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Faith Steps for Military Families: Spiritual Readiness Through the Psalms of Ascent delves into the fifteen themes found in the fifteen Psalms of Ascent in the book of Psalms. Through descriptive metaphors, the Faith Steps for Military Families depict the annual journey to Jerusalem. These special psalms explore the rich meanings of these metaphors intended originally for the Israelites, and then translates them into the lives of 21st century military families. Themes such as building a stronger spiritual foundation, family resiliency, a deeper understanding of God's nature as Protector, Keeper, and the Night Watchman, trust in God during times of fear, or of the unknown, coping in unfriendly environments, understanding how God’s strength surrounds His own, honoring God while living out a difficult lifestyle, developing trust and contentment and other biblical guidance for dealing with the complexities of the military lifestyle.
About the author
Lisa Phillips is a retired Navy wife. Most of her writing comes from her experiences in the military. Her published writing includes a story in A Cup of Comfort for Military Families-Stories that Celebrate Heroism on the Home Front, an article for an online magazine, Wives in Bloom, and two patriotic stories about post 9-11 compiled by her writers group. Lisa works as the accounting manager in her business that she and her husband Ray own and operate.
Summary
There is much preparation made in advance of an upcoming deployment, but sadly spiritual readiness rarely makes it on the check-off list.The military community agrees that war inflicts injuries to the souls of our service members, but faith is the glue that makes a difference in coping with adversity or when living under difficult circumstances such as the military lifestyle.
Faith Steps for Military Families: Spiritual Readiness Through the Psalms of Ascent explores the themes of the fifteen Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134) in the book of Psalms in the Bible. These special psalms, packed full of rich and descriptive metaphors reveal common military themes such as traveling to or living in unfriendly environments, enduring dry and sometimes desperate times, mastering restlessness and dissatisfaction in a complex lifestyle, coping with unforeseen conditions, fear, lack of unity, and other topics.
The ancient Israelites, called, Pilgrims in these Psalms of Ascent sung these psalms while traveling by foot to the great festivals of Jerusalem. Lisa Phillips, a retired military wife shares some of her experiences, while walking you through the meanings of these Psalms, then translates them into the lives of 21st century military families. These fifteen themes build resiliency and will revitalize your family’s spiritual foundation to persevere through the challenges of an arduous and stressful lifestyle. As you do, you’re on your way to deeper appreciation, devotion and fellowship with God. By unpacking the meanings of the metaphors, you’ll discover God’s methods and His nature in ways you’ve not likely thought of before. Like the early Israelites, military families are today’s pilgrims, always on a journey---always looking ahead to the next duty station. Military life can get overwhelming. Invite God on your unique journey and discover the fifteen key elements for laying the foundational stones to a stronger spiritual footing that leads to a life of blessings.
