Milspouse Matters

November is National Adoption Awareness Month, and this week's guest is sharing why military families can make amazing foster and adoptive families. In the U.S., nearly half a million children are in the foster care system on any given day. While those numbers are staggering, there's much that we can do to help, whether it's becoming a foster or adoptive family ourselves or supporting those who do.

Does it seem like fostering and adoption wouldn't work for a military family? If you've ever been interested in this topic, you'll want to listen to this episode!

Courtney Woodruff discusses some of the challenges of fostering and adoption as a military family but also how it can work out so amazingly well. She talks about how to start the process and some of her own experiences. She and her husband have fostered ten children and recently adopted a baby, so she is right in the thick of it!

We're also talking about Courtney's new books for children. Some of the proceeds go to support foster and adoptive families!

See the complete show notes for this episode.

• Get my book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse
• Connect with Milspouse Matters on Instagram
• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Find the complete Milspouse Matters show archive and listen to every episode!

This week, I'm talking to Air Force spouse and missionary Megan Brown! Megan B. Brown is a seasoned military spouse and military missionary. She is the Military Liaison for the Speak Up Conference Global Missions Military Scholarship and the 2019-Armed Forces Insurance Robins AFB Military Spouse of the Year. She is passionate about military mission work and teaching and preaching about Jesus in and out of the local church. Her Bible study, Summoned: Answering a Call to the Impossible, published by Moody Publishers in Chicago, released in May 2021. She lives in south Mississippi with her husband, Keith, and their energetic kiddos. She is a Bible teacher, speaker, and freelance writer. To learn more or connect with Megan, visit meganbbrown.com.

On this episode, we talk about Megan's new book, Summoned and how the study came about. Megan also shares her heart for military families, her work with Cru Military, and how has God met her in some dark places, and the hope you can also find. As she says, the gospel wrecked her, but through her experiences and finding strength in Christ, it also caused her to see herself in God's greater plan. She reminds us, "From cover to cover of the Bible, women have been involved."

See this episode's complete show notes.

Jen's "favorite things" this week:

Blackberries All Year: picture book by military spouse Courtney Woodruff. Part of the proceeds support fostering and adoptive parents!

Jen is on the Call to Marriage podcast this week, talking about deployment and the holidays!

• Get my book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse
• Connect with Milspouse Matters on Instagram
• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Find the complete Milspouse Matters show archive and listen to every episode!

On this episode, I'm talking to Becky Hoy, who is a U.S. Army military spouse of 10 years and the Founder of Brave Crate- the deployment countdown box for military spouses, and co-host of PILLAR- the digital retreat for deployment countdowns.

She shares about both those ventures, and talks about how she learned to make the most of the time apart from her husband vs. just wishing for it to be over. Be prepared to get a brand new perspective and encouragement for the difficulties of deployment. Becky tells us how her perspective shifted from "counting every minute to making every minute count" and some of her experiences as she's been through multiple deployments.

The willingness to embrace change and the unknown is so important to getting through life as a military spouse, and Becky talks candidly of her struggles through this rollercoaster ride, while also reminding us that it is possible to thrive while your spouse is away.

>>> TAKE NOTE! SPECIAL OFFER FROM BECKY! USE THE CODE MILSPOUSE20 FOR 20% OFF YOUR FIRST BRAVE CRATE PLUS GET FREE TICKETS TO THE PILLAR DIGITAL RETREAT FOR DEPLOYMENT COUNTDOWNS, WHICH IS COMING UP FROM NOV 12-14.

Learn more:

• Brave Crate
• PILLAR Deployment Retreat

See the complete show notes for this episode.

• Get my book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse
• Connect with Milspouse Matters on Instagram
• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Find the complete Milspouse Matters show archive and listen to every episode!

Welcome to this short bonus episode!

I hear from a lot of you about the topic of friendship, and I know how difficult it can be to find friends as a military spouse.

It's not easy to roll into a new location and not know a soul. On this short episode, I'm sharing some thoughts about how to be a friend, how to find friends, and the friends every military spouse needs, along with reading a brief excerpt from my book You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse.

See the complete show notes for this episode.

• Get my book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse
• Connect with Milspouse Matters on Instagram
• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Find the complete Milspouse Matters show archive and listen to every episode!

This episode of the Milspouse Matters podcast is sponsored by SpouseLink, which was created in 2012 by AAFMA, the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association. The goal of Spouselink is to support, inform, and inspire military spouses. Learn more at Spouselink.org. We've had a lot of requests for a National Guard spouse to come on the podcast, so this is the episode for you! First, I'm sharing some ideas from National Guard spouses from my Facebook group for ways to connect with other spouses and the military community. Next, I'm talking to National Guard spouse Julie Provost, who you may know from her popular blog Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life. She's sharing her perspective as their family transitioned from active duty to National Guard, ways to connect with the greater military community, common misconceptions about National Guard families, plus so much more! See the complete show notes for this episode.

• Get my book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse
• Connect with Milspouse Matters on Instagram
• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Find the complete Milspouse Matters show archive and listen to every episode!

This episode of the Milspouse Matters podcast is sponsored by SpouseLink, which was created in 2012 by AAFMA, the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association. The goal of Spouselink is to support, inform, and inspire military spouses. Learn more at Spouselink.org.

The guest for this episode is the amazing and insightful Trevor Romain, who you may remember from episode 63 when we talked about his work with military kids.

While we were speaking on that episode, we briefly touched on the topic of grief and his work with children, including terminally ill children, over the past decades. We're so blessed to have him back to discuss this important topic. Even though grief is an uncomfortable subject, it's also universal. We will all face it someday. But as Trevor says, we don't have to forget those we love. We continue to carry them with us and live in a way that honors their memory. And, "The pain doesn't really go away...you just learn to make friends with it. "

Learn more:

See the complete show notes for this episode.

The Trevor Romain Company: What on Earth Do You Do When Someone Dies?

**Use my code MILSPOUSEMATTERS for 15% off any purchase at the Trevor Romain Company!

Connect with the Trevor Romain Company:

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube

• Get my book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse
• Connect with Milspouse Matters on Instagram

It's so important to feel connected as a military spouse! We're talking about that today with Lizann Lightfoot and hearing about her brand new book, Open When: Letters of Encouragement for Military Spouses, a collection of letters for military spouses straight from her heart and experience. You don't want to miss this!

On this episode, we talk about the process and her vision behind this book, as well as many other military life topics. I am certain you will be encouraged by the wisdom and warmth Lizann shares, no matter where you are on the journey of military life.

• Connect with Lizann
• Find the complete show notes for this episode here.
• Get my book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse
• Connect with Milspouse Matters on Instagram
• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Find the complete Milspouse Matters show archive and listen to every episode!

This episode of the Milspouse Matters podcast is sponsored by SpouseLink, which was created in 2012 by AAFMA, the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association. The goal of Spouselink is to support, inform, and inspire military spouses. Learn more at Spouselink.org.

Someone wise once told me many years ago, What kind of marriage do you want in 30 years? What you do now determines what it will be then. I'm so glad I took that advice to heart. Any military spouse who's been in military life for a minute or two realizes that military marriage comes with a lot of stress points. During one particularly tough time in our marriage, I knew something had to change. But darnit, the only thing I had control over was…me. I had to begin looking at life differently and not try to change my spouse. It wasn't working, anyway! (As a control freak, this is still an ongoing lesson!)

On this episode, I'm sharing a few tips from over 30 years of marriage. Marriage takes work, but it should also be fun! If you're not laughing together regularly, something is off. Yes, even in the hard times, humor is so necessary!

See the "scorpion story" I reference here: Strengthening Your Military Marriage.

For big marriage issues, of course there are no easy answers. Do you need some support? I have a lot of podcast episodes and blog posts about military marriage that I hope will be some help to you. If you need counseling and support, contact your military chaplain or connect with Military OneSource for free, confidential counseling.

Domestic Abuse Hotline—call 800.799.SAFE (7233) or visit their website.

• Get my book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse
• Connect with Milspouse Matters on Instagram
• Christian Military Spouse Facebook Group
• Find the complete Milspouse Matters show archive and listen to every episode!
• Click here for the complete show notes for this episode.

This episode of the Milspouse Matters podcast is sponsored by SpouseLink, which supports, informs, and inspires military spouses. Learn more at Spouselink.org.

I'm so excited to be talking about Milkid Mailkit™, a pen pal program for military children, with one of the program's co-founders, Brunella Costagliola. Brunella and her husband Michael Gosselin created Milkid Mailkit™ to encourage and foster international friendship for military children through the art of letter writing.

The season of COVID and her own children being in front of screens more than ever with schooling going online made Brunella realize her kids' need for more connection. With beautiful stationery created by world-renowned creator and longtime Disney theme park designer and illustrator, Valerio Mazzoli, and their own inspiration of connecting military kids as penpals, Milkid Mailkit™ was born. You may recognize the symbol of military kids—the dandelion. Every illustration captures the adventurous spirit, inspiring diversity, and barrier-breaking horizons of military life.

See the show notes for this episode.

Learn more about Milkid Mailkit™.

Get my book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse

Connect with Milspouse Matters on Instagram

Welcome to the latest Listener Q & A episode!

Just a reminder, you can send questions to me on the Milspouse Matters Instagram or email me for possible inclusion in the next round!

Today, we're covering questions like:

• What are your thoughts on planning weddings in the military? Or just trying to plan anything as a milspouse with this unpredictable lifestyle? (or is it not really as unpredictable as it seems)
• How and when should you apply for military base housing?
• Sometimes the areas of OPSEC and security measures seem to be approached differently by a lot of military spouse influencers. I guess I'm just wondering what good practices would be. Also, any suggestions for a wife who can't really talk to her husband about work because he's Intel?
• Finding military spouse connections in Washington, D.C.
• Advice for making friends in big cities when you don't live on base and aren't established yet.
• Tips on helping your marriage during a tough deployment.
• Homeschooling military kids.
• And more!

Click here for the show notes and resources mentioned.

Connect with Milspouse Matters on Instagram