You Are All My Favorites

Just recently we had a friend visit us from Kansas and it sparked an interesting conversation between me and my oldest child Grace. Now remember she is only 7, but she just kept asking me while my friend was here who is my best friend? Which one is my favorite and what about your other friends? I finally just explained, sweet girl they are all my favorites. I reminded her of one of our favorite books " You Are All My Favorites" by Sam McBratney. The book explains how no matter what the differences are between two siblings that the mother loves them just the same. I used this analogy to explain the love that I have for all of my friends. One things for sure about being a Marine Corps wife is that you get to meet a lot of different people in this world and often times find yourselves with groups of people with no common interest than the fact that you have a Marine as your spouse, but as strange as this may seem, it is really all you need to make long lasting friendships. Then there are your friends you make outside of the military too, that if it were not for moving you would have never met. So as I was explaining how people can have different friends and still love them the same to Grace, I began seeing so many faces in my mind. It left me feeling thankful and so I made a list for my friends. If you are reading this you will probably know exactly where you fit in to this puzzle and I want you to know that I love each of you and that everyone has a special place in my heart, not filled by other people, but by you alone. So here it goes:

I am thankful for my friends that I can call no matter what time of day and discuss important life decisions, whether it is shopping for new items ( carpet in a new house), or to be reassured that no matter how much money we spent, we deserved it!

I am thankful for those friends that have held my hand while having children without having a husband home to welcome our first baby.

I am thankful for my friends most like my spouse. They know exactly how to calm my nerves and they are always uplifting for me. They are my comforters.

I am thankful for the friends in which I can pray with. I am thankful for the ways they understand my heart and motives, even if I do not utter a word.

I am thankful for the friends that encourage my creative side. They tell me I can do things, and even if I flop encourage me to keep trying and give me blogs to read to help me in my endeavors.

I am thankful for friends that although we may not have started out so well, ended up being as close as anyone could be!

I am thankful for my friends near and far and that anytime I am anywhere close to them, they make a special effort to come see me. Those friends are priceless!

I am thankful for the friends that no matter how long it has been since we talked last, we always pick up right where we left off.

I am thankful for my childhood friends that I can keep in contact with especially now with the wonderful age of Facebook. I love watching how we have all grown and how their families are now growing too.

I am thankful for my friends that remind me there is a greater world out there and it is our duty to protect the innocent that live there.

Whew so much to be thankful for and I am sure I left off a couple and will probably remember them later tonight. As I finished naming some of these things to Grace, it also reminded me that over the years, these individuals have become so close to me that they are my "family". I just could not see life without them. So to all of my friends thank you for sharing life with me and my family. We love you and you are "All My Favorites"!

Leap of Faith

How many times in our life do we say we wish we could do something. I know personally there have been so many things that I wished I could do, but decided that maybe a change would be too hard, a risk to the things that I enjoy, or lack the faith to understand that things will work out according to God's purpose. As my christian walk has lengthened, I have found my faith to have grown as well. I have met many people along the way who claim to be believers and that they are faithful followers, however, many of them have never come to a point in their life to have to choose for themselves something out of their comfort zone. Since my move here to california, I have made some new friends. A great group of women. However, I really feel that God brought one friend in particular in my life to help hold me accountable. I have had the privilege to cry with this friend, pray with her, and share in her day to day moments of life. Just recently, this friend made a huge leap of faith by putting her words into action. She has a little boy and little girl in her life that would make any adult smile. They are vibrant, smart, and lovable little children. Her son, has some special concerns that has been placed upon them and unselfishly, my friend has decided not to return to teaching next year. She has put aside her own wants and desires and has placed her full trust in God that he will provide for her and her husband as they need. WOW! What a bold statement. Both working parents have so much more to offer financially to a household, but my friend is showing the strength is takes to stay home, nuture those children and support that sweet boy the best way she can. This leap of faith has been so inspiring to me. I know that God has a special direction he is taking this family and I am so thankful I am here to see it and be a support a long the way. I pray that this leap of faith helps me re-evaluate some things that I have been thinking about doing and actually doing them. For although faith is something that is not seen, it is also an action, it is putting words into movement. It is having that picture/ story " Foot Prints in the Sand" in my mind that when I feel that God has abandoned me that the reason I no longer see him is because he is carrying me. He has promised to never leave nor forsake us. For the prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:17)
Faith does not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. (1 Corinthians 2:5)

Footprints

One night I had a dream--
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints,
one belonged to me and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you would walk with me all the way,
but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints.
"I don't understand why in times when I needed you most,
you should leave me."
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never, never leave you
during your times of trial and suffering.
"When you saw only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

...Mary Stevenson