Fabulous Army Life

Like so many of you, I have been touched by the word 'cancer' far too often.   My grandfather died of lung cancer when I was young, my mom is now (gratefully!) cancer-free,  my dad is bravely fighting through his long battle with colon cancer,  our closest Army friends are dealing with prostate cancer, my boss is undergoing chemotherapy for testicular cancer,  we lost a wonderful friend and Soldier to throat cancer,  a fabulous high school friend is a 4-year survivor of breast cancer, a college roommate's young son is battling cancer, an Army wife friend just completed reconstruction after beating breast cancer, another Army wife friend is now able to celebrate being breast cancer-free, a third Army wife friend was just diagnosed with breast cancer and begins her journey, and now my sister-in-law begins her journey to defeat breast cancer as well.   It's safe to say that I hate this awful disease.  I pray for its...

Dear Lord, As my children leave for school, I pray that you will keep them in your care. Send your Spirit to open their minds to all that is true and beautiful and good. Help them to see the gifts and talents you have given them and to use them well. Help them to grow in knowledge and wisdom. Help them to be kind to others and lead others be kind to them. Give their teachers patience and understanding and help them teach what is just and true. Send your angels to guide and guard my children and to keep them from all harm. Open their young hearts to your presence and enfold them in your peace and protection. Hold them in the palm of your hand and bring them home safely at day's end. Amen. Back to school is always a time of mixed emotions from my kids and from me ... excited for a new adventure, nervous about the unknown, sad to bid summer farewell, and relieved to get back into a routine, just to name a few.  This year, with Trey moving into Middle School (yikes!!) and Joshu...

Our church family praying for us before Nate's deployment began. I received the nicest note from a friend this morning.  She said she was praying for my husband and my family and asked what specific prayers she could lift up for us.  It was such a wonderful way to start my day and started me thinking of all the many prayers I have for my husband and our sons, and for our Soldiers and their Families. Safety and protection from harm are always first on my list for our Soldiers.  Patience and peace are top for our Families.  And for our children, I pray that they will have the resilient ability to find joy in all things.  It's not easy to wait for your Soldier to return, and even more difficult to find joy in that situation.  My sincere hope and prayer is that each Family is able to find the strength and faith to thrive in their current situation and find joy in the honor and courage that service to our country demands. How to do this?  I can ...