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    One Way to Show Love to Our Veterans

      Soldiers and their families make great sacrifices—sometimes the ultimate sacrifice—in service to their countries. And often after they have arrived home, we forget that they continue to suffer the effects of their service. Consider the following: •           Every day, 20 U.S. military veterans commit suicide (Suicide Data Report, Department of Veteran Affairs, Mental Health Services, 2015) •           20 percent of veterans suffer with PTSD (Litz BT, Schlenger WE. PTSD in service members and new veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars: a bibliography and critique. PTSD Res Q 2009; 20(1):1–2.) •           Among incarcerated adults, 10 percent served previously in the military (Blodgett JC, Avoundjian T, Finlay AK, et al.…

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    Memories, A Legacy or Lifeline?

    A popular storyline recurring regularly recounts the tragedy of a person who loses their memory due to some tragic event. Then, beset with amnesia, the hero searches for what has been lost and the story unfolds.  Remembering and recovering becomes a victory.  In a similar way, the devastating illness of Alzheimer’s robs a person of their memories and devastates those who love them. Losing the lifeline of memories becomes a living heartbreak. Memories represent the legacy of a life and become a lifeline .  Yet as I was reminded by a young pastor some years ago Jesus knows we are a forgetful people.  He instituted a special meal to jog…

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    Looking for Happiness today?

    Just yesterday I learned that science now affirms two key ingredients that lead to greater happiness: gratitude and kindness.  My granddaughter shared these insights with me from her current college studies in psychology.  Interestingly the class reviewed scientific experiments that demonstrate the accuracy of those contentions. Additionally, it has been demonstrated as well that verbal expressions of gratitude, actually saying the words aloud, multiply the impact of thankfulness. Our conversation leads me to reflect as we celebrate today, Memorial Day. Established following the brutal Civil War, Memorial Day honors the lives sacrificed for our freedom. Since the Civil War, Americans have given their lives serving in the Spanish-American War, World…