Warrior Up: Living by the Creed That Runs Through the Veins of All Warriors Past and Present

By Eric Carbaugh

Warrior Up is written to speak to an innate warrior nature that many are born with. This nature has a tendency to be beaten down or lessened over years of life's experiences. When life gets hard finding and living by the creed that runs through the blood of all warriors past, present and future is what takes a person to a new level of living. This creed begins to shape the very thoughts, speech and action of a person for the good. This ancient call when unlocked ignites a fire that changes the world around a warrior which then impacts those around us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973686460

Eric Carbaugh

As a former US Marine, I knew I had to do something to help our brave heroes. No one gets left behind is an ethos of the Marines, and it happens too much! This book is also for anyone, not just veterans, dealing with questions of their purpose in life. We discuss tools that can help you find these answers for yourself. It is nothing more than adjustment, and adjustment is critical! Warrior Up is a journey of spirit, purpose, and faith that there's more to life than we ever get to see when we're in the middle of the battle.

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Copyright © 2020 Eric Carbaugh.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Interior Image Credit: Eric Carbaugh

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from The New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8647-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8648-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8646-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020903123

WestBow Press rev. date: 02/20/2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

CH.1 - WHAT MAKES A WARRIOR?

CH.2 - THE IDENTITY CRISIS

CH.3 - THE STRUGGLE IS REAL

CH.4 - THE BELT OF TRUTH

CH.5 - THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

CH.6 - THE FEET OF READINESS

CH.7 - THE SHIELD OF FAITH

CH.8 - THE HELMET OF SALVATION

CH.9 - THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

CH.10 - LIFE IS NOT FAIR!

CH.11 - RISE UP WARRIOR!

WARRIOR’S ENLISTMENT & COMMISSION

A WARRIOR’S CREED

30 DAY WARRIOR CHALLENGE

HELPFUL RESOURCES

IMAGE CREDITS

DEDICATION

First and foremost, to God, who brought me

through some of the hardest seasons of my

life. I dedicate this book to Him.

Second, I want to take time to dedicate this book to my lovely wife who is the very essence of an example of God on earth. You are a real Proverbs 31 woman. I am blessed to have you in my life as my wife. You have been there through some of these hardest times in my life. Because of your love and support, we were able to weather the storms of life together!

Next, to my children who bring many comedic pauses in this life, and to whom I pray to continue a legacy started generations before you. Through being your father, I see first-hand how God loves us unconditionally, and it’s a fantastic thing to see.

To the countless other family and friends that I cannot name because the list is very long. You are the ones who had come into my life at the right time and place when I needed a friend. May the Lord keep you and bless you all for years to come.

PREFACE

This book is the culmination of events over

the years, from my childhood, my time in

the United States Marines, my life after the

Marines, until now. For me, this time in my

life has been a time of challenge, a time of

uncertainty, a time of heartbreak, and a time

of wonder. I have seen how God has done so

many miraculous things. Yet the one thing

that has kept me sane through it all has been

my upbringing in the foundation of the

Word of God. Not many have this blessing

and those that do don’t fully understand it.

I don’t think any of us genuinely do grasp

this blessing since we are all on this journey

together, and the blessing is too big to

comprehend fully.

Life is full of ups and downs, ebbs and flows, and they are what make growth impressive for some but regretful for others. Understanding the equipment, we were given and the training on how to use it is the only thing that will allow us to make it through these challenging times.

This book is dedicated to the men and women who have served this country in selfless sacrifice to ensure our Freedom. It is estimated that 22 Veterans a day commit suicide because of PTSD. Even though this book is dedicated to our Veterans, I believe many can benefit from a straight-to-the-point and easy to read journey to find a purpose that is waiting for us, regardless of military service or not.

Recently the Dallas/Fort Worth area has been rocked by a veteran’s suicide. The sad fact is that many veterans do not have a support system in place, or even if they do, they feel empty and alone. This topic is a source of great sorrow for me as some veterans I have served with have given in to the demons of their nightmares, seemingly without warning.

Veterans themselves are not the only ones affected. So, are their spouses and families. The pain that endures by watching someone you love to go through something hard is beyond words, especially if you are unable to help. The families of our military have their special place in the service of this country as well because, for many in the military, families are their only support system.

In honor of veterans and their families, a portion of every book sale will go to carefully selected veteran charity that helps with PTSD and other veteran causes.

I hope that some will find solace as they read through these pages, and I want veterans to get a free copy of this book, should they need it. If you are a veteran who is struggling with PTSD, lacks a support structure, or just don’t know what to do when you’re in your own headspace, please contacts us ASAP for a free copy of this book at www.WarriorUp.Club.

If you are a veteran or anyone else who would like to support the provision of a free book to these brave heroes, please feel free to do so at www.WarriorUp.club.

If you are not a veteran, do not worry, as I believe you will find many helpful tips in these pages, regardless of sect, gender or age.

INTRODUCTION

The idea of this Warrior Up book and

project came about because of an apparent

identity crisis I see in modern life, seemingly

at every corner. From politics to churches,

colleges, and universities, from military

service people and veterans to millennials

and older adults, kids, and youth, and to

every ethnic or religious group, it seems

our identities are at odds with culture,

where to fit in, who they should become,

and history of past societies. I believe that

inside everyone has an intrinsic yearning to

be a warrior, yet few are born with a drive in

their heart to be a warrior. However, if more

people would realize how to tap into that

warrior life and potential, we would see less

mixed-up identities as seen in the previous

examples and more stable and productive

citizens.

This isn’t even isolated to America, but it exists across the board in every single society, culture, and nation I’ve seen this personally from my travels. My friends and family who live in other countries can attest to the same phenomenon.

Throughout this book, you’ll find topics that I’ve learned to be true and right over the years of my experiences. I’ve been blessed to find a purpose and a meaning to this life that has allowed me to rise above my circumstances, and to find something that makes sense. Some of you while reading this will be turned off by the focus because it is based on the Bible and the Christian life. I know there’s been controversy over the years with the Church and Christians, and this narrative is really pushed in colleges and universities all over the country and world. We all know that many people were persecuted in ancient times because of those whom came in the name of God. For example, the prophets of old, and later, the early Christian martyrs in the Roman Empire. Now, all over the world people are persecuted for being Christians. At the same time, I know that recently there have been those who have come in the name of God and yet were complete frauds compared to the Biblical example. I’m not trying to debate these facts because, just like in every circle of life, there are always small sects within each group of people that cause the most problems, but they are not representative of the larger group. There are so many within the church that do so much good throughout the world, but you’ll never hear about them since good news doesn’t sell advertising on news and media channels. This is the very reason that in the 24-hour news cycle you always hear about how the sky is falling.

Please be open-minded as we discuss this idea of embracing that warrior creed and encourage you to Warrior Up in your own life. I can promise that if you truly embrace this warrior creed and life you will find so much more than you ever thought was possible.

One of my favorite books in the Bible is Ephesians, it is merely what I call the Book of Purpose. This is one of those books that when you really begin to study through it can revolutionize your life and keep you in the mindset it takes to make it through some of the hardest chapters of your life.

Much like Ephesians, each of us have the remarkable ability to compose one of the most excellent books ever written. Everyone who has ever lived, past, present and yet to be, is born with a divine purpose. Sadly, too many go to their graves without finding what that purpose is. This purpose is calling each of us from the day we take our first breath when the doctor slaps us on our butts. This calling is what drives many to do great things for the benefit of so many. The calling also can cause so many to do bad things because of the void they have in their lives from not finding that calling or purpose. Those that live with the void know that something is missing, but they can’t see it. Because of this, they act out in ways that aren’t good, and in some cases, purely evil.

This void is a vacuum that steals the very life from us like a vampire. This emptiness causes hatred, racism, selfishness, pride, low self-esteem, blaming others for our problems, and so many more issues that are so prevalent in society today. These same issues boil down to chaos in our own lives, and then we act out in the disasters we see today. All this distraction, division, and destruction can be the downfall of the very fabric of society.

People can’t be good to others when they have an emptiness inside of them. The emptiness can only be filled by one source and one source only. This source is the audience of One (God). Today, so many are trying to fit a round peg in a square hole. Even though it may fit… sort of… it will never truly fit perfectly. This poor fit then leaves gaps for other things to come in that can derail us in our pursuit of the calling to our purpose. Still, sometimes a round peg and round hole are easily separated from the source they need to be sustained. I like to think of God as a perfectly grooved hole like the nut of a nut and bolt. He desires us to be fitted perfectly like matching threads that go in snuggly and do not release under pressure. Instead, many of us are smooth pegs that can fit snugly, but quickly gets knocked out with the brute force of life.

The goal of this book is to help you on this journey where you