Entry 19: "Don't Walk the Road Alone!"

Well, my dad got home safe and sound Thursday afternoon!!! It is so wonderful to have him home and know he isn't going back! Praise God! Just last night i was thinking about the day my father told the family he was going to leave for Iraq. It is all so clear and feels like yesterday but it was so long ago. I remember dreading the thought of my dad gone for a whole year but now that year is gone and it is all in the past.

But as my dad said, even though he is back and we are all excited and joyful there are still MANY men still out there fighting for us and our country! Some men out there might be single young guys or others might be married men with wives and kids at home. Some might be serving because their father and grandfather served before them and they are carrying it on, others might be serving because they felt it was their duty to fight for our country. But whatever the case is, we need to be praying that those men stay safe on the battle field and that their familes stay strong while their loved ones are away.

Two years ago I knew there was a war going on but I had never tasted the results of it before.  I was pretty much living my life normally not thinking about what was going on over there. Now, i have tasted those results so profoundly that it felt life the war was happening next door to me.

I ,knowing what it feels like from a personal experiance, would like to thank each and every person who has or is fighting over there for me, thousands of others, and this country! Also i want to thank the family members of those officers who are at home praying for their safety and struggling to get through each day without them. I know how hard it is and i know how painful it is, but i also know that we will not get through those long hard days if we rely on our own will power and strength. The only way we will ever get through this is if we have God's help! He is the sustainer of all things and if we put our trust in Him, He will comfort us and see us through those difficult triales! No one else is going to be able to do it better than Him!

Trust me! I tried to rely on myself when my dad left for a year to go to Iraq! I knew it was going to be hard but i didn't want God or anyone else's help! I wanted to just curl up in my little corner and make it through by myself! But that didn't work so well. I was angry and hurt! Everything area of my life seemed like it was falling apart and I had no idea why! I was sad all the time and would, sometimes, just cry myself to sleep.

Then one day i was crying on my mom's lap and she asked me a simple straight forward question, "How much time have you been spending praying and reading in God's word?" I was floored! I hadn't been reading the Bible at all and all my problems, which i should have been lifting up to God, i had tucked away, in my heart, and was dwelling on them constantly. I was sinking into a deep murky pit and instead of calling out to God for help I relied on myself and instead of being lifted out i sank deeper and deeper.


I realized God was the only person who could get me through this! I realized God was holding my father in His hands and nothing would happen without God knowing it. He was right there with my dad the whole time he was away and i took hope in that! God had the whole thing under His belt and could handle the situation much better than i could have!

So if you are waiting for a loved ones return or maybe you haved had a experiance where your loved one has not returned from his duty, I want to encourage you to put your trust in Jesus Christ. You can walk down this dark dusty road by yourself....OR... God can sweep you up and carry you through it in His arms! I tried the walk by myself and it ends in even a darker place, but with God I made it through!!!

"Have you now known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God , the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strenght.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait upon the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings life eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint."

-Isaiah 40: 28-31



-Miranda

Entry 18: "Be Thou My Vision"

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart


Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art

Thou my best thought by day or by night

Waking or sleeping Thy presence my light



Be thou my wisdom and Thou my true word

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord

Thou my great Father, I , Thy true son

Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one



Riches I heed not nor man's emptly praise

Thou mine inheritance now and always

Thou and thou only first in my heart

High King of heaven my treasure Thou are



High King of heaven my victory won

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun

Heart of my own heart whatever befall

Still be my vision O Ruler of all



God, be my vision. I am truly blind without you!

Miranda

Entry 17: "God Has Wiped Us Clean!"

Whew! just got done tiding/dusting/polishing/sweeping/and mopping part of the house geting ready for my dad's return! The smell of Murphy's Oil Soap is throughout the house and my hands are all pickled from being in the water for so long! : -) Sometimes i hate cleaning but other times, like today, I find it relaxing and a time to think and pray. Also, the satisfaction of the room that you just finished is a joy! what once used to be a dirty dusty room you turned into a sparkling beautiful one! The sight when you wipe off a dusty table and you can see the shiny streak cutting through the dust!

Reminds me of what our hearts and lives looked like before God grabbed up a cloth, soaked in his Son's blood, and wiped us off, cutting through our sin and darkness! We were like that dirty old table and would have been that way if God had not decided to clean us off. A table can't dust itself off, just like we can't save ourselves! Only God is capable and powerful enough to do that!

So us, being once dirty and dusty tables and chairs, are now sparkling and pure and we need to give God thanks and praise for cleaning our hearts with such a sacrifice!!!

Thank you, God, for wiping me clean and calling me your child!

Miranda

Entry 16: "One Week, Six Days, and Counting!"

WOW, sorry i haven't been putting a whole lot on my blog lately!! School has started so that has kept me on my toes and we are getting ready to have my dad home in one week and six days!! It has been a long year! One that from the distance would seem lonely, cold, painful, and colorless! But when you look deeper and at the detail you see much more! Even though it has been painful to have my dad gone I have grown closer to God, my friends, and i have learned so much! Now i wouldn't want it to happen again, naturally, but i can see how God has used this for my good even though my dad had to leave for a year!

I can't THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH for all your prayers, kind words and comforts the past year! It has been such a blessing to me!!! It has been a long year that i am ready to let go and wish good-bye, but i will still hold on to all that i have learned through it for the rest of my life!!!

God thank you for sustaining me through this past year and never letting me fall out of your arms! To be all the praise and glory given!!!

Miranda

Entry 15: "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!"

Happy New Year everybody! It has been hard past year for my family since my dad has been gone but it has also brought me closer to God, my family, and friends! I had a feeling 2010 will be even better with my dad safe at home! Love you dad! See you soon! : -)

God Bless all of you this coming up year!

Miranda