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How do you do it?

Taken by Liz Benroth Photography at lizbenroth13@gmail.com
Copyright Liz Benroth Photography 2014


People ask me all the time when they see me out with the boys, "How do you do it?"

I hear, "Girl, you've got your hands full!"

Yes, but they are full of blessings!

1 Peter 3:15 says, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

Life as a military spouse is emotionally demanding. I joke that I'm "married to the military," but it really does feel that way. I am so proud of what my husband does and rely heavily on the Lord through trying times. We are also blessed with three beautiful boys. As a full-time stay-at-home mom, I feel that my patience is tested daily (hourly? every minute?). While I'm folding laundry, my preschooler is filling the sink with water to play "boats" and my toddler twins are climbing who-knows-what and emptying out my kitchen cupboards! As much as I love my job, sometimes I feel insecure about whether or not I am "doing the right thing." There is so much going on, from supporting my husband in his career to being a full-time "domestic engineer." Sometimes I wish someone would come by the house and say, "You know how your little guy has the same tantrum everyday for the same reason? Well, you are handling it the right way. You are doing such a great job being loving, yet firm. In about two months he will grow out of that and you will have instilled a great lesson in him. And, by the way, you should wait a month or two after you get your orders before you move. Your husband can help you move then and your oldest will easily transfer kindergartens. Keep up the good work." But there is no one knocking on my door letting me know whether or not we are making the right parenting decisions.

Psalm 119:54, "Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge."

Which is why I turn to the Lord. God has helped me through many challenging times in my life. If you follow my blog, you know that I quote often from Philippians. My Bible says that "Philippians is Paul's joy letter." With parenting (and the Navy), I can use encouraging words of joy; life is full of the good-- and the bad. Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things." I purposefully look for the good in each of my children each and every day. I focus on the highlights of the day, praise God for getting me through hard moments ("Lord, thank you for your wisdom!"), and rely on him when I just don't know what to do. I think every mom, especially as their children transition from one phase to the next, has moments where they question their game plan.

Undoubtedly, my strength comes from the Lord.



Taken by Liz Benroth Photography at lizbenroth13@gmail.com
Copyright Liz Benroth Photography 2014

Psalm 121:1-3 says, "I lift my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber."

Awhile ago, at one of the many churches we have attended in my husband's military career, I received this flyer while attending a Bible study. I'm not posting the name of the church for privacy reasons, but if you need more information you can email me at kimbersnavyfamily@gmail.com. I love how it summarizes our faith, plus I love these verses. When I posted this on my personal Facebook page, many of friends commented on how much they love Psalm 139.

What I Believe:
“Essentials for Salvation”

GOD IS ONE, BUT A TRI-UNITY

Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
God is Creator

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

GOD EXISTS ETERNALLY WITHOUT CHANGE

I Timothy 1:17
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Numbers 23:19
God is not man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

Malachai 3:6
“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed…”

GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY CONTROLS ALL THINGS

Isaiah 14:24-27
The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand. I will crush the Assyrian in my land; on my mountains I will trample him down. His yoke will be taken from my people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.” This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?

Ephesians 1:11
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…

Philippians 2:12-13
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

GOD DETERMINES ALL TRUTH AND IS ALL KNOWING, POWERFUL, JUST, AND MERCIFUL

Isaiah 45:19
I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, “Seek me in vain.” I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.

Psalm 139:1-18
O Lord, you have searched me
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O Lord.
You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there.
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thought, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

Job 42:2
“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.”

Psalm 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.

James 5:11
As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

GOD IS A GOD OF WRATH, LOVE, AND HOLINESS

Leviticus 11:44-45
“I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.”

Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness…

I Peter 1:14-16
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you live in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy because I am holy.”

Exodus 34:6
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…”

Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I John 4:7-10
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.




Taken by Liz Benroth Photography at lizbenroth13@gmail.com
Copyright Liz Benroth Photography 2014


If you believe this and accept Jesus Christ in your heart as your personal savior, you have a new identity: a believer. I love the note in my Bible on Ephesians 2 regarding our "True Identity in Christ," taken from the Zondervan NIV Life Application Study Bible:

OUR TRUE IDENTITY IN CHRIST
Taken from the Zondervan NIV Life Application Study Bible, note in Ephesians 2

We are justified (declared “not guilty” of sin)
“…and are justified freely by his grace through redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24

No condemnation awaits us
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” Romans 8:1

We are set free from the law of sin and death
“…because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2

We are sanctified and made acceptable in Jesus Christ
“To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours…” I Corinthians 1:2

We are righteous and holy in Christ
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.” I Corinthians 1:30

We will be made alive at the resurrection
“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” I Corinthians 15:22

We are a new creation
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” II Corinthians 5:17

We receive God’s righteousness
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” II Corinthians 5:21

We are one in Christ with all other believers
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3

We are holy, blameless, and covered with God’s love
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love…” Ephesians 1:4

We are adopted as God’s children
“…he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” Ephesians 1:5-6

Our sins are taken away and we are forgiven
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…” Ephesians 1:7

We will be brought under Christ’s headship
“…to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…” Ephesians 1:10-11

We are marked as belonging to God by the Holy Spirit
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit…” Ephesians 1:13

We are God’s work of art
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

We have been brought near to God
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13

We share in the promise in Christ
“This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 3:6

We can come with freedom and confidence into God’s presence
“In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” Ephesians 3:12

We are members of Christ’s body, the church
“After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body.” Ephesians 5:29-30

We have been given fullness in Christ
“…and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.” Colossians 2:10

We are set free from our sinful nature
“In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ...” Colossians 2:11

We will have eternal glory
“Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.” II Timothy 2:10



Taken by Liz Benroth Photography at lizbenroth13@gmail.com
Copyright Liz Benroth Photography 2014

My "About Kimber" quotes one of my favorite verses, Philippians 1:18b, "Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance." Do you remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from Daniel 3? King Nebuchadnezzar bound them and threw them in the furnace for practicing their faith. God used their trials and tribulations as a chance to glorify him, saving the men who walked out of the furnace without a "hair on their heads singed" or the "smell of fire on them" at all (Daniel 3:27). King Nebuchadnezzar, upon seeing this, says, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, who has sent an angel to rescue his servants!" (Daniel 3:28). And Job... the whole book of Job. A man who had much and had it all taken away, proving that he loved God when he had a lot and loved God when he had nothing. Philippians 1:12, "Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel."

My life is full of much smaller trials than being thrown into a furnace as Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego were or losing my family and fortune as Job did. No, my trials are long (long, long, long) evenings with toddler twins or frustrating conversations with a too-big for his britches preschooler. My trials are learning to submit to my husband and to trust God with our ever-changing plans as a military family. Marriage is hard. Having the military involved makes it that much harder. It is so important to keep God as the focus.

If you have not accepted Christ and want more information, I would be happy to chat with you. You can email me at kimbersnavyfamily@gmail.com.

Acts 4:20, "For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

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