Wounded Soldiers Operating With A Wounded Spirit

The spirit is the source of our life, the center of our being. When the spirit is damaged, wounded or corrupted in any way, the ability to relate or communicate normally with others and God becomes polluted and hindered.

About the Book Biblical Cures for the Wounded Spirit contains vital information that will answer many questions that those who suffer with PTSD and those close to them are asking. How does someone handle the grief experienced in combat? How does a spouse or other loved one handle the playing out of stress a combat veteran manifests when they return? Fear, guilt, no peace, and other issues are addressed. These are emotions that stir the soul and plague those who have experienced unimaginable trauma in a war zone or even in a violent home situation. Psychology and drugs are not the answer. New Age philosophy will not help. The Bible has the answers and will be found in these pages to be the solution that so many have been looking for. About the Author Saved at age 14 out of a broken, traumatizing home, Wayne A. Keast entered the Army at age 18 and discovered God’s peace in the midst of Army duty that includes deployment, and long stretches away from family. After years as an enlisted soldier, Wayne was called by God into the ministry out of German guard tour on a midnight shift. Finishing college and seminary, the Army received Wayne back as a commissioned officer and chaplain. After a deployment and after surgery, Wayne was in a rehab learning about war-time PTSD issues by listening to soldiers. After much bible study, Wayne learned of God’s cure for PTSD and how the inevitable wound can be treated successfully. Later, God showed Wayne a Bible verse that describes the issue. Proverbs 18:14 “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?” Wayne retired from the Army in 2012 with a burden for those with PTSD. This book is a compilation of the work completed in his Doctor of Ministry. Wounded Spirits is Wayne’s ministry order under Wounded Spirits INC. [email protected] www.biblecuresforptsd.org

A gripping account of PTSD, and a stark reminder that, for many, wars go on long after the last shot is fired. In the shadows of army life is a world where friends become monsters, where kindness twists into assault, and where self-loathing and despair become constant companions. Whether you know it by old names like “soldier’s heart,” “shell shock,” or “combat fatigue,” post-traumatic stress disorder has left deep and silent wounds throughout history in the ranks of fighting forces. Among the Walking Wounded tells one veteran’s experience of PTSD through an intimate personal account, as visceral as it is blunt. In a courageous story of descent and triumph, it tackles the stigma of PTSD head-on and brings an enduring message of struggle and hope for wounded Canadian veterans. This book is a must-read for anyone who cares about Canadian veterans and the dark war they face long after their combat service is ended.

It was early morning, June 17, 1967, and Dak To Special Forces camp in Vietnam was under attack. A mortar exploded, and West Point graduate Allen B. Clark Jr.'s life was changed forever. This is the story of how one soldier, so gravely injured that both of his legs were amputated, turned his grievous loss into a personal triumph. Clark describes his struggle through a year-long recovery and a severe bout of post traumatic stress disorder, so little understood at the time. He tells of earning his MBA from Southern Methodist University and finding employment as a personal financial assistant to Ross Perot, of moving on to public service and founding the Combat Faith Ministry, a lay ministry to veterans. Clark's story of growth and spiritual fulfillment wrested from his wartime tragedy is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and is of special relevance in our day of so many soldiers returning wounded in body and spirit from Iraq.

If you've ever been there,you've never forgotten. The feeling is as haunting and familiar as the smellof a junior high school locker room. It's the feeling of being undersized ... or oversized ... or klutzy ... or less than beautiful. Of being a nerd ... or a geek ... or just, somehow, different. It's knowing you are vulnerable-and someone is ready and willing to take full advantage of your weakness by making your life miserable. It's the fraternity you never wanted to join-the fellowship of the wounded spirit. And bestselling novelist Frank Peretti is a member, too. This book is the haunting true story of pain Frank Peretti never forgot but never, until recently, shared with the world. It's the story of growing up with a medical condition that left him disfigured. A series of surgeries and the slow miracle of answered prayer took care of the deformity, but not the underdeveloped frame or the excruciating reality of being different. And it was for these petty "crimes" that Peretti was prosecuted every day at school-especially in gym class, but also in the halls, on the school grounds, even in his own neighborhood. No wonder he found himself relating to movie monsters who were hated but also feared-and who eventually exacted a bloody revenge on their tormentors! In Peretti's case, deliverance eventually came-through time, through prayer, through a teacher's caring intervention, and his own willingness to seek help. But he has never forgotten what life was like at the bottom of the junior high foodchain. And from the reservoir of those agonizing memories he sends a compelling message to victims, to bullies, and to authorities who have the power to intervene-that it's never OK for the strong to abuse the weak. And that we allow such abuse at the expense of our souls ... and our very civilization. Especially in the wake of the massacre at Columbine High School-perpetuated by two troubled but also tormented outsiders--this message takes on haunting resonance. Frank Peretti believes we cannot afford to overlook the continuing reality of wounded spirits, not only in our schools, but in our homes, churches, and workplaces. His approach is both tender and tough as he issues a ringing call for a change in attitude. It's a call for all of us to stop thinking of abuse as "normal," even among kids. It's a call for the strong to stand up and protect the weak, not prey upon them. It's a call for those in authority to pay attention to the violence being done to the vulnerable in the midst of our everyday lives and to take action to help. Most of all, it's a call for bullies and victims alike (many of us are both) to seek the healing and forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ. For that healing is really the heart of this book-the only reality that can break the natural cycle of victimization and abuse. Only in Christ, Peretti reminds, is there hope for the wounded spirits-but that hope ispowerful enough to change everything.

Although there has not been war in Swedish territory for many years, this does not mean that the country has no veterans who have experienced the challenges of war zone deployments or suffer from combat trauma. The Invisible Wounded Warriors in a Nation at Peace gives a rare look at the international operations of the Swedish military, while offering the reader a unique and deeper understanding of life with PTSD. The book uses terms such as moral injury to further describe the complexity. Complex PTSD after deployment in a conflict zone is a uniquely complicated web of problems that can have medical, psychological, moral, existential and spiritual dimensions. The book discusses what this might mean from an identity and pastoral care perspective.

It is a desire to be used by God as His instrument to bring wounded souls into wholeness through the shed blood of His Son Jesus, by sharing our brokenness with others. We feel sorrowful but blessed when we discover that God can use all things together for the good of those who love Him. Marilyn Hansen is one to encourage others, while struggling to believe that God could make something beautiful out of her own brokenness. Being obedient to God's call, she writes about how He made the broken pieces of her life whole for His glory. It was as though God were saying, "Marilyn, how do you think the world has seen Me? If it wasn't for your brokenness, I couldn't make you whole. I chose you just the way you are. I have allowed you to be broken to make you whole. Be filled with My Spirit. I only ask that you pour yourself out that others might be made whole." As I look back on my life, I feel very blessed that God could take the broken pieces and use them as a testament of His healing power. I wish He had not had to sacrifice His Son for me, but know I also am a sinner in need of His grace. I wish I had known Him earlier in my life, so I could be obedient to Him and fulfill His plan for my life. But by His grace, He has enabled me to be His servant by ministering to other wounded souls through which I can bring honor and glory to Him. He has taken the broken pieces of my life and made something beautiful for His use. His grace is sufficient in meeting my needs and yours. Let us allow Him to use us that He might be glorified by our willingness to be obedient to Him and fulfilling all He has called us to be. Will you allow God to make you Broken Unto Wholeness so He can take you on a journey that others will see and desire to let Him be seen in you? Your life does make a difference because of how He is glorified in your brokenness.