Mighty People Garden

Rejoining me this week is attorney and clinical mental health counselor, fierce advocate for children in the medical health arena, and  author of Tumbleweeds. Paula is the former spouse of an Army veteran and along the way has found the need to specialize in this very narrow balance of health versus advocacy. There are three things in the legal arena that can be done to help someone in a medical/mental need but they have some different meanings. 1. have access to medical information (in person/records) 2. medical power of attorney 3. guardianship (court ordered). Just remember, love is not burdensome to help someone else. Two ears hear better than one set of ears! 

Jacob finally gets to greet his brother Esau after plenty of offerings that he brings good tidings. However, those tidings quickly change when Jacob's only daughter Dinah is raped and he then declares he wants to marry her now that she is defiled. Jacob negotiates a certain payment for the act if all the males (who are 'ites) in the community get circumcised who then counterdemand that all of Jacob's animals now belong to them too. Jacob's sons are not having it and in the throws of recovery, the sons go through the whole town and kill all the males and pillage the town. 

There are some threads of moral injury that many of our military and veterans may have dealt with though. What happened to Dinah is an example of MST. There is also the lack of command and discipline when Jacob's sons did what they wanted instead of listening to their father. Though they were doing their best to support her and keep her honor, they failed to let Jacob lead. Or how about Jacob's own dealings with his brother to "bribe" his favor instead of having Esau's men crash their camps. Instead, Jacob sought to become servant to Esau. Plenty of lessons here and more to follow.

#veterans #veteransvoices #veteran podcast #moralinjury #moralhealing 

Joining me this week is attorney and author Paula Yost. Paula and I began the conversation about becoming an advocate for our loved ones. For me, I had to become an advocate for my daughter during a health condition that she developed. Not being a helicopter parent, was a challenge for me to use my voice more for her, not because she didn't have her own voice but because the medical professionals were not listening to her use her own voice. 

We experienced some technical difficulties during this show but we started a very important discussion on how we need to open up that space to let others in these very personal spaces to go to doctor appointments with us. Why? Because two sets of ears hear better than one. Because it is easy to go down a tangent on a topic during a doctor visit and get off track with the rest of the list of issues that we need to discuss. More to follow on this topic as we surely understand that time is precious with the doctor visit and it can be difficult to manage numerous issues during short visits. 

Join us next week as Paula joins us again so that we can have a more robust discussion. Please feel free to engage with us and bring your questions about how to either ask for someone to go with you, perhaps understand why it is important to find an advocate to go to your doctor appointment with you but how do we navigate the importance of those roles and the decisions that we may ultimately face too. 

 

#selfcare #veteranvoices #veteranpodcast #veterancare #veteranhealth #veteranadvocacy

This week we follow Jacob as he decides to return home after 20 years being gone, serving his uncle and accumulating some wealth. Will this be the homecoming he hopes for?

There are some moral injury nuggets in this chapter though. Esau has a grudge - how many of us have grudges that we carry and refuse to let it go?

Jacob finally turns to praying to God now that he has accumulated his wealth. Strategically speaking, Jacob makes a somewhat military oriented move and splits his camp. But in stead of going with his family, he sends them on their way with a message and he stays behind. Before he can return home, he needs to wrestle with God and is left with a permanent limp of a reminder. In many ways, our "physical pain" is a reminder to not stray from the purpose that God has for each of us.

Next week join us for Genesis Chapters 33 and 34! Got a question, feel free to pop in and ask!

#VeteranVoices #veteran #VeteranMentalHealth #veteransupport #veteranpodcast #veterans #moralhealing #MoralRecovery #moralinjury

This episode Eva traveled to Fort Bragg NC and attended the 2026 Military Women's Symposium. Representing The Valkyrie Project (VP) are coaches Dr. Alyssa Newman and Anna Vaillancourt. Both agree that research on women in the military and afterwards is lacking and unfortunately, there are not no funds to support research for the population. While more can be done, it is important to keep educating and sharing information. 

This week on Chapter 31 Jacob decides it is time to break away from Laban. After 20 years of serving his uncle and marrying his two daughters and growing his flock, he's finally ready to depart and head back home. Despite God telling Laban to hold his tongue and not say anything good or bad, Laban doesn't listen. But Rachel, steals her fathers gods from his home and hides them in her horse bag.

 

#veteranvoices #veterans #moralinjury #moralrecovery #moralhealing

This week my guest is Army veteran John Davis. John is traveling this week visiting veterans abroad but he joins us to share his story on how he became interested in living abroad as an expat. John was searching for options that helped him manage his mental and healthcare. What John discovered is that there are many resources available for veterans in other areas like the Dominican Republic. If you are looking at stretching your disability or retirement dollar more....then being an expat just might be a great answer for you. He recommends spending a month or so trial run in a destination to see if the location, culture, and language is a challenge or if it is something you can learn to deal with. Take a listen to this podcast and feel free to reach out to John if you have questions or want a copy of his e-book. 

 

https://linktr.ee/johnhdaviswriter

 

#veteranvoices #veteranpodcast #veteranrevival #peoplegarden #veteran #veteransabroad

Join Darrell and Eva as we discuss the drama unfolding around Jacob and his two wives, make that four wives. The children count continues to add up. Rachel and Leah are jealous of each other and instead of trusting patiently in God, they take matters into their own hands (similarly to Sarah) and start negotiating mandrakes for intimacy with Jacob. Tricky Jacob decides that it is about time to move back home. He comes up with a scheme to ensure that he will not go back empty handed. 

Eva and Darrell further discuss the implications of moral injury and how it relates to military service. Just like with Jacob and his family, there are consequences to our decisions. What happens TDY or deployment, doesn't always stay relegated to that part of our lives. We will have to reconcile with God. Much like with Jacob, Leah, and Rachel, we can turn God anytime we want. However, it is free will to do so and God is waiting for us. 

#veteranrevival #veteransupport #veteranvoices #moralinjury #moralhealing #moralrecovery