Thoughts on Veterans Day by Veteran’s Wife, Carrie Daws

Today, I’m delighted to introduce to you, Carrie Daws. She’s the wife of a military veteran and a mother of three teens. An award-winning author of eleven books, you’ll find words to encourage and equip via her speaking, her writing, and on Carrie’s wonderful blog. She kindly accepted my request to guest post here for Veterans Day.

In addition, Carrie is giving away an enormously generous gift. One reader will win five copies of The Warrior’s Bride: Biblical Strategies to Help the Military Spouse Thrive to distribute however they wish. More details about that later. For now, enjoy reading Carrie’s thoughts on Veterans Day.

Thoughts on Veteran Day

by Carrie Daws

1918. The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month approached. With it came an armistice, a temporary peace while the diplomats worked on the Treaty of Versailles. World War 1 was over, and many prayed that such a war would never come again.

It was a valiant hope.

Today’s military looks and functions differently from that of our fathers, yet the honor of Veterans Day remains.
Veterans, not veteran’s. Because, as the Office of Veterans Affairs states, “it is not a day that ‘belongs’ to veterans, it is a day for honoring all veterans.”

That’s the heart of Veterans Day, what military members and their families want you to know on this day that’s sacred to us.

How can you do that?

Seven Ideas to Get your Creative Juices Flowing

1. Post the Colors. Hang an American flag, properly and with respect. Check your current flag for disrepair and make sure your flag doesn’t touch the ground. My heart wells with gratitude when I see flags waving at numerous homes and businesses.

2. Pray for our military at home. As the military is expected to do more with less and to be politically correct in all avenues of life, stress is rising. We need you to pray for God’s provision in everything from supplies to training to grace.

3. Pray for our deployed military. Many deploy to dangerous areas—not just physically dangerous but also spiritually dangerous. Pray for protection from evil schemes over their hearts and minds, for supernatural eyes and ears to know what the enemy is doing, and for supernatural understanding and wisdom so they know what to do. These prayers save lives!

4. Pray for our military families. Military life is stressful on multiple levels, and too many families lose the battle. Deployments, training schedules, the uncertainty of war, fear of infidelity and death, open pornography, injuries, and the realities of living with a man who’s faced war all work to break families apart. We need more people praying against these damaging forces.

5. Step up. Know a military family? Don’t just offer help if they ever need it. Instead, ask, “What can I do to help you this weekend?” Think about your skills and passions. Even if the military member is home, the work schedule may be long and fixing a dripping faucet low on the priority list. Invite the kids out to kick a ball with you in the front yard or take over some fresh made goodies for dessert. Most military families are missing out on relationships with aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. You can fill that gap.

6. Open your home on holidays. All around the country, military families celebrate Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and more alone. Sure, some organizations serve big meals on the holidays, but it’s not the same as a family gathering where seconds are expected and the crazy Uncle ate too much pie. Where the person carving the turkey knows your name and cares that your heart struggles because the family you should be with is hundreds of miles away.

7. Speaking of holidays, don’t forget birthdays and anniversaries. Many spouses celebrate these days alone, but a group of friends going out together or a special delivery of a favorite treat makes a huge difference.
Above all, remember Veterans Day is a celebration of those who step into the gap between us and those intent on harming us. Take a moment this week to honor them and to teach the generation behind you to do the same.

I’d love to host a giveaway just for Sally’s blog readers: five copies of The Warrior’s Bride for someone to use however they’d like — give away to friends and family OR donate to one of their local churches or libraries.
The link to enter the giveaway is http://carriedaws.com/sallys-readers/

I’ll pick a winner on November 18th, so it gives everyone one week to enter.

Over the years, God rewrote Carrie’s dreams to include being a stay-at-home mom and a writer. Originally, writing devotions to share what she learned with women, Carrie decided to enroll in the Christian Writer’s Guild. While there, seeds were planted and cultivated.

After almost ten years in the military, Carrie’s husband medically retired, and they now live in North Carolina with their three children. She stays busy writing, homeschooling, and volunteering within her church’s military ministry.