Mama's Little Bakery

Once again, it is my favorite day of the week!
And in celebration, here is a clip from my favorite television show:

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

What is in Your hand

Another devotional--

(click image for full text)

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Peace on Earth

Below is today's devotional for Justin. Enjoy!

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Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Psalm 55:22

Justin's Bible memory verse for this week!

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

-Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Week 5: Worry

Everyone knows the famous quote "a picture's worth a thousand words." If not, you live under a rock. Just kidding, but in all seriousness...photos have always been really special to me. They may not always perfectly capture the colors of a beautiful sunset, or an exploding firecracker, but they can help you remember those moments and the feelings you had as they were happening. Justin's aunt reminded me of that this week in her letter to Justin, comprised primarily of photos. Thank you, Ray, Tammy, Chad, and Drew for praying for Justin this week!

1000 words? I have 3: Tammy the Hippie

Much better! Tammy, Drew, Ray, & Chad

Also, since it's Sunday I have new sermon to share. Today's message is entitled "God's Love When You're Overwhelmed" and comes from one of mine and Justin's favorite pastors, Bruce Frank. He is a former pastor of our Houston church, and the current pastor of Biltmore Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina. Click the image below to view the sermon:

(Select week 2--God's Love When You're Overwhelmed)

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Port Visit 2: Bar, Montenegro

The Mitscher made it to Bar, Montenegro yesterday for its second port visit! From what I understand, Justin is staying in a hotel in Budva. I don't know much about his itinerary for the weekend yet, but I'll update again when I know more. In the mean time...check out this view!

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Bamboozled

It's Friday!

I always love Fridays. I get to catch up on things because it's my day off of work. I get to share clips from my favorite television show. And today, I get to celebrate another mini-victory!

ONE MONTH DOWN!
(six months to go)

Can you tell I like to look on the bright side? Anyway, here is my Friends clip for today:

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Bel Bows Down

Today's devotional:

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Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Driving in the Dark

Here is today's devotional, courtesy of Our Daily Bread. Enjoy!

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Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Jeremiah 29:11

This verse has been so important throughout our dating relationship and our marriage, and I know that it will continue to encourage and motivate Justin while he is away. Here's today's memory verse:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"
                                                                            -Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

 Fair winds and following seas!

Week 4: Peace in God's Plans

As I mentioned Wednesday, my iPad content for Justin will focus on "peace" during the month of June. Kicking off this study is another installment of The Met's fruit of the spirit series, The Vine Life, delivered by teaching pastor Lance Witt. Click the image below to hear the sermon:

(Select week 4--The Vine: Peace)

Justin also got to open another letter today. This was his first greeting card and it came from Greg and Sandi Brock. Greg is the teacher for the Faith Defenders, the small group class that my parents and Justin's parents both attend at The Met.

This sweet couple has always reminded us that we are in their prayers, and I have never felt their prayers more than when we first moved to Virginia. Plenty of people said they would pray for us during this next phase of our lives, but Greg and Sandi took that a step farther by sharing with my mother-in-law specifically how they were praying for us. 

Their openness helped make their prayers more tangible and gave me the idea to break Justin's deployment down into short, measurable windows during which families would commit to pray for us. It's easy to say "I'll pray for you," and equally easy to forget that commitment over a 7-month time period. By asking families to pray for Justin during one specific week of his deployment, I hoped to cut down on forgetfulness and help him to know exactly who was praying for him, at any given moment.

Thank you, Greg and Sandi, for your love, prayers, and inspiration! We appreciate you both so much!!

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Port Visit 1: Durres, Albania

Justin hit his first port yesterday! The ship is docked in Durres, Albania but many of the officers have opted to stay in a hotel about an hour away in the city of Tirana.

Here are a few pictures he shared with me:

view from hotel (1)

view from hotel (2)

hotel (1)

hotel (2)

But the best part about port visits is that I get to VIDEO CHAT with my hubby!

Gotta love Skype!!

I'll (hopefully) post a more detailed description of his weekend in Albania once he's back on the ship.

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Celebration

Hope everyone enjoys this week's clip from FRIENDS! It's one of my favorites.

Okay, so they're all my favorites. I can't help it, I love this show.

Did you notice Jennifer Aniston trying to cover her actual laugh? Hilarious.

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Temporary...

Today's devotional:

(click image for full text)

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

JUNE: Peace

Well, we've reached another landmark--May is over! I'm happy to report that time has been passing quickly on my end, and thus far I'm receiving similar reports from "over there". Praise the Lord!

June is finally here, which means the beginning of a new focus for Justin's time away. If you missed the explanation of these "themes" you can find out more about them here. This month we will be concentrating on "peace" although that study won't officially begin until Sunday. Needless to say, I'm excited! 

I also thought I'd share a photo Justin sent me from his "Steel Beach Picnic" this past weekend. To preemptively answer the questions I know will follow the previous sentence--

Steel beach picnics are a tradition in the United States Navy. They are often department-sponsored barbecues held on the deck of the ship, hence the name "steel beach". Often held on the flight deck or in a large hangar bay for carriers, much like a day at the beach with volleyball and other sporting events

Thanks wikipedia, that's such a better explanation than I would have given!

My hunny's a grillin' machine!

So how did Justin get stuck grilling? Because he is the JORG ensign (pronounced: "George"), which means he has the privilege of executing all tasks tedious and trivial. This is one of the better ones, for sure! Again, a more detailed explanation:

The J.O.R.G. Ensign (Junior Officer Requiring Guidance) is the most junior officer in a naval command. The JORG is typically the collector and manager of the Wardroom Fund, a bank account funding miscellaneous incidentals to social functions as well as parting gifts or plaques for separating officers.

One of the other (implied) jobs of the JORG is to prank the XO (executive officer), the second-highest command position on the ship. It's worth mentioning that Justin is NOT the most junior officer aboard, and hasn't been for almost a year, but his XO just so happened to like him so much as the JORG that she promised him he could remain so for the duration of his time on this ship. Lucky him.

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie