Day One hundred and ninety-three

I just bought a new book, Hope for the Home Front: Winning the emotional and spiritual battles of a military wife by Marshele Waddell. So far after reading one chapter, I can say that I can't wait to read more. The first chapter I read was entitled "Duet duty for the Solo Spouse" Here are just a few excerpts:

"...holding down the fort is an exasperating and exhausting experience for the spouse who is frequently left solo to bear burdens designed for a duet. Suddenly, she is thrust into the roles of carpenter, plumber, car mechanic, financial analyst, exterminator, child psychologist, referee and disciplinarian. She is required to scale mountains of unfamiliar territory, already strapped, cinched and weighted down with a backpack full of normal everyday demands."

"My grandmother advised me years ago, 'You are the woman you've been becoming.' The transformations, whether good or bad, won't happen overnight, but one day at a time, bit by bit, situation by situation. One day, we will each wake up, look in the mirror, and see what we've been becoming-a sweet old lady or mean old hag."

"Only one catalyst, one agent of change, can reverse the negative effect this military lifestyle can have on the beauty and femininity of a woman. It is the recognition and reliance on Jesus Christ's total sufficiency for every challenge. He is in control, even when I'm not convinced, allowing that which works for my good and for His glory. He allows the faith-building circumstances into my life so I will learn to draw from Him the strength, the wisdom, and the love I need for every situation....Every contest comes with His guarantee that He is enough, that His grace will be there the moment I need it."

God's abundant grace amazes me every time. It's beyond my understanding. I can't wrap my human brain around the concept of undeserved favor given lavishly to people who will always disappoint and never measure up. What's almost as unbelievable, is that God allows me to be His objest of His grace. In fact, He longs for each and everyone of us to surrender to Him and recieve the same grace.

"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins.  For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past," Romans 3:23-25 New Living Translation