Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year.  It’s a time to come together with family and friends and be truly thankful for all that God has done in our lives.

In our materialistic society, it is easy to take things that we have for granted, such as our home, our vehicles, our family, and our health.

However, we quickly realize the importance of those things once they are gone!

Looking back over my life, I realize that I am one truly blessed individual.  Now of course there are some things that I would have preferred to go another way, but those things made me stronger, wiser, and an encouraging witness to those that may be struggling through the same thing. 

On this week of Thanksgiving, try not to focus so much on the Black Friday sales, but focus on being thankful.  Think about it, there are people in this world that would LOVE to trade places with you.

Even if things aren’t going your way right now, I bet you can still find something to be thankful for.  If you are struggling in this area, keep your head up.  Trouble don’t last always.  Cast your cares on God and He will work it out for your good.

I am going to spend some time with family this week and enjoy life. I encourage you to do the same.  I’ll be back with hot topics next week.

Be blessed and enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday!

What I'm Learning About Deployments

This deployment has been a journey to say the least. I am busier than I have ever been.  Everything relies and falls upon me.  I often find myself taking a backseat to the needs of the household and my son.  All of my pleasure and entertainment goals have gone by the wayside.

Having days upon days on end with no time for yourself can be frustrating and overwhelming.  I often find that my duties from the previous day are running over into the next day.  I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever catch up.

It’s no big wonder that I haven’t been blogging as much as I usually do. 

In the busyness of life during a deployment, I have learned that there are three things that I have to rely on to successfully make it through this.

• Rely on God – When I get overwhelmed, I have to take time and pray.  After prayer, I release myself to let God work things out.  I have to cast my burdens and cares on Him.  God doesn’t mind.  He wants me to bring my concerns to Him anyway.  Prayer and bible study has to be a daily activity.

• Rely on People – This is one that I never liked to do, but I have had to change my mindset on this.  There have been times when I had to call on friends to watch my son or just to talk whenever things get too crazy.  I have been blessed in that God has given me some awesome and reliable people to count on.

• Rely on Yourself – I’ve had to do many things during this deployment that I never had to do before.  I constantly tell myself that I can do all things through Christ.  He gives me strength and helps me to overcome.

So that’s my update.  The good thing is that this deployment is halfway over.  I just have to hold out for a little while longer…

This Week in Military News...

This week had a lot of things going on that were blogworthy.  A lot of them dealt with the military…too bad I was too busy to capitalize on it all.  So let’s just do a short recap.

I was excited to see the passing of the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act!  President Obama signed it on wednesday.  Click here to see the official White House statement.

This act will allow military spouses to claim the same state of residency as their husband or wife, which will eliminate a lot of headaches, such as filing taxes, driver’s license drama, voter registration, and more.  There are still some unanswered questions out there about the implementation of this bill, but I'm sure that everything will be ironed out soon.

Veterans Day was this past wednesday.  This day is very important.  It’s a day that we show appreciation to our troops, current and former.  It’s a day that we thank them for their service, for doing a lot of things that some of us wouldn’t do, or chose not to do.  It’s a day to be thankful for our freedom and to remember those that paid the ultimate price for that freedom.

Regardless of your politics, it’s important to support our troops.  They need to know that they have your support and that their sacrifices are not in vain.

To wrap this all up, I just have to go back to the tragedy at Ft. Hood.  Maj. Nidal Hassan remains hospitalized, but is in stable condition.  He will be tried in the military justice system and he is eligible for the death penalty. 

As heinous as his crime was, I don’t think that he should get the death penalty.  Why?  Because that’s probably what he wanted anyway.  To die after killing all of those innocent people.  It’s considered honorable to him to die, so why give him that satisfaction?

I think he should sit in jail for the rest of his life with no chance of parole.  That way, he can think about what he did.  But that’s just my five cents worth.  There's a lot more that I could say about this, but I'll save it for a later date.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Busy as a Bee

Hello Everyone!

I haven't forgotten about you and this blog.  I have a few deadlines that I have to meet that include a newsletter, a writing assignment, and getting continuing education credits for my recertification.

This is a busy week, but I do plan to write a blog post for later this week after all the craziness has subsided.

In the meantime, have a lovely week!

Fear of Deployment Gone Wrong at Ft. Hood

I was very saddened to hear about what happened at Ft. Hood yesterday. 

For those of you who don’t know, Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army Psychiatrist, went on a shooting rampage, killing 12 and injuring 31 people.  The shootings took place at the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center (where soldiers go to do final checks before deployments). 

(Ben Skylar / Getty Images)

It was first reported that Maj. Hasan was dead, but now, it has been revealed that Maj. Hasan is wounded, but alive in stable condition.

Sources report that Maj. Hasan was very upset and fearful about an upcoming deployment that he was scheduled for.

This story really hits home for me as a military spouse.  Deployments can be dangerous and some people never come back the same. 

I’m sure Maj. Hasan heard more than his share of deployment horror stories as a Psychiatrist. However, that does not justify killing and injuring dozens of people.

Please join with me in sending up prayers for the Ft. Hood community.  Pray that God will give peace and comfort to those that lost loved ones on American soil at the hands of one of their own.  Pray for a speedy recovery for those injured.  Pray for those that were there and saw the horror of everything that went on firsthand.

Question:
Do you think this situation will cause the military to reevaluate deployments and the strain it causes on our troops and their families?

Renewing My Vows...

I finally made the decision to go forward and not look back.  I recommitted myself to a very important vow that I once made…

I renewed my vows with the Wii Fit.

When my husband bought me the Wii Fit last Christmas, I was so excited and happy!!!

At first, I was very consistent with my dedication to exercising with the Wii Fit.  I actually lasted six weeks before slipping from my everyday devotion to the Wii.

Then life started happening.  I had company visit, I started doing a lot of writing (blogging, CWG assignments, online classes) and I was just “too busy” to remain devoted to the Wii Fit.

I decided to start back again with the Wii Fit when my husband deployed.  My goal was to get my BMI back in the normal range by the time he gets back.  But once again, more excuses came up as to why I couldn’t start right away.  And they all are valid reasons:

• I was out of town
• I had company in town
• I reinjured my back
• I had writing deadlines
• The list goes on and on

It eventually comes down to this:  I have to make time for things that are important in my life. 

Reflect with me on this quote:

Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.  ~Edward Stanley

I need to get in shape.  Besides, I’m a Public Health Educator and I know better.

My husband always tells me about how he is working out so he can look nice for me when he returns.  I have no valid excuse as to why I can’t do the same for him.

So yesterday, I got back on my Wii balance board with a lot of things on my mind:

• My health – I have to take care of God’s temple.
• My son – I want to model a healthy lifestyle for him.  He has to know that exercise is a good thing.
• My husband – He's a long distance runner and I want to be able to run with him someday.

After I finished my workout, I felt so good!  I actually lost two pounds from the last time  I signed on…a great motivator for me to get back on track.

Questions:

How do you make time for exercise?

If you have a Wii Fit:  what is your favorite exercise game?

Mom & Crying Toddler Kicked Off Plane?

While surfing the net, I found an interesting headline:

Southwest Kicks Mom, cranky kid off flight

Here is a quick summary of the article:

A mom and her toddler got kicked off a Southwest flight because the toddler kept screaming, "Go! Plane! Go!" and "I want Daddy!"

The plane hadn't taken off yet and was taxing to the runway when the crew decided to return to the gate and escort the mother and toddler off the flight.

The mom felt that the child would have calmed down once the plane took off, but the crew obviously thought otherwise.

Pamela Root, a stay-at-home mom, had to stay an extra night with her toddler and wants compensation for the extra diapers and portable crib.  She also wants a formal apology.

I have traveled with our two-year-old son multiple times and it's not the easiest thing in the world.  Everyone isn't blessed with perfect toddlers and sometimes, things happen that you can't 100% control, such as ear pain and fear.  Trust me...I know from personal experience.

Thank God I was never escorted off a flight!

To be honest, I feel for the mom.  I read the comments on the article and here is what most people are saying:

• She should be able to control her child.  
• She should have drugged the child.  
• She shouldn't have flown with the child if the child didn't know how to behave. 

I bet that the people saying this either have no kids, had toddlers 20-50 years ago and forgot what it was like, or were just plain insensitive.

These same people would probably be calling child protective services if she spanked the child or yelled at him.

We don't know what her situation was.  Her child could have had a mental disability or some other issue going on. We just don't know.

But I do know this: we should pray for this mom.  She definitely has her hands full...

Questions:

Was Southwest right for kicking this mom and her child off the flight?
What are your tips for calming a two year old down on a flight?