Blog Post
Connect, Learn, and Grow with Military Spouses
- By Sarah Judson
- •
- 18 Apr, 2019
No one understands the challenges of being a military spouse better than other military spouses, which is why Claire Wood, wife of Army Chaplain Ryan Wood, set out to a create a space where they could walk through these challenges and grow together.
She and Kelly Artemis founded Milspo Gurus for this community, and engage in honest discussion through blogs, Q&A videos, and a personalized course. Their course was recently featured in military family focused Legacy Magazine, and both are published in other military resources, found on their site. Claire shares more about the creation of Milspo Gurus here:
Milspo Gurus was birthed from a desire to see military spouses flourish in their varied roles. Kellie Artis (my co-founder) and I connected over a shared interest in the Enneagram. The Enneagram identifies the root sin of nine distinct personality types, and how God can redeem that sin into a beautiful gift. We agree with Fr. Richard Rohr that the Enneagram is a “tool for discernment ...which can help transform lives, lead people to God, and release the great giftedness in us.”
We realized that so often military spouses seem to share a common pattern of life that can feel heavy and stressful: frequent PCS moves, unique marriage challenges due to separations, friendships that are in constant flux, professional frustrations, and the physical and emotional toll that military life can take.
Knowing this, we wondered, "What if by sharing an understanding of the Enneagram, we are able to point spouses to a helpful resource that would allow them to break free from some of their negative coping mechanisms?" And "What might it look like to have a community of military spouses sharing along in this journey?" Instead of feeling stuck, "What if military spouses were able to walk in their unique and God-given giftedness?"
Thus, we created the Milspo Gurus: Becoming Your Own Guru e-course.
The course contains over three hours of video teaching broken down into short segments within four main modules. There's also a 17 page download of content that includes reflection questions, charts, and resource lists.
Interested in finding out more? You can find them on
Facebook and Instagram @milspogurus or sign up for a monthly newsletter
here.
We’re proud of our Chaplain’s spouses and their accomplishments, and thank them for all of their support and behind the scenes work furthering the kingdom!
Recent Posts
The Chaplains Commission congratulates Chaplain (CPT) Gary D. Sands for being selected as the best Soldier Recovery Unit (SRU) Chaplain for the third consecutive year (2020-2022). CH Sands was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for his duty performance and leadership that inspired his unit to win the SRU of the Year award for the first time.
The competition is steep for such recognition by the Army Recovery Care Program Senior Leadership Summit at Fort Belvoir, VA. There are 15 Soldier Recovery Units in the Army nationwide and they’ve cared for 55,000 Soldiers since their activation in 2007.
A native of Texas and a fourth generation Church of God member, Chaplain Sands has been married to Ginger Locklear Sands for more than 30 years. Both are graduates of Lee University and the proud parents of two adult children. Mrs. Sands is a career school teacher. In 1999, they established the Mount Olive Ministry Center in Arlington, TX, where they pastored for 16 years until Gary entered active duty on 21 September 2015.
Chaplain Sands is a 1996 graduate (M.Div) of the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Afterwards, he earned a Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (2004) and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary (2020). He is also a Clinical Pastoral Education graduate from Madigan Army Medical Center, WA (2019).
Following this assignment, Chaplain Sands hopes to be promoted to Major and stationed at Fort Bragg, NC. He wants to be assigned as an Airborne Brigade Chaplain, where he can mentor junior Chaplains in providing ministry to their respective battalions.
Thank you, Chaplain Sands, for making us all stand a little taller. Your faithful work and successful ministry at America’s largest military installation is sincerely appreciated.
Please send your notes of congratulations and encouragement to Chaplain and Mrs. Sands at his email address: garydonsands@gmail.com
--Charles Howell, Chaplain Colonel (USA retired), 23 FEB 2023
The competition is steep for such recognition by the Army Recovery Care Program Senior Leadership Summit at Fort Belvoir, VA. There are 15 Soldier Recovery Units in the Army nationwide and they’ve cared for 55,000 Soldiers since their activation in 2007.
A native of Texas and a fourth generation Church of God member, Chaplain Sands has been married to Ginger Locklear Sands for more than 30 years. Both are graduates of Lee University and the proud parents of two adult children. Mrs. Sands is a career school teacher. In 1999, they established the Mount Olive Ministry Center in Arlington, TX, where they pastored for 16 years until Gary entered active duty on 21 September 2015.
Chaplain Sands is a 1996 graduate (M.Div) of the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Afterwards, he earned a Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (2004) and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Theological Seminary (2020). He is also a Clinical Pastoral Education graduate from Madigan Army Medical Center, WA (2019).
Following this assignment, Chaplain Sands hopes to be promoted to Major and stationed at Fort Bragg, NC. He wants to be assigned as an Airborne Brigade Chaplain, where he can mentor junior Chaplains in providing ministry to their respective battalions.
Thank you, Chaplain Sands, for making us all stand a little taller. Your faithful work and successful ministry at America’s largest military installation is sincerely appreciated.
Please send your notes of congratulations and encouragement to Chaplain and Mrs. Sands at his email address: garydonsands@gmail.com
--Charles Howell, Chaplain Colonel (USA retired), 23 FEB 2023
Online classrooms allow students around the world to take the CSC Training Course offered January 2019.
