Where Is My Wallet?

"HONEY....Where's my wallet?" My husband was turning the house upside down looking for the missing wallet and we were under pressure to find it. He had to leave for work and back in the day, there was no such thing as flex time so the clock was ticking. Our house went from moderately destroyed to total destruction in a matter of minutes, but despite our best efforts, we could NOT find the wallet.

I had a sudden brainstorm. There was a young man in our house who loved to hide things and if I was correct, HE knew where the wallet was. The only problem was that this pack rat was a very young toddler and his communication skills were sketchy at best.

Bending down to eye level, I looked at Evan and asked, "Do you know where Daddy's wallet is?" He looked at me, his finger stuck in his mouth, but he said nothing. I KNEW there was a connection, so I tried again but with different words. "Evan, do you know where the brown thing is that folds up? When you unfold it, you see money?" Ding Ding Ding Ding!!! The light of understanding came on in Evan's eyes and his little face brightened. Immediately he ran off and I followed him up to our bedroom. He got down on his knees and reached way back under the dresser and found.....THE WALLET right where he had hidden it the evening before. He was so excited to be able to help and my husband, shaking his head in wonder and exasperation, hopped in the car and zoomed off to work.

What have you been looking for this morning? Significance? Love? Security or the need to feel you are precious to someone? We may not, like my little Evan, be able to put it into words, but I know this. You are loved, you are important and you are precious to the Lord. He has His hand on you and with Him you can begin to let go of that "lost" feeling and have the joy of being "found". Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.

Now, if you're looking for your wallet or your car keys...make sure to check under the dresser!

I Love, Love Sunday with Family


Most Sundays after worship we gather somewhere as family. This week we met as family to share, food, our week and laughter. There is always something going on at our house on Sunday as the family meets for noon day meal. The house is filled with noise, confusion, laughter and questions like, “Aren’t you going to put the football game on?”

There can be two noon prayers of blessings depending on if the grand children and their friends eat at the adult table (dining room manners)or kitchen table (with school lunch manners).

This Sunday seemed to be no exception except……
After the meal, as the adults were enjoying quiet conversation and the kids were scattered throughout the house, the laughter started. I could hear in the background several feet headed to the upstairs. I never know what will happen next, but the sound of feet returning accompanied by noise indicated that the latest escapade was about to be presented.

As the first grand children were born I began to go the thrift shops to collect clothing for the dress up box. Oh, and by the way, after-Halloween sales are also great. The girls had enjoyed this box for years and sometimes they could convince the younger boys to cooperate with them in this fun fantasy. We are now down to one pre-schooler, so I was about to get rid of said box. But, it was discovered again.

One of the teens and her friend who had joined us for Sunday lunch came down in the best dress-up ever. It was a 1950-60 white strapless formal dress complete with yards of white netting, sequins, etc., and a strapless blue mermaid dress. We had a good laugh at their craziness. The comment was made by one of the girls, “Wow no one could get near you in this!” I guess she had heard some of the lessons on purity in Connect on Sunday morning for teens. Cries of not fair…I want to….led to a promise to the pre-schooler that next time they would find something cool for him to wear - with a sword of course. Then they were off again to……you don’t even want to know!

I love Sunday with family. Eccl. 3:4 a time to weep and a time to laugh…

Tuesday Afternoon Adventure...

“Two are better than one….A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9, 12b

She and I met this past summer. We were in a small group that met for several weeks. Then we all kind of went our separate ways, but I felt a special bond with these women. We had shared personal issues during our discussion times, and I felt I could trust them. I sent them a personal prayer request via email, and she answered right away – “God has shown you to me (and thereby me to you).” And thus, she and I decided to do things together – take day trips, play card games and board games, etc.

Our first “together time” was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. We would drive west on I-66 and take in the beauty of the fall colors in the mountains. When I had told my husband of our planned afternoon drive, he had said, “If you end up near Middletown, stop at the Route 11 Potato Chip Factory and pick up a couple of cases of potato chips.”

So, around 1:30 p.m., she and I headed toward the potato chip factory, chatting and getting to know one another, and taking in the spectacular colors of the leaves as we drove. Arriving in Middletown, we discovered that the factory was no longer there. A local gentleman said that the factory had moved to Woodstock, VA. So, on we drove down Route 11 toward Woodstock. In Woodstock, we were told that the factory was actually in Mt. Jackson, about 10 miles farther south. We were advised to take I-81 because we would be able to see the potato chip factory from the interstate.

We traveled about a mile on I-81 – and heard an awful sound! A tire on her car had blown out!! She pulled over to the shoulder, where we took out the jack and spare tire and flagged down a pickup truck with two older gentlemen in it. They seemed pleased to be able to help us – until they (and we) realized that her tires had wheel locks on them and we could not find the tool necessary to remove the wheel lock. She called her insurance company, through which she has roadside assistance. The men left and we waited (fortunately, only about 20 minutes) for a tow truck.

The young man driving the tow truck tried valiantly to remove that wheel. He finally said, “I’m gonna have to tow the car to our shop. We should have the necessary tools to get it off there.” About half an hour after we arrived at the service station, the old, blown-out tire had been removed and the spare installed. By now, though, it was after 6:00 p.m. We knew the potato chip factory would be closed, so we headed back home – after stopping in Woodstock for a quick bite to eat!

While having a flat tire and sitting on the shoulder of an interstate for 2 hours was not what we had planned, the time there gave she and I an opportunity to chat and to be grateful: We were grateful that neither of us was alone when the tire blew out, we were grateful for the two kind gentlemen who took pity on us helpless women and tried their best to help us, we were grateful for the nice tow truck driver who assisted us, and we were grateful that the service station was eventually able to get us back on the road. And she was grateful that the entire ordeal only cost $35! Mostly, though we were grateful that God was with us through the whole afternoon! (He is the third strand in the cord that is mentioned in Ecclesiastes!)

E-mail, Texting and Faith.

Recent text….”Auntie, it’s time for Ray to put in requests for next assignment. Will you pray with us for God’s timing and place?”

Sara is my niece and her husband is in the Navy and is currently on assignment in Djibouti, Africa.

Sara and I have been texting and e-mailing for more than five years. She keeps me posted on the good and the not so good in her life. We have lots in common despite the age difference. We not only share our faith but the life of a military wife. (Me retired Army wife)

Let me go back a few months to July as Ray was deploying.

E-mail…all is well here. I feel good, so long as I can keep my “spirit” up everything is a piece of cake. I got a call from Ray at the airport 4 hrs. after we had dropped him off to come pick him up! Sophia and I were ecstatic to say the least, didn’t matter we would be doing the farewells all over again. Ray was home long enough to read Sophia one more bedtime story, hold Elias (2 weeks old) once more, and get a good night’s rest then he would head off again on Monday.”

Ray had previously spent the last 6 months with long hours in training or weeks away from family. So goes the life of a Navy wife.

E-mail ….from Sara (several weeks later) ”Sophia is sick, her little heart is broken each time I so nicely try to tell her she cannot touch or kiss Elias (he is just a month old) right now. I feel so bad for her. She seems a little depressed as she is asking for Ray and wants to see him at work….this is all for a reason that I have no control over. This too shall pass.”

More desperate e-mails and texting…..”Elias is sick…high temperature…spinal tap…he is so little….pray…..overnight at the hospital with Sophia and Elias. Told I can no longer stay with both of them. No one to leave Sophia with…..prayer please….sister Kari will fly in to help out. Thank you Lord for all blessings.”

Text... I ask Sara to tell me what she is thinking about God’s plan for their life and what she does to remain strong in faith.

Sara’s reply… “what I do to remain strong in faith: This is especially difficult for me right now as I do not have much of a faith based support network here or a church home. (They had just moved from Washington State to Virginia and then a second move to a different house). But I can improvise and have done so by seeking out friendships that encourage Christian fellowship and who love the Lord. Some friendships are very long standing where I tend to see that person more as a Christian mentor. Some friendships are new. All the friendships however are unique in their own way for me in my faith journey... prayer is another way I am with the Lord and when my heart is with Him I seem to falter less and praise Him more. Lastly, I look all around me. I am reminded everyday with the simple things….like God’s grace and His humorJ Our Lord is awesome in every way so I cannot help but be joyful. My joy for the Lord only reaffirms and encourages my faith.”

I then asked Sara for any favorite scripture…..

Her reply: “all of the Psalms, but let’s go with Psalm 139:13-16. I have interpreted this in many ways depending on the time in my life. All the same though…..I am of and from the Lord. He knows every fiber of my being, where I have been and where I will be. I need to trust in the Lord. Follow His lead.”

“Psalm 91:1,2 this is a daily reminder for me in so many ways that I am with the Lord and He with me, at every moment. I tend to lose track of that and often, with life happenings, schedules and daily routines…..that really are not all that important for eternity. My most important relationship of all, with the Lord is not always made that important. This psalm is posted on our stairway wall so that we can see it every day, right in front of us a simple reminder.”

“Psalm 24:1 everything is the Lord’s ….we are in a way borrowing it, like my husband, my beautiful children, everything are all His. If I hurt my husband with words, I hurt the Lord. Etc…”

Please keep this family and all military families in your daily prayers. Many, like Ray, have had bounties placed on their heads, to capture or kill them as they serve in foreign countries. Recently he has served 2 tours Iraq and one Afghanistan.
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Ray and Sara have been married 12 yrs. and they like many have spent more time apart than together. Missed birthdays, anniversaries and holidays.

Thanks to Sara for being so willing to be so transparent and share her faith with you who read the GLCC blog.

A Day of Fasting....and a Pot Roast

I'm trying to get a grip on my day and decided to throw a roast in the crock pot while I do some much needed cleaning. It's so nice to have the meal ready and the house smells delicious all day. The smell has reminded me of a funny little story about temptation.

I grew up in a small town, went to a small church, and when we planned to hold a revival and host a visiting preacher, my parents volunteered a room in our house. By that time, the larger rooms at the front of the house were in use by the family, and the guest room was the cozy little hideout at the top of the kitchen stairs. Mom fixed it up as nicely as she could and when the pastor arrived, he was pleased and said so. The location soon proved to be problematic in a way we'd never even imagined.

Preacher Man's practice was to spend the first day of the revival in fasting and prayer and informed my mother that she had no need to prepare anything for him all day long. He'd have some water, but that was it. Mom agreed and thought having guests couldn't get any easier. She did have to feed the rest of us though, so put a roast in the crock pot and went off to work.

Well, the day progressed and the smell began to waft up the stairs from the kitchen, directly into the little room being occupied by Preacher Man. He was on his knees, fervently praying or trying to pray and boy, was he hungry. Temptation....in the form of succulent roasting beef....was literally knocking at his door, but he didn't give in. He later told my parents it was the longest day of his life, and when he finally ate with the family, we all had to chuckle.

In talking to a friend yesterday, we commented how easily we are distracted from the very things we have decided to complete, whether it be cleaning the house, paying the bills, or spending quiet time with the Lord. I'm reminded how Preacher Man had temptation knock yet he ignored it and went on with his work. While my roast scents up my home today, I'm going to do those things I've set out to do and enjoy a meal and completed projects tonight.

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

Upcoming Events for Women at GLCC

Walking With the Women of GLCC...Part 2. Come join us on November 20th for a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving bag lunch and a walk at Bristoe Battlefield. Close to church, easy hike, finished by a visit to Pam Layton's barn (right by the battlefield) to see the horses and have gingerbread and cider. Good times and good fellowship. Meet after the 2nd service.

Save the date....December 9th....for the Women's Ministry Jingle Mingle. Look for more information coming soon on what promises to be a fun filled night.

Blessings in Disguise

"If God brings you to it, he'll bring you through it." This quote is one of the things I have clung through this year. This has been an amazing year of blessings from God in my life. When my husband left, I quickly learned how much I really do on my own. Shortly after this change in our lives, I followed God's call to go on a mission and went to Honduras where I was blessed so much I don't know where to begin. He has brought people in and out of my life. For the few who left, in most cases, I understand why God removed them for now. As for all the wonderful people he has placed in my path, God continues to amaze me with his blessings through them.

I have learned so much this year. Things like how much God wants a relationship with me, what it really means to be a Christian, how to really forgive others and myself, how to trust the holy spirit, and God has shown me repeatedly how He provides.

Now I am not saying God made this year has been easy for me. There have been many events and situations that have been troubling and hard. But the biggest blessing is I have learned how to lean into the Lord and rely on his strength to pull me through.

Another thing I have clung to is the song "Blessings" by Laura Story. It is the song I have chosen to sign for the Deaf Concert this Saturday, November 4th. This song serves as a reminder to me that God knows the big picture and everyone's purpose in it. He is using all the trials and blessings to prepare us for what is to come. So remember, even though it is a tough time, lean into God, He is most likely sending you a blessing in disguise.