When a military member dies, whether from a wound, an illness, or an injury, loved ones are left with all the puzzling feelings that surround death, complicated by the challenges of military life.
An excellent place to find understanding and acceptance is T.A.P.S.–Trajedy Assistance Program for Survivors. These people really care and many of them have lost a loved one with a military affiliation.
Find T.A.P.S. at www.taps.org or call them at 800-959-TAPS.
There is help out there!... Read more here

At a recent technology gathering in Idaho, master investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett, overseer of Berkshire Hathaway, shared the best advice he had ever been given. What did the “Oracle of Omaha” (and purportedly the world’s third richest man) have to say?
He said that the best advice given to him was “the power of unconditional love.” Unconditional love. Loving someone else no matter what.
He made it very clear in his statement that unconditional love is not the same as uncritical love, that being in his words, “a different animal.”
To truly love someone doesn’t mean we always agree with him or her, or simply let them always have their way, and certainly not to enable bad behavior. It does mean that our constant and observant care does not depend on anything that other person can do.
Parents, unconditional love will provide the foundation your children will need in the difficult teen years and the challenges of adulthood. Not permissiveness, but unconditional love.
Unconditional love. That’s love that the kids don’t need to earn, that they can’t earn, because it comes from the heart of the loving parent.
This reminds me of a prodigal son who was loved by his father, ran away and lived a tumultuous life, and then returned to the father willing to be a servant, but was met by the father with hugs, a robe, a ring, shoes, and a feast. Why? Because he had blown his father’s inheritance? No. Because he came home. And he knew he could come home.
All of us, parents or not, can practice unconditional love. It makes the world a different place.
Take it from Warren.... Read more here

Pray for our troops, particularly those in Afghanistan, where the insurgency has been hot recently, but also in Iraq and other places around the world. And pray for our enemies, as Jesus taught. Pray for protection and for justice and for mercy. Pray for hearts to be changed and freedoms to be protected. Pray for good to triumph over evil. “Thy will be done.”... Read more here

I recently met Marshele Waddell, wife of Navy SEAL Mark Waddell, who was an enlisted sailor for eight years before commissioning and retiring as a Navy Commander. She speaks openly and honestly about the challenges to marriage from PTSD and TBI, both of which have affected her husband from his multiple deployments to combat zones. She also speaks openly of her hope for lives affected by PTSD. You may want to check out her Web site at: www.hopeforthehomefront.com and see for yourself.... Read more here

The Fourth of July is a time to celebrate our freedom in the USA. What freedom do you appreciate the most?... Read more here