The Homefront Homemaker

Cleaning the fridge

2011-10-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

I hate cleaning the fridge. It's up there next to laundry as least favorite chore. I don't mind the oven so much as it has a self cleaning cycle (if only the entire house did. *sigh*), but the fridge? gah. Somebody is always spilling something and then setting other stuff on top of it so it winds up drying. It took me thirty minutes to scrape cardboard from my husbands beer carton off the bottom shelf. I have a tendency to pretend I can't see the mess and ignore it until I absolutely HAVE to handle it.

Imagine my disappointment when I saw that the day 2 Martha challenge was to clean out my fridge and freezer. Lessons learned: 1. Don't use soap. I followed directions and used baking soda and hot water to clean it out and to my surprise, it worked! I don't know why I continue to be amazed that you can clean with things like Baking Soda and Vinegar instead of modern cleaning supplies. Especially considering my firm belief that houses were cleaner "back in the day" and that everyone but me was born with an innate knowledge of how to do it. 2. You would be shocked at what you'll find in you freezer if you don't clean it out frequently. I found protein bars I made a year ago that didn't work out. 3. Make your children wash their hands before they get ice. Nothing says gross like finding dirt in your ice maker tray. ew. ew. ew. ew. ew. ew. They'll be lucky if I don't sterilize them when they walk in the door.

Today's Mary Challenge involves inviting people over and telling them to put their feet up. That's not gonna happen. I don't like people in my house. Not because it's messy. Even when it's spotless I just don't like people in my house. When friends visit, my closest friends sense this about me and we gravitate outside on my front porch where I have a nice outdoor furniture set with flowers and such. I know that's comfortable since everyone, even neighborhood kids I don't know gravitate towards it as well. :) Challenge not accepted today. Sorry Mary, but it's not gonna happen.

Today's Martha challenge is to clean my oven and my microwave. Except i did that yesterday. Guess that means Today's Martha challenge is to go take a bubble bath. Challenge Accepted!! :D

31 Days to Clean

2011-10-14T09:39:00.001-07:00

I know it's been a while, but honestly, you'd have to live the last year of my life to believe it. My husband was severely injured, and then I got off mytooshy and dropped 40 pounds and reinvented myself as a competitive figure athlete. I still blogged, but rather than here, I created a different blog, The Incredible Shrinking Mom which come to think of it, I also need to update. Silly me..lol.

I'm getting my routines back together and finding a balance in my life. I confess, I tend to go overboard in one direction or another. Balance is something I have to work hard to find. While amusing the crap out of myself by reading several public domain books on being a housewife printed between the late 1800's and the 1950's (seriously hilarious stuff, and sometimes quite sad. There was an entire chapter in one about Eugenics. Here I was thinking this stuff only happened in Germany. I guess history really is written by the victor, but I digress. While hunting up more hilarity I discovered one I actually wanted to read. It's called 31 Days to Clean-having a Martha house the Mary way.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm more of a Mary. Emotion is the name of my game, but unlike most women out there, I kinda long to be the Martha. (Interesting Observation, boy did Martha Stewart live up to her name!!) The author doesn't claim to be a born Martha, and starts off by saying this is NOT a how to clean your house book. If you want one of those, Martha Stewart wrote one about housekeeping I want but refuse to buy as it's not on Kindle.

Today is my first day and today's challenge is to write a mission statement. Well that's today's Mary challenge anyway.

"Identify specific reasons you want to make your home a haven, and then complete a mission statement based on those reasons. Write down exactly why you want a clean home. Be specific. Maybe your mission will be in the form of a paragraph, a poem or a list. Consider adding a verse or a quote that motivates you. When you are finished, it should take you no longer than a minute to read over your "mission statement". Now dress it up! make it pretty, put it in a frame, just be creative and have fun. Put it somewhere where you can see it every day."

So here is my mission statement:

"To provide my family with a healthy, safe and welcoming home, where they can both be comfortable hanging out, and feel comfortable inviting people over".

There are reasons for this. The first part is obvious. All children should have a save and healthy home. That's a given, if they don't, they need to be living somewhere else. The second part is personal as is the third. Have you ever been in an immaculate home? Perhaps a friend invited you over, or a relative? How often do you feel at ease in these homes? I don't. A friend growing up had the most beautiful home. It was always amazingly clean and fresh, and I adored being there. At the same time, I was always nervous being there. It felt almost like a museum. I was always concerned about fingerprinting a wall, tracking dirt in, breaking something. You get the idea.

This is in contrast to my own home growing up which while not filthy, was never clean enough for me to feel comfortable inviting my friends over. If they did come by, i would immediately drag them to my own bedroom. My parents both worked full time so I don't fault either one of them as it was myresponsibility to keep the house. I just never knew how.

So that's my mission statement and my Mary Challenge.

The Martha challenge involves putting together a list of all the cleaning supplies for all the Martha challenges in the book.

The Homefront Honey challenge is to blog about these challenges every day. :) If you'd like to join along, check out Amazon, as this book is in fact on the kindle. Even if you don't have a kindle, you can download the kindle software for your computer for free and read it that way.

Have a blessed day!!

Checking in!

2010-06-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

So far I've been doing quite well. I implemented the new sheet folding system and I'm ashamed to admit, I take a peek in my linen closet every time I pass it now. It's so pretty and neat, and my weekly home blessings fly by when I can just grab the sets I need without digging, hunting, or weeping when I can't find the right pillowcase. My sink is shining like a diamond and I get a kick out of waking up every morning and seeing the clean kitchen. It starts my day off in a positive mood and not feeling quite so overwhelmed.

In a nutshell, the fly lady has got me well on my way to a gleaming house once again. I'm awful about habits. I have to keep them up or I'll forget, get distracted, be too lazy, etc, etc, etc. When my house starts getting icky again my husband always asks me, "what ever happened to that fly lady thing...". So far the only day I spend most of the day cleaning is Mondays. And that has more to do with trying to coral children while I'm doing it. Mondays are the day I do my weekly home blessing.

*Change sheets
*sweep
*mop
*Vacuum
*clean mirrors/front entry door
*take out all garbage
*Clean the kitty litter box.

Doesn't seem like a lot, but after a long weekend of everyone trampling my house, vacuumed carpets, clean mirrors, and a fresh set of sheets to climb into at bedtime does me a world of good. The rest of the week it's just about maintaining my routines. Before bed and good morning to tell you the truth are the biggest ones for me. Why? Because they involve dishes.

Dishes are the bane of my existence. Have been my whole life. From the age of 6 it was my responsibility to wash the dishes. This of course would have been difficult enough except for two small issues. The first being that we had no dishwasher. So I had a great many dishes to wash by hand as my dad always managed to dirty every dish in the kitchen over the course of the day. Scraping food off the plates was rarely done either so it was always stuck on and had to be soaked in hot water that hurt my delicate skin to use. The second being that we didn't have non stick pans or even regular pots and pans. My parents are strong believers in cast iron. Only I didn't learn about how to properly care for cast iron until I was 25 and my husband showed me how to keep them oiled, how to clean them properly etc.

Back to the story at hand, I'm sure you dear reader can see why I so dislike dishes. Even when I moved into military housing and got a dishwasher, I still despise dishes. In Germany you always had to remember to add the salt, the pull out the filters and wash them ,etc. In our current house, you can't pull anything out. You have to reach in the back of the dishwasher and scoop up anything that may have made it into the dishwasher and pull it out. *shudders* I'm also lazy at night. So doing the dishes before bed gets on my nerves, I like to put everything off, and then in the morning it just seems overwhelming o I put it off some more, until suddenly we have no dishes and I have to spend the better part of the day washing them. Fly lady is breaking that habit.

My before bed routine involves beyond my own personal hygiene stuff, picking up stray toys and putting them back in the box, washing the dishes, wiping down counters, taking the garbage out and wiping down the dining room table. Laying out my clothes for the morning, checking my schedule, etc. The morning you guessed it, involves emptying the dishwasher. And to keep my sink shiny and get that visual reminder that I am doing good, i have to put the dirty dishes in the empty dishwasher. Seems quite simple to a born organized person, or those with any sort of natural housekeeping skill, to me it was a revelation. Who would have thought you could see hope in the reflection of your sink?

How To: Fold your sheets

2010-06-14T12:49:00.001-07:00

I don't know about ya'll, but I hate folding laundry. I have no problems washing and drying. Just folding and putting it away. It's almost become a joke in my family. And more than anything I hate folding sheets. Kid you not, my linen closet looks like something exploded in there. I'm awful about folding sheets, and then they are scattered everywhere. Today is Home Blessing Day with Flylady. First on the list, change the sheets. Except I can't find the matching sheets. In my desperation I googled how to fold sheets with the idea that I could redo my linen closet and found this amazing video on youtube. Not only do you learn how to fold your fitted sheets, but you fold your entire sheet set together and stack it nice and neat! What a win! So without further ado, here is this awesome tutorial vid, brought to you by 2bluelashes.

Wow, it's been a while!

2010-06-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

I apologize profusely for the lapse in posts. It's been a rough couple of months. Hubby's schedule picked up, he got picked up for his E6 (grats baby!), the holidays kicked my rear end, and I got addicted to World of Warcraft. Now let me warn you, if you have nothing but time on your hands, warcraft is awesome. I love games that make you focus on what you are doing, are social and goal/event oriented. However, if you have any semblence of a life, it's a bad idea.

We just returned from a two week jaunt around the country with all of our children in tow and it gave me a time to clear my head and really understand what my issue is. Time Management. I have absolutely no time management skills right now. Or the ones that I did have I utterly forgot. So since tomorrow is officially our first day back on the job (or in my case, back in the SAHM saddle) it's a fresh start.

First things first, I'll be restarting my flylady babysteps. Years ago when I was fresh out of the military, working full time and supporting my two oldest babies all by myself, the flylady saved me. My mother is not a born organized person and I didn't learn a whole lot of homemaking skills at her side. Don't get me wrong, my mother is awesome. She may not bake the worlds best pie, or know how to keep a house sparkling like Martha Stewart, but she always had time for me, always had a smile on her face and is even now, my best friend. My goal is to balance what my mother was with my desire for a clean, well run household. Hell, right now I'd settle for a clean house..haha! Anyway, back on subject, Flylady is a system created by Marla Cilley based on the SHE (sidetracked Home Executive) system by pam and peggy jones. It's not a checklist, it's not a how to. What it is is a system to help you develop habits to manage your time better. And given that she's worked for me beautifully in the past, I have faith she can again.

Her website is www.flylady.net and is an invaluable tool for anyone really. Her mantra, you can do anything in 15 minutes, helps soldiers, actors, moms and kids alike. Letting go of perfectionism is a hard step, but she makes it seem simple. Plus, she's really really nice.
I'll also be participating in the beachbody slim in six system. I'm an all or nothing type of gal but that is part of what has led to my downfall. A simple six week system to ease me back into my fitness life is just what the doctor ordered. I've put on 20 lbs in six months being stuck on my but gaming, and I'd like to get rid of my gamer but as soon as possible.

This is of course not to say I'm deserting my dear Night Elf Druid, but I am prioritizing a bit better. She's a lvl 80 and my guild, There and Back Again of Fizzcrank seems to be in a bit of transition so I have no problems sticking to scheduled guild raids and maybe rewarding myself with a bit off questing or alt lvling after I've completed my tasks for the day. Perhaps it's good enough to kick my butt into gear and help me start feeling a bit more like myself.

Corn Chowder

2009-11-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought it could get cold in Louisiana? I was prepared for cold in Germany, where dropping temperatures bring out the hot stews and soups in the kitchen. I don't have ingredients on hand for my favorite rich stews and soups, except for Corn Chowder. It's really easy to make, and my kids love it. And if you are running short on time and don't have time to dice potatoes, a bag of the frozen diced potatoes from the commissary works fantastic. I always make cornbread to go with this.

CORN CHOWDER

1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups potatoes, diced
2 cups water
2 cans of creamed corn
1 can evaporated milk
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, saute onion and pepper in butter until onion is translucent. Add potatoes and water; simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Stir in creamed corn and evaporated milk. Add 1 cup water . Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Simmer 15 minutes and remove from heat. Serve warm, although it's delicious cold as well. If you want to thicken it up a bit, stir in some instant potatoes. You can add all kinds of stuff, bacon, ham, diced chicken, they're all yummy. And big batches go fantastic at FRG Potlucks and something to send into the office with your hubby at lunch to feed the troops without breaking the bank. It even freezes well for those days you just don't feel like cooking. I was infamous for making batches of this and giving it to families I knew were sick or injured, or otherwise might need a hot meal. Nothing says "get better soon" like a big bowl of soup.

Need YOUR help!

2009-11-11T20:37:00.000-08:00

I am working on a book of Bible Promises specifically for Military Wives. Most bible promise books don't give you verses of comfort for deployment, or PCS. So here's what I need your help with.

1) Topics. What topics would you like to see verses for((family, deployment, pcs, fear, lonliness, etc))
2) Do you have a bible verse that brings you comfort that you would like to share? If so what is it, and what does it bring you comfort for?

Please email your suggestions to katherine@wivesoffaith.org

Thank you. I can't wait to share these promises with you!

How To: Write a Household 6 SOP

2009-11-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

Or in other words, a Home Management Binder. :) I know, seems kind of hokey, but believe me, they work. And it's nice to find everything in one place.
Required Items:
Binder
Dividers
Sheet protectors

That's pretty much all you need. You can divide your HMB any way you like. Let me give you an example. In my home management binder, the first thing you will find are my routines and cleaning lists. Daily, Weekly, Monthly and seasonal. These are printed and in sheet protectors so I can mark them off. these are good to have because if you go down ill and wind up in the hospital for a week, your hubby has marching orders right there and will know how to keep the household flowing smoothly so you don't come home to recover and find yourself up in the middle of the night catching up. Routines mean consistancy and that is good for you and good for your kids. When your hubby deploys and everything feels like it is too much, you just take one thing at a time and before you know it, you're humming along again.

The second section is my emergency information. I always put this with a red tab and write on the cover that in case of an emergency, use the red tab. Each family member has a complete medical history, allergy lists, blood type, etc and it's all gathered into their own sheet protector. I'm good at remembering this stuff. My hubby is not. He might forget that I'm allergic to Sulfa and Pennicillan but my history will warn the doctors before I'm subjected to it. Going to a spouses retreat and leaving the kids with a neighbor so you can recouperate while he's downrange? What if the baby gets ill? They have that info in case of an emergency. I can't stress how important this is. I also include locations of living wills, regular wills, powers of attorney, etc. If you want to get seriously detailed, keep lists for first aid kits, emergency preparedness info etc.

My third section is all the kids routines and calenders. You got kids over the age of 5? You'll probably need a calender to keep track of who has what when, coaches and teacher information, etc.

Fourth section are recipes. Family favorites, quick and easy recipes, or treasured family classics.

Fifth section are addressess and phone numbers

Sixth are my patterns for my crafts, some devotionals, etc.

So, the basic idea behind this home management journal is not so much that you can't function without it. But that your house can function without YOU should something happen.

If you don't feel like you are the creative type, here are some links to some printables that might help.
http://www.household-management-101.com/image-files/home-management-binder.jpg

So what are you waiting for? Get cracking!

How To: Repair a blocked pump in a GE Top Loading Washing Machine

2009-11-08T16:17:00.000-08:00

So today was a fun day. My washing machine just wasn't draining! I have a GE Top Loading washing machine and nothing I did was making this sucker drain. So I decided to make sure the pump was working. So if you are ever in this situation, here's what you need.

1. A bolt remover set.
2. And probably a pair of pliers.
3. Lots of towels to sop up the water
4. whole lot of confidence in yourself.

First thing you should do is unplug your machine and remove the hoses ((after turning off the water!)). Then you remove the top panel. The one with the knobs on it. My machine required a star shaped allen wrench. I don't know what it's called..lol. Luckily it was one of the bits included in my craftsman electric screwdriver set. When you remove this be careful not to yank it off, there are wires connected and these are important. Encased in here you should find a sheet of paper tucked in describing how to dismantle your machine for maintenance purposes.

If it didn't have that sheet of paper, this is basically what you do to remove the front wall of your machine. Aligned with the edges of the lid of your machine are two spring loaded tabs. Take a putty knife or a butter knife and slide this in the seam of the machine at those two points. Press to release the tabs. Repeat on the other side. Then pull out just a little, and up to relase from your machine. You should see the inside the machine now. Use your flashlight to locate the drainage tube. Mine was black and hard to miss as it ran from the tub to a pump on the lower left side. Congrats on locating the pump!!

Your next step is to use your pliers to clamp down on the spring collar securing your hose to the pump. this will allow you to remove the hose from the pump and check for obstructions. This is exactly where mine was. A purex 3 in one sheet was the culprit, blocking the entire hose. If there is no obstruction, your pump might need replacing. I suggest calling a repairman.

Reconnect everything, operating in reverse, making sure that all the wires in the front panel are still connected tightly, reconnect hoses, etc and give it a go!

Look at that! You are a certified obstruction remover and a super home maker. I told you you can do it!

Easy Thanksgiving Placemats

2009-11-08T16:15:00.000-08:00

This is something my kids love to do every year and helps with the decor and cleanup too!

1. I buy fat quarters of season fabric or scrapbook paper that coordinates with the table cards and such and a roll of clear contact paper.

2. The kids glue colorful leaves that they've gathered and any other little tidbits they want ((Like my DD with her glitter and rickrack)).

3. I cut the contact sheets to the size I want ((Generally 1/2 inch larger than the art projects we've made)), 2 sheets per placemat. Put the contact sheets on either side of the artwork, sticky sides in and smooth it out with a squeegee or a credit card.

4. Use sharp scissors to round out the edges or even scallop them if you are feeling fancy ((DD loves using my shaped scrapbooking scissors to do the edges)) and voila! You have thanksgiving placemats.

This also works with any other placemats you want to make. Seasonal, or even just your kids artwork that they are proud of.

Pumpkin Brownies

2009-11-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

PUMPKIN BROWNIES

1 lg. can pumpkin
1 c. oil
1/2 tsp. cloves
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder

Mix together and put into greased dish, 13"x9". Bake 25 minutes in 350 degree oven.

FROSTING:

6 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar

Beat all together. Frost brownies when cool.

The Great Flea War

2009-11-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

You read that right. Your very own Homefront Honey is engaged in a battle of her own. WW3 to be exact. It’s me vs. the fleas. And until today, the fleas were winning. We quickly progressed from one or two fleas on my beloved terrier, to a full on civilization. I’m pretty sure it’s their military force and colonozation department that have been giving me the most trouble. Flea baths were just.not.cutting.it. Funny enough, my cat doesn’t have any. I guess she just looks mean because they leave her alone entirely.

Today I commensed Operation Kill them All. First off was a direct assualt. A Flea Dip. Apparently this pissed the fleas off so badly that my puppy was laying on the floor twitching and spinning on his side like those cartoons. Okay, so maybe it was hilarious, but still. I followed this up with a flea collar to keep them under control some more. I’m on a limited budget at the moment so K9 Advantix or frontline isn’t in the budget, and the Hartz version isn’t worth squat. Then I began the direct assualt. I treated the carpets and the furniture with a spray guaranteed to kill the little buggers. Now my house reeks of that heavy floral scent they throw in there to mask the smell of death, but hopefully, the fleas are dead now. I’m sure whatever survivors there are of my chemical warfare will scream whenever they smell potpourri and flee my house immediately. Of course, there’s no way to tell if the fleas are in full retreat, or just regrouping for an even bigger assualt. Only time will tell.

Worthy of Love

2009-10-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

Have you ever fallen into the trap of believing that your worth comes from your works? I have. I’ve tried so hard to mold myself into that cookie cutter image of the perfect Military Wife and mother that I’ve literally put myself on my knees. I let myself fall into the trap of thinking that I HAD to volunteer with the FRG, MOPS, PWOC, and a handful of other charities. I HAD to bake cakes from scratch shaped like yellow ribbons for welcome home ceremonies. I was Army Wife Barbie complete with perfectly coiffed hair, and a double strand of pearls, bravely holding her family together and serving her community while her husband served his country.

If you find yourself falling into that trap ask yourself, why are you doing it? Are you doing it because you love to serve others? Are you doing it to prove your worth to yourself or to others? I have to admit that I was doing it because I thought I had to. I do love to serve others, and love to glorify God with my actions and service. However I wasn’t thinking about glorifying the Father when I did these things. I was thinking how nice it was to be appreciated, but at the same time I knew that what I was doing was for myself and not for others. I knew that the other wives were marvelling at my ability to do it all. I was looking to others to decide my worth and fulfill my need to be loved. Needless to say this did not work out well. I overloaded myself trying to prove my worth to everyone and to myself until I crumbled under the pressure and the weight.

It was as I was lying on a hospital bed trying to recover from my first ever anxiety attack that I realized where I had gone wrong. I was looking for others to tell me that I was worth loving. My worth never came from how many cakes I baked, or how many FRG functions I stepped up to run. I was a whitewashed tomb. On the outside I looked like everything a military wife should be. But inside, I was empty, and it was this emptiness that I tried in vain to fill. As I lay on that bed I knew that the only thing that would fill that emptiness inside of me was God’s love.

I am not worthy of His love but he gives it to me anyway, just as He gives it to each one of you. I was reminded of this at a program night at the chapel. The ladies who planned the event had set up a small white tent in the banquet hall. We were asked to enter the tent and look into a mirror placed against the wall and think about ourselves. It was easy to find the flaws when I looked in the mirror. A hair out of place here, a wrinkle in my slacks there. It was then that my eyes fell on the scripture versus printed and placed around the room. Verses like 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a special people, a holy nation, priests and kings, a people given up completely to God, so that you may make clear the virtues of him who took you out of the dark into the light of heaven”, and 1 John 4:9 “And the love of God was made clear to us when he sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.” It was after I read these versus that I looked into the mirror again and saw myself in a whole new light.

God loves me. He loves ME. I am unworthy of His love and nothing I do will every change that. But nothing I ever do will take away His love for me either. I can neither deserve it, or do anything to diminish it. . I challenge each and every one of you to look into a mirror today. For once, don’t look at your flaws, but try to see yourself through His eyes. Remember, you are a beloved of God. A Daughter of The King and loved with an unconditional love so strong that He sacrificed His only son for YOUR salvation. Even if you were the only person who would benefit from this, He still would have done it. You mean that much to Him. Finally I want you to ask yourself, if He can love you, isn’t it time that you loved yourself too? Stop defining yourself by the standards of the world and live your life with the knowledge that you are a beloved daughter of God and you nothing you do will ever stop Him from loving you.

Bloom where you planted

2009-09-17T21:53:00.001-07:00

Have you ever heard this phrase before? Bloom where you are planted. This is a common phrase among Military Wives for sure, as we barely get time to grow some roots before we are plucked from the soil and seemingly cast to the wind, only to try to bloom someplace new. How about Home is Where the Army Sends You? I always stop and admire the charming signs that the concessionaires sell at the PX, the kind where you can purchase little tabs to hang underneath them designating each station you’ve lived at before. It hardly seems fair that they generally only come with three or four tabs when we need six or seven, and possibly more before we’re done.

As Military Wives we can often feel like we are just tagging along behind our husbands, moving at the Military’s whim. An afterthought. It can seem discouraging, and may be tempting not to unpack at all or meet the new neighbors. After all, you’ll only be moving again soon. In a world where the rule of thumb is to always use pencil in your address book, it’s easy to feel like you are being cast to the wind. But the truth of the matter is we are where He wants us. He sees each of us individually, loves us each individually and has plans for each and every one of us. You have a calling and a purpose unique to you.

When we received unexpected orders to PCS to Fort Polk in Louisiana with only six weeks notification, it was easy to feel buried under all the responsibilities and things that had to be done. It sure didn’t help that all of my friends expressed their sorrow that we were heading to Polk, their faces looking more appropriate to speaking to someone about the unexpected passing of a beloved family pet. I had planted firm roots in Heidelberg and the prospect of leaving made me feel like crying. I knew that I would be leaving part of myself when I left and wasn’t sure I wanted to set those roots in my new community.

I did though. God reminded me that I was never buried; only planted. I would Bloom here too and if I was willing, I could fulfill His plans for me here. I’m not in Louisiana at the whim of the Army, and not because I am tagging along behind my husband as he serves all over the world. God has a unique purpose for me. Me alone. And unless I open myself to him, and plant my roots, I’ll never be able to bloom and bear fruit for Him.

Look at Ruth. She left her homeland to follow Naomi, even though she could have gone home. She might have felt as we do sometimes, just another victim, tossed about by the world with no control over her own fate. Yet trusting in God, she followed the path he set her on, and was the ancestor of our Lord and Savior. Just as Ruth, we have to trust in His plan for us.

Home is not where the Army sends you. It’s where God takes you. When you stop letting yourself feel like a victim of the Military’s wants and whims, and see yourself as the Heroine of your own story, you will Bloom, you will bear fruit, and you will grow stronger in your Walk with Him.

Katherine is an Army wife who is stationed with her husband at Ft. Polk, LA.