Armor

^“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Months of training, nights at the range, briefings, meetings, and finally a few weeks of rest…. now we are waiting for “the call.”

In the days/weeks that we have left before Austin goes down range, we are taking each day as it comes…. focusing on today only, taking advantage of every opportunity that is given us, and simply enjoying being together.

It would be very easy to fall into panic/worry about the impending deployment, however we are choosing to spend our time preparing ourselves in a positive way: we are putting on our armor.

Austin, like his fellow soldiers, arms himself with physical armor and weapons. But he also arms himself with the armor of God. We are preparing for not only physical, but mental and spiritual warfare as well.

We are asking for everyone to make a commitment to join him on the front lines as a prayer warrior… The following is an article on how to pray for a soldier:

http://www.christianmilitarywives.com/magazine/category/16756

As for me, we are going to celebrate my birthday next week by going to see a movie (at an actual movie theater off post! haha) and Starbucks in Nuremberg! It’s hard to believe I’ll be 23….

I’m still figuring out what my “plan” is during the next year…. School is a definite! I’m either going to finish my education degree (which is looking very difficult right now), or change to Psychology… or English… it just depends on what is available online, sigh…

I’ll be visiting home OFTEN 🙂 and in the meantime, I have projects planned for each month… including learning to quilt, re-finishing a table/chairs, traveling, finally reading all the books on my shelf…

As soon as I have Austin’s address, I’m asking our friends & family to write him as often as possible! If you want his address, just send me a message/email… Receiving letters & packages is such an encouragement! Email is also welcome…

I hope to be updating more often during the next year, keeping everyone updated on Austin as well as myself, and of course Molly 🙂

We went to the BEST Braves game of the year while we were home on leave. Went into the 9th inning, down 9-3. After a few runs, we WON with a grand-slam!!!

We were so blessed to spend time with precious friends & family 🙂

Since returning to Germany, we have enjoyed MANY days of great weather (finally!)… we took advantage of it by getting rid of the ugly, overgrown bushes in front of our house, and replacing them with mulch, and rock-border, and my beloved flowers! I have such a wonderful hubby who would take time out of his day off and help me work in the yard 🙂

We have been very blessed with time – Austin has not had to work past lunch in the past 2 weeks, and we are loving spending so much time together…. He is getting spoiled with all the cooking I’m doing before he leaves! Steak, fish, chicken chili, homemade banana pudding, strawberry shortcake, pecan pie… Needless to say I will be getting back into a running/working out routine SOON! I’m thinking about investing in the P90x program… Has anyone used this?

And as always, Molly is HAPPY & full of energy… she is a constant companion, always looking out for me 🙂 Her life was on the line during a recent chewing incident when the door to Austin’s “Army room” was accidentally left open… However, after many hugs & kisses all was forgiven.

To sum things up, we are doing as well as we possibly could… God has been preparing us for what’s ahead, and has equipped us with all that we need to face each day. We are putting on our armor daily, going in to face the battle together.

“Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.”