Blessings of Military Wife Role Models...

I was thinking about one of my favorite books the other day. It is a real life love story between a Soldier and his amazingly dedicated and loving Wife. The story is set during World War II. If you have not read "GI Joe and Lillie", it really is a must read for all of us Military Wives.

The story is so beautifully written that you will find yourself both laughing out loud and shedding tears. It is one of those books where I felt I was right there in the middle of it all witnessing it first hand.

But for me, the most amazing thing about the book is the love, dedication and faith of Lillie for her GI Joe. Lillie is an exemplarary role model. And if I can be even a 1/4 of the Military Wife she was, I will have considered myself a success in this Military Life!

The Author also wrote a song with the most moving lyrics to honor GI Joe and Lillie.

He was a streetwise kid from Philly

Just nineteen in forty four

Joined up in Uncle’s Army

Hit the beach and fought a war

A decorated hero

He never talks about those days

Because of guys like G.I. Joe

Our Country’s free today.

*

She was Women’s Army Corp

Raised in Carolina dirt

Escorting wounded young men home

From a burning hell on earth

The first time that she saw him

He was broken and alone

Lillie fell in love that day

When he winked and said ‘hello’

*

Lillie sang this song to G.I. Joe

Let me hold you in my arms, handsome

soldier

Take my hand for we are going home today

Let me kiss away your tears

Let me pray away your fears

I’ll stay here with you

Til’ they carry us away

*

They married in the spring

All dressed up in Army green

Took out a loan and bought a home

And raised a family

*

The War returned to G.I. Joe

In Nineteen Sixty Five

The old wounds came back to haunt him

But, Lillie’s love kept him alive

*

Now they’re living in a Veterans’ home

They’ve both grown old and gray

The medals earned so long ago

Now hang there in a case

Sometimes she finds him weeping

As he lays there in his bed

The distant sound of battle

Still echoes in his head

*

Lillie sings this song to G.I. Joe

Let me hold you in my arms, handsome soldier

Take my hand for we are going home today

Let me kiss away your tears

Let me pray away your fears

I’ll stay here with you

Til’ they carry us away

*

Someday they’ll rest in Arlington

Neath' the Red, the White and Blue

Safe in the arms of Jesus

When their journey here is through

An American love story

Not unlike a lot of others

Except that G.I. Joe and Lillie

Is my father and my mother

Ahhh...

Here is the link to this book and it's wonderful Author, Joseph S. Bonsall. Joseph is one of the singers for the Oak Ridge Boys and is also a very talented writer. http://www.josephsbonsall.com/pages/main.html

I feel blessed that he shared this story with us.

I hope you will take the opportunity to find this book, curl up with a cup of tea and bless your Military Heart with this Military Love Story!

~Military Blessings!

Blessings of Peace In Your Life...

Hello to all of my sweet fellow Military Wives! Sorry to have been away so long. As I have started on my road to healing, I have also been helping my Husband through his surgery and healing. Our family has been very blessed! Because of being a Military Family, not only has my healing being taken care of, but my Husband's as well. We were blessed that my Husband received excellent care in a Military Hospital, prescriptions for pain and wellness, while receiving paid leave to recuperate. We do not have to worry how we will pay the hospital bills, pick up the prescriptions or struggle in our family finances while being off of work. Unlike others in similar and unfortunate situations, my Husband can heal peacefully and not worry about forcing a recovery to get back to work to support his family in a mere couple of days or risk losing his job. The Military has blessed us with the PEACE to heal!

We have and will take this time to be so grateful that God has allowed us to be a Military Family. We take this moment of peace as a family before we commit 100% back into the world of careers, businesses and the like. As we strive to always work hard, do our best, and give back to others, hopefully we will be kinder and gentler to ourselves as well, so that healing and surgery will never be necessary again. Numerous deployments (as well as every day things) can really take their toll on our Military Families. We can easily become worn down, tired out and mentally, physically and spritually depleted.

As Military Wives and Mothers, we tend to take on the stresses of our Husband's careers, our careers whether inside the home or out, our children's heartaches, as well as the cleaning, cooking, yard care, errand running, bill paying, dog walking, Spouse Clubs, deployment care box shipping, grocery shopping...and well, the list goes on. And of course our Spouses have their own mental and physical stress that we try to nurture and protect them from. How many times have we made sure that our Husband's have a good and hearty meal and that our children eat healthy, balanced meals, only for us to go all day without eating anything but a handful of cheese puffs and M & M's because we are busy?

We are women, ladies, Military gals. God put us on this earth to care for and nuture the world and we rock at it. But, we also need to make ourselves as much of a priority as we do everything else. Our children will never remember if our houses were clean on May 22, 2010. But they will remember that we had the energy to be kind, patient and loving towards them, because we took the time to be kind, patient and loving towards ourselves. I will admit that I have not been as balanced about this as I should have been. That is why my health is where it is now. My body said...enough. I hope that it is not where you are at today. I hope you are showing yourself some love. If it is where you are at, please know that you are not alone! I am sending you prayers, blessings and all the old fashioned kindness you can hold. I wish you peace in every area of your wonderful life!

You are such a blessing to the people around you!

Military Blessings!

Blessings of Being and Feeling Appreciated...

History behind Military Spouse Appreciation Day...

It is celebrated on the Friday before Mother’s Day in the United States. United States citizens take this day to acknowledge the significant contributions, support, and sacrifices of spouses of their Armed Forces.
Military Spouse Day has been observed since May 23, 1984, when a proclamation by President Ronald Reagan recognized the profound importance of spouse commitment to the readiness and well-being of military members. The US Secretary of Defense standardized the date by declaring the Friday proceeding Mother’s Day as Military Spouse Day.
Each year, the US President normally commemorates this day with a ceremonial speech and proclamation.

I wanted to wish all of you wonderful, fabulous, brillant, strong, creative, kind and blessed Women (and Men) a very special Military Spouse Appreciation Day! I appreciate everything you contribute to our Community!

We truly are the "Force Behind The Force"! What a blessing!

* Stop by Camolove.com and check out the wonderful complimentary graphics Dani has to celebrate Military Spouse Appreciation Day! http://camolove.com/blog/graphics/military-spouse-day-snags/

Blessings of the Patriot Guard Riders...

I am sure if you have a loved one in the Military, that you are familiar with this wonderful group of selfless Americans. But if you have not, The Patriot Guard Riders have an unwavering respect for those who risk their very lives for America’s freedom and security.

Their main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes. Each mission they undertake has two basic objectives:
To show sincere respect for fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.
and to Shield the mourning family and their friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.

The group was initially formed to shelter and protect the funerals from protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church, who claim that the deaths of U.S. service members in Iraq and Afghanistan are retribution for American tolerance of homosexuality. The Patriot Guard positions itself to physically shield the mourners from the presence of the Westboro protesters by blocking the protesters from view with their motorcade, or by having members hold American flags. The group also drowns out the protesters' chants by singing patriotic songs or by revving motorcycle engines.

If you have the stomach or the blood pressure that can tolerate reading about the above named Westboro Baptist Chruch, please do so. It is sickening and will make you want to cry and scream, but I think it is so important for our Community to learn about these people, and what a true blessing it is to have The Patriotic Guard Riders to love, shelter and protect us!

They are such an amazing group of Americans and deserve all of the moral and financial support that we can give them. I for one, feel thankful and blessed by The Patriotic Guard Riders!
I hope you will check out one of their sites froma round the Country...

Here is just one of many http://www.patriotguardks.org/DeghandMSGTBernard.htm

The Blessing of Blessing Others...

Hello Military Friends! I have received so many blessings today that I would like to turn around and bless others. I have a few "Small Military Gifts From The Heart" that I would like to send to you. Complimentary in every way!

If you are in need of a little kindness, or a little bright spot in your day to know that another Military Wife supports you and is here for you, please let me know!

Just take a moment and grab our "I Am Military Blessed" Button so you can show your great PRIDE and BLESSINGS to everyone, follow along with us, please feel free to contribute your kind ideas and bright spirits. We LOVE that!

Just send me an email with your name and address and I would be most happy to pop a "Small Military Gift From The Heart" to you in the mail. And who knows, it may inspire you to send one to someone else and our Kindness Campaign will grow and grow from there! Heartwarming!





Thoughts of inspiration...

An act of kindness enriches the heart of both the giver and the receiver!

Blessings of Military Medical Care...

Over the past couple of weeks I have been dealing with Medical concerns and ailments that have been with me for quite some time. Some have escalated and could just not wait for me to "have time to take care of them." I hope this month to be a month of healing for all of us!

I thought it appropriate to share one of our biggest blessings in the Military Community. And that is of Health Care. We are blessed to have complimentary care from Doctor's visits to X-Rays, to surgery to prescriptions. I have been blessed this week to have received thousands of dollars worth of wonderful medical care and will receive thousands more this month.

I realize that it does not always happen this way, but the Universe and God's blessings aligned for me to receive immediate appointments, dedicated and kind Providers, Nurses and Technicians, health saving medications and testing. Every step of the way my Husband and I felt so blessed by our great fortune of Medical Care. I know some people do not feel it is free or adequate. But I feel is. On Post, I never have to come out of pocket for any care. And my Family's needs are met.

Yes, sometimes you do have to wait for appointments or in a long line at the Pharmacy. Sometimes you wait hours in the Emergency Room. But I have had to do the same in Civilian Doctor's Offices and Hospitals- all the while paying a great deal of money. And there are special circumstances where you may have to see a Civilian Specialist and pay a part of or all of the costs. I am okay with that too. I realize that I save so much all year long with our blessing of Military Medical Care that I am able to be able to afford the other when it arises.

There are alot of people in our Country who are suffering and do not have any Medical Care. I am so blessed to know that my Family, most especially my Children, will never have to go without the care of Doctors, Hospitals and Medicines. That is such a comfort and blessing to my heart, soul and spirit! I hope it is to yours as well!

If you or your family is hurting today, please know that you will be in my prayers. I pray for your healing as I pray for my own. As Military Wives and Moms, we have to be so mindful of the fact that we are always trying to take care of others (and at times alone because our Husband's are deployed) that we forget to take care of ourselves like we should.

The best gift we can give our Children is to take care of their Mothers!

Thought of inspiration...

Strive to be first. First to nod, first to smile, first to compliment and first to forgive.

Speaking Blessings Over Your Life Today...

This morning I just wanted to take a moment to speak blessings over your life. The attitude we adopt each morning can set us on a happy, joyous day- or do just the opposite. If you are having a blessed day, keep going, it is going to keep getting better and better!

If you have started out down, I hope you will take a moment and remember to be kind to your self. Be as kind to yourself as you are to other people. You deserve the same goodness!

It comes easy to most of us to compliment other people. But for some reason, we have a difficult time being as kind to ourselves. You are probably known for telling other ladies that they are good Mothers or good Wives. When was the last time you told yourself that and really believed it? Say it to yourself now- because you are!!

The way that you speak to yourself internally and the way that you carry yourself is the way that you feel about yourself. And people will see you as you see yourself. And today I hope that you see yourself as the beautiful, smart, capable, funny, lovely Military Wife you are! It is what your Family sees in you, it is what I see in you! Show yourself some love and see your true value!

Take a quiet moment now to close your eyes, breathe in deep...say something good about yourself and feel how blessed you are in your Military Life! The best gift that you can give your Family is a happy, healthy, confident YOU!

I am sending you blessings today. I hope you receive them into your spirit and then pass them along to someone else in our Community!

Thought of Inspiration...

Do good for yourself and bring out the good in others!