Don't miss "the miracle of the moment"

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
June 11, 2021

Why is it that we want to change what has already been done, unsay what has already been said and change the path we chose to take, only to discover it was a huge mistake? We can't change a damn thing that happened up do a second ago. Still none of us have to settle for what came from all we got wrong because we can change this second onward. That is the "miracle of the moment. Today's featured video is Steven Curtis Chapman, This Moment.

Yes, you can change and you have the power to do it. Do you feel bad about something you said? Then apologize and say something better. Give the person you said it to a chance to accept your apology but, understand that it has already been said. It may take time to rebuild whatever relationship you had with them. At the very least, if they do not forgive you, you opened the door to begin to forgive yourself for just being a human who was wrong.

Sure it sucks to be wrong but it sucks more to stay wrong. Change now by learning from your past because that is all it is good for.

Part of having PTSD is being on guard. Hearing more than someone actually said, and taking it as a personal attack against you, or overblowing everything, causes a rift that could destroy a relationship. When you understand that, then you can think about how you react in the furture, but it does not change what has already been done. Only you can do that by making new memories for them, and yourself to overpower the bad memories you have. You can start this moment to make a miracle for your future.

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

This Moment

Steven Curtis Chapman

It's time for letting go

All of our if only's

'Cause we don't have a time machine

And even if we did

Would we really want to use it

Would we really want to go change everything

'Cause we are who and where

And what we are for now

And this is the only moment

We can do anything about

So breathe it in and breathe it out

And listen to your heartbeat

There's a wonder in the here and now

It's right there in front of you

I don't want you to miss the miracle of the moment

There's only one who knows

What's really out there waiting

In all the moments yet to be

And all we need to know

Is he's out there waiting

To Him the future's history

And He has given us

A treasure called right now

And this is the only moment

We can do anything about

So breathe it in and breathe it out

And listen to your heartbeat

There's a wonder in the here and now

It's right there in front of you

I don't want you to miss the miracle of the moment

And if it brings you tears

Then taste them as they fall

And let them soften your heart

And if it brings you laughter

Then throw your head back

And let it go, let it go, yeah

You gotta let it go

And listen to your heartbeat, yeah

Breathe it in and breathe it out

And listen to your heartbeat

There's a wonder in the here and now

It's right there in front of you

I don't want you to miss the miracle of the moment

Breathe it in and breathe it out

And listen to your heartbeat

There's a wonder in the here and now

It's right there in front of you

I don't want you to miss the miracle of the moment

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Matthew Bronleewe / Steven Curtis Chapman

Miracle of the Moment lyrics © BMG Rights Management 

Miracles don't come from nowhere

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 20, 2021

When you pray for something, and your prayers are answered, do you actually understand that God did it? Do you know how God answers prayers? He doesn't just snap His fingers to deliver it. He tries to use other people to give what you ask for. When it is something you need to do on your own, He does it by guiding you to find what you need to. If your prayers are not being answered, you may end up blaming God, when it was not His fault.

Have you ever thought about someone all of a sudden and had an urge to call them? If you do, you discover they needed someone to talk to. You were used to answer their prayers. How many times have you shrugged off the urge and found out something horrible happened to them, and you wished you had followed through on making the call?

Miracles happen all the time but most of the time we don't acknowledge them. We don't understand how God uses regular people all the time because they were willing to listen to Him and act on it. Somehow we end up claiming the miracle came out of nowhere.

The fact you have PTSD because you survived whatever caused PTSD to hit you, is a miracle itself. I've had over 10 of them. To me, it wasn't just surviving it, it was also the people who came to help me after it happened. It was holding onto my faith and letting it help heal me. It was the people who studied trauma and wrote about it long before I even knew it existed, and helped me understand it.

Over all these years, I've saved a lot of lives that you will never know about. It isn't my job to tell their stories or share anything I've done. It is, and was, my job to learn, understand, and be there to help them heal too. 

They prayed for help. I prayed to be of help to them. They followed being guided to me and I responded, or they read what I was guided to write. Their prayers were answered and so were mine.

The fact you found this site is a miracle itself because when I started on my older site, there were not many people doing this work. Now it is crowded and they managed to use social media to promote their sites. 

While I admit I am a bit jealous of them, the goal was to change the outcome and help people heal. I could overcome that jealousy because they are reaching more people than I ever could.

I remember what it was like when I just started to learn about all of this in 1982. I was lost and felt all alone. We didn't have computers back then, so I had to go to the library to learn. When I finally discovered that I was not alone, it was a miracle to me. Still the people who wrote the books I learned from will never know how much they helped me or the others I helped over the years, or the others they helped.

Is God asking you to deliver a miracle or leading you to find what you are looking for?

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD 

Miracles Out Of Nowhere

Kansas

On a crystal morning I can see the dewdrops falling

Down from a gleaming heaven, I can hear the voices call

When you comin' home now, son, the world is not for you

Tell me what's your point of view

Hey there Mister Madman, what'cha know that I don't know

Tell me some crazy stories, let me know who runs this show

Glassy-eyed and laughing, he turns and walks away

Tell me what made you that way

Here I am just waiting for a sign

Asking questions, learning all the time

It's always here, it's always there

It's just love, and miracles out of nowhere

Tell me now dear mother, what's it like to be so old

Children grown and leavin', seems the world is growin' cold

And though your body's ailin' you

Your mind is just like new

Tell me where you're goin' to

Here I am just waiting for a sign

Asking questions, learning all the time

It's always here, it's always there

It's just love, and miralces out of nowhere

It's so simple right before your eyes

If you'll look through this disguise

It's always here, it's always there

It's just love and miracles out of nowhere

I sang this song a hundred, maybe a thousand years ago

No one ever listens, I just play and then I go

Off into the sunset like the western heroes do

Tell me what you're gonna do

Here I am, I'm sure to see a sign

All my life I knew that it was mine

It's always here, it's always there

It's just love and miracles out of nowhere

Flash Lyrics 

If you need to see them perform,,,,

My soul knows He hears me

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
April 17, 2021

When we think about miracles, we may remember the miracles in the Bible, but then, forget all the other ones that have happened. Not just throughout history, but in our own lives. Surviving the event that caused PTSD, was a miracle. It is just hard to see it that way when you are suffering. Sometimes you feel as if you are all alone. The thing is, you may have chosen to be by your silence.

We make choices all the time that may prevent us from doing what God wants us to. Pride may stop us from using the gifts He gave us if we put it above what we know is the right thing to do. It keeps us from forgiving others. It stops us from admitting we need help, as much as it stops us from admitting it hurts when we ask people to help us, but they choose to not help us, when we need them to do what we ask them to do.

Yesterday a friend shared a link on Facebook to Carrie Underwood singing How Great Thou Art to an empty theater. It seemed like a strange thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. It was easy to see that she was singing to God and giving Him praise. That got me thinking about how I pray. I pray by myself and speak directly to God. My soul knows He hears me. My life proves He heard my prayers and gave me everything I asked for.

I know that when I am going through difficult times, I talk to God about everything going on within me and then ask Him for what I need. He shows me the way. He knows I want to make a difference, but first He made a difference within me. I do this site all the time but I had no idea why I started it almost 4 years ago. Then I remembered one of my friends, a Pastor I worked with, telling me about a miracle that happened to her.

She was preparing a sermon to be delivered several weeks away. As she was writing it, it went off in a different direction than she had planned. Her soul told her to keep going until it was finished. When the week for that Bible passage came, she delivered the sermon. Some of the regular members of the congregation were confused about it. One woman she had never seen before, reached out her arms, hugged her and whispered, "I needed to hear that." She walked away but my friend knew she did the right thing doing the strange thing. The one person who needed to hear it, did!

Maybe it seems strange to you to pray. Maybe you don't even know how to start.

Matthew 6:5-6
Prayer
5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

If you don't know what to say.

Matthew 6:7

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

When we pray, the only one who needs to hear us is God. Speak to Him and it will make it easier to speak to others about what you need. This isn't about converting you or getting you to go to church. The only thing I want to change is getting you to be happier in your own life. Make a miracle in your own life and feel it in your soul.

Once you #BreakTheSilence with God, it makes it easier to do it with people because you will feel no shame asking God and He will show you the way.

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!

How Great Thou Art

Carrie Underwood

Oh Lord, my God

When I, in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in

That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing

He bled and died to take away my sin

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart

Then I shall bow, in humble adoration

And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Stuart Hine

How Great Thou Art lyrics © Sony/atv Tree Publishing, Universal Music Publishing, I Am They Publishing, Manna Music Inc

Carrie Underwood’s performance of “How Great Thou Art” as part of “My Savior: Live From The Ryman.”

God's Promise I Will Rescue You

PTDF Patrol
Kathie Costos
December 11, 2020

First, we need to face some facts. Some people suck. They are the last to help anyone but the first who expect help from everyone. They refuse to lift anyone up, but expect it from everyone else. While they have a soul, just like every other person on the planet, they refuse to be moved by it to help anyone unless they can get something out of it. They seek power, money, publicity and pats on the back. You know the type...because there are too many of them out there.

But the other fact is, there are more people out there, who care. They are the first to rush to help, and the last to ask for it. Most find it easier to ask for help for someone else, instead of for themselves. When they do need help, and as for it, but it does not come, it can be more devastating for them, because they will not be able to help someone else, unless someone rescues them.

I have been running into this all my life. While I'll help everyone in whatever way I can, most of the time I don't get any. I lost count how many times someone reached out to me online and promised they would help me financially and help me reach more people, but they never did. I blamed them, not God because I know God sent them to me in the first place, or they wouldn't have bothered to reach out at all.

We have God's promise He will not abandon us, but when the people He tries to send do not listen to Him, we end up blaming God and wonder what we did wrong. We have His promise that He will send an army to help us and it is not His fault they went AWOL. Don't lose faith in Him, because He does hear your prayers. Until He can get someone to help you, He will give you peace so that you know He is there and faithful, even though people are not. He will give you strength to get through whatever it is you are up against, so that you do not give up. 

If you have PTSD, know that He is trying to get people to help you. He is trying to get them to hear your cries for help and will not give up. Take what He can provide as a blessing until those who He is trying to send, show up!

Take comfort in this beautiful song because I know I did. I woke in a bad mood things morning and was lifted up by this song and Lauren Daigle's beautiful voice Rescue!

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it! #BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

Lauren Daigle - Rescue (Official Music Video) 

You are not hidden

There's never been a moment

You were forgotten

You are not hopeless

Though you have been broken

Your innocence stolen

I hear you whisper underneath your breath

I hear your SOS, your SOS

I will send out an army to find you

In the middle of the darkest night

It's true, I will rescue you

There is no distance

That cannot be covered

Over and over

You're not defenseless

I'll be your shelter

I'll be your armor

I hear you whisper underneath your breath

I hear your SOS, your SOS

I will send out an army to find you

In the middle of the darkest night

It's true, I will rescue you

I will never stop marching to reach you

In the middle of the hardest fight

It's true, I will rescue you

I hear the whisper underneath your breath

I hear you whisper, you have nothing left

I will send out an army to find you

In the middle of the darkest night

It's true, I will rescue you

I will never stop marching to reach you

In the middle of the hardest fight

It's true, I will rescue you

Oh, I will rescue you

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Jason Ingram / Paul Mabury / Lauren Daigle

Rescue lyrics © Essential Music Publishing 

Miracles Out Of Nowhere

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
December 1, 2020

With so much suffering in this country, a lot of people are asking "Where is God?" The truth is, He is all around us.

When people decide that they want to make a positive difference in this world, to help someone else, that is a miracle. It is a miracle when doctors and nurses show up everyday to save lives, even though they are risking their own, fighting to keep people alive. Some of them are even arguing with the nurses saying the pandemic is not real, right before the tubes go into their mouths and down their throats.

It is a miracle when patients leave the hospital after hundreds of days fighting for their lives and go back to their families.

Miracles happen when people decide that they will do what they can to help people find food, and they stand loading cars with food that others had donated, to total strangers, so they will not go hungry,

If you have PTSD, that means you are a survivor, and that in itself is a miracle. You may not feel like it is if you are still suffering, but I can assure you, that once you start healing, you see that miracle even stronger, And then, you can be a miracle for someone else, because you know what they are going through and can help them believe in the miracle of their own life.

When people act out of love and kindness, that is a miracle and each one of those acts, comes from God. He uses us to answer the prayers of others. If you act on what is needed, then you are acting on His behalf!

Remember...it is your life....get in and drive it! #BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

This is about a nurse working in a cancer unit. One of her patients was having a hard time, so she started to sing to her. On this days, the woman got bad news....and the nurses act of kindness was recorded. When you watch this report, think about all the other times that are not captured on video....

NewsChannel 5
108K subscribers

An emotional video of a Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse singing to a terminal cancer patient has gone viral.

Miracles Out Of Nowhere

Song by Kansas

On a crystal morning I can see the dewdrops falling

Down from a gleaming heaven, I can hear the voices call

When you comin' home now, son, the world is not for you

Tell me what's your point of view?

Hey there Mister Madman, what you know that I don't know

Tell me some crazy stories, let me know who runs this show

Glassy-eyed and laughing, he turns and walks away

Tell me what made you that way?

Here I am just waiting for a sign

Asking questions, learning all the time

It's always here, it's always there

It's just love and miracles out of nowhere, out of nowhere

Tell me now dear mother, what's it like to be so old

Children grown and leavin', seems the world is growin' cold

Though your body's ailin' you, your mind is just like new

Tell me where you're goin' to?

It's so simple lying right before your eyes

If you'll only look through this disguise

It's always here, it's always there

It's just love and miracles out of nowhere

It's just love and miracles out of nowhere

Yeah

I sing this song a hundred, maybe a thousand years ago

No one ever listens, I just play and then I go

Off into the sunset like the western heroes do

Tell me what you're gonna do?

Here I am, I'm sure to see a sign

All my life I knew that it was mine

It's always here, it's always there

It's just love and miracles out of nowhere

It's just love and miracles out of nowhere

Out of nowhere, out of nowhere

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: K. Livgren

Miracles Out Of Nowhere lyrics © Emi Blackwood Music Inc., Don Kirshner Music 

“I can, I will… watch me.” female veteran, VA employee and miracle mentor

VA employee empowers her women Veteran peers

Department of Veterans Affairs
VAntage

“For women feeling alone, I want them to remember that their feelings are just as important as their male counterparts, and that there are many people and resources who are there for them." Ashley Gorbulja-Maldonado

VA’s Center for Women Veterans is advancing a cultural transformation throughout VA and aims to serve as a portal – monitoring and coordinating VA’s benefit services, outreach and programs – for women Veterans. One advocate is Ashley Gorbulja-Maldonado, a VBA employee and Army National Guard Veteran, who empowers other women Veterans with her mantra, “I can, I will… watch me.”

While Gorbulja-Maldonado found a purpose raising money for homeless women Veterans and their children by participating in Ms. Veteran American, advocating for business resources through Veterati, working with the American Legion, and presenting at workshops and conferences and more, she’s also worked to get her own women Veteran peers to actively engage with VA’s Women’s Health Services, the Center for Women Veterans, and the Office of Suicide Prevention.

Since the suicide rate for women Veterans is approximately twice that of non-Veteran women, and recent studies have shown the rate of suicide to be higher among women who report having experienced military sexual trauma (MST), Gorbulja-Maldonado’s mantra stresses setting the example for others to follow – including coming to VA.
read it here

Miracle of Travis Mills who never wanted any credit for what he did for others

Miracles with one arm

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 19, 2020

Stories from Wounded Times

When someone seems to have lost so much, most of us wonder how the hell they get up in the morning. Travis Mills is an example of how miracles happen. He wondered how he could make a difference when he got up in the morning...and wow, he sure did, thousands of times over!

Travis Mills never wanted any credit for what he did for others. He was too busy praising other veterans. He was surprised when he was told someone wanted to do a documentary about his life. 

It was filmed in Texas. His hero's welcome happened in Michigan. He started a foundation with the slogan "Never Give Up Never Quit" which he never did. The foundation is in Maine

Travis Mills Facebook

The Travis Mills Foundation supports post 9/11 recalibrated veterans and their families through long-term programs that help these heroic men and women overcome physical obstacles, strengthen their families, and provide well-deserved rest and relaxation.

We support these veterans through our nationally recognized retreat located in the Belgrade Lakes Region of Maine. Veteran families who have been injured in active duty or as a result of their service to our nation receive an all-inclusive, all-expenses paid, barrier-free vacation in Maine where they participate in adaptive activities, bond with other veteran families, and enjoy much-needed rest and relaxation in Maine’s outdoors.

"Want to see a miracle? Then be the miracle!"

Miracles happened because some believed they could

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 18, 2020

Stories from Wounded Times

Noah Galloway, Iraq veteran and double amputee could have returned home and spent his days felling sorry for what he lost. He decided to be make the best of his life his family and to inspire others. He also decided that he would become the first amputee model on Men's Health Magazine.

NoahGalloway.com

He also went on Dancing With The Stars and showed up on many news stations.

When things happen, there are many who decided to become the best they can be, like Galloway, who accepted "no excuses" for his life.

In 2015 Wounded Times had a post "Welcome Back To The New You" because nothing is constant in anyone. The other heading was "We can swear to you that this things pass" and PTSD can lose."

There is a quote by Thomas Wolfe that sums this up. "The human mind is a fearful instrument of adaptation, and in nothing is this more clearly shown than in its mysterious powers of resilience, self-protection, and self healing."

Anthony McDaniel was a triple amputee, but encouraged others around the world to not accept what they lost because there was so much more than could still do with what they had. He competed in the Wheel Chair Games.

Scott Smiley lost his sight but became an inspiration to others...and competed in Ironman. His wife Tiffany became his biggest supporter. "I could let my mind go that way and say we are ruined and we are not going to be able to do anything. Or I could go the other way and just be his biggest cheerleader. And I just sort of took that on, even if I didn't believe it myself."

A homeless veteran in Florida, Donald Gould was recorded playing the piano. The video went viral and he was reconnected with his son, because he never lost his love for music...or his son.

Over and over again, we see miracles happen everyday because someone takes that leap of faith to not just change their own life...but the lives of others.

"Want to see a miracle? Then be the miracle"  Bruce Almighty

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

We can settle for our lives as they are...or we can change. We can just think of ourselves, or we can acknowledge the pain we feel to understand the pain others are in...and inspire them to heal too. Much like the 72, no one knows their names but they changed the world, one miracle at a time.

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

And when they returned, they had given glory to God, because God gave them the ability to be a miracle worker in His name.

23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.

And their eyes were all the reward they needed...because they beheld the greatest gift anyone could ever receive. The payment of seeing lives transformed from suffering into joy!

Veterans inspired to make miracles in the world!

Miracles after attempted suicides prevented

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 17, 2020

Stories collected from Wounded Times

In 2007, Owen Wilson attempted suicide and it was big news, and spread around the world. At the same time, we were facing 948 attempted active duty suicides, along with 99 who lost their lives. It was also the year when many survivors faced charges. A female reservists was facing charges after she survived. She tired again, and again, she survived. The charges against her were dropped and her story showed that her mental health crisis had been pushed aside by her superiors.

"I Sat around numerous times with a .44 in my mouth. But for some reason, I just couldn't pull the trigger. I don't know why." said a 57 year old veteran who had attempted it three more times.

Not long afterwards reports of veterans attempted suicides had grown more than "patient count" in the VA. The eyeopener in this piece of news was the age groups who topped the numbers from 2000-2007. 20-24 year old attempts went from 11 to 47 per year. 55-59 year old attempts also went up from 19 to 117.

By April of 2008, the reports on attempted suicides were increased to 1,000 per month in the VA system.

And then something amazing started to happen. Veterans were talking about their own pain so that others would understand it is not all doom and gloom. 

Two years later, veterans were trying to do whatever they could to change the outcome and encourage veterans to seek healing instead of suffering. That is what Jeremiah Workman did as the recipient of the Navy Cross.

He went on to write "Shadow of the Sword: A Marine's Journey of War, Heroism, and Redemption"

Chaplains were talking about their own struggles so that others would discover that asking for help is part of healing and part of their faith. After all, Jesus was preaching healing and not going it alone. Not to mention He kept asking for help. If the Son of God was not above asking for help...no one should have a problem with it.

Generals were talking about their own struggles with PTSD.

Medal of Honor recipients did a PSA on seeking help to heal PTSD.

Servicemembers were also doing whatever it took to save anyone in trouble. A sailor on the USS Carl Vinson was driving across a bridge when he saved a suicidal man...on his 60th birthday.

Dakota Meyer received the Medal of Honor, but after being home, he tried to commit suicide because he felt as if he had become a burden to his family. He broke his silent suffering knowing he could keep saving lives even back home.

Andrew O'Brien decided to end his silence on YouTube after the tried to commit suicide, knowing others may choose to live.

A Navy Captain decided talking about his own attempt at committing suicide would prevent someone from trying it too.

A female veteran, Mary Dague, lost both of her arms serving as a bomb tech in Iraq, but managed to save the life of another veteran across the country.

Within all the bad news out there, we should all do more than take comfort because of all the people trying to make a difference. We need to share their stories so that others are inspired to make miracles in the world!

Miracles still come true and Point Man proves it

Point Man turning lost into found and healed

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 16, 2020

From Point Man's website

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. read the post here

From Wounded Times September 21, 2007

The leader of the Newark post, Russ Clark, is a retired Marine who fought in Vietnam. Clark was a Methodist minister for 25 years before leaving the pastorate due to life upheaval brought on by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He knows firsthand the devastation PTSD can bring into the lives of veterans and their families.

“I lost a family. I lost a ministry. Point Man is now my calling,” Clark explained. He said helping other veterans has brought him great healing. He encourages other veterans to reach out to those with similar experiences.

New video for Point Man International Ministries
April 30, 2008

One of the greatest blessing in what I do is coming into contact with people from all over the country and in many other nations. People who work on PTSD do it for one reason and that is to help people who have survived trauma. Some do it because someone they know was wounded so deeply they developed PTSD, as in my case with my husband. Some do it because they survived trauma and felt blessed they did not develop PTSD. Others simply do it out of the goodness of their hearts. Whatever the reason, all of us agree that each part that makes us human has been wounded and needs to be taken care of to heal as well as possible. The mind, body and spirit are all connected. This I know very well and so do groups like Point Man International Ministries.

There is a lot of talk in the news about the soldier who is an atheist being treated badly because he does not believe in God. As a Chaplain it is not our duty to convert anyone or force anyone into anything. We are supposed to be there to help as humans. Oh, sure our faith is the basis for what we do, but Chaplains come in all faiths. More on this later.

For most who offer their spiritual guidance and support, nothing else matters but the need for help, healing, forgiveness and compassion. That is what Point Man has been doing since 1984.

The power of Point Man Ministries from September 27, 2010 was written after I got back from a conference in Buffalo. It was easy to see how many others believed as I did. We not only knew that nothing was hopeless, we needed to be the helpers proving it. Tim was one of the most inspirational people I ever met.

Ret. Staff Sgt. Tim Pollock shared his story about his time in Iraq, healing, the people he met at Walter Reed during his 18 months of recovery and then what changed in him when he began to use the experiences he had coupled with the love he has for his fellow veterans. Tim could have let his wound and loss of part of his scull along with losing his eye turn him bitter but the love he has in his heart would not surrender. He has changed many lives because he answered Christ's call to help others.

Another is Paul.

Part two, Iraq vet talks about PTSD and his work with Point Man Ministries and how he put the gun in his mouth...

Researchers have been trying to identify the key of healing PTSD, and when they looked at the spiritual aspect, they found it. Religious Beliefs Affect Mental Health on the Boston Channel is one of the studies. We didn't need more proof because we saw it everyday. They looked at guilt, or later better known as "moral injury" as if they just discovered something new. We knew that if you healed the soul...you'd heal PTSD.

Countless lives have been saved because of the work representatives have done because they understood the power of faith in their own lives. They wanted to pass it on and have done it since 1984 because miracles still come true!

World responded to dying wish of 11 year old boy

Miracles followed because 11 year old boy made a wish

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 15, 2020

Post from Wounded Times On 11/9/2008

Brenden Foster said he wants to be an angel so that he can help the homeless from Heaven. Get ready to cry for this sweet child when you watch this video. He's proof there are angels here on earth already. He's one of them.

LYNNWOOD, Wash. -- Doctors gave 11-year-old Brenden Foster two weeks to live.

Those two weeks were up on Wednesday. On Friday, he shared his last wish.

Not yet a teenager, Brenden's time to die has come.

"I should be gone in a week or so," he said.

Brenden was the kid who ran the fastest, climbed the highest and dreamed of becoming a marine photographer. Leukemia took away all those things, but not his dying wish to help others.

A comment was left on the post from a family friend saying that Brenden's family needed help with his burial.

This is how fast he inspired the world...posted on 11/15/2008

BOTHELL, Wash. -- The local boy whose dying wish to feed the homeless inspired thousands across the world has taken a turn for the worse.

Brenden Foster is growing weaker, but his message is growing stronger.

His body is failing, his skin yellowing. His mother is trying to decide on the wording for his grave marker.

"B-Man is his nickname, or Mr. B. But most people call him B-Man," said Wendy Foster.

The end is near, and Brenden has one question for God.

"Why at so young an age? I could have done more. But if it has to be now, it has to be now," he said.

On 11/21/2008, sadly I had to post the update that he passed away in his Mother's arms.

Then Brenden's last wish took on a life of its own.

A TV station in Los Angeles held a food drive. School kids in Ohio collected cans. People in Pensacola, Florida gathered goods.

And here in Western Washington, KOMO viewers from all over took part in the Stuff the Truck food drive in Brenden's honor. Hundreds with generous hearts donated six and a half huge truck loads of groceries and more than $60,000 in cash to benefit Northwest Harvest and Food Lifeline.

Brenden touched hearts all over the world. His wish came true, and he lived to see it.

"He had the joy of seeing all of the beautiful response to his last wish," said his grandmother, Patricia McMorrow. "It gives him great peace and he knows that his life has meaning."

"He's left a legacy and he's only 11," said his mother, Wendy Foster. "He's done more than most people dream of doing just by making a wish."

He opened the eyes of the world to care for the least among us. By November 28, 2008 his last wish raised over $95,000 in cash plus truck loads of food. But the miracles continued.

December 2, 2008, a Christmas party for hundreds of homeless kids was going to be canceled because Pastor Bruce Kaar had cancer...then he heard about Brenden and was inspired to do all he could to take care of the children.

Soon afterwards we received word that Bruce's tumor was shrinking.

On December 7, 2008, I had to post that Brenden was laid to rest, but the lives of others were changed and miracles happened because this little boy, had compassion for others and he moved the hearts of millions to do the same.

String of miracles: Marine in Iraq found his family because of funeral for homeless veteran

Vietnam Veteran Andrew Elmer Wright

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 14, 2020

I have always had my heart tugged by homeless veterans.

Veteran Major Thomas Lawrence Egan, received many decorations for his service. He died homeless and alone in Eugene Oregon...in the snow. It was not that people did not try to help him. Many tried, but for whatever reason, he did not manage to accept what he needed from anyone.

The story of homeless veteran Richard Leroy Walters proved the we never know how much they are suffering...or how much they care about others.

Every day on NPR, listeners hear funding credits — or, in other words, very short, simple commercials. A few weeks ago, a new one made it to air: "Support for NPR comes from the estate of Richard Leroy Walters, whose life was enriched by NPR, and whose bequest seeks to encourage others to discover public radio."

NPR's Robert Siegel wondered who Walters was. So Siegel Googled him.

An article in the online newsletter of a Catholic mission in Phoenix revealed that Walters died two years ago at the age of 76. He left an estate worth about $4 million. Along with the money he left for NPR, Walters also left money for the mission.

But something distinguished Walters from any number of solvent, well-to-do Americans with seven-figure estates: He was homeless.

There are many stories about homeless veterans, but the one that stands out the most in my mind, is the string of miracles that happened, because the story grabbed my heart.

Story from Wounded Times

Vietnam Vet Andrew Elmer Wright found a home as a homeless vet

March 25, 2010

A simple casket with an American flag for Vietnam Veteran Andrew Elmer Wright.

A simple bouquet of flowers was placed with a simple photo a church member snapped.

By all accounts, Andrew was a simple man with simple needs but what was evident today is that Andrew was anything but a "simple" man.

A few days ago I received an email from Chaplain Lyle Schmeiser, DAV Chapter 16, asking for people to attend a funeral for a homeless Vietnam veteran. After posting about funerals for the forgotten for many years across the country, I felt compelled to attend.

As I drove to the Carey Hand Colonial Funeral Home, I imagined an empty room knowing how few people would show up for a funeral like this. All the other homeless veteran stories flooded my thoughts and this, I thought, would be just one more of them.

When I arrived, I discovered the funeral home was paying for the funeral. Pastor Joel Reif, of First United Church of Christ asked them if they could help out to bury this veteran and they did. They put together a beautiful service with Honor Guard and a 21 gun salute by the VFW post.

I asked a man there what he knew about Andrew and his eyes filled. He smiled and then told me how Andrew wouldn't drink the water from the tap. He'd send this man for bottled water, always insisting on paying for it. When the water was on sale, he'd buy Andrew an extra case of water but Andrew was upset because the man didn't use the extra money for gas.

Then Pastor Joel filled in more of Andrew's life. Andrew got back from Vietnam, got married and had children. His wife passed away and Andrew remarried. For some reason the marriage didn't work out. Soon the state came to take his children away. Andrew did all he could to get his children back, but after years of trying, he gave up and lost hope.

A few years ago, after going to the church for help from the food pantry, for himself and his cats, Andrew lost what little he had left. The tent he was living in was bulldozed down in an attempt to clear out homeless people from Orlando. Nothing was left and he couldn't find his cats.

Andrew ended up talking to Pastor Joel after his bike was stolen again, he'd been beaten up and ended up sleeping on church grounds in the doorway. Pastor Joel offered him the shed in the back of the church to sleep in so that he wouldn't have to face more attacks.

The shed had electricity and they put in a TV set, a frying pan and a coffee maker. They wanted to give Andrew more but he said they had already given him enough.

Pastor Joel told of how Andrew gave him a Christmas card with some money in it one year. Pastor Joel didn't want to take money from someone with so little, but Andrew begged him to take it saying "Please, don't take this away from me" because it was all he had to give and it meant a lot to give it to the Pastor. Much like the widow with two cents gave all she had in the Bible, Andrew was truly grateful for what little he had been given from the church.

What was soon made clear is that Pastor Joel gave him even more than he imagined. Andrew took it on himself to be the church watchman. While services were going on after Andrew greeted the parishioners, he would travel around the parking lot to make sure the cars were safe. At night he made sure any guests of the church were equally watched over. Pastor Joel not only gave him a roof over his head and food, he gave him something to make him feel needed.

More and more people came to the service and there was a lot of weeping as Pastor Joel spoke. What was very clear this day is that Andrew was called a homeless veteran but he was not homeless. He found one at the church. He lost his family and his children, but he found a family at the church.

From what was said about Andrew, he was a Vietnam veteran with PTSD and he wanted no help from the VA. Too many of them feel the same way and they live on the streets, depending on the kindness of strangers to help them out. Andrew wasn't one of the panhandlers we see in Orlando. He refused to beg for money and he wanted to work for whatever he was given. His health got worse but he still did what he could. Right up until March 16, 2010 when Andrew passed away, no matter what happened to him during his life, Andrew proved that this veteran was not hopeless, not helpless because he found the fulfillment of hope in the arms of strangers who took him in and he found help as he asked as well as gave.

The legacy of this homeless veteran is that he touched the lives of so many hearts and will never be forgotten.

Behind this church, in a tiny shed, Andew spent his last hours on this earth. Born in Riverside Park NJ on November 5, 1938 he returned to God on March 16, 2010. read the rest here

Rebecca's food pantry was started by parents after their daughter died. Because of that gift of love, a homeless veteran, was adopted by the church. That church gave him a home and a family. Because of the love they had for him, the funeral touched me so much so, that I had to post about it.

The veteran loved his children and never stopped searching for them. A son was in the Marines, serving in Iraq, and never gave up lookin for his Dad. A wife, loved her husband and carried on the search. Because of the post, she found it and contacted her husband. He was in Iraq when his search ended by being notified his Dad was gone.

That is not the end of the story. The son contacted Pastor Joel and found out how much his Dad loved him...and how much the church loved his Dad.

When the son returned from Iraq, he met Pastor Joel and was given the flag from the funeral. The son was also able to find his siblings after that.

This is what happened after the story came out.

First United Church of Christ proved that miracles can still happen. They took in a homeless Vietnam Veteran, gave him love and gave a family closure. His son was serving in the Marines when he found out what happened to his Dad. A simple casket with an American flag for Vietnam Veteran Andrew Elmer Wright.

Miracle happened as the message came out in 2011 on a soldier's tattoo

For those I love I will sacrifice

PTSD Patrol
Story from Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 13, 2020

One of the first post I put up on my views of faith, was in September 2007. To lay down his life for the sake of his friends posted September 26, 2007. Almost 900 people read it and shared it, plus 1,200+ subscribers sent it along with 90 followers.

Do you think God abandoned you still? Come on and admit that while you were in the center of the trauma, you either felt the hand of God on your shoulder, or more often, never felt further from Him. In natural disasters, we pray to God to protect us. Yet when it's over we wonder why He didn't make the hurricane hit someplace else or why the tornadoes came and destroyed what we had while leaving the neighbors house untouched. We wonder why He heals some people while the people we love suffer. It is human nature to wonder, search for answers and try to understand.

In times of combat, it is very hard to feel anything Godly. Humans are trying to kill other humans and the horrors of wars become an evil act. The absence of God becomes overwhelming. We wonder how a loving God who blessed us with Jesus, would allow the carnage of war. We wonder how He could possibly forgive us for being a part of it. For soldiers, this is often the hardest personal crisis they face.

They are raised to love God and to be told how much God loves them. For Christians, they are reminded of the gift of Jesus, yet in moments of crisis they forget most of what Jesus went through.

Here are a few lessons and you don't even have to go to church to hear them.

Go to the link to read the rest. What followed may, or may not have been inspired by this post in one way or another. Still a miracle happened as the message came out in 2011 on a soldier's tattoo.


For those I love, I will sacrifice

Pfc. Kyle Hockenberry, was being treated for his wounds when Stars and Stripes was covering a story on the wounded. I flipped through the pictures, being saddened by each one, until I came across this picture by Laura Rauch. It summed up what motivates most of those who serve. They do it for love. They are willing to die to save someone else. I had to share it! 

September 28, 2011, TIME Magazine did a follow up to the story. No Idle Boast: A Soldier's Tattoo Become Truth

Hockenberry’s uncle, Jim Hall, told the Marietta Times last month that doctors have sought to preserve Hockenberry’s tattoo as they conduct multiple surgeries and skin grafts around it. “His tattoo really sums it all up,” Hall said. “He really doesn’t like the word ‘hero.’ So we call him – he’s our miracle.”

Since it went up, it has been read 37,753 times.

Finding miracles in Wounded Times

Inspirational reminders of miracles

PTSD Patrol
Stories from Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 13, 2020

With all the bad news in this country because of COVID-19, it is easy to become depressed.  Social media has been spreading the bad news, division along with outright lies. Hopelessness follows. 

But within the pages of friends sharing thoughts, there are messages of hope, love, humor, inspiration and miracles. Hope is fueled.

I take more comfort knowing there are people out there trying to make our days better than they would have been, than those constantly focusing on the negative.

A couple of days ago, I started searching the web for stories on miracles for a book I was planning on writing. In all honesty, I was searching to help my own mood as well.

Then it dawned on me that out of over 32,000 posts on Wounded Times, there is a treasure trove of miracles intended to fuel hope.

I opted to drop the book idea and decided to put the posts up here until I run out of them. Judging by the ones already discovered, that should take a long time to happen.

I am always being reminded that my work is saving more lives than I will ever know. I do believe that and it gives me hope that my work does mean something, even if people forget about where the good news came from, they do not forget the feeling they received.


Most people know that Jesus sent out 12 Disciples. They were average men who ended up working miracles.

1. Simon (who is called Peter) 2. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother 3. James, son of Zebedee 4. John, James’ brother 5. Philip 6. Bartholomew 7. Thomas 8. Matthew, the tax collector 9. James, son of Alphaeus 10. Thaddaeus 11. Simon the Zealot 12. Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

But few know that Jesus also sent out 72 others.

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Luke 10

And when they returned to Jesus,

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

While what they did changed the world one life at a time, no one knows their names. Those 72 did not do it for fame, but for the Glory of the Lord!


Each one of us has the power to change a life by spreading lies and bad news, as well as spread hope and love. It is up to us which way we choose to do it.