“Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation;
the fear of the Lord is His treasure.” Isaiah 33:6 (NKJV) Read More→
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Archive for Freedom
Freedom to Say No
Posted by Deanna on Tuesday,
September
28th,
2010
in Daily Encouragements, Deployment
| Comments (0)
Nine years ago today was September 11, 2001, a day that dawned bright and full of promise, as all new days do.
By the end of the day, we as a nation had drawn together in unity of heart, of purpose, and in prayer for those who were lost in New York, in the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania; their loved ones left behind; and every hero who worked so tirelessly to search and find and rescue those who miraculously survived, and those who sadly did not.
In a way, it’s quite difficult to believe that nine years have passed. Sometimes it seems like less time, and sometimes it feels like much, much more.
As military wives we’re well aware of the changes within our nation’s military. Our military forces have been tasked more and more as the war has progressed. Active duty military have a higher deployment tempo, and our Reserve and National Guard forces are being tasked again and again with nearly the same regularity as their active duty counterparts. Many of you have worked through three, four, and in some cases five deployments now, with no end in the foreseeable future.
Yet our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He was with us nine years ago, He is with us today, and He will be with us nine years from now.
On a whim, I looked up Psalm 9:11, and I wanted to share it with you:
Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
Let’s do this today. Let’s proclaim among the nations what the Lord God has done for us.
We all have a story about 9-11-01. Where were you? How did you feel? What did you do? How did you feel the Lord’s presence on that day? Please share with us –proclaim with us, if you will–what the Lord has done. Feel free to share your story or link to your blog, in the comments.
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Before there was the television show, there was the book…
Army Wives: The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage by Tanya Biank
Recently I read the book Army Wives so I could review it for our Wives of Faith readers. It is a powerful book.
The original title for Army Wives is Under the Saber and it’s a very interesting nonfiction book about the lives of four different Army wives. The author, Tanya Biank, does a wonderful job of spotlighting four very different women whose husbands serve in the Army. She was able to talk quite frankly about these women’s struggles.
Pattie’s Review:
I have only watched a couple of episodes of the Lifetime series “Army Wives,” and they were early episodes. I was never hooked on the show, I guess, because my husband was deployed at the time, and his military career was nothing like the ones depicted on TV, and I just didn’t know much about the military. Of course, now the show is in its fourth season and is a runaway hit with women everywhere. (Perhaps I’ll catch it on DVD!)
That said, when I had the chance to order a copy of Tanya Biank’s book of the same title from Military One Source.com (I offer a link to this program at the end of this post), I was excited to read it.
While I enjoyed the book, I feel I must offer a disclaimer right away: this is a serious book. It’s not lighthearted or fluffy, and it’s not what might be considered a “fun” read. Tanya Biank is a serious journalist, and this book is an extension of many stories she covered as a reporter in Fayetteville, North Carolina in the early 2000s. She is an excellent writer, and while this is nonfiction in content, it is most certainly not scholarly or stodgy in tone. I read it fairly quickly as this nonfiction narrative flowed smoothly.
In this book, Tanya Biank examines Fort Bragg and the people who serve there. She chose four wives from different walks of life, whose husbands had different ranks and jobs, and different temperaments. She talks about their lives, their husbands’ jobs and service, how they lived, and in some cases, how they died.
I found Army Wives to be a fascinating look at military spouses on either side of 9/11/01. Because the stories begin before that fateful day, and continue through that uncertain time, and end after the war is in full swing.
I’d love to see Tanya Biank do a follow-up to Army Wives now. Not necessarily with the same women she profiles, but with other military women in different situations and facing different challenges. I think it’d be fascinating.
I am always fascinated by people’s stories—it’s why I’m a reader of books and a watcher of people when I’m out, why I love being a part of Wives of Faith, and why I’m a listener of stories in my real life. I think it’s also why I really enjoyed this book so much.
To learn more about the book and the author, visit Tanya Biank’s site here.
WIN THIS BOOK!!!
And now for the giveaway. While I enjoyed this book very much, I also want to share my only-read-once copy of the book with another Wives of Faith reader. (For any other bibliophiles out there, you’ll know what I mean when I tell you that my husband loves me, but not all my books—and with another move in a year after just having moved last month, you can see my predicament!)
No purchase necessary! Just leave a comment telling me one great thing about being a military wife. That’s all! One great thing. You’ll then be eligible for the drawing to receive my once-read, still-in-great-shape copy of this book. I’ll mail it as soon as the winner sends me her address.
Also, please be sure to include your email address in your comment. It won’t be public info for the public site, but it will give me a way to contact you in the event that you’re the winner.
So be sure to leave a comment starting now until Friday, July 9th at noon Central time. That’s when I’ll choose the winner!
Special thanks to Military One Source for the free copy of the book. It was sent to me for free
as a military spouse, not for review. To learn more about this program, click here.
You will need to join Military One Source to participate in this program, but membership is free.
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Well, you asked for it, and so we’re starting it! Welcome to our weekly Blog Carnival, Faith Friday. So many of you have said you’ve enjoyed writing and reading all of the bloggers who have participated in our last two big blog carnivals and wondered if we could offer more, so here it is!
Your blog carnival topic for this week is Let Freedom Ring! Write what freedom means to you on this 4th of July weekend. The only two rules – you have to include a link to Wives of Faith in your post, and you need to add a link here to your blog so everyone will know where to go to read it!
BLOG BUTTON CONTEST!
Also, we’re launching a contest for our Faith Friday blog button – if you love to create fun images for your blog and other people’s, then start designing! Email your entry to info@wivesoffaith.org by July 16. The wife with the winning blog button that we choose will win a $10 Starbucks gift card and your choice of a Wives of Faith or Living GOD Strong t-shirt! One stipulation - the button needs to include Wives of Faith and Faith Friday somewhere on it.
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The Rutherford County TN WoF group just started a study on The Power of a Praying Wife. I felt this was such an important step for us military wives to take. After all, marriage is hard enough but then you throw in the deployments and moves and all the other great stuff that encompasses the military life. We love it, but…
The Power of a Praying Wife takes us to the core in the first month as we begin praying for ourselves. Yes, you heard right…to pray for the husband you must first pray for the wife. Not a feel good prayer either, I might add. But a down and dirty prayer. One where you ask God to reveal all the yucky stuff in yourself that prevents you from praying effectively for your husband. Are you holding in any feelings of unforgiveness, resentment, disappointment, or maybe just a bad attitude? We need a clean heart to come before God in prayer. Psalm 66:18 says ” If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear.” I have to say that this is tough to accept, because I feel sure that most of us at some time have prayed “change him, change his mind, change his choice”, you get the picture. However, usually the changes MUST begin within ourself.
I want to close with the following prayer, it comes right from the book, The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian. If you right now, are being spoken to by this article, then please join me in repeating this prayer:
“Lord, nothing in me wants to pray for this man. I confess my anger, hurt, unforgiveness, disappointment, resentment, and hardness of heart toward him. Forgive me and create in me a clean heart and right spirit before You. Give me a new, positive, joyful, loving, forgiving attitude toward him. Where he has erred, reveal it to him and convict his heart about it. Lead him through the paths of repentance and deliverance. Help me not to hold myself apart from him emotionally, mentally, or physically because of unforgiveness. Where either of us needs to ask forgiveness of the other, help us to do so. If there is something I’m not seeing that is adding to this problem, reveal it to me and help me to understand it. Remove any wedge of confusion that has created misunderstanding or miscommunication. Where there is behavior that needs to change in either of us, I pray You would enable that change to happen. As much as I want to hang on to my anger toward him because I feel it is justified, I want to do what You want. I release all those feelings to You. Give me a renewed sense of love for him and words to heal this situation.”
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