Survival of the Faithful

My heart was gripped with fear. My body turned cold from the inside out. I had made a potentially fatal mistake. 

I didn't realize what I had done until I pulled into the commissary parking lot and wondered WHY on what I thought was a random Saturday the place was SO packed. 

It was not just any Saturday. But it was the Saturday after army families everywhere got paid. What had started as a quick errand to get eggs, milk, crackers and dog food was now a battle for my life. 

Safety side note: There are just some places some people should never, ever, EVER attempt to go on or directly after the general population's payday. Examples: Wal-Mart, anywhere Black Friday (exception to the payday rule-- but it's still dangerous) and any military post commissary around the 1st or 15th. 

Survival will be sketchy at best. 

Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for this blog post topic) I found myself in this battle of life and death. I had a choice. Lock my car door, throw Ladybug into reverse and peel it home... Or boldly risk my life for my small dinner party that was scheduled for that evening. (Another side note: I had all of the ingredients to make the food... but realized after the chili was already in the Crockpot that we were out of crackers. See grocery list above.) 

It chose the latter option. Oh, and I literally prayed before I got out of the car. 

I (obviously) survived. But it was touch and go there for awhile.  

In the midst of dozens of people, endless lists and screaming toddlers, I mentally created some survival techniques for making it out of your determined location post-pay day... with your goods. 

And maybe even your sanity. 

So next time you are forced to brave the crowds, follow my fool-proof survival techniques. 

1. Don't do it. 

There. That was easy. 

Ok, but seriously. 

1. Force yourself not to be in a hurry. 

2. Remember to breathe. 

3. Be prepared to dodge, duck and dive. 

4. Apologize profusely to those of you who you are trying to maneuver around. 

5. A smile won't hurt. 

6. Have a plan. Have your list in hand and if possible, know where to look for your items. 

7. Try not to laugh (ok, guffaw) out loud at the random husband that is clearly on the phone with his wife, walking at a brisk pace yelling "I CAN'T FIND THE STUPID TORTILLAS!" You will just make it awkward. 

8. Have less than 20 items in your basket... You can use a quicker line. Everything else can wait til a random Wednesday. 

9. Pray. Endlessly. Then check out. 

10. Do a victory dance when you arrive back at your vehicle.  

I learned A LOT about myself (and others) during this quest for survival. But believe it or not, I was able to look at the whole experience in a Godly way. Somehow, the two apples I put in my cart weren't the only fruit I had that day. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22-23) It was totally a God thing because He helped me get in and get out non-stressed with a smile still on my face. 

Let God be your survival tool... He is the giver of
the "Fruit" of our Spirit!

My actions to be patient, controlled, love others and be kind were very intentional and I couldn't have done it without inviting Him to help me "survive" this experience. God cares about our everyday obstacles and life experiences. So won't you invite Him to walk with you everywhere you go? He will accompany you to the commissary, Wal-Mart and even the bank at 5:00pm on a Friday afternoon if you ask Him to come along. 

God doesn't embrace the survival of the fittest... but He will ensure the survival of the faithful!

With Him always by my side, 

SGK 

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” --Joshua 1:9

We have... Ego Issues

"I got this. I am smart. I'm in control. I am too legit to quit." 

"All that an a bag of potato chips... yep, that's me!" 

"A-double-you-E-S-O-M-E, I'm awesome, awesome... TOTALLY!" 

Hopefully I don't come across this way to the general public... not this ditzy (although I was a cheerleader for a few years of my life) OR this cocky. Two unlegit qualities, if I do say so myself. 

Yesterday we talked about power... something I struggle with. The daily submitting to the Lord, denying myself and taking up the cross can be a challenge for me. But today, we are talking about a different type of "symptom" of being a human. We have... Ego Issues. 

Now before you get your feathers all ruffled with me calling you (and myself) cocky, overconfident or stuck up, let me explain. I try to be humble in my earthly life. But humility is a fine line between being an egomaniac and self-depreciating. 

Hopefully (again, I emphasis HOPEFULLY) I come across as confident yet leading with a servant's heart based on humility when it comes to my peers. (You be the judge of that one.) I am sinner. I fall flat on my face regularly. I want to do it MYSELF with nobody's help. So I would guess that in God's eyes, I still have ego issues. 

It directly relates to the power challenge of yesterday... We determined that having a power shortage wasn't necessarily a BAD thing... but when I get hung up on trying to control things or take on the attitude that I AM awesome, awesome, TOTALLY, my ego issues surface from God's point of view. 

This isn't a depressing post, I promise. I still struggle with yearning for control and reveling in my gifts, talents and abilities... but see, that's the thing- they are GIFTS. I didn't create myself to have the ability to write, sing, minister, box or auctioneer (betcha never thought you would see those things all in the same sentence huh?) God loves you and me SO MUCH He gave us gifts and talents to share with others. HE made us awesome. 

We can be excited about that. But the key to rejoicing in those gifts and not stepping over the line of ego-crazed is to remember that He gave us those gifts so that we in turn would give them away. I ask daily for God to allow me to surrender completely to Him. Sometimes my ego gets in the way, but He loves me through it all. 

God's love is what makes us awesome. And THAT in itself is awesome, awesome... Totally. 

Humbly trying to check the ego at the door, 

SGK 

"He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way." --Psalm 25:9

The Spirit Through Sprite

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!!" --Psalm 118:24

What an awesome Scripture to describe my heart today! I would say that today is the final day I will be talking about God's gifts, but let's be honest, I am not really driving this boat. He might tell me that I need to keep up with the giftiness that is His love. But for now, I would like to share with you why this day is shaping up to be an extra special gift. 

1. I had a great workout/run this morning. 4 miles, which is pretty good considering my legs are less than cooperative thanks to the crazy workout I had with my trainer on Wednesday.  Hurt so good, right? 

2. On the running note, I found a new running training plan that I am "officially" kicking off on Monday. Now that I have determined that it might actually someday be possible for me transition from a non-runner to pseudo-runner to legit-runner, this next three month training plan is to help me improve my 5K running time to under 30 min. (For all you runners out there, that doesn't seem like much, but for this girl who couldn't legitimately run an eighth of a mile 9 months ago, I say Hallelujah!!) So needless to say, I am pumping myself up for THAT intense training experience. GET SOME!

3. We are leaving for CCC Women's retreat in about 2 hrs from the time of this writing. I have been privileged to serve on planning team for women's ministry, so the final culmination to "Come Away" is going to be an amazing gift. Nothing like a two night slumber party to bring women together with God!

4. My old journal is 11 pages shy of being filled up. Which means I get start a new journal very soon. And as a writing geek, that makes my heart flutter. My new journal is SUH-WEET... PLUS I purchased a new black inky pen to go with it yesterday. Totally stoked. 

5. By the grace of God, I was able to  consciously choose prayer over panic this morning probably for one of the first times ever. Which was an AMAZING GIFT. Here's what happened: Justus and I got back from our run this morning around 8:00am. I had a text on my phone from a friend/fellow Drill Sgt wife saying that she had food poisoning, wondering if I could watch her kids for a while today. My immediate response was "Gah, I can't I have so much to do before leaving on retreat in a few hours." But after I sent her a text saying I couldn't take care of the kids but would bring her Sprite, God spoke to me and said "You can do both. I will make it happen." 

So I texted her back and said when I delivered the Sprite I would bring her two oldest kids ages 4 and 2 over to my house to babysit until I had to leave for retreat so she and her newborn could rest. My head was saying that I was crazy and fighting panic, but my heart told me that God had this and he would help me get everything done I needed to before departure (note: I had not packed at all for this retreat... and as part of the planning committee, I was bringing other "stuff" in addition to my own personal items.) 

I initially sent my beloved husband after some Sprite before he went to work this morning, but he called 10 minutes later and said he wouldn't be able to make it back in time before needing to go to work thanks to awesome on-post Friday morning traffic. "Ok God, it's just you and me." I sped groomed, got in the car to go get some Sprite for my friend-- and I found my heart praying to let traffic move smoothly and for God to enable me to get everything done I needed. Oh, and to keep me calm. Minor detail. 

Obviously, prayer over panic worked out wonderfully. Traffic was smooth, I delivered the Sprite, picked up the kids, finished grooming, packed in record time, started updating the Family Readiness Group roster and even had time to blog (hence this post!) This IS the day the Lord has made... And lemme tell you what folks, I am rejoicing and finding myself VERY glad in it!! So thankful that I found the Spirit... In a bottle of Sprite. 

With a carbonated, bubbly heart, 

SGK 

"We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us." Colossians 1:9-10 (MSG)