Story Behind the Story: USAF
by Carrie Daws
 |
| Image courtesy pixabay.com |
About four years ago, I had a new book idea: God speaking hope into desperation. Okay, so I didn't say it was a unique idea.
At first, it intrigued me. I had a couple of real-life stories from two families that were willing to share them with the world. They had drama and tension perfect for good fiction. As I thought about the details, I was filled with an incredible awe of what God was willing to do to rescue His own. I thought the stories would inspire, encourage. Challenge.
God and I talked, He fine-tuned the idea like only He can. In other words, He made it bigger. Much bigger. Slowly, my not-so-unique idea turned into, well, somewhat of a unique idea. After all, I agree with Solomon that there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9, NIV).
You see, I was born into an active duty Air Force family. Dad retired, entered the seminary, and then served bi-vocationally as a pastor of small churches and a civil servant with the Air Force, which continued to keep us moving around a lot. I grew up, married, and my husband soon joined the Air Force. From those early days with our young daughter on my hip, I experienced the sacrifices of a military wife and family. Over the years, I've listened to a lot of military spouses tell stories of their own sacrifices ranging from similar to mine to very, very different.
The stories I've heard piled in my heart. They became a part of who I was, what the American flag and the Star Spangled Banner represented to me. And the deeper I plunged into writing, the more some of these stories clamored to be told. Home Front Heroines was born.
The books are really quite simple: How God loved five desperate families, one from each branch of the Department of Defense, through some of the roughest days of their lives. Spiritual growth, emotional healing, and deep heart change. What could be more inspiring?
Home Front Heroines: More Than Meets the Eye.
Deployment changed him, and she doesn’t know if she can live with it. After her husband returns from a deployment to Saudi Arabia, Lori Braxton begins noticing little differences in his behavior. He’s withdrawn, moody, and can’t sleep. Could it be the stress of military life after the 9/11 attack on New York? Maybe it’s the new assignment in Montana or the financial problems he ignores. Perhaps it’s forces she can’t see and doesn’t know how to fight, or maybe she’s a bigger part of the problem than she wants to admit.
Lori tries to attend church and do what God asks, but the truth is she doesn’t really hear Him speak. Between money strains, pregnancy hormones, and young ones underfoot, Lori spirals into depression. What good could God possibly bring from the mess surrounding her?
Home Front Heroines: Not My Ways.
The long-awaited first grandchild is born, yet it quickly becomes clear that she may not survive more than a few hours. When she does, further tests reveal that she will require life-long care. The young family adapts, but the husband soon understands God wants him to go back into the military career that he left when he got married. How can the family thrive in the face of multiple hospital visits and long deployments?
Home Front Heroines: United States Army, Marines, and Coast Guard.
While the titles are still to be determined, the stories are no less heart-wrenching and life-changing than the situations above. Pornography and infidelity. Miscarriage. Severe PTSD. Isolation from family.
The good news is that all these stories have a happy ending—not because that's how I write them but because in each circumstance the family allowed God to intervene. They worked with the Holy Spirit to change them, to correct their attitudes, to heal their hearts, to look for God's perspective.
They are beautiful stories of hope and redemption, even in the midst of terrible loss. I hope you'll join me for this up close, personal look into the lives of some of our American military families.
More Than Meets the Eye: United States Air Force (Home Front Heroines book 1)
Deployment changed him, and she doesn’t know if she can live with it.
After her husband returns from a deployment to Saudi Arabia, Lori Braxton begins noticing little differences in his behavior. He’s withdrawn, moody, and can’t sleep. Could it be the stress of military life after the 9/11 attack on New York? Maybe it’s the new assignment in Montana or the financial problems he ignores. Perhaps it’s forces she can’t see and doesn’t know how to fight, or maybe she’s a bigger part of the problem than she wants to admit
What is God doing? Is He even paying attention?
Lori tries to attend church and do what God asks, but the truth is she doesn’t really hear Him speak. Between money strains, pregnancy hormones, and young ones underfoot, Lori spirals into depression.
What good could God possibly bring from the mess surrounding her?
AUTHOR BIO:
God rewrote Carrie’s dreams to include being an author. With a background in weekly devotions, a mentor and several friends encouraged her to try fiction. The writing monster that she now barely keeps contained was born. Since then, she’s completed several books including her new romantic suspense, The Embers series.
To learn more about her books, click HERE.
Website: http://carriedaws.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarrieDaws/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/carriedaws/
ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY:
Carrie is offering copies of More Than Meets the Eye to TWO of this blog’s readers. To enter, just leave a comment and your contact information in the section below. Giveaway will run one week from today, ending at midnight on Wednesday, September 5, 2018, Central Time.
