Blessed Be Your Name

Blessed be Your name

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name

When I'm found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name

When the sun's shining down on me

When the world's 'all as it should be'

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be Your name

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

Once More with Feeling

This morning, Marc boarded a bus in Smyrna and officially
shipped out...like, for real, this time. We knew he would be home after training in Pennsylvania, but since the Nashville layover was expected to be short, we said our good-byes, had our parties, prayed at church, etc. In April, we all experienced a lot of emotion, went through initial adjustments, settled into a routine. Then he came home. And for a month and a half! So we unadjusted, tossed out the new routine and reverted back to the old one, lived in denial, and enjoyed the unexpected blessing. Now it is time to start over yet again. Tears, anxiety, re-acclimation, dusting off those new routines, warming up the web cam. Next stop, Iraq. Marc arrived safely in Georgia today, where he will be training for a few days before catching a commercial flight to Iraq on Friday. This time, it is not a drill.

Updates on the Updates

We have enjoyed some marvelous family time since Marc returned home on May 15th. There has been some shifting of the time line, which is par for the course. For once, the changes seem to be working in our favor. Marc's departure date for Ft. Benning is LATER than we expected. For about 24 hours, it was July 4th (so patriotical), but it is now June 27th. As Marc so aptly put it: "As always, all changes final until next change posted." In the meantime, I am working at the hospitals, and we are trying to soak up ever drop of togetherness. This week, we are taking a trip to FL for Marc's youngest sister's wedding (a monumental event he would have missed). We are looking forward to time with our families and all kinds of quality time in the car (24hrs or so, all told) with the FOF (family of four).