Well life has been rather exciting around here.  Jacob has not been doing really well.  We have had a couple of rough weeks.  Around the first of the year, we found a church finally.  We are attending the local Salvation Army Corps.  Dennis, myself, my mom and our older two are participating in the Senior Soldier class, the preparation class to become members of the church.  The younger two are taking the Jr. Soldier class.  Both of them have made the commitment to become Jr. Soldiers - meaning they are becoming junior members of the church once they complete the course.

Two weeks ago, Dennis and I attended a couples' retreat for the Salvation Army.  It was such a blessing for us.  We learned a lot and truly were blessed by the experience.  We are investigating the potential of becoming officers in the Salvation Army.  We feel this is where the Lord is leading us.

Once a month we are serving lunch during the Corps' More than Bread program.  We have really enjoyed it.  The older three are involved in the Youth Group there.  Dennis and I are teaching an Adult Sunday School class together.  Dennis and the three boys have been invited to participate in their Men's Group.  I am participating in the Home League.  Rebecca and I are starting to learn the Timbrels (tambourines but very choregraphed and all).  Plus Rebecca plans on becoming part of their Mime group.  The Mime groups takes Christian songs and choregraphs movements to it.  We saw our first performance of it last Sunday.

We are waiting to hear what decision the Boy Scouts of America makes in May.  We will be leaving the organization if they change the standards for Boy Scouts.   The children are doing fantastic with Young Marines.  They are really enjoying themselves and really advancing.

Wednesday

     Well it is Wednesday - the middle of the week.  Jacob has a rough two weeks.  The pancreatic enzyme test came back normal, so I don't know where that means we go from here.  We go back to see the Pediatric GI doctor in April.  Hopefully, we will find out then what happens next.  It is just so frustrating to see him feeling miserable and not be able to do anything about it.

     Dennis and I are going to a couples' retreat this weekend.  I am really looking forward to getting away with no army or other things to distract us.  

    The four children have Young Marines on Saturday.  Hopefully, they will have a great day.  Jacob is in charge of the squad with the new recruits and he might get some new people this weekend.

Let. It. Go, Blog Hop for Week 5 - What-EVER

So we are now in Week 5 of the online Bible study - Let. It. Go. by Karen Ehman.  This week we looked at Soul Control and What-ever.  Soul Control means we give God sole control over our lives.  It certainly is not easy, but the rewards are tremendous.  Also, we talked about "What-ever".  

There are times when it is so easy to want what someone else has, does or looks like.  It is easy to get into a pattern of being discontent by looking others.  In these days of social media, television, and other advertising, we are bombarded with opportunities to compare our lives to others.  Often, I find myself wishing my life, my children or even my husband was like someone else.  But then God sends me a reality check.  God put me here for a reason and made me exactly as I am.  It is not for me to understand.  But I am to bloom where I am currently planted.  

This time last year, I was living in a different place under much different circumstances.  Fast forward a year, God moved our family a couple of hours from where we are living.  But I know now that God had a divine purpose for this move.  Just like He had a divine plan when He allowed our son 6 years ago to be put in a classroom with a teacher that made it impossible for us to leave our son in that situation.  This was the way He opened the door to us homeschooling.  The first year we just taught our oldest at home while our youngest got some teaching at home after preschool and her one day off a week.  That year we lived in military housing and our youngest three attended the local school on the installation.  But by the end of that year, we were moving off the installation and had decided to bring all the children home.  The road has often not been exactly what I wanted, but I have seen our family grow in ways I could not have imagined.  

Four years ago this past November, we moved from what had been home for over 16 years to me and all of my childrens' lives since birth.  We went from having an active homeschool group and a church that truly was family (all the members were related to my husband somehow - most were aunts, uncles and cousins, along with his parents and grandfather) to a new state with no real support system for homeschooling.  Yet our family blossomed and grew together.  Also, we eventually found a church that became our extended family.  It was at this new church that our oldest two accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and were baptized by their father with their grandparents and one of their aunts in the congregation (my husband's parents and his aunt came all the way from North Carolina).  Because we were faithful to what God would have us do, God blessed our efforts.  

Now we have moved again and had to find another church and find other new activities. Almost the moment my husband took command of his detachment, his unit was activated to go help with the Hurricane Sandy relief effort.  It was a difficult time for me.  We had no church, no family and no support system.  Our unit had no family readiness group to speak of and communication with my husband was spotty at best.  During those days, it was easy to doubt God's plan at times.  It was easy to compare my circumstances with others.  But instead, it brought me much closer to God along with becoming closer to my husband and children.   It was during those days I realized how much I needed to rely on God and Let. It. Go.  These have been my "What-ever" times.  God is faithful to those who are faithful to Him.  I know God does not make mistakes, so I just need to give Him control and realize "To everything there is purpose under Heaven".