Tuesday is Veteran’s Day – a chance to honor and remember our service men and women. But for the wife of an active-duty military man, every day is spent thinking about and remembering her soldier.  Terri Barnes has lived the life of a military wife and writes about it daily in her Stars and Stripes column. She is also the author of the book ..

She joins us to talk about military families and the unique challenges of the men and women who serve our country. Our conversation takes the following directions:

There is a great deal of mobility for military families. On average they are on the move every 1-3 years. It’s really tough to watch kids have to go through moving and leaving friends over and over. All you can do is comfort each other and remember that you’ve made it through other moves.  As Terri says, God will be with us wherever we go.

“Our faith as a family has been central to us”  – Terri

So how can the church be there to support military families? Terri helps us be aware of what they’re going through and bless them in a tangible way.

We hear about Terri’s “Green Bags” column and the concept of always “having the green bag ready” when deployment orders come.

The time leading up to the deployment is a very difficult time – dealing with not only the paperwork & the packing but the emotions and psychology of the transition.

Highlight: Deployment

She offers advice on preparing your kids for a deployment with an eye to the truth & age appropriateness of the situation.

After September 11th, 2001, Terri found she had to trust God even more and rely on him in the midst of the fluid situation.

“Uncertainty in life is always there for all of us…. those green bags represented that for me.”

We hear the profound reminder that life is uncertain, but God is not. He knows the answer to all of our questions.

The truth about military families