Wednesday, June 30, 2010

With Opportunity Comes...

The Lord has so kindly blessed us with several open doors at some military bases already. There are folks burdened to reach the military, ready and trained at Dyess AFB in Abilene, as well as some near Shepherd AFB. (Shepherd is a training base, where approximately 1/2 of the Air Force comes through at some point in their career, so it's a very strategic location.) I am very thankful for these open doors!

But, with opportunity always comes adversity. Though our engine and generator did ok during the leg of the journey to Wichita Falls (a special thanks to those who prayed for us - it's not "healed" yet that we know of), we had some trouble when we plugged in to our destination. Apparently the church was wired incorrectly, and we ended up frying some of our appliances! :0 Our printer blew fire (didn't catch, though), and my husband's CPAP machine blew out. Our central air conditioner is not cooling very well, and our refrigerator may not be cooling well, either. Please continue to pray for us as we deal with this new "dilemma!"

Today's verse: "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength..." (Isaiah 30:15) May the Lord give us the strength to do His Will, not our own, and to do it with confidence, knowing we are perfectly in the center of His Will!

Monday, June 28, 2010

A few more pics...


Here are a few more pictures of the beginning of our trip. We passed a huge oversized load, which was being carried on about 5 trucks. Kids sure did like it! When we finally arrived at our campground and set up camp, the kiddos had to blow off some steam...









Saturday, June 26, 2010

A Few Photos...


Here are a few pics to help you get a feel of what it's like with "Raubs getting on the Road."


Jon is taking pictures of the kids with his new Blackberry before he leaves for work.




Jonathan going to his car...it was really sad to see him drive away, and know that when he came back from work, we would be gone...

I will try to post some more pictures later. At this point, I'm not good at posting pictures, and I don't really have time to do more right now. It's time to make dinner, and the natives are getting restless! :)


Friday, June 25, 2010

"How do you do it?"

We have safely arrived here by Dyess Air Force Base, setting up camp, getting ready to execute Operation Naaman here. Our drive was relatively uneventful, but the engine and the generator were both running very hot, so we had to go slowly. We successfully stretched a 2 1/2 hour drive to about 4 hours. Pray that we can get this situation resolved before too many more miles.

I am often asked, "How do you do it? How do you go travel like you do, and remain sane?" Well, there are several different ways to answer those questions, ( like...maybe I'm not really sane! Lol!) but Ive been thinking a lot about my two main guiding principles. They may not sound like much, but they have been given me by God and have guided me through my Christian life so far. I know, by God's grace, they will lead me on the rest of the way...

1. My husband and I decided a long time ago, perhaps before we were married, that we would not be so attached to any location that we were not willing to go somewhere else if that's what the Lord wanted.

2. I married my husband, not my house or even my children. I enjoy my home, and I love my children, but where God leads my husband, He leads me (and the children still living at home). I love my grandkids, but it would be better for them to have grandparents that are in God's Will than close by and out of God's Will.

So, really, it's not so hard after all. It's simply following what the Lord has shown me so many years ago, and I'm very thankful for God's guidance.

Today's verse: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord..."

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Pulling out Tomorrow!

Yesterday, we loaded up most of the food, the kitchen stuff, and school supplies. I also did a lot of cleaning in the bus, of things I do not normally get a chance to do, like cleaning out the filters of the air conditioners.

Today we are loading all clothes, except for the clothes we are wearing tomorrow. The hardest part is trying to figure out what we will need for the next six months!

Tomorrow is the day set aside for "last minute items" (which I know can be tons!) and for actually pulling out. I don't know why, but when there's a big trip like this, actually leaving can take awhile.

Everybody is excited to be moving into their own spaces in the bus. Each of the kids can decorate their bed area however they want, so that is fun. Soon we will be ready to roll!

My verse for today is: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." We need to work hard, because today is THE DAY to get it done!

Monday, June 21, 2010

T-Minus 3 days and counting...

Lots to do! Today, we head to the bus to give it a final wipe down, and then back to the house to begin loading containers to take over. I am hoping to get all the school things and office supplies loaded today, as well as winter clothes.

Each of us gets to take a container of our own personal "stuff" to keep in the bus bay, as well. Hopefully we can get those packed and loaded today.

Lord Willing, we will be all working together, so I can spend time with my children while working. I sure do enjoy being with them!

My verse for today: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God..." Ps. 42:1

To be ever mindful and longing for His presence even while we work is a bit of Heaven on earth!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Busy, busy

Having only 5 days 'till blast-off, I am constantly finding more things that need done than I can possibly do! Today I want to stay home and clean the house, wipe down surfaces of the bus, and load schoolbooks, but I think I need to run to town and do some errands. And it doesn't help that "town" is 40 minutes away!

All of this is right on the heels of some important thoughts I've had about busyness. Busyness is the enemy of relationships. As ladies, we have an uncanny ability to develop some very powerful relationships...if we take the time. It is imperative that we develop strong relationships with our children, since that is the key to passing on our values and propelling them into God's Will in their lives. Having a strong, vibrant relationship with God is paramount, and can only be obtained through meditation, confession, and prayer.

Why don't we have such strong relationships? We are simply too busy. I've been asking God to help me examine my schedule and my list of priorities and ruthlessly eliminate busyness from my life. I want to walk with my children, laugh with my husband, and breathe deeply of the fresh air of the great outdoors. I long to have times of quiet where I can hear the still, small voice of God.

I so desperately need Him, and many times I am too busy to notice...

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Heels from a different perspective...

T-minus 9 days and counting! (I think I wrote 9 days a few days ago...I don't know what I was thinking, but I know it was late! Sorry!)

Yesterday we had some friends over for dinner, and today is more cleaning. I'm trying to get the house fairly deep cleaned before I go, so I can come back to a half-decent place some day.

It's a busy week this week, with lots of cleaning, gathering, and visiting. We're trying to visit all the people we wanted to while we were here, but I think there still may be some left out. I hope not, but it's hard to squeeze it all in, especially when the departure date has moved up a bit.

Here's an interesting thought for anyone who cares:

I've been doing a little research on how high heels affect walking, posture, and a person's image, and I came up with some interesting things. Some people are obsessed with appearance, and it is those folks who provided me with my most insightful facts.

Don't read this if you're timid:

(This is from the Transgender Today site, on the impact high heels makes on appearance)

Lets face it, high heel shoes are not the most practical invention ever created. So why do they have such a dedicated following? You could say that if you have to ask, then you just don't get it. There are however, specific reasons for the attraction. It is a well known fact that wearing high heel shoes makes the foot appear smaller, elongates and slims the appearance of a womans legs, and at the same time her altered stance forces her breasts up and makes her rear end protrude 25% more. This position is also forcing the foot into a tiptoe position (the "courtship strut") which is known to be a sign of availability in several animal species. This presents signs of both availability and submissiveness due to the wearers forced attention to balance and required shorter stride. The foot is also put in an arched position that many women find is similar to during sex. The high heel shoe elevates the wearer as if they have been put on a pedestal. This gives the woman an increase in confidence not only because of several inches added to her height, but because high heels will get her significantly more attention, and even the act of putting them on will make them feel more sexy. There is an unusual balance of power and weakness in the wearing of high heels. The high heel shoe is the only object to gain the highest level of popularity in the fetish world. This is partly due to the fact that high heel shoes are like works of art in themselves, like small sleek curvy exotic sexy sculptures. They have always been in style, despite what some trendy fashion magazines may say, changing their minds every few months. Clothing items don't have the visual fetish appeal without the wearers body filling out the curves, but shoes stand on their own as coveted fetish objects. There are countless people who collect exotic high heel shoes worldwide. As a sculptor of giant and miniature high heel shoe sculptures, I find that my shoe sculptures get the most attention from the press and shoe devotees around the world. It also seems that red is by far the most popular fetish shoe color, but thats a whole different story. Bruce Gray http://www.tgtoday.com/makeupandfashion/highheels.html


Well, folks, makes me think a little about what's in the closet. How about you?

Sunday, June 13, 2010

A Good Sunday...

It is now nine days til our departure, and I have a ton of things to do. Most importantly, I need to send my grandson his birthday present! He will be three on the 17th, and I want to make sure he gets something from Nana and Papa.

We had a good day full of meetings. My Beloved taught Sunday School, preached the morning and evening services, and we were able to sing for both. I am always delighted to sing together as a family. It is one of my favorite things to do.

I have lots of work to prepare for the trip. Most importantly, however, there are folks we need to spend some time with before we leave, so this week is full of work during the day, and visiting in the evenings.