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

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

Memorial Day

For years I didn't know the meaning of Memorial Day. It was just the symbolic start of summer, characterized by good food, time with family, and a healthy dose of red, white, and blue. Throw in the a few men in uniform and some patriotic tunes for the Sunday church service and you had Memorial Day. 

Over the last few years, Memorial Day has taken on a different meaning for me. It's a reminder of the sacrifices that so many Americans have made for our country. It's a reminder of the values our country was founded upon. It's a reminder that those values, though debated today, are still worth defending. Lastly, and most importantly, it's a reminder that we are one nation, under God. 

Anyone looking for a less sappy explanation of Memorial Day can check out Wikipedia...the internet's most reliable resource (just ask your English teacher). As a military wife, those emotions just come with the territory. And the reality of my husband being deployed.

In honor of Memorial Day, I asked Justin's Uncle Dave and Aunt Desi to write his letter and pray for him this week. Dave was a military man himself and generously shared several special relics with us when Justin was commissioned as an officer. We love and appreciate you both (and Happy early Birthday, Aunt Des!)

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Week 2: Joy in Each Day

Since our anniversary dominated the weekend blog posts, I didn't get around to posting this but wanted to be sure and share. 

The first time Justin and I discussed who we wanted to marry us, we didn't come to any immediate answers. I've always been jealous of those couples that met in youth group and had their youth pastor, who had watched their relationship grow from the beginning, officiate at their wedding. Ironically, Justin and I did meet at our church's youth group, but we were just barely acquainted and both dated other people during high school. To further complicate the matter, youth pastors had come and gone throughout that time and we had no particular ties to any of them. While we struggled to choose an officiant, we both agreed on one thing--we didn't want it to be a complete stranger.

I don't remember who tossed out Robbie's name first, but I know it had crossed both of our minds. He was on staff at our church at the time and although he didn't know us well as a couple, we each knew him in some capacity. We also loved listening to Robbie preach and knew we could trust him to deliver a great message for our wedding, and he did not disappoint!

But more importantly than just being some figurehead in our ceremony, Robbie was our counselor.  I know some people may not understand or support the concept of pre-marital counseling, which is fine, but it was a non-negotiable point for Justin and me.  For us it just seemed backward--spending hundreds of hours planning a one-day event and virtually no time at all preparing for a life-long relationship? But that's reality for the majority of couples getting married today. 

Fast-fowarding to the present, it only made sense to me to ask Robbie to write Justin's letter for this week. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have encouraging and praying for my husband this week as we spend our first wedding anniversary apart than the person who helped us prepare our heads and hearts for our marriage. Thank you, Robbie, for your friendship and your investment in our relationship!

As I mentioned last week, the focus for this month is "joy". If you have no idea what I'm talking about please see my previous post here. Now imagine my surprise when I skimmed The Met's fruits of the spirit series to find another sermon for Justin and discovered that ROBBIE was the one who preached on joy! God really has a sense of humor sometimes. Click the image below to hear the sermon:

(Select week 3--The Vine: Joy)

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie

Week 1: Joy in the Lord

First, I would like to mention that it is May 15. While this may mean nothing to anyone else, it is very significant to our family because today marks the one-year anniversary of Justin's commissioning into the Navy as an officer and his promotion to active duty. What a year it's been! Most of the time it feels like it was just days ago.

To Justin--

I am so proud of you for all you have done and become in the last year! I've loved sharing this crazy military life with you and wouldn't change it if I could. It has certainly made our marriage stronger, as I know this deployment will. I look forward to the next three years of this adventure but am also so glad to say we are 1/4 of the way through this commitment!

I promised in yesterday's post that I would provide more details about Justin's iPad. Although each day is unique, the days of the week are the same. To clarify--every Sunday he will receive a sermon and a letter, but each one will be new. Now for a more detailed explanation:

1. The Sermons--I realized a few months ago that my sweet husband would have no form of church during the seven months he is deployed. I've had several people ask me about Chaplains so to preemptively answer this question--no, there is not a chaplain on his ship. How can that be? Because there is a chaplain for his entire strike group but he is on the USS George H W Bush (aircraft carrier). Without a longer explanation, no this does not help him any. So I have pulled sermons from some of my favorite pastors and uploaded them to his iPad, one for each Sunday. Without listening to each 45-ish minute sermon, I did the best I could to match them with the theme for that month. Arguably the most tedious part of this process!

I'm kicking off the sermons with the first of a series our pastor, Sal Sberna of Metropolitan Baptist, preached a few summers ago on fruits of the spirit. Click image below to hear for yourself.

2. The Letters--(Background) A few years ago I sent letters to Justin's friends and family asking them to send back a letter containing "words of wisdom" for his 21st birthday. I put each card into a photo album, along with the picture of the person who wrote it. Unfortunately I only received approximately 50% of what I requested, which is really sad considering I included the card to write on and a self-addressed, stamped return envelope. Although it made for a very special, unique gift that Justin still enjoys, I swore I would NEVER do that again. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to swear??

Well, I did it again. I emailed 30 friends and family asking them to send back letters of encouragement for Justin's deployment. This time, though, I took it a step further by asking each family to commit to praying for Justin the week he opened their letter (Sunday-Saturday). People always say "oh I'll pray for him" but over seven months, it's easy to forget. I thought it would be so much more powerful for Justin to know "this family, whose card I am reading today, is praying for me RIGHT NOW and all week long". As I expected, getting these emails back (for the most part) was like pulling teeth. I just don't understand what's so difficult? I tolerated this for his 21st birthday but I absolutely would not take "no" for an answer this time around. My husband is DEPLOYING! He needs you!! I nagged shamelessly. For months. And I'm happy to report I got all but one back in the end, and still had one letter for every single week! 

(note: nagging works)

Today's letter comes from Bart and Maureen, my godparents and next door neighbors of 22 years. I honestly could not imagine my life without them. In the one year I have lived here, I have missed them as much as my own parents. They have shaped so much of my childhood and adolescent memories--from watching me when my mom was sick from her MS to Maureen's wonderful gingerbread-decorating parties each Christmas. But what really makes them special is their love for each other. No other couple in my life has been such an example of what a Christ-centered marriage should look like. Their mutual love and respect for each other cannot go unnoticed and I swear after (?) years of marriage, their love still grows deeper each day. I hope that our marriage can leave such a legacy for our children one day. And what's more is they have welcomed Justin (once he passed Bart's approval test, of course!) with as much love as they have me. Together the four of us have shared many wonderful conversations in their living room or under their enormous grapefruit tree. They are just such a joy to be around and I love and admire them dearly! Thank you for loving and praying for us this week!

Bart & Maureen at Justin's graduation--one year ago today!

Fair winds and following seas!

Stephanie