My motto:

with the subscript... AND BE WILLING TO BE TRANSPLANTED.

God has blessed me with a resiliency to adapt to what we call our "nomadic lifestyle." Approaching almost two years now, Mark has been a travel nurse (fits with his school schedule better), and he's worked in Virginia, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Tennessee, North Carolina, and back to another city in New Hampshire.

Right about the time we started this travel gig, a friend asked me (and a group of women) to pray for her specifically and she and her husband are engaged in a physically and spiritually demanding ministry. It was her note of thanks to me for upholding her in prayer, for responding with notes of encouragement, and building her up that blew me away and brought me to tears at a time when I wished we weren't about to make yet another move. He used this dear friend to help me see that even though I've been on the go, God has given ME places of ministry that are just as mobile.

Another place is my engagement as an Online Discipleship Coach with a ministry that, among other things, helps people go farther in their spiritual growth. Regardless of my physical locale, I can connect with women who want to grow. Their backgrounds and struggles cut a broad swath, and it's an honor to pray for them and to help guide them.

And my third portable outreach was a magnetic pull toward a young woman I met at a conference that I wasn't so sure I wanted to attend. But "D" and I connected there and have continued to correspond via email, personal messaging, Skype, and even a wee bit of old fashioned mail. Being the "older woman" like Titus 2 tells me to be, was something I was asking God to make happen at a time that seemed impossible because of our moves. Interacting with a 20-something who is well-plugged-in seems perfectly natural!

One of the things I find myself repeating to the women I minister to is this: if you're feeling down and defeated, make the effort to focus on the Lord instead of on yourself. It's not that you need to try harder or pray harder or be better. Let your God be bigger, and watch what happens. VERY good medicine for me to take myself, because it works!