Tag: ashamed

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Come On Man! Suck it Up!

Thanks to all of you who have been joining us here. The response has been wonderful.  We just past 3,716 new subscribers. That is a huge increase in 2016. We only had 1,000 two years ago. In 2017 help us to make it to 4,000. We are only 284 away of reaching our goal.  Help us make it by subscribing today if you haven’t already. This shows you care for veterans. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post to do that.

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Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It will be reaching out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics.  

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This is a new social network just for veterans. I joined it and made instant friendships with veterans who want to talk about what I want to talk about. Please check it out. You will be glad you did. 

www.rallypoint.com/join/spc-douglas-bolton

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Have you ever had someone on say to you, “Come on Man!.” Meaning that they may not believe what you are telling them.

It is a common phrase that I have heard from time to time.

Here are some facts about veterans that you may not believe either:

  • 22 veterans take their own lives every day. I didn’t say every year. I said every day. That is appalling! We need to find way to reach out to our brother and sisters from the military.
  • There are a total of 22 million veterans in all branches of service. 22 million men and women who are putting themselves in harm’s way so that you and I can live in a free country.
  • There are 4 million veterans disabled. Many have wounds that forces them into wheelchairs, assisted living facilities, and need permanent care every day.
  • This is the saddest statistic: There are 1/2 million veterans who are homeless and live on the streets. They fought for us, and now they are living day to day in the cold, damp, world as we know it, with only cardboard, or newspapers covering them.

COME ON MAN!!!

Yes, it is hard to believe this is happening in our own country, but it is the truth. These are not made up statistics. These aren’t there to make you ashamed, even though I am. They are there to try to wake all of us up and do something about it.

Those of you that may be suffering. Be strong! Let people help you. Don’t hide in your own self pity. I am a disabled veteran myself, and know the pain that you have to go through in life.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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More Military Veteran Interviews

Thanks to all of you who have been joining us here. The response has been wonderful.  We just past 3,300 new subscribers. That is a huge increase in 2015. We only had 1,000 a year ago. Help us to make it to 4,000.  Could you be the one that puts us over the top? Our goal for the end of this year is 6,000.

Help us continue to grow by subscribing today if you haven’t already. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post to do that.

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Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It will be reaching out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics. Doug sent off his mini proposal to an agent who is very interested in his concept. We will update you when we hear more. 

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On my last post below I started sharing a few of the interviews I am doing for my new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.”

This book is reaching out to all the veterans who may be suffering after or even during their time in the military. It covers PTSD, deployment, loneliness, depression, domestic violence, spouses left behind, etc. It even has some humor of when I was in the military.

Today I am going to share a couple more interviews. In the last post I said that I would only be sharing a little part of each interview. I will continue that here. To see the entire interviews you will need to get the book. (This is called a hook in the writing community.)

One interview I had was with a Vietnam veteran. It wasn’t planned interview. I happened to be at a fast food restaurant and saw him sitting alone staring out the window. I could tell he was a veteran by his Vietnam hat he had on.

He finally got up and I saw that he had a cane. He hobbled over to the trash bin and then started to leave.

I asked him if he would sit with me for a while. He hesitated until I told him I was a veteran as well. Here is the conversation we had. It really wasn’t an interview. I didn’t want it to sound that way.

Me- “What unit were you in?” Veteran-“I was on a ship off the coast of Vietnam, and we had a helicopter unit that went in to rescue soldiers, bring in supplies, and did humanitarian help for some of the starving people.” Me- “What was the worst moment you had in the military?” Veteran- “I saw my best friend and the rest of his crew take off in a helicopter and suddenly crash into the ocean. They never recovered the bodies because it was too deep.”

There was much more talked about, but this was the most heart breaking part.

Another interview I had was with a Vietnam medic. He had some horror stories which I won’t share here but will be in the book. Here are some highlights:

Me- “Was being a medic a tough job?” Veteran- “Of course it was. To see young men with their legs gone, or near their last breath was extremely hard.”  Me- “Did you have some special moments?” Veteran- “Yes, I was caring for a soldier who couldn’t have been much over eighteen. He asked me if I was scared. I said yes. That seemed to calm him down a lot knowing that someone felt the same way as he did, but was still trying to help him anyway.”

I will have many more interviews in the book, and the book will be full of hope, and showing veterans ways to cope in the world we have to live in after we hit the private sector.

A word to all veterans…

You are a special person. You went out of your way to serve you country. God loves as you are, warts and all. You are a hero to not only me, but many other people. Never be ashamed of what you did. Never feel your time was wasted. Never allow others to degrade you for what you have done for your country.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

 

 

 

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Are you a Christian on Sunday, but AWOL on Mondays?

 

What follows is an actual excerpt from the book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World. Chapter 35

We spend many Sundays going to church, but what do we do on Mondays?

 

The Trouble with Doing Nothing Is that I

Never Know When I’m Done

 

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds

and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

 

We go to church every Sunday, but are we doing anything about reaching out to people for the Lord on Monday?

When we worship in church, we have our eyes on the Lord and praise Him. We fellowship with other Christians and we feel refreshed.

What about Monday? You have a good attitude while you’re in church, but what is your attitude on Monday.

Let’s look at Paul for a few lines. Paul spent many of his years being beaten, hated, and even put in prison. What do you think his attitude was? Wouldn’t you think he was angry, sad and depressed or at least complained a lot?

There was a time when Paul was in prison, not knowing what the next day might bring. He had already put a plea in to the Roman government to spare his life, but he didn’t know what their decision would be.

Not so fast, my friend! Paul was overflowing with joy! Yes, a man that was on death row was excited to be there. He had a great attitude because he had a “captive” audience. The guards and prisoners had to be there each day and listen to him tell them about Jesus and the salvation He offers. What a golden opportunity for him. The gospel was spread all through the prison! Paul rejoiced for the chance to witness. Plus while he was in prison, he wrote the book of Philippians, where he uses the word “rejoice” over and over. So much for a pity party!

Attitude check here: What is our attitude on Monday when we have a chance to witness to others around us? Remember one very important thing: When we are telling others about Christ, we are not alone! God is with us.

Surprise! As a retired teacher, I still cherish the times when I can have an unannounced quiz. Let’s see how you do:

  1. Can people sense you are a Christian?    ____ Yes    ____ No   
  2. Can people tell you are Christian by the way you respond to trials, pain and hardships?

____ Yes    ____ No  

  1. Do you show the gospel of Christ with your attitude?    ____ Yes    ____ No
  2. Would people reach out to you and say, “I want what you have”?    ____ Yes    ____ No   

 

If you said no, or you are not sure about your answer to any of these questions, you failed the test. You will have to take it over and over again until you get 100%!

Stop sweating blood! I am not really saying that you have to be perfect. I’m not able to get 100% myself most days.

Romans 3:23 tells us we all have come short of the glory of God. I am not perfect. I come short of the glory of God more often than I would like to admit.

But, let me show you some ways each one of us can improve a great deal on our attitude and daily walk with God.

In Philippians 2:14–15, Paul says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation.”

In other words, let your attitude reflect the love of Jesus Christ.

It is wonderful to worship God on Sunday, but if you do nothing on Monday, others will never know that you are a Christian. Your attitude is one of the most revealing factors about your personality. If you get angry a lot, or think the world is against you and complain about everything, your attempt at witnessing is falling on deaf ears.

Listen to Paul and try not to complain or walk around with a bad attitude. I have observed many people who just by their actions show the love of Christ for others. I don’t have to ask them if they are a Christian—it just shows.

If we strive to act like that on Monday, we will be doing something. And we’ll know we are done when God no longer brings people into our daily life in need of His touch through us. We’ll feel grateful for what God has done for us and be happy with what we have done for God that day.

To summarize the four quiz questions above: Can people see Christ in you?    Yes or No

If people wanted to know what God was like during Christ’s time, all they had to do was look at Him. If people want to know what Christ is like today, they should be able to look at His followers.

 

 … Do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

1 Peter 3:15–16

 

Further adventures

Take inventory of your life. What direction are you going? Do you feel you are doing what God has in mind for you? Are you comfortable with where you are now as far as showing God’s love to others? If not, get into the Word. Pray for God’s guidance and take action on whatever He tells you. Doing nothing leaves you stagnant and ineffective for God.

 

Something to ponder

Isn’t it funny how we feel strong about our belief in God, but weak when it comes to sharing it?