Why My Husband Rocks

Today is my husband's birthday so I thought I'd share just a few of my favorite things about him, and why I think he's the cat's pajamas.

In no particular order....

Kyle is patient. Thank goodness, because I can be annoying. He will shake his head yes when he reads this. 

He is a great listener. He can listen (tune me out) while I talk for hours. Although I'm sure it helps that he has damaged hearing in one ear.

 If I'm ever in a survival type situation, I'm sticking close to Kyle. If we were to be stranded on an island, he would have us a shelter made, food, and water set up before the end of the day and would make it seem like an adventure just so I didn't panic. 

He is not afraid of mice.

He takes care of our yard, our dogs, our cars, our bills, and never hardly ever says anything about money when I go shopping. 

He is persistent and doesn't easily give up on things. He has been trying to get me to go to a scary movie with him for 6 years. Still not happening.

He has a great smile and especially a great laugh. When he was deployed, the few times he called I tried to tell him the funniest thing I could think of just to hear him laugh.  It's what I missed the most and the main reason I'll get hearing aids when I"m old. 

My list could go on and on and on, but I will cease there. 

So thankful to share my life with such an amazing man. Happy Birthday, Kyle. 

1st Grade Triumph

* I wrote this blog 2 weeks ago, Oct 7, 2012 and didn't get it posted before my vacation so it's a little late, but here it is:

As a Onelife KIDS 1st grade small group leader, our Sundays are full of energy, questions, dancing,  learning, and loose teeth. Sometimes we have good Sundays and sometimes we have great Sundays. Today was a GREAT Sunday. This is why I love serving in KIDS......

We started a new month, which means a new memory verse to dive into. (1 Timothy 4:12) After an awesome worship time and learning about Timothy's story from the stage, we went back to our small groups to discuss how God made each of us to have a unique story, just like Timothy. At the end of our group time, we all read the memory verse together and had a chance to practice looking up the verse in our bible. One boy was really eager to learn how to look up verses. I took some time to show him in detail how to look up the chapter and verse. I gave him a few other verses to try. After a few practices, he found it with no help and jumped up with both arms in the air, a look of triumph on his face, and shouted "I did it! I know how to look up memory verses in the bible!"  When his parents came to pick him up, he excitedly told them how he was learning to look up verses. 

I love how excited our kids get with everything. I love seeing them grasp a new concept, sharing what they learn, or to see them jumping for joy, making up their own moves, worshipping without a care to what those around them are doing. Our children worship extravagantly, hunger to learn more, and have an unyielding faith that I myself strive to have. They are not "worshippers in waiting" they are "worshippers now" so be sure to take the time to encourage them in their faith and lead them to worship now right where they are.

Our memory verse this month is 1 Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live." 

Using our unique skills

 Today at One Life Church our lesson in KIDS was about the importance of using our unique talents and gifts to work together and do God's work.  (1 Corinthians 12:12-21, 25-27) We talked about how Paul and Timothy worked together to help teach the church in Corinth how important each person's skills and gifts are in serving God. 

It is obvious to Kyle and I, that God designed each of us specifically for each other. When we were first dating, I told my brother and sister that Kyle was as goofy as I was, but they did not believe me. Then one day Kyle was there at my parent's house and started acting his "guard down" kind of normal. I don't remember the specifics, but I"m sure there was embarrassing dancing or weird singing involved.  They looked at me and laughed, knowing that our weirdness was going to work well together. But it's not just the goofy things. Kyle organizes our paperwork in cute little labeled files in our filing cabinet. I couldn't even tell you where I keep (I mean Kyle keeps) my social security card. The list goes on and on. God designed us each uniquely so that our marriage can not just "work", but so that we could experience the best of what God has for us and that we may together work for Him.

It doesn't apply to only marriages, but also to friendships, families, co-workers, life groups, and teams.

It is easy to spot gifts and talents in others. We can easily see when our friends are good listeners, or always have the right words to say. My husband is very level headed, trustworthy, and does not get easily stressed in any situation. My sister is a giver. She rarely thinks of herself and is always taking the backseat so those she loves can be lifted up. My brother is very kind hearted, learns quickly, and thinks carefully about how his actions affects others. For me, it's easy to see where my weaknesses are: I'm easily stressed, anxious, prone to self attention, and put my foot in my mouth constantly. But God gives each of us gifts according to His will and it is important to find that skill, that passion and act upon it.      1 Corinthians 12:7-11

  What gift, big or small, are you holding back on? Do you see an untapped skill or gift in someone else you could encourage? 

What Goes In, Must Come Out

Okay it's confession time. I"m going to be blunt for a moment. Daily reading of my bible just hasn't been happening and I don't have an excuse. I check my facebook, twitter, pinterest, instagram, and email daily. Yes I use all of those.

 Now why on earth would I spend countless minutes each day skimming through celebrity posts, email coupons, and cute garden ideas instead of spending time in the Word? 

The same reason I eat fast food french fries instead of broccoli. It's tastes delicious, it's easily accessible, and cheap. But I don't think about the harm it causes my body, the cholesterol, the heart disease, the long term expense. And even good things can stop our spiritual growth if they are put in priority over what we truly need.  Broccoli may be hard to swallow unless seasoned just right and in the same way sometimes the bible is hard to understand and it pushes me to dig too deep. But does that mean it isn't necessary for my health? Since I"m not touching leafy greens, I'm thinking it is necessary. 

"Jesus answered, 'It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'. " Matthew 4:4

Now, I"m going to group us all together from here on out, because you are human too and I can guess in some small way you can relate, if not in daily reading, maybe in prayer time, or in serving others. We all know our physical health is important, but how much more should be be concerned about our spiritual health? And why do we put it aside for such meaningless things? We can be as healthy physically as a marathon runner until the day we die, but if we do not care for our spiritual health our one and only life has been in vain. 

"Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales, rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Timothy 4: 7-8

I often think about things as an input/output. For instance, if I hear a catchy song on the radio, it's stuck in my head all day. Now depending on what station you listen to that could be a positive thing or a negative thing for the day. But you are meditating on that song all day, whether you realize it or not. Meditation is simply reflecting on something, mulling it over in your head, and contemplating it. If the words I'm putting in my head are condescending or degrading then sooner or later I'm going to show that outwardly. But if I am thinking of godly righteous things, than that will allow God's truth to shine through me. After all, isn't that what I truly want and pray for my life to be? 

So where do we begin, how do we get back on track and find that study time, the growth, the health? 

 I'm going to work on my input. For me, it's a matter of lack of discipline and distractions. So taking some of the trash I put in and replacing it with reading the Word and prayer time. Maybe for you it's an all or nothing, maybe it's just starting with 10 minutes a day, maybe it is connecting with someone to help you stay on track.  Something I do from time to time is put notes on my bathroom mirror so I can think on them throughout the day. So since we're studying Romans I posted some verses and prayers up for the week. What is something you can do to keep distractions out and godly words in? 

Catch-up with the Campbells

I've missed a lot of blogging opportunities lately so I'm going to call this a catch-up blog.....

Lately, I've found that it is easy to get caught up in comparison. In your 20's there are naturally a lot of life changes that you and your friends go through. It seems that  "Everyone else has a great career" "Everyone else is getting married." "Everyone else is having kids." "Everyone else is buying a house." (Of course for a girl, it doesn't stop there-comparison can be an evil thing, but we won't get into all that. )We seem to always be looking to move our status forward in life, achieving that next step-career, marriage, house, kids...whatever that may be. I would venture to say that as you get older, it doesn't really change. There's always going to be something or someone you are envious of, something ahead that you just haven't quite got to yet, plans that you haven't achieved and others around you have. Sometimes, especially for us "planners" it's easy to get too caught up in hitting your next goal, and dreaming towards what it next. This is necessary and healthy to some extent, but you can't let that stop you from enjoying the place you are at right now.I'm not saying you shouldn't have drive or dreams or passion for the future. You should. But when you line your dreams and goals up to what others have and become fixated on reaching this status, it becomes unhealthy.  So I've made a new goal  to "live in the moment" more. To spend time enjoying my journey and God's timing in my life. With doing that, I can be truly happy for others and let go of the jealousy that clings to us so easily and causes destruction in our lives.

"For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." James 3:16

Going along with that, Kyle and I have talked a lot about when to start our family and what we would like our family to look like. For now we have decided to take every one's advice and enjoy being married for a while before we have kids. So we are trying to make the most out of that by sleeping in, catching movies, saving money, going on dates, spending time with our friends, and hopefully more vacations and camping adventures within the next year or two!

To continue catching everyone up to speed on the Evansville Campbells, I"ll just post a few pictures of our summer so far......

Kyle graduated from Police Academy

He received the Top Gun Award of his class .
(Does this mean I need to start a wall of police
plaques next to his army wall?)

Lola and Marshall finally became friends.
Hopefully they can play more this summer. 

We spent the night in STL, caught a game, and went
shopping with the Vaughans. This was our mini-vacation 
before Kyle started his shifts with the EPD.
Note: Dollar General Kids Spray
Sunblock 50 is the best! I was sitting in the sun
for hours and did not get burnt at all.
I don't think that has ever happened.

Our cat, Frankie had four kittens. We have three left after Lola
mistook one for a chew toy.
They are still up for grabs if anyone would like a kitten.

Our yard may look dead, but my little garden is growing.
I have been trying to keep it watered.
My broccoli did great, and my zucchini
is just now starting to go crazy.
Can't wait for the rest of my veggies to be ready!

House projects have been at a stand still until we get the shop built which should start next month sometime. Work has been busy and exhausting for both of us, but I have to say I am enjoying this time in our life, and being married now more than ever.

Mother's Day and Prayers

Tonight as I am planning out my Mother's Day weekend with our moms, I can't help but sit down and write. I am so very blessed to have a mother and mother-in-law who are both just truly amazing. My mom has a saying she loved to say to us, "Boys may come and go, but mom's are forever." It was always said as a joke. But really, it was meant to put things in perspective. My mother is a steady rock in my life and always will be.
 When I got married she said to me "Boyfriends have came and gone, but husbands are forever."
I wasn't sure what to think about having a "forever mother in law". Typically I hear people complaining about theirs.  But instead I find myself missing my mother in law, like I miss my own family and looking to her for advice and support. I continually thank God that He has placed us into such loving and awesome families.

But as I think about our blessings, my thoughts drift to something that I cannot turn away from. My heart hurts for those who do not have this kind of love given by a mother and a family. There are children who do not understand what a real love means. They are treated as unimportant, abused, neglected, and alone. 

 Children are important. Children are meant to be seen and heard. Children have gifts and talents and love to give. But they need someone to guide them, teach them, and show them they are important. We are called to this. I am called to this.

God has given me awesome motherly examples, not just to give me warm fuzzy feelings, but to see a small glimpse of how much God cares and loves for us-His children. I know most of you would do anything for your child. Just thinking about their safety, their future, their dreams. I know it brings tears to your eyes. How much more does our perfect Father care about our safety, our future, and our dreams? So for those children who do not know the love of a family, or the love of a Heavenly Father, I will pray.  Pray that they are safe, that they find the love of a family, that they are shown God's love, that someone sees them. Not for just another kid or a nuisance, but as a human being with purpose, created in God's image, to love and be loved.

My attempt at Freezer Meals

Well I finally did something productive with my Pinterest addiction.

One of the goals I"m working on is healthier eating, nothing crazy, just more emphasis on nutrition and less eating out for financial and health reasons.
My main issue is getting home after work. The last thing I want to do is take time to make an actual meal or something other than a frozen pizza or grilled cheese. So with more veggies in mind I decided to attempt making some freezer meals for the crock pot.

I decided to start small so I picked 4 meals (7 bags that should equal at least 14 meals for the two of us)
I searched through blogs and came up with a shopping list. Kyle, the most awesome husband ever, went to the store yesterday and brought back EVERYTHING on my list with no complaints.


So today I got everything ready. Labeled my gallon bags and started chopping.


Then I got the meat trimmed and ready and loaded the bags with the meat, veggies, and all the seasonings according to each recipe.

Sealed the bags, shook the seasonings around, and loaded them in my freezer.

Just throw a bag in the crock pot in the morning and you're good to go. Easy! And it only took half of one of my freezer drawer space.

The whole process was 1 hr for Kyle to get the groceries (and other items I sent him for) and about 2 1/2 hours to chop, trim, load the bags and full kitchen clean up. (Including a 20 minute break from chopping when the onions made me cry so hard I couldn't see anything until the swelling and burning stopped.)
I figured it up to be approximately $5-$6 per meal which is much better than going out.
I could have done this cheaper with coupons and watching sales and done them healthier, using organic ingredients, but hey, I'm starting small right? I imagine doing this in the summer with garden veggies will be so much better!

I made 2 bags of Teriyaki Chicken
2 bags of Sweet and Tangy Meatballs
2 bags of Healthy BBQ Chicken
1 bag of Pot Roast
I even had quite a bit of unused ingredients too:


Here are the awesome blogs I used to get the information and recipes:

http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/2012/02/freezer-cooking.html
http://amandathevirtuouswife.blogspot.com/2012/02/pot-roast-freezer-meal.html
http://melissafallistestkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/09/freezer-cooking-slow-cooker-meals.html

My Protection

Sometimes people say "Jill,you must really like a man in uniform." With Kyle serving 9 years in the military and now being a police officer. He once trained some in jujitsu and always insists on carrying a gun. Needless to say, I have always thought of myself as well protected.
But yesterday, as Kyle was leading Onelife Church in worship, I found a new feeling of protection. As his voice filled the room with praise, his arms lifted high in surrender and complete worship, I saw another gift of protection God has given me, undeserving. He has given me a man to lead and protect our family, who I can lean on for support, who will teach our children how sinners can be redeemed. God spared my husband's life in war so that His purpose will be fulfilled and His kingdom may expand. I'm so grateful that God chose us, though we fall short, to live out our lives for him each day.

The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalms 116:5-9

Smelly Boots and Love

Kyle comes home tomorrow from his last drill weekend (or week-as they so often turn into). This is the last weekend the army will stomp through my weekend plans, make my husband cuss like a sailor (funny phrase considering), laugh at crude jokes, and force me to do man-type things around the house in his absence. Okay so I don't really do the man-type things, I just call my Dad and brother. Same thing.

My part of the National Guard journey started when I wrote letters to Kyle during his first deployment. Of course at that time, I had no idea that God had such an amazing plan for us. We were really just acquaintances, not even friends. My church sent him cards each month. One day as we were talking about encouragement, I had some verses come to mind and I sent them to Kyle thinking maybe I could brighten his day. I assumed he'd read it and add them to the pile of cards and well wishes. He wrote back. After a few letters we started emailing and messaging. We became close friends during those months and as he returned home.

We eventually started dating and that's when I really learned what this "army thing" was all about. He talked in code so I had to google half of the things he said after our conversation. At first it was an adventure, it was "guy in a uniform" alluring. As time went on I found that drill weekends will always be on a weekend you have plans. You will often not have a date to a wedding or family event. PTSD is very real. Army boots, clothes, and equipment are gross, smelly, and everywhere. Not so glamorous.

A few years later, I had moved to Evansville, Kyle was still in Carbondale so we were living 2 hours apart. We talked often about getting married, but Kyle still had school to finish and talk of another deployment was stirring. Sometimes I think of this deployment as the black hole in my life. I got no sleep, I stayed up as much as humanly possible, sometimes sleeping on my couch to be close to the computer, in case I heard from him. Other times I think it wasn't so bad, I drove home and spent most of my time with my family. I had some of the best times with my girlfriends. We were always jetting off on some weekend road trip or meeting for Grey's night every week. I made it anyway. Kyle came home. Then we adjusted. Looking back, I can see how God used that time to grow each of us in our own way.

There were a lot of ups and downs between then and where we are now. God used Kyle's gifts of leadership, protection, and a level head and my gift of encouragement, understanding, and compassion to balance and weave our lives together in so many ways to bring us to where we are.

I"m not sure if I really believed Kyle the first time he mentioned getting out of the army. It was something we always talked about being in our life forever. Initially, I wasn't completely on board with it. We have a family there, Kyle is very good in his position, there's money and insurance. But at the same time, there is a new police career ahead for him, a family to start in a few years, and money is just a side note. I told Kyle it was his decision, although now, I'm glad he chose to leave.

So as we finish up our last weekend I can look back and say I'm so glad to be part of the National Guard. It has been an interesting ride, full of lessons and leaning on God's love. I'm so excited to get to start our next adventure and see what is ahead.