The Enemy Under My Feet (Psalm 91:13)

Psalm 91:13
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

Today was an emotional rollercoaster. Just little things tended to happen that bugged me. First of all i got up late for church, got lost (how ironic cause ive been there a thousand times!) didn't make it in time to go in, i'd be too late. I had a little argument with my mother when i went over to my parent's house...and that's not even the biggest part of my day.

Well, today Aaron and i have been married for 6 months! :) I am celebrating it (even though tons of people tell me you only celebrate on the years) because im so happy to have found the love of my life at the age of 20 and wow!! 6 months! :D He told me he'd call me today...and when he didn't i got the feeling something came up. If he doesn't call, he at least writes me something on FB so i know he's ok...but he didn't today. So i prayed for him and missed him but all was ok...

I got home and kinda watched movies and sulked. Around 2 o'clock i got a phone call from my Key Caller (a lady from the army who keeps army spouses up to date on things during a deployment) She said that there was an "incident" that affected Bravo Battery (which is Aaron's battery) But because i was getting this call (and not the soldiers at my door) it meant that he was ok, but there would be more information about it through a "Red Message" and they would email it after all the other spouses had been contacted.
When she first called i didn't know what to think. She said there had been "an incident" and i imidiately felt like praying, but i didn't know for what. I knew in my heart and had peace that Aaron was ok, but who wasn't?

Later this afternoon i got the e-mail. A soldier had died.
I have no idea who this man was, but all i know is that when i saw his name, i immediately prayed for his family and their loss. And then, selfishly, i thanked God over and over again for protecting MY husband.

Tonight as i read through my Psalm 91 devotion, verse 13 spoke to me...
It's about fears that we have- our spiritual enemies, they may start out little and become big in our lives and once they become big they can create big problems. I thought about that little fear that's always deep in the back of my mind that Aaron might not come home to me. But this verse says that we have the authority to "tread" upon these fears, "the lion and cobra and serpent."

When i look back on today, when i got that phone call and i had peace in my heart that Aaron was ok, i feel like that was a moment where i trampled on/"treaded" on these fears that the enemy has placed in my head. The fear that Aaron might not come home to me.Yes,that could happen, he is a soldier and he's on a real battlefield. Not only a battlefield with humans, but also a spiritual one because he's a believer.
Instead of breaking down thinking the worst and worrying and keeping that worry on my top priority day after day that he may not come back to me, i believe that God has helped me have the peace to overcome that fear. I am treading on that fear. And i am proud to have that peace in my heart about God protecting Aaron.

Please pray for the soldier's family who died. This loss is a great one.
And please continue to pray for our soldiers' safety as they are in a very dangerous situation. [this situation today kinda made all the dangers of deployment life come to real life, there are people dying. Ive tried to ignore it but being an armywife now, i can't. You never really know until you're living it. I feel, even though i had never met this man, that he was a part of my family too just because he was a soldier.]
I've been fervently praying over the last few days, every chance i get, that Aaron and his group would be safe. That God would place a hedge of protection over them and i truely believe that God has been answering my prayers.
Thank you to everyone else who is praying for Aaron, and all the other soldiers out there. They all need it.
And prayer is powerful. It works!


*thanks for reading this really long post, hope it wasn't confusing, i think for the most part i just needed to get my thoughts and feelings down.

Just Plain Tired...of it all...

So it’s been a long, lonely weekend. I’ve been overwhelmed with emotions. Mostly missing Aaron TERRIBLY! I can’t seem to push this feeling behind me. Im feeling clingy, but im left without my husband to cling to. He did call me Saturday morning. We talked for a while and it was Wonderful to hear his voice, but I haven’t heard from him since. I know him being in Afghanistan is a BIG deal, and I should be grateful I just heard from him….but I still feel like I need him right now. He seems to be the only one that can calm my heart and mind with all that’s going on (and everything that’s not going on) and I just want to be able to talk to him or just have him on the phone with me listening to the noise of the phoneline. I just want to feel that connection right now. I miss him. A LOT.

Im also tired of the negative comments coming from random people in the world and the supid judgemental things that seem to keep being said and happening to me. This one lady said "you're only 20 and he's in the army...honey, get ready, you'll be divorced in a few weeks."
Somone else..."newlyweds and military don't work"
...theres more but i won't go into that.
I'm tired of these people being so judgemental. Maybe it doesn't work for some people, but THOSE people are not ME AND AARON. I love him. He loves me. And we both love God. So, to all those negative people in the world... First of all, STOP talking to me. And secondly, WE WILL LAST!!! And last, STAY out of our business if you're not going to support us!!! (ok, sorry, i had to vent...)

Anyways....

My parents decided to take a mini-vacation. I offered to take care of the girls for a day while they went and had a day/night off. They definitely deserve this break!
Their energetic spirits (the girls’) have definitely kept me busy enough not to sulk about missing Aaron, but there’s still that feeling.—even more so at night-- I let the girls go outside for the afternoon and decided to take some pictures for my future scrapbooking needs (*Im thinking about signing up as a Creative Memories Consultant*) Here are two of my favorites I took of the girls interacting with each other….there were a lot more, but I didn’t want to put too many on here…the rest are on facebook.


So now I should go to bed. (if i can sleep....sleep has been a problem lately, AGAIN) I have a lot to do in the morning, getting them ready, making breakfast and lunches….hopefully I won’t make the girls late for school. :)

Growing Up

Wow, My little sisters are growing up so fast. This is their second week of school and they love it. I went with my mom and the girls on their first day of school. We walked them over to school and there we left them. I actually almost cried, because we were just leaving them in a new area all alone, they looked so small. But they were brave and sooo excited that morning!




I got to keep Remington for another few days. About 4 days or so. It was really nice to have his little energetic self running around this apartment, keeping me company and definitely on my toes!


Mom and i went to the pool and took him with us so we could do some laps. We got him a cute little float. He was quiet the whole time...i don't know what was goign through his little head in that "big bathtub" lol but overall i think he enjoyed himself. Aunt Rachel (mom) and i took turns supervising and playing with him while the other would go swim a few laps. It was fun. And he really enjoyed getting to play with Arianna and McKayla when they got home from school.
Such a sweet little boy, but wow! He has definitely grown since the last time i took care of him, and that was only a few weeks ago!





Aw i love this little guy!

Someone else who's growing up....AMBER
My sister is going to be 24 years old this month! I'm so proud of her. She's the best big sister any girl could ever ask for. I've known her for a little over 20 years, and gosh, we're always best friends forever NO MATTER WHAT!!! Can't wait to celebrate with her!

My best friend JESSICA is moving to Mississippi this month. I sure am gonna miss her....

AND... last but not least, There are 365 days in a year. And Aaron has been gone for 133! So we only have 232 days left until he gets to come home since his orders only allow him to be gone for a year and not longer. Im praying he gets home sooner than a whole year, but with only 8 months left, im glad this deployment has gone smoothly so far. I definitely feel that our relationship is stronger through this distance and stress of deployment. And we definitely couldn't be doing this great without God and the prayers and support of family and friends. Thank you.
**September 19th will be our 6 month anniversary**

Comfort

I got a call from my husband this morning (who knew phone calls would be the thing i look forward to the most in life) :) well, GUESS WHAT??....he sounded HAPPY! :) Oh goodness, that's such a relief!! We had a good talk and it seems like he's seeing the light at the end of this long tunnel of a bad week. *and it even helped that he slept good last night for the first time in about a week. I hope and pray that the next few days keep getting better and betterfor him...
The sound of his happy voice on the other end of the phone gave me comfort..Aaron's going to be alright. This phone call just showed me again how God is bigger than anything that tries to stand in our way. And He's taking care of it all


Last night my heart was heavy. I was feeling helpless when it came to encouraging Aaron so, i started reading Ephesians. Ch. 1 verses 1-3. It was about blessings. And God has given us so many blessings. And needless to say, last night after reading about blessings, i was truely blessed.
I had started out trying to find a verse to send Aaron for encouragement but it turns out , going to God's Word is uplifting during every situation in life. (i've known this...just it takes a while for me to put it into practice sometimes)
I was comforted by what i read...
I SLEPT good last night! I gave everything to God before i went to bed so my heart was more relaxed, and yeah...yesterday evening my mom and i went to Anna's Linens and i bought two new pillows...so that could have helped alittle too :)

Boys and Life

Boys:
First off, i miss the love of my life. MY HUSBAND. This week has been a really rough week for him. I don't know all the details i think he's just emotionally and physically strained right now. Not getting much sleep and well...being in Afghanistan...it's got to be rough. Anyways, i've been feeling like i can't encourage him enough. And then it doesn't help that my phone has decided not to ring all the time, so i missed his 3 calls one day. 3 calls and it never rang...i just got a voicemail and Aaron seemed really down.
Today i almost missed him again, it was a God-thing that i walked in my room as my phone lit up saying "one missed call" and then THANKFULLY, he called right back. We talked for a while, but i can still tell that he's not himself, not happy and such.
If only there were a way to send a real hug to him. Just to go there give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek and say Everything's going to be alright. I think that's all he needs right now. But since i can't do that, im just going to ask for a lot of prayer for him.

I haven't been sleeping too well lately, i don't know if it's me or if it's me worrying about things or what...but it's getting rather annoying so im gonna ask for prayers about that too. I feel EXTREMELY tired lately and i don't know what to do about it, because i try to sleep but can't. And during the day im so tired, but ill make myself stay awake, but when night comes, no matter how sleepy i get, i'll still not sleep much. But who needs sleep anyway?

....Two other boys on my mind are my cousin's two little boys. Channing (3) and Remington (1). In June, the boys got placed with my grandparents under kinship care. My cousin is now supposed to go to rehab and get her act and house cleaned up and then she can get her boys back. Prayers for these two little boys is needed too. They miss their mama so bad.
Also for my cousin, she needs the strength to get through this stuff. And realize that she has two little boys who desperately need their mother! She's such a great girl, but got into a little trouble. Im praying that she can make things right again and get her boys back so they 3 can be a family again.

Well, my grandma hurt her shoulder two weeks ago, so i got to keep baby Remington for about a week. We had so much fun. He's a handful but such a sweet boy. Channing came to Waco for the weekend too. He enjoyed playing with my little sisters Arianna and McKayla. Arianna and him got along great especially since they're kinda clost in age 3 and 5. Channing is such a sweet boy too, so smart :)
I love all four of these kiddos.

Life:
My two little sisters are starting their new school Monday. They're going to Midway Elementary. McKayla will be in the 3rd grade and Arianna in Kindergarten. They're SO excited and can't wait for school to start.
My mom and i are a little excited too. It looks like we'll have a whole week to go swimming just the two of us and do laps and stuff at my pool and maybe get in a little mother-daughter shopping time without having to worry about two bored little girls causing chaos lol

Im not sure what my plans are for this fall. Looks like im too late on enrolling for college classes. But my plans are kinda in limbo right now. Im talking to some people about helping out with Channing and Remington, but if that doesn't come into play then i guess i'll be looking for a job. Lets just hope IF the second thing happens, that all the good jobs won't be taken by the college students that are coming back to town.

Anyways, that's my update for now...sorry no cool pictures or anything. Maybe next time.

Beginning of August...

Now that all my posts for JULY R&R are done, i guess i'll get caught up on the beginning of August.

McKayla celebrated her 8th birthday two weekends ago. Her birthday was August 1st, but the party was on Saturday the 31st. She definitely enjoyed her day being the center of attention. haha. It seemed to go well. It was a family party since she hasn't been in school yet to have school friends over, but im sure next year she'll have a big party full of a bunch of 9 year old (oh helps up! lol) It was amazing getting to celebrate with her...this was the first birthday she's had as a part of the Rushing family! :)


Since the party was held in Tyler, Jessica and i spent the weekend with Amber at her new apartment. It was a great weekend spending time with my two favorite people, my sister best friend and my best friend! :)
Since Jess is about to leave for Mississippi soon, it was good to spend a few days with her. The two of us went to a Casting Crowns concert Aug 5th. It was AMAZING! Very good!! Im glad she invited me to go with her. We met in Austin, and then i spent the night at her place afterwards. We didn't get much time to talk since i had to leave early the next morning, but im hoping for at least one more chance to hang out together before she leaves :)

Anyways, i've got my cousin, baby Remington for a few days...so i better get off this blog and go rest up. I heard through the grapevine that he gets up early! lol

Psalm 91:4...
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find shelter....

R&R POST 4...last r&r post

Thursday we went to Dallas for a Rangers game. The very first baseball game i've ever been to. I really enjoyed it. It was hot, yes, but i was definitely a great experience! Aaron wanted to go, and at first i wasn't so sure of it, but by Monday i was definitely excited and looking forward to the new experience. We got some pretty good seats too! Oh btw, the RANGERS WON!!! And Josh Hamilton is my favorite! Not only is he a good player, but he has some pretty sweet Christian songs that play when he steps up to the plate :)



After the game, Aaron and i ate breakfast/dinner at an IHOP. We stayed in Dallas that night with my Aunt Mary. Friday for lunch, all three of us met up with my cousin Will and his wife Samantha. It was a pretty good day. The weekend seemed to go by fast after that. He was to leave on Tuesday.
Friday when we got home we just rested because of all the driving we had done! Saturday i felt bad because we didn't do anything at all. I didn't feel good and slept almost all day, did laundry and cleaned the house a little. Thank goodness Aaron had his xbox or im sure he would have been bored and wanting to do something.

Sunday- we went to my church. It was a really good service. And you know, after two Sundays having my husband sit beside me in worship, i really can't wait until he gets home so we can go to church together more often! We ate lunch at Chili's with my parents and little sisters. Then we spent the afternoon/evening playing Nertz. Aaron loved the game. (A card game that EVERYONE should know how to play!) He won the very first rounch we played- his very first time to play. We ended up playing till almost midnight!

Monday we took the girls for a bit, i can't remember why. But we took them swimming. Aaron and i had some "us" time before going back over to my parent's house for some homemade enchiladas and another night full of playing Nertz :)
We stayed there late, and then when we got back home, neither one of us wanted to go to sleep because we knew once we did, the time would come for him to leave. We tried staying up for a while and ended up going to bed around 3 or so in the morning. I took him to the airport around 11 and there we parted.
That part isn't so good...but the two weeks we did spend together were amazing. And i can't wait for him to get back home for good!! :)

....If i wrote these posts any earlier i might be crying my eyes out, going through tissue after tissue. When Aaron left, it was so hard for me. After a few days of just crying and horrible loneliness, and memories everywher i turned, i finally started this devotional book that Aaron let me borrow. It's over Psalm 91. It goes verse by verse in the chapter. As i read it, well i cried some more as i read Psalm 91:1 and God spoke to me.

"Those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."
The book talked about how i must first "dwell" before i can "rest"
I then decided that instead of trying to make myself feel better, i needed to rely on God and have Him comfort me. So that's what i did. The tears stopped coming so harshly. And yes, im still sad that Aaron isn't here, but im also content and growing closer to God through this. He has definitely been speaking to me through this study and, WOW!...my heart is feeling more peaceful, hopeful, and happy every day that goes by.

God is so good!