Girls for a Change...

The following is a post sponsored by Yahoo! Every time someone clicks here to make Yahoo! their homepage, they're showing their support for Girls For A Change.

I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Girls for a Change is an awesome non-profit organization that “empowers girls to create social change [by] invit[ing] young women to design, lead, fund and implement social change projects that tackle issues girls face in their own neighborhoods” (GFC). Women volunteers work with young girls to bring these service projects to life. In working together, the women and girls are equally blessed by inspiring each other to change their surroundings for the better.

You can also inspire change in those around you, as well as in the lives of young girls.  Yahoo! will donate $10 to Girls For A Change (GFC) for each person who clicks here to make Yahoo! her homepage by July 1...up to an amazing $10,000!  I hope you’ll be one of the 1,000 people willing to make a change worth $10,000 to this fantastic cause.

Inspiration and life-changing actions and behaviors come in many forms. I am inspired by military wives of faith. These women are an incredible species who tend to serve in unnoticed ways. She loves her God, husband, and children and consistently puts her faith and family before all else. She loves the other wives around her, offering help, support, and encouragement when it is most needed. She is a loyal friend who demonstrates what true friendships are all about. She offers at least a smile to all others she encounters in her life. I have seen these women hold doors for moms struggling with strollers, give a compassionate smile to the fresh-out-of-high-school enlisted kid, and ask how a flustered cashier's day has been.

These are fierce women, who, by the world’s standards, might not be changing the world in drastic ways. But they have inspired me to continue trying to be a Godly woman, wife, and mom. Isn’t that why Christians are here—to show Jesus’ love in all facets of our lives? They are truly doing the Lord’s work and are certainly changing the world as they go from duty station to duty station.

Semper Shop...

...is now open!!!  Get 15% off your order plus free shipping on every order until July 15 with the coupon code SEMPER15.  Happy shopping! :)

Take every thought captive...

I was recently sharing some of my struggles with a godly woman in my life. After listening to me go on and on…and on…she wisely advised me that I needed to take my thoughts captive. Her advice is based off of 2 Corinthians 10:5: “…and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

That stopped me dead in my negative tracks. “How exactly do I do that?” I questioned.

She suggested that I could either pray for the people/situations/issues I was having negative thoughts about or quote scripture out loud to push those thoughts away.

Genius. And yet so obvious. How did I miss that?

Paul writes in Philippians 2:5 that our “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” I’m positive that Jesus did not allow such negative thoughts into his mind.

Armed with these verses, I immediately jumped into my Bible to find scripture that I could use to block the negativity that is so persistent in my life lately. Now, when I am tempted by these pesky thoughts, I am whole-heartedly clinging to scripture to block this toxicity from my mind.

These are some of the verses I have been reciting to deflect negativity into glorifying God’s name. (If you see me mumbling to myself, you’ll know what I’m saying! )

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” -Philippians 4:13

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” -Ephesians 4:31-32

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” -Psalm 139:14

What verses do you cling to in order to take your thoughts captive?

When Hubby is away...

God has given me an amazing husband. 

The military has given me many, many weeks away from my amazing husband.  But each separation has allowed me to grow in very unique ways.   

During this last separation, I found myself playing the role of handy (wo)man by lowering the crib mattress and installing the new car seat.  My first instinct with these projects was to give up and wait until Hubby got home.  But alas, Baby is growing and couldn't wait for Dad to tackle these tasks.  A few tears of frustration were shed as I used the L-shaped whoosie-whatsie to pry loose the bolts on the crib to reposition it. 

For the car seat, I read the instruction manual cover to cover, through all the languages (lest I miss something in English) at least three times before attempting to install it.  Once I thought I had it figured out, I put Baby in his new backpack carrier (which I also had to put together by myself) and headed out to the garage.  Half an hour, a few more glances at the instruction manual, and a very sweaty mom and baby later, Baby's big boy car seat was securely installed. 

As if these challenges weren't enough, I decided to take a mini vacay--just Baby and me.  I packed up the car, and six hours later we arrived at our destination.  I valeted the car, checked into our hotel, tipped the bellman, and headed out to explore the town...just Baby and me.  We shopped, ate, and visited tourist traps all by ourselves.  It was definitely a challenge, but I am proud to say that I conquered a solo-ish vacation to a place I had always wanted to visit.  Sure beats sitting around the house for weeks on end!  

I have to admit that these military-induced separations are not pleasant, but they are allowing me to grow in ways I never imagined.  I'm not a handy-(wo)man and I prefer to travel with people over two feet tall.  But I make the best of what I'm given and try my darndest to carry on with life while Hubby is away.  

Giveaway winner...

The Semper Shop giveaway winner is (via http://www.random.org/) KAE!  I will be contacting you this weekend!  Congratulations, and thank you to everyone who entered!

Think about such things...

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."  -Ephesians 4:31-32

Semper Shop Giveaway...

Are y'all ready for this?  (Cue the heavy bass, smoke machine, and light show.) 

I present to you the debut products in Semper Shop...super cute and witty (if I do say so myself) notecards! 

Keep reading...there's a giveaway!!!

Cute everyday notecards (printed without the watermark, of course)!

Moving announcement or just for fun!

I would love to send a package of your choice of notecards to 1 of my lovely readers!  All you have to do is: (leave one comment for each entry)

1. Leave a comment telling me which notecard picture you like best! 
2. "Like" Semper Wifey on Facebook!
3. Post about this giveaway on your own blog or Facebook page and put the link in the comment section!

The giveaway will end on Wednesday, June 15.  Stay tuned for the winner AND an incredible deal to purchase your own in case you don't win! 

Start here...

Wow...Semper Wifey has grown tremendously in the past few months!  Welcome to all of my new readers, and THANK YOU to all of my long-time readers!  If you're new around here or just need a refresher on Semper Wifey, check out the new Start Here page!

I hope that you enjoy your time on this site.  I love hearing from y'all through comments or emails, so keep 'em comin'!  

Oh, and Semper Wifey also got a bit of a makeover.  So if you're reading this in your Reader, come on over to the site and check it out! :)

Friday featurette...

I'm being featured on Mrs. O's blog today!  Go take a peak! :)

What to wear to a wetting down...

In honor of Hubby's promotion, I (virtually) pulled together a cute little number for his soon-to-be-happening wetting down! 

Wetting Down by semperwifey featuring gold chandelier earrings

Bring the rain...

There are times in our lives that are just plain harder than others. This past year has been a time like that for Hubby and me, for a number of reasons. During this time, the Lord continues to put a particular verse on my heart: “Have you considered my servant Job?” (Job 1:8). As I continue to struggle, this verse obsessively repeats over and over in my mind.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t consider myself or my sufferings to be at the level of Job. After all, God said that “no one on earth [is] like him: he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8). I don’t even compare. Nor do my sufferings. Job endured the loss of his property and his family. In comparison, my own sufferings have been a minor inconvenience. But that doesn’t make my suffering any less real or painful to me.

This verse speaks to me in a very real way. God allows hardships—in Job’s life and in mine. At the beginning of Job, God is the one who suggested to Satan that Job be tested. God had faith that Job would remain faithful to Him. Was it hard on Job? Was it painful for him? Did he question why terrible things were happening to him? Absolutely. I am no different in this way.

Job could easily have turned his back on God, yet “[i]n all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing” (Job 1:22). Job proved God right by remaining faithful. In my suffering, I have a similar choice to make: I can choose to turn my back on God or I can draw closer to Him. I choose the latter.

I know that God has full control over my life and is allowing hard times for a reason. Whether or not I understand what God is doing in my life or why He is choosing to go about it a certain way, I have faith that through every circumstance He will be glorified.

My heart and soul (and sometimes my mouth) sing:

“I know there’ll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that’s what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain.” (“Bring the Rain” by Mercy Me)

Thank you, Lord, for raining hard times down on me. Help me to continue to glorify You through it all.