ChristianMilitaryWives

PITTSBURGH, Pa.— Two books authored by Christian Military Wives’ online magazine editor Jocelyn Green were recently nominated for the 2010 Military Writers Society of America (MWSA) Award in the spiritual/religious category. The books are Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2008), written with contributions from 14 other Christian military wives, and Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq & Afghanistan (AMG Publishers 2009), co-authored with Jane Hampton Cook and John Croushorn.

Winners will be selected by a team of judges and announced on Veterans Radio Network (www.veteransradio.net) on July 31 at 9a.m. Eastern time. The awards ceremony will take place at the MWSA Conference in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Saturday, October 2, at 6p.m.

Jocelyn Green, the wife of a former Coast Guard officer, is an award-winning freelance writer. Her Web site for military wives, www.faithdeployed.com, won third place in a national contest held by the Evangelical Press Association in 2010. Jocelyn was contributing editor to Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from World War 2 (AMG Publishers 2009), which won the 2009 Silver Medal from MWSA.

Jocelyn writes for nonprofits, universities, corporations, and has had dozens of magazine articles published. Her writings also appear at Focus on the Family’s military marriage Web site, InternetCafeDevotions.com,

You are cordially invited  to witness online Military to Medicine’s national launch event on Tuesday, April 20, at 11 am ET.

Military to Medicine is Inova Health System’s program that provides healthcare training and career opportunities to military spouses, wounded warriors and their caregivers, Veterans, National Guard, Reserve and their spouses as well as transitioning service members.

What began as a recruitment initiative for Inova in partnership with the Army Reserve Employer Partnership Office and the Department of Defense in 2008, is now a national service organization supporting the extended military family and healthcare employers nationwide.

Military to Medicine combines healthcare training and career opportunities to enhance the lives of military families. As a supporter of military families and healthcare careers, please join us.

Please register for the Webcast and pass along this invitation to your contacts:  http://www.militarytomedicine.org

With kind regards,

Kristina Saul-Military Spouse

Outreach Specialist

Military to Medicine

Kristina.Saul@militarytomedicine.org

When I fell in love with my warrior, I could not fathom how much his profession would impact my world.  Little did I know how it would entwine itself around my heart and life.  I didn’t fully understand the requirement it would place on me, but thankfully God did. God had a plan and placed a call on my life to be a military spouse.   

We have wonderful news about the journals we were collecting for the Gold Star Moms.  We currently have 25 beautiful journals to give to our Gold Star moms, they now have plenty of journals for their upcoming class... thank you to all who have helped to make this possible!

Information and Support for Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans and Their Families...

 

A 5-session family education and support program for veterans who have recently returned from a combat theater and their families.

Click Here to go to Operation Enduring Families, its a wonderful resource!

So, you've heard of OPSEC.... but - what in the world is it? Let's break it down.  You know when your hubby is coming home from Iraq.  That's such awesome news! You decide you want to share the great news with family and friends here on Christian Military Wives or other social sites like Facebook.

Did you know that our enemy can be lurking within? I know, that's a frightening thought! I don't like the sounds of that at all.  Let me give you a little info on myself.  I'm in my mid-thirties and have had no computer training at all, in my life... period.  I do have enough "know how" to understand that I can create a fake Facebook page in less than 3 minutes.  It's easy to quickly create a fake yahoo, gmail or hotmail account... sign up for Facebook using a fake name linked to a fake email account - bah-da-boo-bah-dah-bing... I'm on Facebook.

So, imagine an extreamist or someone else with bad intentions...

They take their "fake" Facebook account and email account to join fanpages, websites, and other social outlets online to gather personal information about our military and their families.  The "bad guy" then befriends you on a social network such as Facebook and wah-lah... sees the date not only your husband will be flying in on, but the whole company.  This could be very, very bad.

OPSEC Guideline Review on CMW:

Operational Security or "OPSEC" is the most important threat to the safety of your service member. OPSEC requires the active participation of every service member regardless of his or her rank or job and their spouses and family members. What seems innocent can in fact be a piece of a much larger puzzle. The bottom line is failure to obey OPSEC rules and guidelines put our people at risk; don’t let them say they heard it from a military wife! Lets keep these puzzle pieces apart!

Any post that violates ANY of the OPSEC rules will be edited or deleted depending on the extent of the information. This is not a violation of your 5th amendment. Remember what may not seem like a big deal to you may be a big deal to someone else. This includes phrases such as: “Steve will be home the day after my grandmas birthday". If you are questioning your post, don't post it!

While posting your last name, is not against OPSEC, remember this is a public website and we do not encourage you to post personal information about yourself. Your soldier does have his name on his uniform, so if you have photos of your soldier in uniform - you may want to consider blacking out his/her name.

Posting tickers that contain information on when your husband will return from a deployment is a violation of OPSEC. You will not want to post a ticker that says when he left home, if you post in another thread about him only having a 15 month deployment - it is easy to figure out the month the unit is due home.

Social networking has been such a blessing to CMW and its members, and will continue to be a huge blessing... but, please - remember to guard your personal information when you are on the internet.  Even the simple posts such as, "my husband is coming home on April 16" is an OPSEC violation, and is against the law!

An Opportunity to Prevent a National Tragedy

Large numbers of our veterans are returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan finding that they must cope with a wide range of psychological difficulties. Many are struggling with severe physical injuries or traumatic brain injuries—referred to as TBIs. We have both the opportunity to prevent a national tragedy and the obligation and resources to do so.

 

Our Knowledge

Fortunately, we are more capable of responding to this potential tragedy than ever before. We have more knowledge about the psychological impact of war than any prior generation has ever had. We know that at least 12 percent of the returning soldiers will come back with a serious mental disorder. Some reports have identified as many as onethird returning with psychiatric symptoms. In addition, we anticipate that as many as 20 percent will suffer a TBI. We know that family members are also severely affected by a soldier’s experience of trauma. Indeed, we now refer to “secondary trauma” as a significant mental health consequence of war. We know that children who grow up in families where post-traumatic stress disorder is not treated often become severely impaired themselves. Luckily, we also know that early treatment of mental health symptoms is the best way to prevent long-term consequences.

 

Our Resources

The U.S. military is clearly trying to stay in front of this issue. Studies conducted by the military community provide information that was not available during prior wars. In addition, the military is making an unprecedented attempt to encourage personnel to seek treatment. Unfortunately, limited resources are available to provide the needed mental health care, and, while the inevitable budget debates are important and necessary for future policies, they will not help the soldier disabled today by his or her psychological demons or physical injuries.

 

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan give us all the opportunity to reach out to those in need to ensure that they can continue to function as productive members of our society. Some of us have specific skills that can and should be tapped. There are over 400,000 mental health professionals in the U.S. We represent a tremendous resource. As mental health professionals, we now have the opportunity, through the volunteer network established by the nonprofit organization Give an Hour™, to respond to this clear and obvious need. As we continue to build our national network, our efforts will provide much needed assistance to the military’s efforts to care for its own.

 

Our Mission

Give an Hour™ is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop a national network of volunteers capable of responding to both acute and chronic conditions that arise in our society. We are currently establishing a national network of mental health professionals to reach out to the U.S. troops and families affected by the current military conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

 

Thus far, nearly 5,000 professionals from the mental health community have registered to participate in this critical effort. These mental health professionals sign on to give an hour of their time each week to provide free mental health services to military personnel and their families. Professionals are being asked to provide the type of services they currently provide in their offices. They may also have the opportunity to engage in public education and to provide consultation to other agencies and organizations tasked with responding to the needs of our military community. In fact, since we began providing services in July 2007, our providers have donated nearly 25,000 hours in direct counseling, education, and outreach.

 

While no additional training is required, we offer a variety of training opportunities to those individuals interested in increasing their knowledge of military culture and the specifics of combat stress. In addition, our participants will have the opportunity to interact with each other, to share information about their experience, and to seek feedback and additional resources.

 

We ask our providers to participate in our network for one year in order to offer continuity of care for these deserving families. Over the past two years, we have started to match members of the military community in need with members of our network. Indeed, we are now hearing from military personnel and their families on a regular basis. Many of these men and women share their stories and express their gratitude. They are so thankful that members of the mental health community have stepped up to join this effort. Those individuals who receive services from the Give an Hour™ network will be given the opportunity to give back to their own communities.

 

Our Partners

We have developed important relationships with DoD, the VA, and many Veterans Service Organizations including the American Legion Auxiliary, TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), the USO, Blue Star Families, Vets 4 Vets and Christian Military Wives. As a result of these relationships, our mental health professionals will have opportunities to work with individuals from a number of organizations to co-lead support groups and participate in community events.

 

We have also developed important relationships within the mental health community. In February of 2008 the American Psychiatric Association officially endorsed Give an Hour™ and began encouraging its 38,000 members to join our network of providers. In partnership with the American Psychiatric Foundation, we were awarded a $1 million

grant from the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation to assist in our public education efforts. In November of 2008 we announced the support of the National Association of Social Workers, the American Psychological Association, the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, and the

Anxiety Disorders Association of America. In addition, we have recently joined forces with Mental Health America and the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.

 

We have also developed cooperative relationships with such noteworthy organizations as the Red Cross, Student Veterans of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Postpartum Support International. We are proud of our efforts to bring the military and mental health communities together as we strive to provide critical services to these deserving men, women, and families.

 

Your Help

We are asking all mental health professionals to join in this critical effort. If you are currently licensed, please visit our Web site at www.giveanhour.org to sign up for our national network and to learn more about our organization. We also welcome volunteers who want to join us in developing and implementing this project. Please share our Website with your colleagues. Thank you.

Melanie started a great topic on our message board... she had questions about the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act... check out our message board for great converstation. 

If you are asking yourself, "what's that?" then read on! ;-)

f you're a reserve component service member called to active duty, you're protected by a law that can save you some legal problems and possibly some money as well.

Under the provisions of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940, you may qualify for any or all of the following:

• Reduced interest rate on mortgage payments.
• Reduced interest rate on credit card debt.
• Protection from eviction if your rent is $1,200 or less.
• Delay of all civil court actions, such as bankruptcy, foreclosure or divorce proceedings.

CLICK HERE for more information!

Did you know that February is National Friendship Month?
Lucy and Ethel would be thrilled!
Can you imagine how they would celebrate if they could join us?
I can assure you it would be a hoot,
and would include chocolate!

Have you ever celebrated the amazing gift of friendship in your Women's Ministry (small group)?  Before you answer let’s get an expert’s definition of what that means. Webster defines Celebrate as: to observe a noble occasion with festivities—to show happiness that something good or special has happened.

Sounds like Mr. Webster had experienced true friendship. In the body of Christ we too have experienced true friendship and I think that calls for a celebration. So, let’s get out the party hats and order the cake—we even have permission in God’s word!

In the Old Testament, we read how God ordained feast and festivals where his people would gather and celebrate. Friendship is ordained by God a beautiful gift to be treasured, enjoyed and, yes, something to celebrate.

One of my favorite verses of scriptures is:
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work,
if one falls down his friend can help him up. — Eccl. 4:9-10. 
I have been "helped up" many times,
and that gives me a reason to celebrate.

Here’s a simple and fun idea for your women's ministry to celebrate friendship. It doesn’t need to be in February.  However, February might be a good time to put it on your calendar.

Death by Chocolate Party

• Watch the Lucy and Ethel Job Switching DVD—Use the clip "Let Em Roll."
• Serve refreshments—that are rich in chocolate.
• Decorate with the Colors Pink and Brown—Aqua makes a great accent. (The party supply stores have many items to select from.)
• Invite at least three women to share their testimonies about a special friendship that had a real impact in their life.
• As the director, take a few moment to share about the most important friendship we have—Jesus.
• Make this an outreach project by having women invite their best friends.

Want to help the women in your church
connect and grow meaningful friendships?
Order Frankie’s Bible study Why We Need Girlfriends.

 w w w . F r a n k i e D S h e r m a n . c o m

Frankie Sherman is a national speaker, comedian, and Bible teacher for confer-ences, retreats, and women's events. She fell in love with Jesus at Vacation Bible School and takes every opportunity to tell others about the joy of being alive in Christ. She is a former choreographer for the Georgia Peach Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl Halftime Show. Her specialty is in theater musical/productions. Her first Bible Study, Why We Need Girlfriends is based on the relation-ship of Mary and Elizabeth, from Luke's gospel, two women brought together by extraordinary circumstances by an extraordinary God. Frankie is from South Carolina—loves sweet tea, BIG hair and her grand-girls. She believes there will never be another Elvis and knows that her Jesus will return for her soon.

Frankie Sherman | 137 E Peninsula Dr. | Laurens, SC 29360
Copyright © 1999 - Present Frankie Sherman. All rights reserved.