Chicagoland Vets Receive A Free Gift Of Love From Their Community This Valentine’s Day

February 13, 2012

by Veronica Cruz, Communications Specialist, www.familybridgeschicago.org

Chicago, IL – For many veterans, deployment may be the easy part. It’s coming back home that is hard. Readjusting is not an easy task for veterans, their partners, or their families. That’s why the Military Outreach Greater Chicago and Date Night Challenge Chicago are teaming up to give veterans and their partners a FREE Love Style Indicator assessment, which can help in that transition.

According to the National Center for PTSD, many veterans suffer from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which can affect how couples get along with each other. It can also affect the mental health of partners. In general, PTSD can have a negative effect on the whole family. However, people with PTSD can create and maintain good relationships by:
– Building a personal support network to help cope with PTSD while working on family and friend relationships.
– Sharing feelings honestly and openly, with respect and compassion.
– Building skills at problem solving and connecting with others.
– Including ways to play, be creative, relax, and enjoy others.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and couples are looking for that perfect gift. Why not show your loved one how much you love them by taking a personal relationship assessment! Military Outreach Greater Chicago is happy to offer this assessment free of charge to military veterans and those that are currently active. 

"We believe that a strong marriage is vital for our military men and women and want to provide them with a tool that will make those marriages last," said Military Outreach of Greater Chicago President James H. Mukoyama, Jr., Major General (Retired) U.S. Army 1964-1995. "With the strains and stresses that many military marriages face, we wanted to provide a relevant way we could help."

The LOVE Style Indicator, created by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott (www.lesandleslie.com), takes only 10 minutes to complete online, and will help veterans and their partners find out their personal qualities and also reveal how the unique combination of the two personalities creates a “Love Style” that is unlike any other. They'll discover where each stands on these four fundamental dimensions:

L – Leader: The Take-Charge Spouse
O – Optimist: The Encouraging Spouse
V – Validator: The Devoted Spouse
E – Evaluator: The Careful Spouse

“Taking the Love Style Indicator has helped me understand why my spouse sometimes just doesn’t “get me”. We have used it as a springboard into conversations we’ve never had before.” (SSG Colette Martinez, veteran US Army).

Date Night Challenge and Military Outreach Greater Chicago will give a FREE Love Style Indicator assessment (up to a $30 value) from February 14, 2012 to March 8, 2012 to all veterans and those currently active who sign up at the Date Night Challenge Chicago website and find the FREE offer in the “Stuff to talk about and Quizzes” section.

Additional resources for couples needing more support are available by partner organizations Family Bridges, Christ Together, and Urban Ministries.

Military Outreach Greater Chicago is a faith-based non-profit that exists to encourage, engage, educate and equip individuals and churches in the Chicago metropolitan area to provide a support role to active military, veterans and their families impacted by the invisible wounds of military service, aiding these heroes in their adjustment to civilian. More information is available at www.militaryoutreachgreaterchicago.org.

Date Night Challenge is a not-for-profit venture designed to strengthen relationships. Businesses and organizations participate by providing meaningful Date Nights for their couples in the community in a simple and powerful way by providing the place and by offering fun, creative resources (date night ideas, quizzes, videos, events and deal) to help them along the way. Download the mobile app for your Android or iPhone (Date Night Challenge Chicago), or visit their website.

It’s Fun To Date Your Spouse

February 9, 2012

Contributed by Family Bridges Staff

(This story was originally posted on the Family Bridges blog: http://familybridgesblog.com/)

Small talk. That smile. You are special. How sweet. Be mine. Love you. I am yours. Only you. Soul mate. True love. Marry me. Live happily ever after.

You got together with your partner in life for many reasons: shared perspectives and outlooks, physical attraction, shared spirituality, shared professional lives, etc. But you also enjoyed one another’s company because it’s fun! In the beginning, you did not have much but each other, but it was enough. There were sweet words, long phone talks, walks and candlelit dinners. You had meaningful conversations, sharing your dreams and goals, planning your future together. What is your relationship like today? Does it still include fun times together, romancing each other or have you resorted to talking about and handling chores and responsibilities related to children, career and other duties of adult life?

When fun leaves a relationship, it can be a sign that the relationship is heading toward the rocks. Fun is a part of life and it’s definitely a part of any healthy relationship. It’s something that brought you together, made you want to stay with each other. It is something that helps you stay together, survive life’s hardships and forgive each other in bitter moments. When life gets difficult, it puts a heavy weight on your scale of marital balance, dragging it down. Good times together is the weight that you put on the other side of the scale, to give you a much needed internal lift. It helps you put things in perspective, balance it out and feel good about yourself, your partner, and your life together.

The way you and your significant other define fun is up to you, but it’s important to keep doing it even as your relationship matures. Love to dance but haven’t been in years? It’s time to make a new dance date. Liked watching movies together, but haven’t made time to do it in months (or years)? Pick a night and head to a theater or rent a movie. Have dinner in a restaurant or cook a meal together at home.

Remember that in our most bitter moments, what we crave most is some sweetness. In the midst of busyness and stress, we desperately desire lighthearted fun and relaxing moments. You don’t have to wait till things get tough to consider bringing fun back into your life. Nor do you have to wait for a special day, like a birthday or Valentine’s to become romantic and create special memories for the two of you. Do these things for you, for your spouse, for both of you as a family everyday, starting now. If you’ve noticed that your family bank of fun is depleted, begin depositing happy tokens today.

The Chicago Date Night Challenge can help you with some fun ideas and locate some couple friendly events in your neighborhood: www.datenightchallenge.com/chicago

It’s Fun To Date Your Spouse

February 9, 2012

Contributed by Family Bridges Staff

(This story was originally posted on the Family Bridges blog: http://familybridgesblog.com/)

Small talk. That smile. You are special. How sweet. Be mine. Love you. I am yours. Only you. Soul mate. True love. Marry me. Live happily ever after.

You got together with your partner in life for many reasons: shared perspectives and outlooks, physical attraction, shared spirituality, shared professional lives, etc. But you also enjoyed one another’s company because it’s fun! In the beginning, you did not have much but each other, but it was enough. There were sweet words, long phone talks, walks and candlelit dinners. You had meaningful conversations, sharing your dreams and goals, planning your future together. What is your relationship like today? Does it still include fun times together, romancing each other or have you resorted to talking about and handling chores and responsibilities related to children, career and other duties of adult life?

When fun leaves a relationship, it can be a sign that the relationship is heading toward the rocks. Fun is a part of life and it’s definitely a part of any healthy relationship. It’s something that brought you together, made you want to stay with each other. It is something that helps you stay together, survive life’s hardships and forgive each other in bitter moments. When life gets difficult, it puts a heavy weight on your scale of marital balance, dragging it down. Good times together is the weight that you put on the other side of the scale, to give you a much needed internal lift. It helps you put things in perspective, balance it out and feel good about yourself, your partner, and your life together.

The way you and your significant other define fun is up to you, but it’s important to keep doing it even as your relationship matures. Love to dance but haven’t been in years? It’s time to make a new dance date. Liked watching movies together, but haven’t made time to do it in months (or years)? Pick a night and head to a theater or rent a movie. Have dinner in a restaurant or cook a meal together at home.

Remember that in our most bitter moments, what we crave most is some sweetness. In the midst of busyness and stress, we desperately desire lighthearted fun and relaxing moments. You don’t have to wait till things get tough to consider bringing fun back into your life. Nor do you have to wait for a special day, like a birthday or Valentine’s to become romantic and create special memories for the two of you. Do these things for you, for your spouse, for both of you as a family everyday, starting now. If you’ve noticed that your family bank of fun is depleted, begin depositing happy tokens today.

The Chicago Date Night Challenge can help you with some fun ideas and locate some couple friendly events in your neighborhood: www.datenightchallenge.com/chicago

It’s Grow Time 2012: Manna Garden Lake County

February 6, 2012

"Manna Garden is a faith based movement to engage, equip, educate and connect individuals, organizations, and churches passionate about addressing the food needs in our community to transform people’s lives."

In 2012 the Manna Garden Initiative is continuing its Free Farmers Market. Last year, in response to a food desert being identified in the area of south Waukegan and North Chicago, over 20 volunteers weekly served as the Manna Garden Initiative. During the growing season, local growers from the size of a small backyard garden to a large farm donated thousands of pounds of fresh vegetables and fruits. This fresh produce was then picked and transported to the Free Farmers Market, hosted at Trinity AME Church (210 South Ave, Waukegan).

This year, the Manna Garden Initiative is hoping to over double our volunteer base. They are in need of willing individuals to help at all stages of the process.

They are in need of people willing to grow fresh fruits and vegetables. Whether through large-scales farms or a small garden at one’s home, school, or church, a fresh supply of food is essential throughout the summer. Needs are great in a food desert and we love for people to creatively think of ways to increase our food donations!

The team is in need of people to collect and distribute this food. Volunteers willing to transport this fresh food in their vehicles, trucks, or rentals are a key part of the process of brining nourishment to a food desert. If someone doesn’t personally grow produce, they can still participate by gleaning from local gardens, picking up from grocery stores and creating partnerships with local food suppliers.

Lastly, the Manna Garden team is in need of people willing in teach and be taught, whether you know nothing whatsoever about growing produce or are a full-time farmer. Through the Manna Garden Initiative in 2012, there will be classes offered in community gardening. If you desire to start or be a part of a garden, these training opportunities are for you. Master gardeners and farmers are needed to educate those willing to learn about growing vegetables and fruits. They are seeking to expand access to fresh produce in food deserts by increasing the number of both community gardens and gardeners.

If you have a hunger to meet these food needs or any questions about the Manna Garden Initiative please click here to email Adam McClun.

Click here to read a Trib Local story about Manna Garden 2011.

One Endless Line of Faith

January 24, 2012

One Endless Line of Faith

By Kay Swatkowski

I ask God most often that we would be an unbroken line of Christians until Christ returns.

-          A grandfather’s prayer

In four languages, the sign at the entrance instructed worshipers to observe silence.  A steady stream of hushed and compliant sightseers from every corner of the world tiptoed through Notre Dame Cathedral, past flickering, smoldering candles, shaky wooden chairs, massive stone pillars, and worn-out kneelers.

We paused partway through the cathedral at a small, antiquated wooden door.  Less than six feet high, the uneven, deteriorating door marked one of the first entrances to an early version of the cathedral, dating to about 1200 AD. Natural lights streaming through the famed Rose Windows, danced across the cold, gray stone floor in faint shades of blue and red, as we reverently filed behind the altar.  That afternoon, a service was being conducted in German.

Impressive? Unforgettable? Beautiful?

Yes.

However, it was not the architecture, the windows, or the artwork that touched my heart.  It was the floor.

As we wandered through one of the most famous cathedrals in the world, holding the hands of our four children, I noticed what seemed to be a path worn into that ancient floor. Over nearly eight centuries, thousands upon thousands had circled that altar, just as we had.  Most came longing to find God, wanting to serve him, desperate to know him.

In that moment, I understood that my husband and I and our four children were part of an endless line of Christians who were seeking to know and love God.  We were walking a holy path traveled by millions before us.

Inviting our children and grandchildren to embrace the Christian faith and follow Christ is the greatest privilege in life.  Our most powerful tool in influencing their faith and ensuring a spiritual legacy is prayer.

During my years as a women’s ministry director, I heard women affectionately share stories of their grandparents and the effect these relationships had upon their faith in Christ. Consistently these women shared the same story.

“I wandered away from the church during my teen years, but always knew my grandmother loved me and was praying for me. I know I am a Christian today because of my grandmother’s prayers.”

A praying grandparent is a child’s greatest ally and support. The care and prayer of grandparents can make all the difference. 

May our children and grandchildren join the unbroken line of Christians until Christ returns. May we as parents and grandparents devote ourselves to prayer.

Kay Swatkowski is a faith-based counselor ministering through Compass Christian Counseling at North Point Church in Winthrop Harbor.  Kay is the mother of four married children and the grandmother of four.  Her husband, Ray, works with Pinnacle Ministries and leads workshops, seminars and retreats for churches. The Swatkowskis have spent over thirty-five  years in ministry as church planters, missionaries, Christian educators as well as being involved in district and national denominational work. Kay has written a book to encourage grandparents to pray for specific spiritual needs in the lives of children.  Her book, One Endless Line of Faith: 30 Days of Prayer for Our Grandchildren, is available on Kindle. Kay’s websites: www.americangrandma.com and www.compasschristiancounseling.com