Jocelyn Green is an award-winning freelance writer, author and editor. She was also the previous editor of Wives in Bloom magazine, and continues her own ministry to military wives at www.faithdeployed.com.  Her books include Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives, Stories of Faith and Courage from the Wars in Iraq &Afghanistan, and Faith Deployed . . . Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives.

WIB: Could you share with us the inspiration behind the your latest book?

Jocelyn: The inspiration for Faith Deployed . . . Again, was the same as the inspiration for the first book. Simply put, military wives need encouragement, and the best source is God’s Word.

As a Coast Guard wife, I was so desperate for biblical encouragement that spoke directly to me. To have an opportunity to collect this type of encouragement and have it published by Moody is an incredible gift. Plumbing the depths of God’s Word and finding new gems in it to share with other women was a deeply spiritual and satisfying experience for me. Plus, I had the privilege of working with 28 other women, fellow military wives from every branch of service, who contributed to the book. Reading their devotions has been as encouraging for me as I’m sure it is for other readers!

What can readers expect from the book?

They can expect it to fit into their busy lives! There are 100 short devotions for military wives, and ten bonus devotions for Blue Star moms in the book. Each one is only two pages long, and consists of a Bible verse, brief illustration from a military wife’s life, a biblical application, questions to ask yourself, and a short suggested prayer. Topics range from marriage to deployment to PCS-ing to managing the home to care-giving, and much more.

The title of your ministry—the books, Web site, Facebook page—is “Faith Deployed.” But what does that phrase really mean?

I think of “faith deployed” as a faith called into action. Military wives need encouragement regardless of whether their husbands are deployed or not. (Don’t we all?) The title of this ministry-Faith Deployed- does NOT mean we need to have faith when our husbands are away. It means we all need to deploy our faith- to put it into action, every day. Whether your husband is yet to deploy, is currently deployed, has just redeployed, or never ever deploys, you still need support! Can I get an amen to that? Military wife life has enough challenges even without the separations. And Faith Deployed…Again is NOT just for women enduring multiple deployments, although they would certainly benefit from it. It’s for every military wife who wants more encouragement, who wants to deploy her faith, again.

Faith is not something we just pull off the shelf and dust off during deployments. It’s an every day, every moment, deliberate choice. We all need to deploy our faith.

But how do we really do that?

We stay in the Word, whether we feel like it or not. Even if you just spend 5-10 minutes a day reading the Bible, it’s still really valuable. We keep talking to God, whether that means crying out to Him in despair or pleading with Him or praising Him. It’s important to keep talking to God, even when we don’t necessarily hear Him talking back. We surround ourselves with positive people who will bear our burdens with us (Galatians 6:2) without drawing us into a pity party when things are rough. We go to church.

If we notice that we are beginning to believe lies (like “this deployment will never end,” or “if he really loved me he would not work so many hours,” or “I’ll never be good enough to deserve God’s love”), we need to take those thoughts captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 1-:5) and deliberately claim truth. Write Bible verses on post-it notes or index cards and put them around the house where you will see them. Surround yourself with Truth.

These are all ways to deploy our faith. We must also remember that storms will come. We just need to make sure our faith is anchored in the character of God before that happens, rather than in our circumstances.

Do you have any other books coming out for military wives soon?

Yes! My next release is co-authored with Karen Whiting, and it’s called Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front (AMG Publishers, April 2012). We are hoping it will appeal to civilians, too, but I’m sure military wives will be especially interested in this. It’s a collection of 365 stories of heroes from the home front, spanning every American war from our nation’s foundations to the present day. Karen and I crisscrossed the country scouring for lost stories of courage and faith, and we found them! I can’t wait until this one is released.

I also have my first novel coming out this summer, called Wedded to War. It’s about a wealthy New York City woman named Charlotte Waverly who gives up everything to become a nurse during the beginning of the Civil War. Her sweetheart is threatened by her growing independence and forces her to choose between love and duty. An Irish immigrant with a seedy past holds the secret that will unlock Charlotte’s answer. The novel is inspired by the true story of real women who pioneered the movement to allow females to nurse. The main characters are fictional, but the book is populated with several real historical figures.

Will you let us know when the books come out?

Those who’d like to be notified when the books release can sign up for the e-newsletter on my Web site, www.faithdeployed.com. And as a special bonus for those who sign up, I’m offering a contest for my e-newsletter subscribers. The top two winners will get characters named after them in my next novel (coming summer 2013) called The Widow of Gettysburg! (Find details on the contest here.)