This week, we’re talking about 5 Scriptures for deployment, promises of God to hold onto while your spouse is deployed!

I haven’t been with you for a while on this podcast, but my hope is to produce it more regularly in the months to come. In the meantime, thank you for your feedback and for sharing this show with others, along with my other podcast, Milspouse Matters!

On this episode, I'm sharing 5 of my favorite Scriptures for getting through deployment, and I hope they will encourage your heart if you're currently going through or about to go through the deployment of your spouse.

See this episode's show notes: https://jen-mcdonald.com/cmp-shownotes/5-scriptures-for-getting-through-deployment-ep-9/

See the related blog post and all Scriptures mentioned: https://jen-mcdonald.com/promises-of-god-to-hold-on-to-when-your-spouse-deploys/

Pre-order Jen's new book here! https://books2read.com/MilspouseMatters

Socials and other resources:

Christian Milspouse Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/christianmilspouse/

Milspouse Matters Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/milspousematters/

Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/christianmilitaryspouses/

Listen to the Milspouse Matters podcast and find other resources for your military life - https://jen-mcdonald.com/

Get your 5-day deployment devotional - https://jen-mcdonald.com/deployment-devotional/

Get Jen’s books - https://jen-mcdonald.com/books/

All episodes of the Christian Milspouse Podcast - https://jen-mcdonald.com/podcast/christian-milspouse-podcast/

This week, we’re talking about having a heart of gratitude.

As I record this, it’s November 1, and in the U.S. that means that Thanksgiving is coming! What a perfect time to think about gratitude. Being thankful doesn’t always come naturally, especially when you’re going through a particularly tough time.

Let's talk about why gratitude is important, how to cultivate thankfulness, and what the Bible says about gratitude (and complaining!). God has a lot to say about gratitude... and also about the lack of it.

Join me on Instagram for the gratitude challenge this month!

• Christian Milspouse Instagram
• Milspouse Matters Instagram

See this episode's complete show notes. 

More resources:

• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Listen to the Milspouse Matters podcast and find other resources for your military life! 
• Get your 5-day deployment devotional. 
• Get Jen’s book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse. 
• All episodes of the Christian Milspouse Podcast.

Let's talk about trusting God with our children!

Whether they’re little or big, if you’re raising kids in military life, there’s plenty to worry about. You wonder what the impact of military service and having a parent in the military might be on them. You see them be the new kid repeatedly, worry over their parents’ deployment, struggle with another move.

But you’ll also see them grow in so many ways. It’s easy to focus on the perceived negatives, but there are positives too: travel, confidence, closeness as a family and more. And let me remind you…God is not surprised by their circumstances. In fact, He loves them even more than you do. 

Trusting God with your children's future may seem difficult. We're going to talk about ways to give it all over to God and learn to let go, as hard as it is.

See this episode's complete show notes and find resources mentioned.

Don't forget! Register for the completely free, all online PILLAR Deployment Retreat, taking place November 4-6, 2022. 

More resources:

• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Listen to the Milspouse Matters podcast and find other resources for your military life! 
• Get your 5-day deployment devotional. 
• Get Jen’s book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse. 
• All episodes of the Christian Milspouse Podcast.

Let's talk about choosing joy as a military spouse!

Did you know that in the English Standard Version of the Bible, the words joy, rejoice, or joyful appear a total of 430 times, compared with happy or happiness, which appear only ten times? God must think joy is important!

As military spouses, we can struggle to find joy in some situations. I could make a list of all the challenges that go along with military life, and I’m sure you could add your own lengthy list. But I think contentment and joy tend to go hand in hand. If I’m content where God has placed me, then I can also find joy in knowing that He’s got it covered.

Let's talk about it!

See this episode's complete show notes and find resources mentioned.

Register for the completely free, all online PILLAR Deployment Retreat, taking place November 4-6, 2022. 

• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Listen to the Milspouse Matters podcast and find other resources for your military life! 
• Get your 5-day deployment devotional. 
• Get Jen’s book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse. 
• All episodes of the Christian Milspouse Podcast.

This week, we’re talking about loneliness as a military spouse. 

Whether it's due to a move, a deployment, or another reason, feeling alone is difficult. 

God understands! We're talking about ways to get through the feelings of being alone, how to reach out, and finding ways that loneliness serves a purpose, even while it's difficult. 

See this episode's complete show notes and find resources mentioned.

Register for the completely free, all online PILLAR Deployment Retreat, taking place November 4-6, 2022. 

• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Listen to the Milspouse Matters podcast and find other resources for your military life! 
• Get your 5-day deployment devotional. 
• Get Jen’s book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse. 
• All episodes of the Christian Milspouse Podcast.

On this episode, we're talking about the importance of trusting God with our futures.

One thing that’s certain about military life is that you realize how little control you have over what will happen in the future! But it’s another opportunity for God to show Himself strong to us.

On this week's episode, we talk about the story of Ruth in the Bible and the application to our own lives, along with some of my favorite quotes and Scriptures about trusting God.

God can handle your questions, and yes, your anger, your anguish, your confusion. Take it to Him! These are moments of faith, when you choose to trust Him.

See this episode's complete show notes and find resources mentioned.

Register for the completely free, all online PILLAR Deployment Retreat, taking place November 4-6, 2022. 

• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Listen to the Milspouse Matters podcast and find other resources for your military life! 
• Get your 5-day deployment devotional. 
• Get Jen’s book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse. 
• All episodes of the Christian Milspouse Podcast.

Finding a new church is one of the hardest things after you've just moved. Let's talk about finding your faith community!

We need each other in this life! I love online resources, obviously. But it’s so important to also have that in-person connection. 

Let's talk about why we need the church and how we can find a great fellowship. 

See this episode's complete show notes and find resources mentioned.

Register for the completely free, all online PILLAR Deployment Retreat, taking place November 4-6, 2022. 

• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Connect with Jen and find the Milspouse Matters podcast and so many other resources for your military life! 
• Get your 5-day deployment devotional. 
• Get Jen’s book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse. 
• All episodes of the Christian Milspouse Podcast.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like waiting. I want to know NOW what’s coming! But God in his mercy keeps us from knowing all that’s to happen in the future, because honestly we could not bear it if we knew ahead of time.

Military life forces us to wait, whether we’re waiting on orders, a return from deployment, or even our household goods or medical paperwork!

Whether big or small circumstances, waiting is a part of life and we as military spouses learn to embrace the certainty of uncertainty. I’ve called it "living in the pause" and I heard a writer once call it "the land between," those times where you feel adrift while you wait. 

But friend, that is also where God meets us.

Let's talk about it!

See this episode's complete show notes and find resources mentioned.

Register for the completely free, all online PILLAR Deployment Retreat, taking place November 4-6, 2022. 

• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Connect with Jen and find the Milspouse Matters podcast and so many other resources for your military life! 
• Get your 5-day deployment devotional. 
• Get Jen’s book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse. 
• All episodes of the Christian Milspouse Podcast.