Is there anyone in your life – friend or family – that you’d love to see come to salvation? Have you been praying for this person for what seems like forever, and sometimes you ask God if He really hears your prayers? I have. And I’d like to encourage you. Don’t give up.

 Let’s see what God’s word says. First of all, He wants everyone and that means the person you’re praying for, to come to Christ. 11Peter3:9 says “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Just as He waited until you were ready to receive Him, He’s waiting to save your friend or loved one when they are, and He absolutely wants them to enter into His Kingdom.

 Have you been praying with someone else for that person’s salvation? Matthew 18:19 says “If two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” I know – God doesn’t violate a person’s free will and force them to receive salvation, but I’d say that agreement in prayer sounds like a powerful tool in seeking God.

 Now Acts 16:31 says “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.” Again, that’s no guarantee that another will be saved. But still, this statement is in the Bible and worth considering. If that person you’re praying for is a member of your family, I’d take this verse to heart. To me it indicates that there is a good possibility other people in your family will be saved when or after you do.

 11Timothy 3:16 says “All scripture is God-breathed.” This means it comes from God’s own mouth. So if God says something in the Word, we can trust it as truth. Pray for the person who’s on your heart and remind God what He says in His word. I believe when you storm Heaven in this way, your loved one doesn’t stand a chance to hide from God for long. I’ve seen it more than once in my own life.

It is with great pleasure to have Jocelyn Green on Infinite Characters today. She has been instrumental in helping me with the Military Ministries series I am running on my Living the Body of Christ blog, in conjunction with posts on this site. Her novel, Wedded to War, is due out July 1, 2012. I asked her to tell us about her book as well as what inspired her to write about those impacted by war.

Wedded to War

By Jocelyn Green (www.jocelyngreen.com)

About the Book:

It’s April 1861, and the Union Army’s Medical Department is a disaster, completely unprepared for the magnitude of war. A small group of New York City women, including 28-year-old Charlotte Waverly, decide to do something about it, and end up changing the course of the war, despite criticism, ridicule and social ostracism. Charlotte leaves a life of privilege, wealth—and confining expectations—to be one of the first female nurses for the Union Army. She quickly discovers that she’s fighting more than just the Rebellion by working in the hospitals. Corruption, harassment, and opposition from Northern doctors threaten to push her out of her new role. At the same time, her sweetheart disapproves of her shocking new strength and independence, forcing her to make an impossible decision: Will she choose love and marriage, or duty to a cause that seems to be losing?

An Irish immigrant named Ruby O’Flannery, who turns to the unthinkable in the face of starvation, holds the secret that will unlock the door to Charlotte’s future. But will the rich and poor confide in each other in time?

About the Inspiration:

When people ask me where I get ideas for my novels, I tell them it’s pretty easy—history is already full of fascinating characters and dramatic events. With a little imagination, new story lines come to life.

Today I’d like to share with you three real women who inspired my upcoming Civil War novel, Wedded to War. I want you to fall in love with my fictional characters, but I also hope you will grow to respect the real people in the novel, as well. I am convinced that each of them felt ordinary, like you and me, but they did extraordinary things and should be remembered for them.

1) Dorothea Dix. Social reformer Dorothea Dix went straight to Washington within a week of war breaking out and didn’t leave until she had a meeting with President Lincoln himself. Her goal: for the government to allow women to be nurses. It was a shocking suggestion, for nurses in hospitals up until that time had all been male. Proper Victorian women could not be expected to touch a strange man’s body, even if he was sick or wounded—or so society believed.

Yet the numbers alone were enough to convince Lincoln he needed help. At the start of the war, the U.S. Army Medical Department had a total of 28 surgeons, and no general hospital. Lincoln gave permission, and made Dix the Superintendent of Female Nurses. She had the authority to provide nurses to the army, and she wanted to be taken seriously. So her requirements for women nurses were stringent: they must be married, at least 30 years of age, of good health and character. They must not wear hoops under their skirts, ruffles, bows or jewelry. She was even known for turning away women because they were not homely enough. (Pretty women were accused of bringing out the men’s “natural desires.”) Even so, Dix was bombarded with applicants.

Readers of Wedded to War will meet Dorothea Dix, or “Dragon Dix” as she was commonly called, in the novel.

2) Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell. An English immigrant, Dr. Blackwell was the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States, and ran an infirmary for women and children near the slums of New York City. When the Civil War broke out, she realized the Union army needed a system for distributing supplies and organized four thousand women into the Women’s Central Association of Relief (WCAR). The WCAR grew into chapters around the county, and this body systematically collected and distributed life-saving supplies such as bandages, blankets, food, clothing and medical supplies.

Blackwell also partnered with several prominent male physicians in New York City to offer a one-month training course for 100 women who wanted to be nurses for the army. This was the first formal training for women nurses in the country. Once they completed their training, they were sent to Dix for placement at a hospital.

By July 1861, the WCAR prompted the government to form a national version—the United States Sanitary Commission, the forerunner of the Red Cross. And it all started because Dr. Blackwell decided to mobilize the women of the country to help the Union.

Dr. Blackwell plays a major role in Wedded to War.

3) Georgeanna Woolsey. At 28 years old, Georgeanna should not have been allowed to serve the army as a nurse, but she got through the application process anyway. Against her mother’s and sisters’ wishes, she was one of the 100 women trained in New York City to be a nurse. Not content to sit in a parlor and knit or scrape lint, she was eager to go where the fighting was, to get her hands dirty in a way she had never been allowed to before as a wealthy, privileged woman.

Georgeanna wrote many letters and accounts of her experiences, including this:

“Some of the bravest women I have ever known were among this first company of army nurses. . . . Some of them were women of the truest refinement and culture; and day after day they quietly and patiently worked, doing, by order of the surgeon, things which not one of those gentlemen would have dared to ask of a woman whose male relative stood able and ready to defend her and report him. I have seen small white hands scrubbing floors, washing windows, and performing all menial offices. I have known women, delicately cared for at home, half fed in hospitals, hard worked day and night, and given, when sleep must be had, a wretched closet just large enough for a camp bed to stand in. I have known surgeons who purposely and ingeniously arranged these inconveniences with the avowed intention of driving away all women from their hospitals.

“These annoyances could not have been endured by the nurses but for the knowledge that they were pioneers, who were, if possible, to gain standing ground for others. . . “*

Georgeanna Woolsey is the inspiration for my main character in Wedded to War, Charlotte Waverly. Two of Georgeanna’s sisters, Eliza and Abigail, inspired the fictional sisters Alice and Isabelle Waverly, as well.

*Bacon, Georgeanna Woolsey and Eliza Woolsey Howland, My Heart Toward Home: Letters of a Family During the Civil War. Roseville, Minnesota: Edinborough Press, 2001 (81).

Military Ministries Posts:

Sacrifice—No Greater Love

Ronie Kendig—Inspiring Military Ministries

24 Ways to Put Military Ministry into Action

Jocelyn Green, the wife of a former Coast Guard officer, is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and editor. She is the author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2008), and Faith Deployed . . . Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2011), along with contributing writers. She is also co-author of Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq/Afghanistan (AMG Publishers 2009). Her first novel, Wedded to War, will release from River North (an imprint of Moody Publishers) in July 2012. Visit her at www.jocelyngreen.com.

Today, on my Living the Body of Christ Blog, I’m starting a series about the importance of the Church helping veterans who’ve put their lives on the line so we, in the United States of American, can live free from violence and tyranny. These posts were inspired, in part, by the Discarded Heroes series written by Ronie Kendig. Don’t think your fiction writing doesn’t have purpose! Click on the link if you’d like to read the first of my military ministries series.

In Ronie’s latest thriller, Firethorn, the Nightshade team is scattered and imprisoned by their enemies and Griffin Riddell is in jail for murder. All seems lost until Kazi Faron plucks each from oblivion, her real agenda still in question. A great read! I highly recommend it.

To kick off my series, Ms. Kendig agreed to an interview to tell us what moves her to write such compelling stories.

Ronie, what types of books do you most enjoy to read?

I suppose a traditional answer would be the stories that satisfy. There is nothing more frustrating than to read a book that disappoints. As for my favorite types: I’m a big fan of thrillers like Robert Liparulo and love the Dekker/Lee collaborations. I also really love Dystopian books (not the vampire ones, but those that are stories of triumph over bleak futures). And I also love to read speculative, though I’m a little more picky with those. My favorite speculative authors are Stephen Lawhead, Kathy Tyers, and James L. Rubart.

How does your faith impact what you write?

My faith is a part of who I am as much as my Irish heritage is, so it will inherently impact it. I may write a book that is not overtly Christian, but the faith and the victory of good over evil will always be there.

What inspired you to write the Discarded Heroes series, and what do you want readers to get out of it?

The Discarded Heroes was inspired—at first—by a true story of a Navy SEAL whose life and marriage fell apart because of his anger. Seeing that family disintegrate, seeing the prayers that seemingly didn’t work. . .it broke my heart and convicted me—I knew in that instant upon hearing the wife asking for prayer that I could never again write about our military heroes without showing the toll it takes on them and their families. Thus, the Discarded Heroes arose. . .and with it, the only mission: to open dialogue.

As I’ve told you, your stories have inspired me to be more aware of the needs of our members of military and their families. What do you see as the greatest need that is most neglected by “the church” (meaning body of believers)?

In general, I think the local churches need to reach out more. The military mindset is very unique and one that ingrains pride and tough-as-nails attitudes, so asking for help isn’t the easiest thing for them to do. Wives and children are often left alone in strange environments (on or near bases and away from their families), and they really need the tangibility of God’s love (through hands-on help) in their lives.

You mention Soldiers Angels at the end of Firethorn. Is there any particular reason you chose to endorse this group?

This group came to me and said they thought we could work well together. I agreed. And I did so to bring awareness to this amazing organization that is putting action behind their support. They are sending support packages to troops, both at home and abroad. I’ve been going through a really tough time lately, and in the midst of all this, I’ve wondered who truly cares. But my battles are nothing compared to our soldiers, veterans and wounded. They need to know we’ve got their back. They put their lives on the line, we can put action to our words and packages in their hands to let them know someone cares.

Well, you’ve inspired me. And I hope this series will inspire more people, both individually and within the church, to engage with members of military, helping them as they fight for our freedom, and from the effects of that fight when they come home. To see more about these effects, and how we can help, check out my series on LivingtheBodyofChrist.blogspot.com.

Thanks again, Ms. Kendig!!!

Related Posts:

Firethorn—A Review

Broken By War, Saved By Grace

Military Charities and Ministries:

Soldiers Angels—Angel volunteers assist veterans, wounded and deployed personnel and their families in a variety of unique and effective ways.

Military Ministry—A part of Campus Crusade for Christ, dedicated to equipping military members and their families to prepare and heal from the traumas of war, both mentally and spiritually.

Please comment below and tell us how YOUR church is helping members of military?

The Overcomers: Christian Authors Who Conquered Learning Disabilities is the account of five different Christian authors and how they led successful careers—as writers no less—in spite of having learning disabilities. The authors recounting their stories include: Molly Noble Bull, Margaret Daley, Ginny Aiken, Jane Myers Perrine and Ruth Scofield. Though some battled the same disorder, each manifested itself in a different way and sometimes required different means of overcoming. That’s what makes this book so helpful to those also battling the same foe, as well as the teacher or parent struggling to help the child who is. It reaches out to a broad spectrum of challenges.

The learning disabilities discussed in Overcomers include Dyslexia, ADD, and Auditory Processing Disorder. I must confess, I appreciated the mention of Auditory Processing Disorder a great deal, because it is so rarely brought up, and therefore, not as well understood. Not to mention, one I suffer from and my son has to the point of being diagnosed autistic. I am not autistic, but I do understand his frustrations. I related to all of these women in one way or another, having ADD as well.

What is so powerful about this book is that it gives others a sense of what it is like to labor over something that seems so simple to the average person. You hear, in their own words, the pain of being called stupid or lazy, after having fought so hard to keep up. And yet, they were able to take those experiences, along with the gifts God gave them, and turn them into fruitful careers.

This book accomplishes many goals. Along with helping others understand the plight of the learning disabled, it encourages both the challenged and those working with them, that they have strengths outside of this disability and they can overcome these things, either through assistance, using their gifts or working in new and creative ways. There are lots of good suggestions from each author’s point of view.

So if you are wondering why some people seem to “get” things or do things more easily than you do, or you have a child who tells you “this stuff is hard,” when you “know” it’s not, I suggest you read this book. You may just be turning on a light bulb that’s begging to be lit.

What have you had to overcome?

Related Posts:

Why I Wrote Part of The Overcomers, By Margaret Daley

Meet Molly Noble Bull, The Dumbest Kid In Her Elementary School

The Gentle King, By Monika Holt