{meaningful remembrance}

Through meaningful remembrance, the sacrifices of those who have gone before will not become distant memories. 

~James Conway, General, United States Marine Corps

Two years ago today, my dear friend Joe gave the last full measure of devotion to God and Country, and went home to be with the Lord in Glory.

And I have no words today to properly remember my friend. Words are not enough to express my gratitude for his choice to serve and defend our country. 

Today, I choose to remember his legacy with honor. 

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 

~John 15:13

{remembering: part three}

In the day of emails, texts, tweets, facebook posts, and blog posts, it is easy to forget to make a meaningful impact in someone's life. While those instant media channels of communication are fun, there is nothing like an in-person conversation with a dear friend, or a hug from someone you haven't seen in a long time, or a hand-written letter or phone call to a loved one you can't see in person, or even a smile from an acquaintance or stranger.

Today, I want to share with you the way that I remember my friend Joe every day:

Jack - 10 weeks old

This is obviously not a picture of Joe like the previous posts remembering Joe - it's a picture of my son, Jack. My husband and I knew the moment we found out Jack was going to be himself {namely: a boy} what his middle name would be: Joseph. We chose to remember our friend in our son's name.

Make sure to impact those around you in a meaningful way, and remember to honor those you cannot be with in a meaningful remembrance.

{remembering: part two}

Today I would like to remember how wise Joe was. I have many snippets of wisdom stored in my heart that Joe shared with me through the years that I knew him.

Joe hanging out in my favorite park

I would like to share just one: there was a time in college when a few not-so-nice things were said to me about me that were very hurtful {shocking, I know: gossip in a group of young college students}. Joe pulled me aside and I just remember him saying that the best way to react to something like that would be to make sure that my actions did not reflect others' words. If you are above reproach in character, untrue words won't go very far among those who know you.

I think that is a very important thing to remember. Make sure that your reputation is, well, reputable. Joe's character was reputable, and he was loved and respected among all his peers and the parents of all his peers.

{remembering: part one}

I told you this was my month to reflect and remember. A big part of that is because of Joe.

Joe was a friend I met when I first started attending community college during my junior year of high school. He was funny, wise, and the goofiest, wiriest person I have ever met.

Joe is on the right, with my husband on the left. Typical Joe. 

Today, I am remembering how fun Joe was to be around, how his sense of humor just cracked me up. Just to give you a sense of how goofy Joe was, I would like to share with you a "note" he wrote on his facebook. {please note: this is copied directly from FB as Joe wrote it.}

BOB! go to sleep. - written by Joseph White. November 18, 2008

"at first i considered him a mouse problem (i'm assuming he's a dude mouse because i'm uncomfortable with the thought of sharing the room i get naked in with a female). anyway anyone (even if it is a mouse) who steals cookies that my girlfriend makes for me is a problem. but he just helped himself to them like his mother never taught him manners. so i trapped him under a pillow one night and punched it as hard as i could (it was on my couch and i'd rather get rid of a couch pillow then have mouse guts all over my hand.) i heard something pop and thought it was the mouse but i'm pretty sure it was just my knuckles now because when i lifted the pillow he was no where to be seen. i took it as a sign to leave him alone (well more like i didn't want him thinking i was a problem and bite [me] while i was sleeping at night... well sleeping anytime really i'm not sure why i put at night.. whatever. i have serious ADD) so i named him bob and told him to help himself to MY cookies. i'm such a nice guy. i'm sure bob's forgiven me for trying to turn him into mouse sauce with my fist. at least i hope he has. i am sharing my cookies after all."

I am thinking that an adaptation of this would make a funny children's book. What do you think?

{the whole picture}

September is my month to reflect and remember {more to come on why that is}.

Today I would like to reflect on something I alluded to in my last post. When I was 17, I enlisted in the Washington Army National Guard, and went to Army Basic Training {"boot camp"} in the middle of summer at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina.

I am from the Seattle area. I am whiter-than-white {lack of exposure to sunlight}, and there is very little humidity here - it doesn't stay in the air, it condenses and rains. I live in a state that has real dirt, not sand. And we don't have cockroach problems, and our little black ants don't bite. Also, greens, lima beans, and squash are not usually on the everyday menu around here. So, needless to say, I was not in an environment I was used to {even minus the drill sergeant/boot camp part}.

Today I want to share with you a small part of boot camp: shin splints. Maybe you are a runner, maybe you exercise {see my last post to get an idea of how much I hate exercise}, but I am not athletic. So you can bet after running miles every day, and then wearing combat boots for days on end, I got shin splints. Now, being a non-exerciser, I didn't know what they were. By the time I finished boot camp {a story for another day}, and returned home, I had bi-lateral stress-fractures and painful shin splits from knee to ankle. Ouch! After a year of "Drilling" {one weekend a month training with the National Guard}, I was given a discharge from the National Guard because I was still not able to run a mile under 15 minutes {note: I can walk a mile in 16 minutes, so I am a really slow runner}.

I was bummed. And a bit angry. God had obviously orchestrated the channels needed for me to go to boot camp, He had been with me the whole way, and he could have prevented or healed the shin splints. But He didn't. He let me go to boot camp and then not have a career in the military. I didn't get my enlistment bonus, and they didn't pay for school. And I still can't run worth beans.

But it was worth it. I am so glad I did it. And I hope one day I get to see the whole picture. Even if it is the day I die and go to heaven. I want to know why. But now, I want to know why so I can marvel at His plan. I want to know whose lives were affected by me being there {in my earthly way, I kinda want it to be like "It's a Wonderful Life" and see what would have happened if I hadn't been there}. I am not angry anymore. And I am not bummed anymore. It's nice to be a mama to my sweet boy, and to be a military spouse now {note: being a spouse is harder than being the one serving, just sayin'}. And I have faith in His perfect plan. Although it is hard to be patient while He waits to reveal it.

Check back later for more on the boot camp experience.

{is this really me?}

I don't know who I am anymore...I am certainly not myself...my husband has noticed the change, too, and has threatened to take me to a mental health professional {okay, maybe that was just a joke}...but, seriously...

I am actually exercising on a routine basis...
No, really, I am. {Well, not this week because of the new job thing}, but I honestly have been working out more than my pre-pregnancy routine which was...well, once every 3 months was my old routine...

My sweet mama introduced me to Zumba. Yeah, it's a bit crazy, it's a bit edgy, but, my goodness, it is a lot of fun. Actually, I am sitting here in my workout clothes {be glad you can't see me!} waiting for time to go to the Saturday workout.

I love to dance, but I have a sweetheart who only danced with me when he was trying to sweep me off my feet. Now that I have been all swept up, dancing comes very infrequently...and then I found Zumba. {note: this is not the kind of dancing my sweetheart and I did when we were dating, but there's music and dance moves, so it counts to me!} And you don't need a dance partner, which is good.

But I hardly know who I am anymore - I honestly have not sweat this much since I was at bootcamp with the Army {did you know I was in the Army National Guard before I got married?} I haven't started to lose weight yet {hopefully because I am building muscle} but I am determined to stick it out and lose this pregnancy weight.

Lots of things I would like to share with you, but for now - time to go Zumba!

{convicted}

I am up very early (for me) today to spend some time with my little one before starting my third day at my new job...it is going to become a work-from-home job, but this week I have to go in - and, man, have I been missing my favorite little dude! But this is just a side note...

Lately I have been feeling very convicted...and I am wondering how fast I can learn this lesson so God can stop trying to teach it to me. :-) My dear friend, Glenda, blogged a series on "30 things to do when you are in a rough patch" just as I got stuck in a rough patch. And then the sermon last Sunday was also about faith in difficult times. And, of course, little snippets of conversations here and there have also convicted me about my attitude...yeesh...guess it's time for a big attitude adjustment!

My husband just got his unofficial notice that we will be moving to the opposite end of the country with the Marine Corps in April. I have been expecting/dreading this news since we got married 3 1/2 years ago. And now we finally have a sort-of-for-sure timeline (nothing with the Marine Corps is for sure until it's actually happening). And I am petrified. And I need a big-time attitude adjustment. Worrying about the future now is just going to detract from the special time I have now with family and friends. Time to focus on the present!! That's hard for me, though. It's hard to get my brain to not think about a million and one things, and just think about what is going on in this moment.

Well, gang, time for me to start my day and learn this lesson already!!

{a new memory}

“Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend–even a friend whose name it never knew. “- President George W. Bush, December 11, 2001

I don't know how old you were when the towers fell, but I was...young. And I remember it so vividly it hurts. Ten years ago today, I wasn't worried about much at all...ten years ago tomorrow, I was overwhelmed by the grief of our nation. While it is sad to remember the tragedy, loss and mourning, it is good to remember the bravery and self-sacrifice. It is good to remember that heroism is not a thing only found in fairy tales, but happens in real life. It is good to remember that men and women will rise to the occasion demanded of them...and it is very good to pray for the families of those who gave their all that day. They don't need a day to remember the lives that were sacrificed, their everyday lives serve as reminders in the absence of loved ones. 

{the promise}

Last night, my little family and I attended the wedding of a very dear childhood friend. It was truly one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever attended, and one of the most sincere and sweetest marriages to witness. My husband and I always seem to attend a wedding after we have had some petty disagreement or another, and I am always convicted of my selfishness at every wedding ceremony. The sweetness of last night has refreshed my spirit, and reminded me in a much-needed way of the sacredness of the covenant I have with my husband.

The first dance of this lovely couple as husband and wife was "Dancing in the Minefields" by Andrew Peterson...this was the first time I had heard of this artist (and this song!)...I just love it. Here's a snippet:

I was nineteen, you were twenty-one
The year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much too young
But we did it anyway...
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for
"I do" are the two most famous last words 

The beginning of the end

But to lose your life for another I've heard 

Is a good place to begin
'Cause the only way to find your life
Is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price 

For the life that we have found

'Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man

So there's nothing left to fear 

So I'll walk with you in the shadowlands 

'Til the shadows disappear 

'Cause He promised not to leave us

And His promises are true

So in the face of all this chaos, baby, 

I can dance with you

Dancing in the Minefields ~ Andrew Peterson