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A Giveaway for Some Beloved Folks

in Giveaway· Military

If you’ve been around this watering hole a while, I hope you’re receiving regular(ish!) fresh air encouragement that helps you see your life and circumstances through the filter of God’s care and provision. I hope you find a story or two here that helps make sense of your own and helps you see your season with more hope and less worry.  As I strive to do these things as a change mentor, belonging helper, and all around encourager to anyone stopping by, I also strive to champion military families within that context. On that note, if you’re a military spouse OR know one who is, you’ll want to see what I have up my sleeve!

Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day. I’ve long considered military spouses heroes on the Homefront, women and men quietly serving their families, communities, and country behind the scenes. In honor of the good work they do, I’m offering a giveaway of some favorite things to all past and present military spouses AND one of their friends! If you’ve ever been a military spouse, you’re eligible to enter. HOT DIGGITY.

Before I tell you about the goodies, let me mention that the giveaway is happening on my instagram account. To enter, all you have to do is first find me there @kristenstrong, open the latest post, and comment with your favorite duty station AND tag the friend you’d share the loot with. Of course, anyone can also tag a military spouse they know who may be interested in entering herself! So, if you’d like to enter, check it out right here.

Alrighty, here’s the lowdown on what the winning military spouse AND her bestie will receive:

  • A gift certificate to purchase your own 4 things tote from The Shop Forward: I love these totes because you can personalize them with 4 things that say YOU and help you know you belong regardless of where you move or how long you live there.
  • One Line a Day Five-Year Memory Book: This book provides a place to record a short memory of yours or your family’s each day. It’s fun to read years down the road and know that no matter where you were at the time, you can carry the memories right along with you today.
  • Hummingbird Farms lotion trio: My daughter and I both LOVE this lotion, especially the lavender citrus. It’s ultra moisturizing and smells so calming and refreshing. @hummingbirdfarms
  • 1 copy of Girl Meets Change and Back Roads to Belonging by yours truly: While both books certainly speak to anyone and everyone struggling with change and belonging, military spouses have told me time and again that reading them is like coming home.

This giveaway ends next Wednesday, May 13th, when one winner will be randomly picked. Also, 0% of this post is sponsored by instagram or anyone else—these are just faves of mine!

And if you’re not so closely associated with the military, thank you for the grace of two military-centered posts in a row. That rarely happens here, but well…I guess that’s in keeping with these rare times we’re living in right now!

When I think of my own days as a military wife, it’s impossible for me not to also think of other military spouses. They were a saving grace to me in countless ways, and I still count many of them as my closest friends. They were–and still are!–some of the bravest, kindest, most generous folks on the planet who just did regular life within circumstances that were anything but regular.

So to all our military spouses, I offer you a virtual slice of really good cake today, and I thank you for all you do. I sure wish we could hang out on my porch and listen to some Lady A. But since we can’t (dang logistics! dang pandemic!), know I’m thinking of you today and singing your praises in my own way.

Your service is no small thing, and you’re so beloved.

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Filed Under: Giveaway, Military

« Month of the Military Child: A Prayer for Military Kids
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Hey there, dearheart! I’m Kristen, and welcome t Hey there, dearheart! I’m Kristen, and welcome to my little corner of the world here in the Colorado woods outside Colorado Springs. 

I wondered if you’d want to go inside, pull up a chair ‘round the fire, and hang out a bit? 

If you’re newer, here's a little about me: 

I like: 
▫️Country and classical music. 
▫️Most hot teas and cocktails with bourbon. 
▫️The beach and the mountains. (Why must we pick one over the other?) 

I don’t like: 
▫️Muffins (They’re just sad cupcakes with no frosting.) 
▫️Long winters (God shows His sense of humor by placing me in CO!) 
▫️Cruises (In spite of being told otherwise, I did, indeed, feel the ship moving.🥴) 

👏🏻I’m a mighty fine encourager, and if you do/say/wear something I genuinely love, I’ll let you know it and/or tell others about it. 

🙁I sometimes let fear dictate what I do or don’t do, and that’s exacerbated by my bossy inner critic. 

🙅‍♀️I don’t like mean people. BUT I can be awfully sarcastic, and sarcasm is often just mean in cuter clothing. 

😢A friend and I talked recently about how raising teens and big kids has us tender to the touch, often with tears just below the surface. 

💙Speaking of kids, I’m mama to three hilarious, hard working, and big hearted kiddos—twin sons and a daughter—whom I adore. 

❤️I’m wife to a USAF veteran, David, (raising my Polish pottery mug of hot tea to the military spouses here!), who’s also an all around amazing, amazing fella. 

📚I wrote two books called #GirlMeetsChange and #BackRoadstoBelonging. I love to help folks see their change and lack of belonging it often brings in a more hopeful light—because difficult change is never the end of things. God’s grace and goodness are. 

☕Thank you for being here—I’m passing you a virtual cuppa your favorite hot beverage and a cupcake (sorry, no muffins). 

💬This is more than enough about me. Tell me something about you! 

📷 Photo by the gorgeous and gorgeously talented Jen Lints of @jenlintsphotography. 

#FridayIntroductions
The sun sets on a downright delightful month of ha The sun sets on a downright delightful month of having all the chicks back in the nest. We puzzled, Uno’d, and played a new game called Knope for President. (So fun!) We watched Mandalorian all together, and David and I started a Netflix show called Turn. We had tea (and coffee!) at 4:30 each afternoon like some kind of Brit wanna-be’s. I cooked like a crazy person because cooking is the most predictable Enneagram 2 thing I do. Pot roast, spaghetti, and baked casseroles, oh my! Plus, 21 year olds who’ve had a semester of fending for themselves on the food front are mighty appreciative when dinner magically comes out of the oven. 

Said 21 year olds are back at college now, but I’m thankful for the good memories that stay with the rest of us Strongs after they’ve left. This last month held hard stuff for many of us, I know, but I hope it left you with some good memories as well. 💛
If your life looks anything like mine, difficult c If your life looks anything like mine, difficult change that started in 2020 didn't give one whit about the new year and walked right with you into 2021. Your change could be more broadly felt like fallout from a lingering pandemic, or it could be more individual —marital, parenting, job, or relational struggles that refuse to let go. 

Or  it could be both, one worsening the other.

If you’re weary from the loneliness that change can bring OR tired of resenting change altogether (and seeing it only through a lens of anxiety and frustration), consider giving #GirlMeetsChange and #BackRoadstoBelonging a look.

Our difficult change may not be going anywhere, but our outlook on it can. 

With both books holding 200-ish reviews on Amazon and a 4.8 star rating, I still get the loveliest messages about how they’ve helped folks welcome a hopeful view of change and where they belong. 

Visit my profile for links to both! 
#fromthebookstack
#whereIbelong
#changemanagement
#anxietyreducer
#fearmanagement
#livingfaithfully
My daughter read that this past Christmas season, My daughter read that this past Christmas season, Christmas light sales were up 300% compared to years past. We may leave ours up for another week or two, and I’m 300% okay with that. 

In the wise words of @iamtabithabrown, it’s my business. 

It’s also my business how I choose to respond to something—indeed, it is a choice. Will I be thoughtful or defensive? Will I be someone who displays or douses the light of Christ? 

In our work to love our neighbor as ourselves, may we be a people who persevere and refuse to stop using our own unique God-given light to dispel the dark. People are desperate for it, and this work matters.
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