ChristianMilitaryWives

I came across the following topic on Massachusetts General Hospital’s forums. It was well written and very helpful information for all parents, but especially children of military members as they may be more sensitive to war related news.

 

Talking with Children about Upsetting News Events

Comments from: Paula K. Rauch, MD and colleagues from the MassGeneral Hospital for Children

EXCERPT

Dr. Rauch is a child psychiatrist who leads the Marjorie E. Korff PACT (Parenting At a Challenging Time) Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. www.mghpact.org

All children are exposed to news via newspapers, radio, the Internet, and especially television. And they naturally turn to their parents with questions about what they have seen and heard. For a child whose family is impacted by the earthquake in Haiti, news about the tragedy can raise concerns about their own family’s safety. Discussing these issues poses a special challenge for parents to listen, understand, and answer their children’s questions in a manner that is both honest and reassuring. Meeting this challenge successfully strengthens your child’s inner strength, sense of security, and trust in you.

First, you know your child best. You have likely been through good time and stressful times before. How your child has reacted in the past is often a good predictor for how he or she will cope with new challenges. Think about what has been helpful for your child previously, and use these successful strategies from the past. Most children will benefit from maintaining regular routines, including daily schedules and normal expectations for schoolwork. Children will take their emotional cues from the adults in their world. If we are calm usually they will feel secure; however, it is important to talk to your child about his or her specific concerns.

Second, check in with your child. Find out what he or she has been hearing, seeing and thinking about a new event or whether it has not yet come to his or her attention. Questions such as, “Are kids at school talking about __________?” or, “ What have you heard about __________?” are good ways to open such a conversation. If your child is younger and is not aware of the news, you may elect to go no further with this conversation. If your child has heard about the news event, encourage him or her to tell you about what they’ve heard or what they think about what others are saying. Ask if they have any specific worries. To answer questions and allay fears, it is important to really understand what your child is struggling with before you move to answer or reassure him.

Third, TV images can be upsetting. Turn off the TV around young children or those who may have been upset by TV news in the past. Be mindful that coverage of the same earthquake over and over again can be misinterpreted as something that is happening repeatedly. Watch television with older children so you can answer questions and be aware of their feelings. Some older children need to be reminded that the TV images can be overwhelming and that it’s OK not to watch. This is true for many adults, who may feel better listening to radio reports or reading newspaper coverage rather than watching disturbing TV images.

Fourth, make the most of family time. Spend extra time with your children. Turn off the telephone and the TV during meals so you can talk together. Often parents can identify times in the day or activities that facilitate thoughtful conversations. Sometimes, it is while driving in the car or when a child sits with a parent who is working in the kitchen. Those are great times to check in with your child and talk. CLICK TO READ MORE

Being a member of Christian Military Wives is very rewarding.  I've made so many great friends.  I've prayed for many women, and I have had many women pray for me... I have witnessed women who have been saved because of the testimony of others here on the site and at our local meet up groups.  I have never met a better group of Christian women in my entire life.  Military wives are strong, but with Christ - we are the STRONGEST.  We are powerful, because we have the Lord. 

There are many ways you can become more deeply involved in helping military wives.  We have our small groups, we have mentorship opportunities, and we have online opportunities for you to help other military wives.  One of the online opportunities is to become a writer for our online magazine. 

We are an all volunteer organization.  We do not make one cent in doing what we do.  We do what we do because the Lord has laid on each of our hearts the willingness to serve and help military wives, plain and simple. 

 If you like to write - why not start submitting your blogs to become magazine articles? This is a wonderful way to tesify, uplift and support US military wives from around the globe. 

This morning, I had a wonderful email from a new CMW member, I'd like to share it:

To Whom This may Concern,

I really enjoyed reading your magazine online! It was so encouraging and helpful. Thankyou so much for the great articles and Scripture! It was wonderful to read articles that gave Biblical principles on how to strengthen marriages. It was good to find support from other military wives and Christian ones at that! I believe it was no accident God led me to your website tonight! Thankyou!

Sincerely, Debbie

We have received other emails of encouragement from military wives... but this one in particular was such a blessing.  It's so wonderful and fulfilling to know that you can help make a difference in someones life, just by taking a few minutes of your time to write an encouraging article.

So, if the Lord has given you an itch to write - you are more than welcome to use your skills here!

To submit an article to the website, all you need to do is click BLOG on the left hand side of your page.  After writing a blog, you will go down the page and see the option "submit to public magazine?" Hit YES.

When submitting articles, please remember this is not a place to advertise your personal website or merchandise you may be selling.  We do have a Spam-A-Lam-A-Ding-Dong thread for that in our main forum section.

God bless you and all you do.

Sincerely,
Patti Katter

Today I learned about a wonderful new nonprofit Web site called PrayerCentral.net, which offers meaningful prayers for the troops. Read my brief blog post about it, or continue reading for the Web site's official news release:

A Christian Web site dedicated to prayer has launched the Afghanistan Prayer Patrol to help Christians around the world pray for the troops serving in Afghanistan.

 

Prayercentral.net founder Wayne Dillard is directing this global prayer effort in response to the rising casualty figures in this conflict. "August was the deadliest month we've seen in eight years," says Dillard. "I believe prayer can make a difference, so we are asking Christians to join us for just one minute a day to stand with the troops."

 

Those joining the online Prayer Patrol receive a daily e-mail assignment with a sample illustrated prayer. Participants also receive news updates, and satellite maps with close up views of Afghanistan regions designated as hot spots for prayer.

 

Dillard, an ordained minister of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, has seen what prayer can do. "In April 2007, when the Iraq war was almost lost, we launched the Baghdad Prayer Patrol, and saw dramatic results," he says. "It's time now for us to stand with our troops in Afghanistan and join together in prayer."

 

One special feature is the Troop Prayer Focus, which provides a prayer for the troops of a different base or outpost in Afghanistan each day. "This way we can focus prayer on those bases where the fighting is most intense," Dillard explains.

 

The Web site also allows participants to post their own prayers for the troops in Afghanistan, and agree in prayer with others. Information on the Afghanistan Prayer Patrol is available at www.prayercentral.net/patrols/afghan.

 

About Prayercentral.net

Prayercentral's online prayer tools help thousands each day to touch needs around the world in prayer. Founded in 2001 by Wayne Dillard a missionary to South Asia, and former vice president of Last Days Ministries. Prayercentral is a non-profit ministry with headquarters in Virginia Beach, Va. For more information visit: www.prayercentral.net

Linda, our CMW sister made the newspaper!

Check out the article HERE - be sure to leave a comment on the newspaper page!