Showing posts with label Christians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christians. Show all posts

Monday, August 5, 2019

Point Man getting to the point of love and what heals PTSD

Point Man weekend lifting up healing


Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 5, 2019

Of all the things you have been hearing about lately, you may have received the impression that it is all new stuff. Peer support...not new. Healing of mind-body and spirit...not new. Suicides and attempted suicides...not new. None of what you hear about today is new, but most of it is not an improvement on what had already been done without the glow of reporters covering stunts.

This weekend I was in Buffalo for the Point Man International Ministries conference. Dana Morgan, the President of Point Man for longer than I have been involved, has stepped down and is taking on leading an Out Post instead of the whole thing after over 20 years.

Want to know what works? Listen to these speeches and know what the rest of the groups should be doing because if you end the video and are not awakened to possibilities...not much else will open your eyes.



There will be a few more videos up tomorrow but they will have to wait until I get back from work.

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Amazon sold fake books?

Amazon Sold $240K of ‘Liturgy of the Ordinary’ Fakes, Publisher Says


Christianity Today
KATE SHELLNUTT
JULY 08, 2019
Christian values can seem increasingly countercultural in a society drawn to the instant gratification offered by the world’s biggest online retailer.
A Christian bestseller (and CT Book of the Year) was targeted by a major counterfeiting scheme. It took Tish Harrison Warren nearly three years to publish her first book. It was more than 18 months of arranging childcare and carving out time to write before she had a manuscript—11 chapters chronicling details from her day-to-day life paired with the rhythms of church ritual.

By the time Liturgy of the Ordinary debuted in December 2016, she and her publishing team had gone through the process of selecting a cover (an open-faced peanut butter and jelly sandwich against a bright green backdrop) and editing the page proofs to check every dot and detail.

But over the past year, thousands of readers ended up with copies that didn’t quite look like the book she and InterVarsity Press (IVP) had finalized three years ago. The cover was not as sharp. The pages were a bit off-center.

These were not IVP’s books at all. They were counterfeits.

Just as The New York Times put out a report in late June on a surge of counterfeit books available on Amazon, the 70-year-old Christian publisher discovered that one of its own had also “been victim of a highly organized and sophisticated counterfeiting scheme.”

The Times covered complaints that the country’s top bookseller “has been reactive rather than proactive in dealing with the issue” and found examples of Amazon’s third-party sellers pushing fakes across genres: medical handbooks, popular novels, and classic literature. With Warren’s case, add Christian books to the list.

IVP estimates that at least 15,000 counterfeit copies of Liturgy of the Ordinary were sold on the site over the past nine months, their retail value totaling $240,000. That nearly cuts sales of Warren’s book in half; IVP reported 23,000 legitimate copies were sold over the past year. IVP also found evidence of counterfeiting on a smaller scale for one other title, Michael Reeves’s Delighting in the Trinity, which came out in 2002.

Publishers Weekly reported how AAP specifically called out Amazon for facilitating sales of fraudulent books: “The organization claimed that Amazon, on its retail site, allows ‘widespread counterfeiting, defective products, and fake reviews that both degrade the consumer experience and diminish the incentives of authors and publishers to create new works and bring them to the marketplace.’” read it here

*******
I guess this explains why Amazon would not tell me how many of my books were sold when it happened to me.

While I thought I had something to be happy about back in April when Amazon finally got my highjacked book taken down...that feeling did not last long. They would not tell me how many of the stolen books they sold.

Stolen? Yes, when an author does not get paid for their work, it is stolen. What made it worse was that it had gone on for 16 years! Xlibris was the publisher and refused to take down the book...or even bother to find out why it was still for sale, and yes, being bought by people. Those "people" included me at full price so that I could prove what was happening.

The problem was, no matter what I proved, no one would do anything to help me. I got the Better Business Bureau involved. I got a lawyer. I wrote and wrote and wrote emails to the "publisher" and tormentor. I called other lawyers but they would not help unless I knew how many were sold.

Warren is a "best selling author" and apparently, her publisher cared about what was happening.

I just have a very well established online connection...over 15 million.


But that news hit me a few years ago. The number was from Google before they had to switch to a Google+ account. Now, who knows? My site less than 5 million views, so that means all those people on my profile came from someplace else.

I couldn't even get anyone to care when I wrote about all this back in April...April Fools Publishing With Xlibris.


You can hear the story about this here. Just goes to show that it is not always what you know...but who you know when you are seeking justice or help to get it.

Friday, April 19, 2019

Florida veteran moved back to California...and into "Faith Defines Us"

Affordable housing helps veteran start clothing company


The Signal
Emily Alvarenga
April 18, 2019
Now, Martin owns his own business. “Faith Defines Us” is an online Christian apparel brand that, according to Martin, is “more than just selling clothes, it’s like a ministry.”

Tommy Martin served in the U.S. Army for six years before moving to California from Florida.

“I just wanted something different from where I grew up,” Martin said.

He then “played catch up by going back to school” and went on to get three bachelor’s degrees in marketing, business law and design.

Martin and his wife were living in San Francisco and looking for Veteran Affairs housing benefits a couple of years ago, when they stumbled upon the Santa Clarita Veteran Enriched Neighborhood.

A total of 78 single-family homes were being built by Homes 4 Families, a nonprofit dedicated to helping create affordable housing for veterans.

“(My wife) grew up in Santa Clarita, and didn’t want to move back, but God works in mysterious ways,” Martin said.
read more here

Monday, March 18, 2019

Vietnam veteran, Pastor tends to all veterans in Holiday

Holiday pastor serves fellow veterans, invites all to spring festival


Tampa Bay Times
Ernie and Regina Bullock
By Sarah Whitman
Times Correspondent
Published March 12

Ernie Bullock served nearly two tours in Vietnam, and survived the 1968 Tet Offensive.

The former U.S. Marine, who also served with the Air Force, returned from war in 1970 a changed and broken man.

He has since dedicated his life to counseling and serving veterans.

Bullock works at the Veterans Hospital in Sarasota and as an associate pastor at Holiday Community Fellowship Church in Pasco. He leads the church’s veteran outreach, a chapter of Point Man International Ministries.

Bullock joined the organization in the 1990s when he became a Christian and led a chapter in New York before moving to Florida two years ago.

The outreach will host a free Spring Festival at Holiday Community Fellowship Church, 5144 Sunray Drive, from noon to 4 p.m. on March 16. Families are invited to come meet firefighters, members of law enforcement and veterans, play games and participate in youth activities. Veterans and their families will serve as volunteers.

“It is essential for children and others to meet veterans and law enforcement and emergency responders,” Bullock said. “People of all ages need to understand these men and women care for others and rise to the call of duty every time they walk through the doors at work. Some of these people have given up their lives to save someone else.”

Last year, about 150 people attended the festival. About 25 volunteers helped organize the second annual event. Many participate in Point Man’s meet-ups at church.

The members form a community with common histories and purpose, Bullock said.

Bullock ministers often to veterans struggling to reconcile their experiences with daily life.

“Many veterans get stuck in grief, but also many are stuck in anger,” Bullock said. “I believe the worst of the anger should be dealt with in therapy groups in VA hospitals. However, churches have a role in recovery, too.”
read more here

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Son of Vietnam veteran knows what "my brother's keeper" really means

‘Somebody’s Gotta Do Something’: RV Salesman Spends Spare Time Making Watches to Raise Money for Vets


Faithwire
By Tré Goins-Phillips
Editor
March 14, 2019
“Why create another [charity]? Why not just come up with a way to generate some money to help charities that are already out there doing good work?” Carey asked.

“They don’t understand why I’m doing this,” Carey said, noting he is constantly explaining to those around him why he chooses to sacrifice his own income for the greater good.
We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. While he’s not particularly religious, that’s the biblical principal that inspires one watchmaker in Illinois to donate his profits to different veterans charities around the country.

In 2012, Thomas Carey and his dad started Minuteman Watches, a company they created with the sole purpose of giving back to those who have served in the military.

Though his father — a Vietnam veteran — is permanently disabled as a result of Agent Orange, Carey has continued the work.

During the day, Carey sells RVs. But in his free time, he’s building and shipping out watches to people around the country, choosing not to pocket the money that comes in. Instead, he gives it away.

Carey told Faithwire his extracurricular effort often leaves his coworkers dumbfounded.
read more here

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

84 year old veteran's widow had nerve to lead Bible study....at nursing home?

California veterans home threatens to expel 84-year-old widow for leading Bible study group


Fox News
By Caleb Parke

An 84-year-old widow claims California officials are threatening to kick her out of a residence for veterans if she doesn't stop hosting a longtime Bible study.
Artis Breau, an 84-year-old widow of a WWII veteran, has been threatened with expulsion from a veterans home in California if she doesn't stop leading Bible study. (Google/iStock)

Artis Breau and her husband moved to the Veterans' Home of California in Yountville nine years ago. Breau's husband, who died a few years ago, served as a Merchant Marine, Army, in World War II and then, during the Korean War he served in the Air Force. The two met in the 1950s while she worked at the Pentagon as a civilian employee in the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army.

She has been volunteering with the chaplaincy program and led Bible studies much of the last decade at an area of the residence known as the Holderman Building, which is a shared space for residents of the home. Recently, the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) notified Breau that she would face "involuntary discharge," or expulsion, from the home if she doesn't give up her status as a volunteer Bible study leader.
read more here

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Church, beer and patriotism?

Castle Church Brewing Flag Dedicated


Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 7, 2019

On Monday, Castle Church Brewing had a ceremony to dedicate the flag that will hang on the wall everyday as a reminder of the price paid by those who provided the freedoms we have.

(Sorry for the delay in getting this up, but I have been dealing with my back since Monday night and spent most of the time in bed. Cannot edit from bed no matter how hard I would try.)



Sunday, January 13, 2019

In the shelter of your arms

You are my shelter

Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
January 13, 2019

An open letter to Jesus

This is a very hard time for me because it seems no matter what I do, what I know and how much work I do, others get praised, even if they are thieves passing my work off as their own.

I have no power to stop them. I have no power to make anyone listen to what I have to say. The only power I have is to do whatever I can to help whoever seeks it.

You know what is in my heart and I know that the gifts I have came from you. You guide me to seek knowledge and share what is truth. You give me courage to bypass fear of the powerful for the sake of the flock. You arm me in spite of those who ignore all you equipped me to do.

You are my shelter. 
Psalm 91 1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
Psalm 91


You brought me into my veteran Father's home and surrounded me with other veterans. You brought me into my veteran husband's heart and showed me what pure love is, as well as the pain I saw in his eyes. 

Then You showed me what it was like to go beyond the times of darkness, so we could walk the rest of this journey together, still holding hands and loving the way our lives have grown beyond what others thought was even possible.

You know the hours, the heartache and you know what it is like for me when someone reminds me of why I do what I do.

You had put a voice within me that I used to gladly sing, but those years have passed and while there has been a song in my soul, it has not passed my lips because there has been too much pain within me.

So now I sing a song for You beyond the tears that came because I know, if I share this with those I am supposed to reach, they may know that others go through the same dark times, even if they believe, as I do, that nothing is beyond Your love. 
The Shelter of Your Arms
Neil Diamond 
In this cold world
No matter where I go
The crowds are all the same
To them I'm just
A pebble in the sand
A face without a name
Nobody gives a hang
For what I say or do
But you
And in the shelter of your arms
I find peace and comfort and care
For I am wanted there
In this cold world
You struggle to survive
And sometimes
You can fall
You think someone
Would lend a helping hand
They'd sooner see you crawl
But just when life itself
Seems more than I can bear
You're there
And in the shelter of your arms
I can find strength and safety and then
I rise and start again
Just give me one good reason
To go on living
To keep on trying
For what I ask you, for what
If not for you
And all your love to see me through
But just when life itself
Seems more than I can bear
You're there
And in the shelter of your arms
I can find strength and safety
And then
I rise and start again

Thursday, October 25, 2018

‘Indivisible’ How God Healed Army Chaplain’s Broken Marriage

New Movie ‘Indivisible’ Tells Powerful Story of How God Healed Army Chaplain’s Broken Marriage


Faith Wire
By Tré Goins-Phillips Editor
October 24, 2018
Just like muscles ache after an intense workout, Turner’s understanding of normalcy had crashed along with his marriage, and after such a harrowing tour overseas, his mind ached as he struggled to adapt to a life that was once routine but within the span of just one year had become so foreign.

Not often can people say their stories have received the Hollywood treatment, but for former U.S. Army Chaplain Darren Turner, that’s exactly what’s happened.

The decorated Iraq War veteran and his family are the subjects of the forthcoming movie, “Indivisible,” which chronicles Turner’s journey home from war, when he was forced to combat the emotional hardships threatening his marriage.

“It still is — and probably always will be — weird,” Turner told Faithwire, explaining how “surreal” it is to see his life’s experiences recreated on the silver screen.

Turner and his wife, Heather, had been married for about three years and were confident they wanted to go into ministry, but they just didn’t know where they were supposed to serve. Not long after they started looking at their options, Heather reconnected with an old college friend who’d married an Army chaplain.
read more here

INDIVISIBLE Official Trailer (2018) War Movie

Sunday, April 8, 2018

"It’s time to lighten your rucksack, friend."

Helping vets is soldier’s mission
Daily News Miner
Keith Kurber II
2 hrs ago
"It’s time to lighten your rucksack, friend. It’s time to get found."  
Keith Kurber II

FAIRBANKS — As a career soldier, everything I did for the military was based on a mission statement. It didn’t matter whether it were a peacetime training exercise or a wartime operation, the mission gave us the “who, what, where, when and why” of our task. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus Christ provided his mission statement and it reads like this: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10, New American Standard Bible). Because I am a follower of Jesus, his mission becomes mine. Wherever I go, I am to seek out and save the lost.

The seeking part of the mission seems fairly straightforward; it means I am out and about, looking for those who need to be saved. The idea of saving is also an uncomplicated notion, as long as I don’t forget that what saves somebody is pointing them to Jesus. Personally, I can’t save anyone, but I can tell them all about Jesus, who can. I can tell people that he is the answer to their deepest needs, especially their aching fear of the unknown, their chronic lack of peace and their confusion. Who wouldn’t want that?

But sometimes lost people don’t want to be found. As a young man, I regularly resisted the advice of well-meaning Christians trying to “save” me by pointing me to Jesus. And being lost isn’t a great feeling either. No matter what you call it, being lost, confused, unsure, unclear, perplexed, disoriented or bewildered, it’s largely an unpleasant experience. When you understand that the original meaning of “being lost” also encompasses being destroyed, rendered useless or killed, it takes on a very weighty sense. The bottom line is this: Being lost is not a good place to be, especially eternally so.
read more here
Keith Kurber II is the senior pastor of Harvest, a church that he and his wife, Nola, also an ordained minister, founded in September 2010. They look forward to many years serving Fairbanks and the Tanana Valley together through Harvest. Keith retired after serving 30 years of Army active duty, reserve and National Guard service as a colonel of special forces. He is also a Drop Zone graduate, having attended in March of 2018. Insight is sponsored by the Tanana Valley Christian Conference.

Sunday, April 1, 2018

PTSD Patrol Empowerment Zone-Redemption

Getting the demon out
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
April 1, 2018
You have this great vehicle and take pride in it. You make sure it is clean. You even go to have the body detailed, so it sparkles in the sunlight. If you do not take care of the parts that power it, then it will sit there and rust. The tires will go flat and you'll cover it, ashamed of what you let happen to it.

What about the vehicle the carries everything that powers you?

That wonderful spirit inside of you needs detail work too. After all, that spirit is what caused you to want to be of service to others. It is what enabled you to train to do it. Endure all the hardships that came with that job. It gave you the courage to rush toward what you knew could end your life. It is also what can help you heal your life.

How is it that you can find it so easy to believe that you were meant to do your job saving lives, yet do not believe you are worthy of saving your own? PTSD is fueled by the acid of doubt. It eats away at everything that is good within you.

The devil is in that detail. The demons are in control of every negative thought you have and they enjoy causing you pain.

You went to bed one night filled with hope long ago. So long ago, you cannot remember what it felt like. The sense of being wrong believing in the power within you became stronger. Now, you are not sure of who you are anymore.

It is time to see the miracle of redemption and the see that everything you need to heal is within your body. Time to work on that.
read more here

Monday, February 26, 2018

If you think work on PTSD is new, it isn't

A veteran returned to Seattle and became a police officer. He noticed more and more veterans being arrested, and then started to listen to them. He heard the same heartbreaking stories. 

Then he decided to meet them in a coffee shop so they could talk longer. He decided to change the conversation from what was wrong in their lives, to how to make them better.

Not long after that, he started to work with their families. He brought in more veterans and their families, so that more healing could happen. And it worked.

The veteran did not come home from Iraq. He did not come home from Afghanistan. No, it wasn't during the Gulf war. That veteran came home from Vietnam and the year this veteran decided to change the conversation, was 1984!

Point Man International Ministries
Since 1984, when Seattle Police Officer and Vietnam Veteran Bill Landreth noticed he was arresting the same people each night, he discovered most were Vietnam vets like himself that just never seemed to have quite made it home. He began to meet with them in coffee shops and on a regular basis for fellowship and prayer. Soon, Point Man Ministries was conceived and became a staple of the Seattle area. Bills untimely death soon after put the future of Point Man in jeopardy.

However, Chuck Dean, publisher of a Veterans self help newspaper, Reveille, had a vision for the ministry and developed it into a system of small groups across the USA for the purpose of mutual support and fellowship. These groups are known as Outposts. Worldwide there are hundreds of Outposts and Homefront groups serving the families of veterans.

PMIM is run by veterans from all conflicts, nationalities and backgrounds. Although, the primary focus of Point Man has always been to offer spiritual healing from PTSD, Point Man today is involved in group meetings, publishing, hospital visits, conferences, supplying speakers for churches and veteran groups, welcome home projects and community support. Just about any where there are Vets there is a Point Man presence. All services offered by Point Man are free of charge.
And another Vietnam veteran is President of PMIM. So, while all of the online news may seem to be "new news" now you know it isn't. 

YOUTH DAY EVENT
ON
SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2018 FROM 12PM – 3PM
SPONSORED AT
HOLIDAY COMMUNITY FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
via POINTMAN INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES
2 Free Hot Dogs and 1 Soda

AT 5144 SUNRAY DRIVE, HOLIDAY, FLORIDA 34690       
All Veterans, Children and        
 Community are invited.
Image result for christian youth day advertisements
PLEASE DON’T MISS OUT 
 MEETING AND SEEING THE
 FOLLOWING;


Christian Karate Club Exhibition;                              Christian Hot Rod Assoc. Exhibition Suncoast Credit Union                                                                                     Holiday’s Veteran’s Alternatives
US Marine Corps and 2 trucks, etc.                            Gideon's International
A Mobile Dental Unit                                                       Racing 4 Veterans on Exhibit
Local Marine Corp League                                            Chick-Fil-A
A Model Car Center by HCFC Members                   Local Fire Dept. #12
Pasco County Sheriff Dept.                                           Supporting Motorcycle Organizations           
Light House of Faith, Hudson Beach                       ACCESS for Education/Finance Infor.

For more information: Please contact Rev. Ernie Bullock at 585-727-3331, Don deMeurers 315-491-6235 or Donna Franklin at 727-389-4558;

DONATIONS APPRECIATED

Monday, February 19, 2018

Volunteers are how miracles do happen!

Volunteers making miracles
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
February 18, 2018



Eagles, "The Long Run" asks a question about why someone did something,
Did you do it for love?
Did you do it for money?
Did you do it for spite?
Did you think you had to, honey?

I my line of work...as a volunteer, not the one I get paid to do, I've met all kinds of people. The ones who do something out of spite, do not last long. They feed what is worse within them, then move onto a new target. 

The ones who do it for money, well, they get as much as they can without paying any kind of emotional price, and they also move on to the next thing they can make a living off of. The cause, clearly didn't matter as much as they claimed it did.

I've been doing it most of my life because of the example my Mom set as a volunteer with our church back home. She worked a full time job, but found time to help because of what she got back. As a kid, I asked her why she did it and she told me that the rewards were came to her heart, not her wallet.

I ended up volunteering at the church, the Girl's Club and the YMCA because doing it proved what she said was awesomely true. The rewards of the heart far outweigh whatever financial reward could ever do.

There are some who start out doing something out of love, but sooner or later, pride, ego or selfishness takes over, and they walk toward whatever else will make them happy about themselves. The cause they started out being dedicated to, was forgotten about. Sometimes it was because they just didn't care enough. Other times, on the surface they claimed it was not "about me" but under those words, it turned out, it really was all about them.

Then there are those I've been blessed to know, who started out doing it for love, then because they had to. Walking away was no longer an option because the work was part of them.

I am tiny compared to most of the people around me. You can see it in their eyes, hear it in their voice and know that they have something very rare within them. 

I get too angry at times. That is something I have to work on everyday because frustration manages to take over. I did not want to be doing this after all these years. I used to think that all I had to do was let people know what was going on and then go back to being living a "normal" life again. Now, this is normal for me. After 35 years, I couldn't walk away.

When people think about success, it usually means how much money do they have, how many followers and how much publicity do they get. I remember a remark made about me years ago by someone not interested in what I did. When someone asked him to help me, he said "Stay away from her. If she was any good, she wouldn't still need help." 

Well, needless to say, that twisted thought stuck with me. Had anyone bothered to step up and help, I wouldn't still be needing help, but that never dawned on him.

I know a lot of people with the power to help but they won't. The thing is, right now all across the country, there are many more just like me being judged by what is not given to us instead of what we give.

Here's a thought. The next time you decide that someone doing the work does not deserve your help, remember this.


Matthew 10

And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 
Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 
10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. 
11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. 
12 And when ye come into an house, salute it. 
13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. 
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

Needless to say, I shook the dust of that man off my feet years ago. He didn't win. I did. The lives changed afterwards, the lives saved, marriages restored and mini-miracles, all happened because that is how Jesus measured success. 

That is how most of us measure it when you do something for the right reasons. Want to know how you can tell why someone does something?

They do it no matter what support they were denied. It just takes them longer to do it and the people they want to help, have a harder time finding them.

Some of us do it in-spite of what others view as failure. I hope that helps you do what you were called to do because you are doing it for the right reasons and that, that is how miracles do happen!