Abide in Me

As many of you know, Nathan and I have been so blessed by our church family here in Biloxi. It's hard to believe we only have three more Sundays to worship with them. We are treasuring every minute we have left.

Last Sunday, Pastor Joe powerfully preached this sermon from John 15:1-8, a passage familiar to most of us. "Bearing fruit," Pastor Joe explained, "is a desire in the heart of every true believer." We all desire to be fruitful in our walk with Christ. Yet very few of us are satisfied with the fruit in our own lives and in the lives of our friends, children, co-workers, and church members. We often become discouraged, because, though we invest our time, our money, our love into the lives of those we love, we hardly see any fruit.

Pastor Joe so graciously reminded us that our Father, the vinedresser, is just as sovereign over our fruit-bearing as He is over our salvation. We can try harder, disciple more, strategize differently, but in the end God requires just two things of us in order that we might bear fruit. First, we must abide in Him. John 15:5 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." Second, we must ask of Him. John 15:7 says, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

These words were freedom to me; how they can simplify my Christian life! I must abide in Christ, allowing His word to provide nourishment, security, hope and help to my soul. And, I must pray for fruitfulness. When I do these two things, He will be so faithful to bear fruit in my life and in the lives of those around me.

"By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."

John 15:8

Our Christmas Shrub

Since we're now in the process of packing up our home and are planning to be en route to our next base over Christmas, Nathan and I had decided that we wouldn't invest in a Christmas tree this year or do much decorating. However, yesterday I was really feeling in the Christmas spirit and decided I just couldn't do without any Christmas decorations. So, we put a Christmas wreath on the front door, added a few "wintery" touches throughout the apartment, hung some lights, and even decorated what we're calling our Christmas shrub. It looks so adorably pitiful that I can't help but love it! I guess it's just what happens when you PCS over Christmas. Enjoy the pictures. : ) 

Nathan hung the lights!

Our Christmas Shrub

Our Reindeer Candle

Our Cozy Fireplace

Just Around the Corner

Nathan and I are having a hard time believing it's nearing the end of November here in Mississippi. With all of this warm weather and sunshine, it just doesn't seem like the holiday season is just around the corner. But it is, and we couldn't be more thrilled!

I've always loved the holidays, but this year I feel especially excited for them to arrive. I think Nathan is probably tiring of me talking of it so much. : ) Perhaps my extra excitement is because we're living away from our families now, and I know that the holidays will bring sweet time with them. The cooler temperatures and joys of a small-town Christmas in Cedarville will also be so lovely.

On Wednesday, Nathan and I will drive to the Atlanta area to spend Thanksgiving with my sweet aunts, uncles, and cousins there. We are so looking forward to spending the holiday with them.

As for today, baby and I are enjoying a cozy day together with our candle lit, Christmas music playing, and the smell of freshly baked cranberry walnut pumpkin bread filling the house. : ) We have much for which to be thankful at the beginning of this Thanksgiving week.

"Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!"

Psalm 95:2

Trusting God through a Military Move

As many of you know, a PCS (permanent change of station) is right around the corner for the Flack family! We received news last month that Nathan will begin a new position at Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs sometime in January. We couldn't be more excited about this move! And we are busy wading through the many decisions and details associated with a military move.

Nathan graduates from his training program in 20 days. "Out-processing" from Keesler typically takes another 30 days post-graduation which gives us an estimated moving date of January 3rd. Once we receive our official orders, we'll know exactly when we must leave Keesler and arrive at Peterson. Orders are technically supposed to come 60 days prior to your move; however, they rarely do. Our hands are tied until we receive these orders. We can do nothing without them. So we wait...and trust God that they will come in His perfect timing.

We have a couple options when it comes to moving our belongings from here to there. The first is to have the Air Force come, pack up everything, load it in a truck, drive it to Peterson, and deliver it to our new home. This sounds like a wonderful option to most people, however, there are some disadvantages. Many of our military friends have had their belongings broken or damaged when using this option. We've also witnessed many people waiting weeks or even months to receive their belongings after arriving at the new base! This does not sound fun to us. Our other option is to do all the packing, loading, moving ourselves and be reimbursed for the expenses. We've done this once before and would likely do it again except that we're going much further this time, we have more to move, and I'll be four to five months pregnant and won't be able to help Nathan nearly as much with heavy lifting, etc. We're still weighing our options and trusting God to help us make the best decision.

Once we arrive at Peterson we are hoping to move into a home on-base. However, we cannot request a home until we receive our orders. Once we do request a home, there is always the possibility of us being placed on a lengthy waiting list. If this happens we will likely look for a home off-base, although it's not what we'd prefer. So...we trust God that he will provide the perfect home for us - on or off base.

Finally, I haven't mentioned that we will likely get to do all of this over the holidays! This only adds to the trickiness of the situation as we would love to spend time with family somewhere in there. So, as you might presume, we're trusting God that we will move in His perfect timing.

We will try our best to keep you updated as we learn more about our move!

Note: I must admit that my husband is a much better "truster" than I am. When I say "we're trusting," I mean that Nathan is trusting, and I am learning to trust. : ) I am thankful for his leadership in that.

"Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."

Psalm 143:8

More than Many Sparrows

Yesterday was another long, painful day of nausea. I threw up more times than I could count, and can say with confidence that I did not retain a single ounce of food or fluid in my body. I came close to passing out multiple times, each time fearing what might happen if I did so without Nathan home. At the end of the day I was worn out, discouraged, and no doubt a few pounds lighter than when I began the day.

Days like these are dangerous for me and my baby. I'm left malnourished and severely dehydrated with absolutely nothing to offer my child. Yet, for some reason, God sees fit to walk us through such days of suffering.

Perhaps it's because He's teaching me, even this early in motherhood, that sometimes I simply will not be able to provide for the needs of my child no matter how much I want to. Only He will. And in His great mercy and love, He sees our need and will provide if only I'll trust Him.

And so today I'm left surrendering this precious life completely to Him, whispering through my weary tears, "Don't be afraid, dear one; you are worth more than many sparrows. God will provide for us."

"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows."

Luke 12:6-7

His Grace and Our Hope

Shortly after Nathan and I married, we began discussing children. I've wanted to be a mama for as long as I can remember and knew that I would be so excited about that season of life whenever it came.

One evening, we were especially burdened by the corruption, darkness, and hopelessness of this world, and I remember telling him, "You know, I do want to be a mother one day, but I can hardly bear the thought of bringing a child into such a messy world." I began to wonder, will our children even stand a chance in this place? Isn't it selfish of us to put them through all of this, just so we can experience parenthood?

Through our discussion and the encouragement of my husband, God so graciously replaced my perspective with His: By bringing children into this world, which happens only by the will of God...
...we are giving them the opportunity to experience a glorious redemption.
...we are giving them the opportunity to know grace.
...we are giving them the opportunity to love and be loved by the God of this universe.

Some months later, here we are with a child on the way. No doubt, our child will experience the pain and brokenness of this world like we all have, but by the grace of God (s)he will see the goodness of our sovereign Savior through it all and be made perfect only by His blood. In this grace of God we find our hope - not in our good intentions or efforts to raise a godly child. Our hope lies only in our God, and we anticipate the birth of our child with joyful expectation at what He will do in this little one's life.

"I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"

Psalm 27:13-14