing. Hugs Jennifer (who oops just yelled at the kids. See I am still working on this LOL) 2/02 back top
Count your blessings name them one by one! DH and I have had a week of adversity. The praise is that we are so happy we have been beaming and unable to contain ourselves. I honestly cannot even convey our emotions, they are supernatural surrounded by all this chaos. We have coined the term "happy chaos" this week. The Lord is with us and among us. I can only say this is a gift from God and an answer to prayer! Praise Him! Thank you for all the prayers! Hugs a smiley and ever so happy Jennifer | How did Jennifer choose her screename?... "Easily explained: Mom of G.rant R.iley E.mma W, illiam = momofgrew"
back top
page reconstructed and updated July 18, 2003